THE TAGALS OF THE PHILIPPINES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10150, 24 September 1898, Page 3

THE TAGALS OF THE PHILIPPINES.

Ctjriops Customs of ax Ixterestixg Raoe. Mrs Lucy M. J. Garnett, an English lady who resided for several years at Manila, con' tributes a very interesting paper to the Fortnightly Review on the characteristics and customs of one of the native races, the Tagals, wlio inhabit the central island of the Philippine archipelago. The Tagals are, she says, the only section of the native inhabitants which have been completely subdued, converted to Christianity and domesticated. They are of a marked Malay type, with smooth black hair, prominent cheek bones, large, lively eyes and flatfish noses with dilated nostrils. They are as a rule of rather low stature, slightly built, and of a copper colour, more or less dark. The men are beardless, and this gives them a juvenile appearauce even in middle age, and their features generally are smooth, smiling and unworn. What may have been the original character of the Tagals, says Mrs Garnett, it has been greatly modified by their subjection to the Spanish and by their conversion to Christianity, and they now present a strange compound of contradictory qualities. The character of the domesticated native is a series of surprises. ''The Tagal is what his environment has made him. The old tribal- customs, which had the good of the community for their aim and constituted his primitive morality, are now, when not altogether forgotten, reserved for native intercourse; and the Tagal lias no moral code to direct his dealings with, his Spanish master save thatwhich he himself has taught his servant. Before entering the palm-leaf hut of a friend' he will spend fully three minutes m the exchange of courteous phrases; but he enters the European's house without ceremony. A Tagal keeps his word, yet he is a liar. Anger he holds in horror; he com-

pares it to madness,: and prefers it to drunkenness, which he also greatly despises. Insult and injustice he cannot brook and will unhesitatingly use the knife to avenge either. He will never willing confess a fault, but will lie to hide it, yet he receives a flogging "for it without a murmur. Debt he considers rather "as an inconveniencethan a calamity; when in pecuniary difficulties he will spend all h« ready cash on a feast to his friends to keep up appearances, and he never thinks of returning a loan unsolicited. He, on the other hand, never repudiates his debts, but transmits them to his heirs if at his death they remain unpaid. Misfortune he bears with stoical and fatalist indifference; concerned only with his immediate necessities he is apt to let the mor-, row take care of itself. ■ Under the eye of a master he is the most tractable of beings and will go without food for hours, without complaint, if supplied with betel-rimVto chew. He has a profound respect for the elders of his family, treats liis children kindly and extends his aid and protection to everyone claiming relationship, no matter how reremote." : Among the other;virtues Mrs Garnett at-; tributes to the Tagal are hospitality which leads him to place his.'property at the disposal of strangers, refusing payment for its use; and physical bravery, since he plunges without hesitation into * shark-infested waters, or into alfigator-haunted lakes. £ He despises cowardice, having the greatest admiration for bravery. Under a leader in whom he has confidence he makes an excellent soldier, but losing him, is at once demoralised; and he is quite incapable of organisation on any extended scale.

"Roman Catholicism," says our author, "is undoubtedly the form of Christianity best calculated to impress native races. Their pagan idols reappear in the form _ of saints and martyrs and gratify the instinctive want of anthropomorphic and visible objects of worship. Tfie mind of the Philippine islander is realistic to a degree, devoid of all conception of things abstract, and his idea of religion is limited to its outward symbols." Of the effect of the eloquence of the Spanish priests upon such a population there can be no. doubt. "No Royal Decree pronounced with sounds of trumpet would Joave a fraction of the effect produced on the. ignorant and fanatical population by the fantastic threats and promises pronounced with uplifted cross by* their Spiritual guides:" l And there is not the slightest doubt, says the lady, that at this present moment a crusade is being

preached against the invading "infidels," through statements calculated to excite the fiercest and most fanatical hatred, made from the pulpit to the ignorant masses.

Gambling may be said to bo one vice of the islanders, and takes chiefly the form of cockfighting. With the Tagal, even more than with the Malay generally, this pastime is a passion pushed to the " extreme. 'In every hut, in every craft floating on the Pasig, a cock is to be found undergoing training as careful as that bestowed in the west on a racehorse. A native at leisure is seldom seen without his game-cock, a pretty creature, not much larger than a bantam, under his arm. Should his hut take fire, his first thought is his favourite; having secured it, he leaves {lie rest to fate. Cock-fights are held regularly on Sundays and festivals, and hf Manila on one week day as well, and the laws regulating them are very strict." The specta tors squat on their heels, on a sloping floor at the foot of which are the lists. The maximum stake is 50dol; the bets considering the relative wealth of the company, are enormous.

Another form of gambling, to which women are quite as partial as the men, is the purchase of tickets in the Government lotteries. A share in a ticket may be bought for a peseta, a sum equivalent to an Eug lish sixpence, and thus much of the spare cash of the natives finds its way into the coffers of the Hacienda. At the bazaars given in aid of local charities, goods are disposed of by lottery, instead of "being sold in the usual way, and Mrs Garnett mentions that the natives, on such occasions, spend their money liberally, patronising most largely the stalls managed by foreigners.

The Phillipine laws relating to the property of mirried persons are exceedingly quaint and interesting. They are entirely in the wife's favour, and this survival of the ancient tribal customs of the islanders is further evidence of the falsity of the doctrine laid down by Mill and accepted by his adherents relative to the immemorial and world-wide subjection of women.

