Volume 12 — RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS AND OF WHAT HAS THERE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED

By the Fathers of the Society of Jesus.

By Father Pedro Chirino of the same Society Procurator for those Islands.

At Roma, By Estevan Paulino, in the year MDCIV. By permission of the Superiors.

This relation of the Philippines, composed by Father Pietro Cirino, having been examined by three theologians of our Society, may be printed if it shall seem advisable to the most reverend Monsignor Vicegerent and to the most reverend Father Master of the Sacred Palace.

Claudio [Aquaviva], general of the Society.

Let it be printed, at the pleasure of the most reverend Father, master of the Sacred Palace.

B. Gypsius, vicegerent.

This account of the affairs of the Philippine Islands, by the reverend Administrator Father Petrus Chirinus, of the Society of Jesus, is published with permission. Nothing in it, in my opinion, is repugnant to the orthodox faith or the decrees of the Church, or morality; on the contrary, I praise the diligence, learning, and piety which I find in no small measure in the author and his book.

Fray Thomas Malvenda, of the Order of Preachers.

Let it be printed.

Fray Joseph Maria, master of the Sacred Apostolic Palace.

RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS AND OF WHAT HAS THERE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY THE FATHERS OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

Sent to our very reverend Father Claudio Aquaviva, general of that Society, by Father Pedro Chirino, procurator for those islands.

I am about to relate to your Paternity the state and condition of our insignificant Society in the Filipinas, in accordance with the obligation of my office as procurator sent here from those regions in the month of July, six hundred and two, and as one who has spent there fourteen years of the best of his life. [31] I shall follow the thread of incidents which have befallen the Society in that region, and the hardships that it has undergone while preaching our holy faith. I shall also consider how that Society has grown in connection with its services toward the holy Church. That I may do so more conveniently, my narrative will begin at the time when our religion was first established in those islands, treating of the islands themselves, their characteristics, and those of the nations and peoples who inhabit them. I shall touch somewhat upon their history and upon events that have occurred there, noting only what concerns my purpose, and that briefly; for a complete and copious history of those islands has been written, [32] with exceeding care, truth, and eloquence, by Doctor Antonio de Morga of the Council of his Catholic Majesty, and his auditor in the royal Chancilleria of Manila. Moreover, apart from the consideration of the above book, it is neither my obligation nor my profession to write a history; although there certainly are in that land magnificent, singular, and wonderful things, both profitable and pleasing to know. I feel confident, however, that the matter contained in this short narrative will not fail to please your Paternity, in proportion as you are informed of the fidelity and truth with which our Lord (may He guard your Paternity) is served in those most distant parts of the world by your sons who are there.

Of the name of the Filipinas, their discovery, and location. Chapter I.

