CHAPTER XVI

Of the government and political customs of these peoples

114. There were no kings or rulers worthy of mention, throughout this archipelago; but there were many chiefs who dominated others less powerful. As there were many without much power, there was no security from the continual wars that were waged between them. Manila had two chiefs, uncle and nephew, who had equal power and authority. They were at war with another chief, who was chief alone; and he was so near that they were separated from one another by nothing more than a not very wide river. The same conditions ruled in all the rest of the island, and of even the whole archipelago, until the entrance of the faith, when they were given peace--which they now esteem much more than all that they then obtained from those petty wars and their depredations. They were divided into barangays, as Roma into districts, and our cities into parishes or collations. They are called barangays, which is the name of a boat, preserving the name from the boat in which they came to settle these islands. Since they came subject to one leader in their barangay, who acted as their captain or pilot--who was accompanied by his children, relatives, friends, and comrades--after landing, they kept in company under that leader, who is the dato. Seizing the lands, they began to cultivate them and to make use of them. They seized as much of the sea and near-by rivers as they could preserve and defend from any other barangay, or from many barangays, according as they had settled near or far from others. Although on all occasions some barangays aided and protected others, yet the slave or even the timaua or freemen could not pass from one barangay to another, especially a married man or a married woman, without paying a certain quantity of gold, and giving a public feast to his whole barangay; where this was not done, it was an occasion for war between the two barangays. If a man of one barangay happened to marry a woman of another, the children had to be divided between the barangays, in the same manner as the slaves.

115. Their laws and policy, which were not very barbarous for barbarians, consisted wholly of traditions and customs, observed with so great exactness that it was not considered possible to break them in any circumstance. One was the respect of parents and elders, carried to so great a degree that not even the name of one's father could pass the lips, in the same way as the Hebrews [regarded] the name of God. The individuals, even the children, must follow the general [custom]. There were other laws also. For the determination of their suits, both civil and criminal, there was no other judge than the said chief, with the assistance of some old men of the same barangay. With them the suit was determined in the following form. They had the opponents summoned, and endeavored to have them come to an agreement. But if they would not agree, then an oath was administered to each one, to the effect that he would abide by what was determined and done. Then they called for witnesses, and examined summarily. If the proof was equal [on both sides], the difference was split; but, if it were unequal, the sentence was given in favor of the one who conquered. If the one who was defeated resisted, the judge made himself a party to the cause, and all of them at once attacked with the armed hand the one defeated, and execution to the required amount was levied upon him. The judge received the larger share of this amount, and some was paid to the witnesses of the one who won the suit, while the poor litigant received the least.

In criminal causes there were wide distinctions made because of the rank of the murderer and the slain; and if the latter were a chief all his kinsmen went to hunt for the murderer and his relatives, and both sides engaged in war, until mediators undertook to declare the quantity of gold due for that murder, in accordance with the appraisals which the old men said ought to be paid according to their custom. One half of that amount belonged to the chiefs, and the other half was divided among the wife, children, and relatives of the deceased. The penalty of death was never imposed by process of law, except when the murderer and his victim were common men and had no gold to satisfy the murder. In such a case, if the man's dato or maginoo (for these are one and the same) did not kill him, the other chiefs did, spearing him after lashing him to a stake.

117. In a matter of theft, if the crime were proved, but not the criminal, and more than one person was suspected, a canonical clearance from guilt had to be made in the following form. First they obliged each person to put in a heap a bundle of cloth, leaves, or anything else that they wished, in which they might discover the article stolen. If the article stolen was found in the heap, at the end of this effort, then the suit ceased; if not, one of three methods was tried. First, they were placed in the part of the river where it is deepest, each one with his wooden spear in his hand. Then at the same time they were all to be plunged under the water, for all are equal in this, and he who came out first was regarded as the criminal. Consequently, many let themselves drown for fear of punishment. The second was to place a stone in a vessel of boiling water, and to order them to take it out. He who refused to put his hand into the water paid the penalty for the theft. Thirdly, each one was given a wax candle of the same wick, and of equal size and weight. The candles were lighted at the same time, and he whose candle first went out was the culprit.