"The property of the bride," Mrs Garnett notes.; "is never settled on the husband. If a man is poor, and his wife well-to-do, so they remain through their married life, he becoming simply the administrator of her possessions, but having no right to them. If a husband becomes bankrupt in a business in which he has invested some of his

wife's v fortune she ranks as a second-class creditor under the commercial code. Even on. her death, the husband cannot, save under a deed executed by her in presence of a notary, derive any benefit from her estate, as her children, if she have any, and if not, her nearest blood relatives are her* heirs. Thus 'it not infrequently happens that the father of wealthy children is himself impecunious, and dependent on their generosity; though at the same time he is compelled by law to manage their affairs during their minority, and when they come of age to render a strict account of his stewardship. A married woman continues to use her maiden name, to which she adds her husband's with the prefix de. This she | abandons when left a widow, save for the I purpose of business or convenience. Children also bear the names of both father and mother; that of the mother conies last and in, consequence the most prominent." Naturally under such legal standing, women.enjoy considerable personal independence, an independence also increased by economical conditions. The staple industry of the city, cigar-making, is almost entirely in the hands of the women. They are exclusively employed in the government cigar factories. Men, thus debarred, assume quite inevitably tie various occupations. and industries which in the west are regarded as women's work. They are the manufacturers and embroiderers of the gauze made from the silky fibres of the pine apple plant. While the wife is earning the family bread—or rice, rather, their j Btapfe food—the husband gets the dinner | and Aakes care of the children. They act \ as, servants —maids and nurses —in Europew families, offices they perform witi more satisfaction to their employers -han do the native women.

Mrs Garnett writes very interestingly of the marriage customs of the Tagals, which are, she says, usually arranged, not by the principals, but by their parents. "The father and mother of a marriageable youth visit the relatives of the maiden selected!, and in, conventionally flowery and allegorical language, hint at the possibility of a matrimonial alliance between the i families. The replies of the maiden's .parents are equally vague and circumlocutory, and plain-speaking is only resorted to when it is evident that the.parties ore mutually agreed. Tagal mothers are mercenary, and when both parties are natives, if a hitch occurs it is usually owing to a disagreement about dollars. If, however, the suitor is a half-breed, or European, he if unoonditionally accepted, . ambition, and

vanity getting the better of avarice. These preliminaries settled, the donations propter nupias are paid by the youth's father to the bride's"'parents to defray the expenses connected with the wedding, arid a settlement is often made by him on the bride.' However, if the husband's parents have no dowry to offer and there is no other objection'to the match the matter is sometimes arranged by the youth undertaking to serve the"bride's parents as "capital" for a given number of years, after the maimer of tho bargain made with Luban by Jacob.. Bub this custom is open to grave abuses. For after his term of service has expired her avaricious parents may—still like Laban—refuse the maiden to her suitor and take on another "capitad"' in his i»laee.

"Irregular unions are extremely common, and for this, strange to say, the clergy are largely responsible. Though a ">gular tariff of marriage fees exists, the priests often set theso aside and demand a quite exorbitant fee, calculated upon tho supposed wealth of the parties. The Tagsls have a rooted aversion to being mun.'od elsewhere than in their own parish,-titr.cn this abuse of power is not easily e>aded. The consequence is that in village, jnd town alike niaaiy dispense with the religious ceremony, and content themselves wiLh tho old communal or family sanction.

"Young couples seldom set up Uousekeeping at once, but reside »vith th' v »'ife's or husbands parents as long as ther* is room; and when parents are old and past work they in their turn are received into the homes of their married children. When a couple set up housekeeping in a bahay of their own, one ov more poor relations are sure to attach themselves to the new houscihold in the capacity of permanent hanciTS-on; even Eturpr ans, foc-hsh enough to marry native women, immediately find themselves hopelessly saddled with at least one incubus of this kind unless they happen to be men of exceptionally firm character.

"The Tagals, while exceedingly jealous of their wives, appear to attach little importance to their irregularities before marriage so long as they are constant after, and are consequently somewhat careless of the honour of their daughters. The now

widespread custom of forming unions without benefit of clergy naturally also facilitates irregular connections with Europeans. A present of nioncy to a girl's parents suffices, from the native point of view, to constitute her the mujer (woman) wife of Senor So-an-So, who installs her as mistress, in a hut in the native quarter. When this connection comes to an end the girl has no difficulty in finding a more permanent mate among her own people, especially if, as often happens, she is the recipient of a small pension."

Mixed marriages are encouraged by the government, special privileges being granted military men who marry the daughters of the country. Three centuries of intermarriage between the native women and Europeans and Chinese immigrants, who are numerous, have added a large proportion of half-breeds to the population. The Chinese Mestizos constitute a sixth of the domesticated native population. The Spanish Mestizos,.-with the Creoles, form an influential body, the majority of whom are established as traders in Manila and the ! provinces. Although in the Philippines no dsitmct line of demarkation. is drawn between races and classes, the social position of these half-breeds and Creoles is somewhat equivocal. They are continually struggling to obtain the consideration and position accorded the Peninsular Spaniards, who refuse them their daughters in marriage; They try to disown kinship with their native connections, and bear a grudge against the Castilas : or pure-blood Spaniards, for their European birthright.. The moral result'is that they are morose in disposition, evasive and vacillating, fond of litigation and political intrigue, and inclined to foster grievances against the government.

Mrs Gannett, in closing, makes this prophecy : "It is an {.scertained fact that the increase of. energyLintroduced into th» Philippine native by 'European - blood, lasts only to the second generation, and. left to himself, tendency of "the Mestizo isr ever to revert to "the maternal type. The native-is' too indolent, and the hold of 'civilization updn him too slight, ever to make > anything higher than municipal self-gov-ernment possible in these islands. * *' Under either British or American government these islands would undoubtedly have their immense .material wealth developed as it has never yet been, or ever- will Mj, under such an effete power as Spain."