The Filipinas are a part of the many islands which recent cosmographers consider adjacent to Asia—as the Canarias and the Terceras [i.e., Azores] are to Africa; and Inglaterra [England], Escocia [Scotland], Hibernia, Irlanda, Olanda [Holland], Gelanda [Iceland], and the Oreadas [Orkney] Islands, to Europe. Some of the islands of this great archipelago cross the equinoctial line, or the torrid zone, and following the coast-line of Great China and India, terminate on the north side with the islands of Japon, which extend beyond the fortieth degree; in the south the archipelago has as yet no known termination. The Filipinas are between the Malucas and the islands of Japon; and it is a thing to be wondered at that the exertions and diligence of the Portuguese, who discovered, explored, and settled Maluco, China, and Japon, the outermost and peripheral islands, should not have discovered the middle part, or center, namely, the Filipinas. It is true, they were informed concerning the island of Burney, which is the most southern of the archipelago; they did not, however, stop there, being bound for the islands of Maluco, in eager quest of spices and drugs, which are to be found there in such abundance. It was this very desire to secure drugs that caused the Spaniards, or Castilians, to discover and settle the Filipinas, as is well known. For when Hernando Magallanes was in quest of the aforesaid drugs for the crown of Castilla, in the days of the emperor Charles Fifth, he came upon the island of Sebu, where, at the expense of his life, [33] he proved that the entire voyage from Nueva Espana could be made, avoiding the tedious route through the Strait and the necessity of sailing thither from Spain. [34] Villalobos did the same soon after, but our Lord destroyed his fleet, leaving the captain and his crew shipwrecked on the island of Maluco, where necessity compelled them to fraternize and remain with the Portuguese. [35] Father Cosme de Torres, our illustrious apostle of Japon, took part in this expedition, and was found in Maluco by the Blessed Father Francisco, who received him as his companion, and as a member of our Society. [36] The Castilians persisted in making a third attempt to send a fleet from Nueva Espana for the same purpose. With the warning and experience of the two former expeditions, they well knew the locality of Sebu, and cast their anchors there. God, who destined them not for Maluco but for the Filipinas, caused them to abandon the thought of Maluco and to settle the latter islands, thus bringing them to the bosom of the Church and to the crown of Castilla; they gave these the name of Filipinas, out of respect to, and to perpetuate the memory of, King Filipo Second. [37] It was during his reign that this third expedition took place, as well as the discovery and conversion of the islands—which was accomplished by only five hundred Spaniards with six Augustinian religious, holy men and learned. Among them was the reverend Father Martin de Herrada, [38] a great cosmographer and mathematician, but still more distinguished as a holy and truly apostolic man. He was the first who made converts to Christianity in the Filipinas, preaching to them of Jesus Christ in their own tongue—of which he made the first vocabulary, which I have seen and have also studied.

The discovery of an image of the child Jesus, which gave its name to the city of Sebu; the holy patrons of the same and of Manila. Chapter II.

The city of the natives in the port of Sebu was at that time so large and populous that it extended a space of more than a legua along the beach, on the spot where now stands the city and fortress of the Spaniards. As the Indians had already in the past experienced the valor of the latter, and were fearful at thought of their treachery in killing Magallanes years before, they greatly feared our men on this occasion. Upon sighting our vessels, they began to offer all possible resistance with their bows and arrows, lances and shields—such being their arms—to prevent our men from landing. When our people saw the islanders disposed to hostility, they discharged some cannon into the air, frightening them to such an extent that they abandoned their houses and fled inland. Thereupon our men leaped ashore unimpeded and began to seek food in the houses (as is the custom among those who have just disembarked after a long voyage). At this juncture it happened that a Biscayan who was rummaging among the movables and ornaments of one of the houses, found in a basket, among other things, a carved image of the holy child Jesus, presumably left as a trophy of the devotion of some good soldier of the first expedition of Magallanes. [39] The Indians, partly on account of the novelty of the image, which they understood to be the God of the Christians, and partly on account of the respect and reverence with which our Lord himself inspired them, held the object in great veneration, as was afterwards learned, and had recourse to it in all their necessities—making sacrifices to it after their custom, and anointing it with their oils, as they were accustomed to anoint their idols. And our Lord exercising, moreover, His wonted mercy toward those who honored Him without knowing Him, did not act otherwise toward those who, in their ignorance of Him, were at the same time offending Him; He succored them most liberally in their needs, as a token and pledge of the greater favors which He had marked out for them when they should come to a knowledge of Him, and preserved for these times which they are now enjoying. For which reason they had recourse frequently to this image in their necessities, calling it "the Divata of the Castilians;" for among them "Divata" is God, whom the inhabitants of Manila call Bathala or Anito, [40] as we shall see later. The good Biscayan upon seeing the holy Child, was filled with a strange joy and happiness, and desiring to share it with the rest of the expedition, began to cry aloud in his own absurd language, "Bear witness to God, thou hast found His Son." The religious at once took possession of the image, regarding it as a good omen; and out of respect and devotion to it named the city that they founded Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, and placed the image in a church of their order erected in the city. There it remains in highest veneration, and has wrought many miracles, particularly in childbirths, whence it is both facetiously and piously called El Partero ["man-midwife"]. Each year it is borne in solemn procession from the church of St. Augustine to the spot in which it was found, where a chapel has since been erected. The procession takes place upon the same day when the discovery was made—namely, on the twenty-ninth of April, the feast of the glorious martyr St. Vital, who is patron of the city, and as such that day is kept as a solemn feast in his honor. One of the regidors, appointed each year for this purpose, brings out the banner of the city; he is on that day clad in livery, and invites the public to the festivals. [41] There are bull-fights and other public festivities and rejoicings, with many novel fireworks, such as wheels and sky-rockets, which the Sangleys make the night before; on this occasion they construct things well worth seeing, and which appear well-nigh supernatural. The city of Manila holds similar festivities on the feast-day of the glorious apostle St. Andrew, who was chosen as its patron because, on his feast-day, the city was delivered from the blockade of the pirate Limahon. At that time the city had no fortress or walls, or any stone buildings; and in all the islands there were no more than five hundred Spaniards, as I learned from one of them. These few men alone compelled the enemy, who numbered more than a thousand fighting men, to withdraw from the city; and they even pursued and harried the pirates in such wise, by blocking the mouth of the river Pangasinan (where they had retired with their ships), that to escape the fury of our men they were obliged to construct some light craft within their fort. They are said to have calked these, for want of pitch, with their own blood; and to have carried them on their shoulders for several leguas over land, until they succeeded in launching them into the sea, and fled under full sail. They left their ships in the river and dismantled the forts and camps, where our men found some spoils, of which I saw a part. But satisfaction over the booty was outweighed by chagrin at losing the enemy whom they had practically in their hands. The enemy, however, had received such a lesson that they never returned.