118. There are three kinds and classes of people: the chiefs, whom the Visayans call dato and the Tagálogs maginoo; the timauas, who are the ordinary common people, called maharlicà among the Tagálogs; and the slaves, called oripuen by the Visayans and alipin by the Tagálogs. The last are divided into several kinds, as we shall relate soon. The chiefs attain that position generally through their blood; or, if not that, because of their energy and strength. For even though one may be of low extraction, if he is seen to be careful, and if he gains some wealth by his industry and schemes--whether by farming and stock-raising, or by trading; or by any of the trades among them, such as smith, jeweler, or carpenter; or by robbery and tyranny, which was the most usual method--in that way he gains authority and reputation, and increases it the more he practices tyranny and violence. With these beginnings, he takes the name of dato; and others, whether his relatives or not, come to him, and add credit and esteem to him, and make him a leader. Thus there is no superior who gives him authority or title, beyond his own efforts and power. Consequently, might was proclaimed as right, and he who robbed most and tyrannized most was the most powerful. If his children continued those tyrannies, they conserved that grandeur. If on the contrary, they were men of little ability, who allowed themselves to be subjugated, or were reduced either by misfortunes and disastrous happenings, or by sicknesses and losses, they lost their grandeur with their possessions, as is customary throughout the world; and the fact that they had honored parents or relatives was of no avail to them, or is of no avail to them now. In this way it has happened that the father might be a chief, and the son or brother a slave--and worse, even a slave to his own brother.

119. Their manner of life and ordinary conduct from the days of old is trade, in all sorts of things by wholesale, and more by retail in the products of the earth, in accordance with what is produced in each district. The maritime peoples are great fishers with net, line, and corral. The people who live inland are excellent farmers and hunters. They are always cultivating rice, besides other vegetables and garden products, quite different from those of Europa. The women also are shrewd in trading, especially of their weaving, needlework, and embroideries, which they make very neatly; and there is scarcely one who cannot read and write. Sometimes the husband and wife go together on their trading, and, whether for this or for any other thing, she must always go ahead; for it is not their custom to go together. Even if it be a band wholly made up of men or of women, or of men and women mixed, and even if the road be very wide, they go in single file one after the other.

120. The maritime peoples were accustomed to make many raids, and those of the interior to set ambushes for such depredations, wasting life in this. Their weapons consisted of bow and arrow; a spear with a short handle, and a head shaped in innumerable ways, most often with harpoon points; other spears without any head, with the point made on the shaft itself (which is now of bamboo and now of wood), a vara long, hardened in fire. They had swords; large, sharp daggers, made very beautifully; and slender, long blowpipes [ceruatanas], through which they shot most dangerous poisoned arrows, in the manner of the inhabitants of Samatra. Such are their offensive weapons. Their defensive weapons are wooden shields and rattan or corded breastplates, and other armor helmets of the same material.

121. What justice, what fidelity, what honesty should there be amid so great cruelty and tyranny? Virginity and purity were ignominious, which is the general vice of idolaters. Whether married or single, the woman who had no lover could not be safe; and by regarding that as an honor, they considered it a dishonor to give their persons free. When men children were born in certain provinces, the mothers themselves performed on them a certain form of circumcision, quite different from that of the Jews and Moros, and only in order to render them more skilful in their lewdness. Yet with all this, they abhorred, and chastised, and rigorously punished incest.

122. In the celebration of their marriages, espousals, and divorces, and in the giving and receiving of dowries, they also proceeded according to reason. In the first place, they agreed as to the dowry, which is promised and given even now by the man, in the sum named by the parents. When it is determined the betrothal takes place, generally with a conventional penalty which is rigorously executed. However, neither men nor women take it for an insult or grieve greatly if the betrothal be refused, because then they benefit by the fine. The truth is, that if those who are bound by the fine were the parents, after their deaths the children are free to break the contract without incurring the penalty, by only the restitution of the amount received as dowry.

