Note 33 — II. Industries at the Time of Discovery and Conquest

“Their houses are constructed of wood, and are built of planks and bamboo, raised high from the ground on large logs, and one must enter them by means of ladders. They have rooms like ours; and under the house they keep their swine, goats, and fowls.” (Antonio Pigafetta, First Voyage Around the World.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 33, p. 153.)

“The houses and dwellings of all these natives are universally set upon stakes and arigues (i. e., columns) high above the ground. Their rooms are small and the roofs low. They are built and tiled with wood and bamboos, and covered and roofed with nipa-palm leaves. Each house is separate, and is not built adjoining another. In the lower part are enclosures made by stakes and bamboos, where fowls and cattle are reared, and the rice pounded and cleaned. One ascends into the houses by means of ladders that can be drawn up, which are made from two bamboos. Above are their open batalanes (galleries) used for household duties; the parents and (grown) children live together. There is little adornment and finery in the houses, which are called bahandin.

“Besides these houses, which are those of the common people, and those of less importance, there are the chiefs’ houses. They are built upon trees and thick arigues, with many rooms and comforts. They are well constructed of timber and planks, and are strong and large. They are furnished and supplied with all that is necessary, and are much finer and more substantial than the others. They are roofed, however, as are the others, with the palm-leaves called nipa.” (Antonio de Morga, Sucesos.—Bl. and Rb., Vol. 16, pp. 117–118.)