Some years afterwards they planned to elect another patron against hurricanes, which are called in those parts vagios, and by the Portuguese tufones. [42] They are furious winds which, springing up ordinarily in the north, veer toward the west and south, and move around the compass in the space of twenty hours or more.

One of these days of tempest is a very Judgment day; especially if it overtake one in the night-time, and in a wooden house. It rends some houses, and turns others over on one side; still others (and most frequently) it destroys and hurls to the ground. With the assistance of the bishop of Yucatan, [43] who was at that time dean of the church, the cathedral of Manila had been temporarily erected, with pillars of the very strongest trees, so large that two men could not reach around them; and all the timber above and below was on the same scale; yet in half an hour one of these typhoons destroyed the newly-built cathedral, and left only the tabernacle of the most Holy Sacrament between four pillars. In this accident some people were killed: for, fleeing from their houses, which were falling to pieces over their heads, they betook themselves for greater safety to the church. The vessels in the bay were hurled ashore the distance of a stone's throw, and those who were caught in the tempest were carried away like straw. To remedy so great an evil, lots were cast with great solemnity at a concourse of all classes; from these came forth the [name of the] most glorious virgin St. Potenciana—not without much mystery; for, on the day when the event took place (the 19th of May), one of the earliest settlers, hearing her name called, arose and said: "Hers is the day when we first entered Manila, by which it is meant that our Lord chose to inform us of the obligation that we owe to this glorious Saint." What followed confirmed his statement; for from that time forward there has been a notable improvement in this respect, the storms and the fury of the winds recognizing the favor and protection of this blessed virgin.

How the Spaniards spread over all the Filipinas to Manila. Chapter III.

The people of Sebu did not remain a long time in retirement. Assured of the good friendship of the Spaniards for them, and that through it they should have many commodities which they needed, together with defense and help against their enemies, and peace in the islands (of which they were so desirous, being weary of the continual and grievous wars and evils with which they had harassed one another), they all repaired to the Spaniards to be baptized, and to offer them their services. They entered, moreover, into such fraternal and confidential relations with the Spaniards that they soon came to long for the honor which might be theirs from association with them, and from serving them with their industry and lands—not only providing them with what was needful for their sustenance, but acting as guides in the exploration and conquest of the other islands as far as Manila, which is the principal and foremost island among them all.

For this reason the Sebuans are privileged and exempt from taxation, as a reward for their friendly services and loyalty. In the beginning the pacification of the Islands was strongly resisted, and some deaths among our men ensued; yet, in spite of this, those few reduced and subjugated everything and began to establish our holy faith, gently bringing the villages, with their chiefs, into obedience to the Church and to the crown of Castilla. The method which they pursued was consistent with the practice of those nations in forming a friendship—a method not altogether their own, as it was a custom among the most ancient heathen peoples, mention of which we find in serious authors. Those who made peace in the name of the rest, and established the pacts of perpetual friendship, pricked and wounded their own arms; the Indian sucking the blood of the Spaniard, and the Spaniard that of the Indian. In this wise they became as if of the same blood, and were closer than brothers. These are called sandugo, which means "consanguineous," or "of the same blood."