Matrimony at present includes, besides the above, the delivery of the person and the dowry. The latter is not received by the woman but by her parents or relatives, as it were selling their girls, in the manner of the Mesopotamians and other nations. The parents convert the dowry into their own estate, and it is distributed with the other property, at their deaths, among all the children equally. But if the son-in-law has been very obedient to his parents-in-law; then the latter generally return the dowry to their children. The other relatives are only depositaries of what they must again deliver to the children. Besides the dowry, the chiefs formerly gave some presents to the parents and relatives, and even to the slaves, to a greater or less amount according to the rank of the bridegroom.

The pagan ceremony and form of marriage had to be authorized by a sacrifice; for after the marriage had been agreed upon and the dowry paid over, the catalona came, and a hog was brought to her. The ceremonies were performed as in other sacrifices. The lovers having seated themselves in their bridal chamber, each in the lap of an old woman who acted as godmother, the latter gave them to eat from one plate and to drink from one cup. The bridegroom said that he took the woman to wife, and, accepting her, the catalona or babaylana immediately gave them a thousand benedictions, saying to them: "May you be well mated. May you beget many children and grandchildren, all rich and brave," and other things of this sort. Thereupon the hog was slain, and the lovers were married; and when the others became tired of dancing and singing, all became intoxicated and went to sleep. If the recently-married couple did not suit each other, another sacrifice was ordered, in which the bridegroom himself danced and slew the victim--the while talking to his anito, and offering himself to it for the sake of peace and harmony with his wife. That having been done, he calmed himself, confident that then and thenceforth the two would live in harmony, and enjoy their married life in peace.

These nations consider it important to take a wife only from their own family, and the nearer the better. Only they except the first grade [of kinship], for they always considered that as a dissolving impediment. But what marriages were those in which the contract was not indissoluble, and could be dissolved by the woman, if she were to blame, merely returning the dowry! If the husband were to blame, it was not returned; and the marriage could be repudiated by themselves, without any solemnity of law. That was done daily for very slight causes, and new marriages were formed with others. Polygamy was not the fashion among the Tagálogs. However, if the wife bore no children, the husband could with his wife's permission have them by his slave women, in accordance with the example of the ancient patriarchs. Among the principal Visayans, the ministers of the gospel found established the custom of having two or more legitimate wives, and large dowries, which was a great obstacle to Christianity.

123. Thus far in regard to marriage. As to the children and their succession and inheritance, if they were legitimate they inherited equally in the property of their parents. For lack of legitimate children the nearest relatives inherited. If there were illegitimate children, who had for example been had by a free woman, they had their share in the inheritance, but not equally with the legitimate children, for the latter received two-thirds, and the illegitimate one-third. But if there were no legitimate children then the illegitimate received all the inheritance. The children of a slave woman who belonged to the man were given some part of the household effects, according to the will of the legitimate children. In addition the mother became free for the very reason that her master had had a child by her.

There were also adopted children, and the practice was that the one adopted bought his adoption. For the natural parent gave a certain sum to the adopted parent in order to have his son or daughter adopted, and thereupon the latter was adopted without any other subtlety of law or of paternal power. It was done only to the end that the adopted child, if he should outlive the one adopting him, should inherit double the sum that had been given for his adoption. Thus, if ten were given, he must inherit twenty. But if the adopted parent outlived the adopted child, the adoption expired as well as the right of inheritance, which was not given to the heirs of the adopted one, either in whole or in part. But if, on the contrary, the parent died while his own child was living, he left him by way of addition to the sum for adoption doubled, some jewel or slave woman, as a reward for his good services. But, on the other hand, if the child was ungrateful and acted badly, the adoptive parent gave him up, by restoring the sum that had been given for his adoption.