Of the entry of the fathers of the Society into the Filipinas. Chapter IV.

These islands offer good inducements to the Spaniards, as well as for ecclesiastics and religious, to make settlements: to the former, because the islands are numerous and thickly inhabited by a people who, though not rich, were accustomed to wear cotton and silk garments, and gold pieces (not merely of thin plate) and brooches to fasten them; and rich necklaces, pendants, ear-rings, finger-rings, ankle-rings, on the neck, ears, hands, and feet—the men, as well as the women. They even used to, and do yet, insert gold between their teeth as an ornament. Although among the other ornaments which they used were to be found articles of considerable interest and curiosity which could be described, there is one practice which seems more worthy of attention than the others—namely, that of wearing rings upon the instep of the foot. This seems to be precisely the same custom that the ancients wrote about when they mentioned nations who used gold for fetters and chains, especially among the nobles. Their ornamenting the teeth is also worth notice, although it is a barbarous practice to deprive them of their natural whiteness, which God conferred upon the teeth for the beauty of man. On the other hand, they showed themselves to be both skilful and prudent in trying to maintain them as necessary instruments for the preservation of health and life. They are thus very diligent in rinsing out their mouths and cleansing their teeth after eating, and upon arising in the morning. For the same purpose they treat and adorn their teeth in the following way: From early childhood they file and sharpen them, [44] either leaving them uniform or fashioning them all to a point, like a saw—although this latter is not practiced by the more elegant. They all cover their teeth with a varnish, either lustrous black or bright red—with the result that the teeth remain as black as jet, or red as vermilion or ruby. From the edge to the middle of the tooth they neatly bore a hole, which they afterward fill with gold, so that this drop or point of gold remains as a shining spot in the middle of the black tooth. This seems to them most beautiful, and to us does not appear ugly.

These people were and still are very sagacious, and keen in traffic and bargaining, and in buying and selling; and they applied themselves to all gainful pursuits—and not least to agriculture and to the breeding of animals, regularly carried on for the profits thus made. They have not only great harvests of rice (which is their ordinary bread), but also crops of cotton, with which they clothe themselves, and from which they manufacture quantities of cloths, which were, and are yet, much esteemed in Nueva Espana. For this reason, the Spaniards regarded them as a people from whom large profits might be gained, and they were not mistaken, for, from the gains on cotton fabrics alone (which there they call lompotes), one encomendero left an estate of more than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos in a few years. The soil is not only good and favorable with a sunny climate, but fertile and rich. Besides possessing many gold mines and placers—of which they make but small account, because of the China silks which bring them more profit—they raise fowls in great abundance. Besides the domestic fowls, which are most numerous and very cheap, the fields are full of wild ones. There is an infinite number of domestic swine, not to mention numberless mountain-bred hogs, which are very fat, and as good for lard as the domestic breed. There are also many goats which breed rapidly, bearing two kids at a time and twice yearly; there are entire islands abounding with them. As to the buffaloes, there called carabaos, there are beside the tame and domestic breed, many mountain buffaloes, which are used [as food] the same as those in Europe—although somewhat less ugly in appearance, and with singularly large horns, three times the size of those of our breed. They have remarkable skill in striking with these horns; lowering the beard to the breast, with the point of the horn they lift up the most minute object. In spite of these formidable qualities both Indians and Spaniards hunt and slay them. Their flesh, whether fresh or dried, is as good as the most excellent beef. Deer are so abundant that the Japanese import cargoes of their hides from these islands. The sea abounds in all kinds of delicate fish; trees, fruits, vegetables, and garden-stuff are abundant—especially bananas, of which there are as many different kinds as in Europe there are varieties of apples and other fruits. There are six or eight species of orange, the most famous of which is an orange as big as a large-sized melon or gourd. Some of these are white inside, like limes; others are as red as our oranges are yellow; and all kinds are as well-flavored as bunches of delicate grapes. In general, the fruits of those regions, although different from ours in species and form, have much the same flavor as the European fruits. The palms, of which there are many and varied species, are the vineyards and olive-orchards of that country. For beside the many other uses and advantages of this tree, it yields wine, vinegar, and oil in sufficient quantities not only to supply that region abundantly, but likewise to ship and send away to other neighboring regions—especially furnishing wine to Japon, Maluco, and Nueva Espana. The rigging of vessels is also manufactured from this tree. In fact, there is such an abundance of the materials necessary for the construction of ships that a vessel which is built in Nueva Espana or Peru in several years' time for fifty or sixty thousand pesos, is constructed in the Filipinas in less than one year, and at a cost of less than eight thousand pesos. The cane is in itself another miracle, especially the kind called cauayan, the size and thickness of which are incredible. I shall not say what I have seen of that species during fourteen years; but one of our Society lately told me in Lisboa, while discussing this subject, that in the river of London he had seen a vessel which had one of these canes for a pump. In addition to Pliny, [45] the most ancient writer who makes much mention of these canes, there are many moderns who testify to their size—especially one who, from information received by those of his nation who have coursed these seas (to our detriment and their own danger), has written an account of these canes and of other plants and fruits of that New World. Although this cane is so large, it is so easily worked that it is employed in whatever is needed for any of the uses of life; from vessels and houses (which can be made from it in all their parts), its use extends to the pot and wood for cooking. It seems to me that its uses could go no farther; and in these it corresponds, too, with what Pliny [46] writes of the reed and the papyrus—particularly as within the hollow of the cane, there are membranes somewhat similar to beaten and glazed paper, on which I have at times written. In some of the canes there is also found a juice or liquor which is drunk as a luxury. There is nothing especially remarkable in the fact that so much abundance should be deposited in the hollow of these canes; for, just as in other regions trees need water, in the Filipinas some are found which furnish it—acting as a perpetual fountain for a whole community, even though it may be on the apparently dry uplands. In all that locality there are no other springs than these trees. The method which they employ for obtaining the liquid from the tree is to make some cuts or incisions in the trunk and the thicker branches; and out of these is distilled and flows a clear, sweet water, in ample quantities. But, to return to the subject of the canes, it should be known that in our church of Manila were erected two ladders, each of which had only two canes somewhat more than eight brazas in length: the steps consisted of strips and slips cut from the said cane. They were used in decorating the church and each one would sustain at its top two or three men; they were erected without any prop being needed to sustain them. Each cane was at the lowest part about three palmos in circumference, which crosswise or in diameter would be about one palmo. [47] These ladders are well adapted to such needs, for being, as they are, strong and yet hollow, they are not very heavy, or hard to move. From these canes they make in China the whips which with three or four blows kill a man.

To this abundance and fertility was added the proximity of China, India, Japon, Malaca, and Maluco. From China they not only began to ship their riches in silks and glazed earthenware, as soon as they learned of our wealth of four and eight real pieces; but they also stocked the islands with cattle (which have since multiplied there exceedingly) and with horses and mares, and great stock-farms have been established. The Chinese have also supplied provisions, metals, fruits, preserves and various luxuries, and even ink and paper; and (what is of much more value) there have come tradesmen of every calling—all clever, skilful, and cheap, from physicians and barbers to carriers and porters. The Chinese are the tailors, the shoemakers, the blacksmiths, the silversmiths, sculptors, locksmiths, painters, masons and weavers; in short, they represent all the trades of the community. Their labor is so cheap that a pair of shoes costs no more than two reals, and so many are made that they have been shipped even to Nueva Espana. From India, Malaca, and Maluco come to Manila male and female slaves, white and black, children and adults; the men are industrious and obliging, and many are good musicians; the women excellent seamstresses, cooks, and preparers of conserves, and are neat and clean in service. The islands also import drugs, spices, and precious stones; marble, pearls, seed-pearls, carpets, and other riches. From Japon are imported much wheat, and flour, also silver, metals, saltpeter, weapons, and many curiosities. All of these things make life in that region pleasant and an object of desire to men; and indeed it seems a copy of that Tyre so extolled by Ezekiel.