Adultery was not punished corporally, but by a pecuniary fine. Therefore the adulterer, by paying to the aggrieved party the sum of gold agreed upon between them, or given by the sentence and judgment of the old men, was pardoned for the injury that he had committed; and the aggrieved party was satisfied, and his honor was not besmirched. Also he continued to live with his wife without anything more being said on the subject. But those children had by a married woman did not succeed to the nobility of the parents or to their privileges; but were always reckoned plebeians, whom those people call timauas. Likewise those children had by a slave woman, although they were free, as was the mother, were always regarded as of low birth. These who succeeded to the nobility were the legitimate children. In the barangay, when the father was lord of it his eldest son inherited that office; but, if he died, then he who came next in order. If there were no male children, then the daughters succeeded in the same order; and for want of either males or females, the succession went to the nearest relative of the last possessor. Thus no will was necessary for all those successions; for wills were never in vogue among these nations in the form and solemnity of such. As for legacies it was sufficient to leave them openly, in writing or entrusted by word of mouth, in the presence of known persons.

125. A great part of the wealth of these Indians consisted in slaves. For, after gold, no property was held in greater esteem, because of the many comforts that were enjoyed for their mode of living through a multitude of slaves. Thus our Spaniards when they entered the islands found so many slaves that there were chiefs who had one, two, and three hundred slaves, and those generally of their own color and nation, and not of other foreign nations. The most general origin of those slaveries were interest and usury. That was so much practiced among them, that no father would aid his son, no son his father, no brother his brother, and much less any relative his relative, even though he were suffering extreme necessity, without an agreement to restore double. If payment was not made when promised, the debtor remained a slave until he paid. That happened often, for the interest or increase continued to accumulate just so long as the payment was deferred. Consequently, the interest exceeded the wealth of the debtor, and therefore the debt was loaded upon his shoulders, and the poor creature became a slave; and from that time his children and descendants were slaves. Other slaveries were due to tyranny and cruelty. For slaves were made either in vengeance on enemies, in the engagements and petty wars that they waged against one another, in which the prisoners made remained slaves, even though they were of the same village and race; or as a punishment which the more powerful inflicted on the weaker ones, even for a matter of little importance, of which they made a matter of insult. For instance if the lesser did not observe the interdict on talking and noise, usual in the time of the burial of the chiefs; if he passed near where the chief's wife was bathing; or if any dust or any other dirt fell from the house of the timaua upon the chief or his wife when passing through the street: then in these and numberless other similar cases the powerful ones deprived the poor wretches of liberty, and tyrannically made them slaves--and not only them but their children, and perhaps the wife and near relatives. The worst thing is that all those who had been made slaves by war, or for punishment of debts, were rigorously regarded as such, as slaves for any kind of service or slavery, and served inside the house. The same was true of their children, in the manner of our slaveries, and they could be sold at will. However, the masters were not accustomed to sell those born under their roof, for they regarded them in the light of relatives. Those slaves were allowed to keep for themselves a portion of any profit which they made. The Tagálogs called such true slaves sanguiguilir, and the Visayans halon.

Other slaves were called namamahay, for they did not serve their master in all capacities, nor inside his house; but in their own houses, and outside that of their masters. They were bound, however, to obey their master's summons either to serve in his house when he had honored guests, or for the erection of his house and its repair, and in the seasons of sowing and harvest. They [had also to respond] to act as his rowers when he went out in his boat, and on other like occasions, in which they were obliged to serve their master without any pay.