In the second place, as concerns the religious, there was from the very beginning the very tractable disposition displayed by so many natives of the islands in embracing the faith. But as the many and excellent ministers whom the holy Order of St. Augustin promptly sent thither were not sufficient for the task of converting the natives, nor were those who were sent by the Order of the seraphic father St. Francis, [48] which in the year 1580 already had in the islands some establishments, and had made many conversions—the fathers of the Society of Jesus were also needed. They were introduced, in that year, by the first bishop of these islands, Don Fray Domingo de Salazar, [49] a priest of the Order of St. Dominic—who afterward died in the city of Toledo, as archbishop of Manila. This great prelate had left his province of Mexico to consult with the Catholic king, Don Felipe Second, concerning matters of grave importance; and, being by his Majesty appointed bishop of the Filipinas, he soon sought from the king permission to take with him to the islands members of the Society—as appears from the same royal provision made for them in Nueva Espana. Accordingly he took with him from that country the first members of the Society to enter those islands—namely, Father Antonio Sedeno and Father Alonso Sanchez. These, our fathers, entered the city of Manila without cloaks, as I have heard Father Antonio Sedeno himself relate, in commending their poverty; for those which they brought with them from Mexico had worn out and rotted in the voyage. They went to rest at [the convent of] San Francisco, where those blessed fathers received them with much charity until they found an abode—which they chose in a suburb of Manila, called Laguio, very wretched and closely packed, and so poorly furnished that the very chest in which they kept their books was the table upon which they ate. Their only food for many days was rice boiled in water without salt, oil, meat, fish, or even an egg, or any other thing; sometimes as a dainty, they secured some salted sardines.

But the good bishop who had brought them did not leave them long in such straits; for not only did he offer us his library, and show us other acts of kindness and charity as a true father, but he tried to improve the site of our habitation, as soon as he saw that those first fathers had no wish to change it for another. Thus, with two ground-plots given them by Andres Cauchela, accountant for the Catholic king in those regions (who owned some lands in Laguio); with property of the Catholic king, obtained at the instance of the aforesaid bishop and at the order of the governor, Don Gonzalo Ronquillo [50]; and with the addition of private offerings of charity—a fine wooden house was constructed (which I myself saw), wherein was fitted up their church, in which our fathers exercised their ministry, with a large attendance, and to the great advantage of the Spaniards.

Three years later their number was increased. The Catholic king sent his royal Audiencia to the islands in the year 1583; and as its president, the governor of the islands and the representative of his Majesty, Doctor Santiago de Vera, who was a member of his council, and judge in the royal Chancilleria of Mexico. [51] He, at the time of his departure from Mexico, requested of the Father Doctor Juan de la Placa, who was then provincial in Nueva Espana, permission to take with him to the islands some of the fathers. Not only did he himself urge this, but also other personages, even the king's ministers, who all insisted that he should in no case go without them. Under this influence the father provincial was constrained to draw from the few members then in his province four individuals: these were Father Ramon de Prado, a Catalan; Father Francisco Almerique, an Italian; Padre Hernan Suarez, a Castilian; and, as coadjutor, the brother Gaspar Gomez—all of whom, as we shall later see, were of great benefit to those regions. So great was the satisfaction of this most Christian man, upon receiving the message of our provincial (who had given him two of Ours, and those other four on his own responsibility), that he immediately fell on his knees before them, and gave thanks to our Lord that he had obtained the ministers whom His Divine Majesty employs for the conversion of peoples, as he has so said. They reached the Filipinas in May or June of the year 1584, and afforded great companionship, comfort, and aid to those who were in the islands. Father Hernan Suarez was especially useful, for God had endowed him with special grace in winning hearts and bringing them to His service—and this, in familiar conversation and ordinary discourse, as well as in the pulpit and the confessional. In this way the whole community was dependent on him; he settled all matters that might give rise to discord, and no one took any step without his opinion and counsel. He ministered to his flock jointly and severally in public and in private, with much charity on his part and satisfaction on theirs. But this very thing was the cause, in a short time, of his death. Exhausted by so much toil, but especially by the fierce heat of the sun—to which he was exposed at every hour, in journeying on foot from Laguio to Manila and back again—and wearied and often perspiring from the sermons which he so frequently preached, he died a holy death within two or three years, to the universal sorrow of his entire congregation which celebrated his obsequies as those of a true father.