126. Among both kinds of slaves, sanguiguilir and namamahay, it happens that there are some who are whole slaves, some who are half slaves, and some one-fourth part slave. For if the father or the mother were free, and had an only son he was half free and half slave. If they had more than one child, these were so divided that the first followed the condition of the father, whether free or slave, and the second that of the mother. So did it happen with successive pairs. But if there were an odd number of children, the last was half free and half slave. Those who descended from them, if they were children of a free father or mother, were slaves only in the fourth part, as they were the children of a free father or mother, and of one half slave. Sometimes, because it happened that two people had agreed to marry and the man had no wealth for the dowry--or rather, nothing with which to buy his wife--he became her slave. In such case the children were divided in the said manner, and the first, third, and fifth, and the remaining ones in the same way were slaves, inasmuch as they belonged to the father, who was also a slave of the mother--and not only slaves to her, but also to her brothers and sisters and relatives, in case of her death and the division of her property. On the contrary the second, fourth, and others in the same way, were according to their custom free, inasmuch as they belonged to their mother who was free; and they were masters and rulers over their own father and brothers and sisters. The same thing happened in the case of interest, a thing of so great importance among them that, as already remarked, the father would not pardon the debt and interest even to the son, nor the son the father, even in case of necessity, until the one had made a slave of the other for it. Consequently, if one brother ransomed another brother, or a son his father, the latter remained a slave, as did his descendants, until the value of the ransom was paid with interest. Consequently, the captive was gainer only by the change of master. Such as the above are the monstrous things that are seen where the law of God and Christian charity are lacking. In the division made between heirs, when a slave belonged to many, the time of his service was divided and each of the masters had the share that belonged to him and was his in such slave; and the division was made by months, or as was convenient among the masters. When a slave is not a whole slave but only a half or fourth part, he has the right to compel his master to give him his freedom for the just price at which he is appraised, according to the rank of the slavery, sanguiguilir or namamahay. But if he be a whole slave, the master cannot be compelled to ransom him at any price, even though he should have become a slave for debt, if already the day set for the payment of the debt has passed.

127. There was another kind of service which was not of a truth servitude, although it appeared to be such. It was generally seen among certain persons called cabalangay. Whenever such persons wanted any small trifle, they begged the head chief of their barangay for it, and he gave it to them. In return, whenever he summoned them they were obliged to go to him to work in his fields or to row in his boats. Whenever a feast or banquet was given, then they all came together and helped furnish the tuba, wine, or quilan, such being their method of service.

128. The ancient custom in manumission was for the whole sanguiguilir slave to pay ten taes of gold, and the namamahay the half; and, in addition to that, he had to give the half of whatever things he owned. For instance, if he owned two large jars he had to give one. In order to make that conveyance, the slave must make a banquet, at which were present masters, relatives, and friends. At the height of the banquet the delivery of the gold and household articles was made, those present being witnesses that the master had received them. The latter was thereupon satisfied, and the slave was set free.

Even today the Tagálogs are wont, at death, to grant freedom to the children of their slaves who are born in their house, no matter how young they be. However, they do not free the parents of those children no matter how old they be, and even if they have been served throughout life by them. That seems absolutely illogical.

129. To what has been said of dowries and marriages, it must be added that in some districts, besides the bigaycaya and those presents made to the relatives, there was panhimuyat. This was a kind of present that was given to the mother of the bride, merely in return for the bad and watchful nights that she had passed in rearing her. That panhimuyat signifies "watchfulness and care." If the dowry was equal to five taes of gold, the panhimuyat was equal to one tinga, which was equivalent to one tae, or five pesos. That was a custom which well shows the harshness and greed of these nations, since the mothers wished to be paid even for the rearing of their daughters.

Also, whenever a chief married any daughter of his and asked a large dowry of his son-in-law, as, for instance, eighteen or twenty taes of gold, the father was obliged to give his daughter certain gifts called pasonor, such as a gold chain, or a couple of slaves, or something proportional to the dowry. It was very shameful to ask a large dowry without giving a pasonor. This is still done, resembling the gifts which among us the father presents to his daughter præter dotem, [27] which the civil law calls bona paraphernalia. [28]

THE NATIVES OF THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS

[Francisco Combés, S.J., [29] in his Historia de las islas de Mindanao, Iolo, y sus adjacentes (Madrid, 1667), devotes a number of pages to the peoples of Mindanao and other islands. This matter we translate from the reprint issued (Madrid, 1887) by Pablo Pastells, S.J., and W. E. Retana, book i, chapters ix-xviii.]

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