For this reason and at the order of Father Antonio de Mendoca, provincial of Nueva Espana, who did not wish that our members should dwell so far from Manila, they were obliged to change their abode and come within the city. Many devout persons and friends of our Society helped them greatly to this end with offerings, some giving them pieces of land, on which was a wooden house of moderate size; others offerings of money, with which they bought more land. Here we dwelt until Captain Juan Pacheco Maldonado, a regidor of Manila, and Dona Faustina de Palacios y Villa Gomez, his wife, our excellent benefactress, erected for us a beautiful stone edifice. This work was begun, with great piety and devotion, on the same day when this Christian captain received the news that the English had robbed a vessel in which he had a great quantity of goods. The mariscal Gabriel de Ribera, another notable benefactor of ours, erected temporarily a very neat wooden church, which was used until the stone church, which we now have, was finished. The greater part of this was done at the expense of this captain, Juan Pacheco. The rest was accomplished with the aid of large gifts contributed by the devout people. In short, this post at Manila began to assume permanent form; our very reverend Father-general Claudio Aquaviva, accepted it as a college, and appointed, as its first rector, in the year one thousand five hundred and eighty-nine, Father Antonio Sedeno.

Of the employments of the fathers of the Society in the Filipinas. Chapter V.

In the residence at Manila (which was the only one that our Society then had in the Filipinas), of the five priests who had gone thither only three remained. For, as we have said, Father Hernan Suarez urged himself on to work until he died of sheer exhaustion—but certainly with most abundant harvest, and having brought great consolation to that commonwealth, where his loss was deeply felt, and his memory was held for many years in great tenderness and affection by all. Father Alonso Sanchez, although inclined by nature to retirement and solitude, could not hide his light, since he was a man of great courage and ability. His retirement was perpetually beset by bishop, governor, royal ministers, prelates of the church, and regidors of the commonwealth. Both within and without Manila, he was forever busied in important affairs—whether concerning the welfare of souls, the peace of men's consciences, the tranquillity and prosperity of the commonwealth, or the service of his Majesty the Catholic king, our sovereign. On this account not only did they send him on several journeys to China and Malaca, but finally despatched him to Europe upon like undertakings, where he was well known at the court of Espana and afterwards at that of Roma. The three who were left behind did not remain idle. Father Antonio Sedeno, in addition to his ordinary occupation of preaching—in which he was so effective that he could move stones by his eloquence—in his capacity as superior attended to the temporal affairs of the residence and to the construction of buildings. He was all the more busy in this latter occupation, from the scarcity, at that time, of architects and builders in Manila; for there were none at all. First he taught this art to the Indians, and then to the Chinese; and he inspired the bishop to build the first stone house ever erected in Manila. Encouraged by this example, they continued to build others, until finally the city reached its present greatness. At this time it is one of the most beautiful and delightful cities in the Indias. Formerly the houses, though large and roomy, were all constructed of wood or cane. In short the good father was the architect of the city, and the people caused him no little labor in inspecting, planning, and arranging its edifices; he aided them out of pure charity and zeal for the advancement of the holy Church, which he hoped would be very great in those regions. The first fort constructed in Manila for the defense of the city was erected under his direction, and with his plans, supervision, and aid, which cost him no little effort. This is the fortress that they call Guia, because it is situated at the principal gate of the city which leads out to the chapel of Nuestra Senora de Guia that stands in front of our house. I once accompanied him when he went to furnish the plans for a stairway in one of the principal houses; and he showed so much patience and indulgence toward the errors which the Indians had committed in his absence that he did not lose his temper in either word or look, but merely had what was wrong taken apart and done over again.

Father Raimundo de Prado also preached with much enthusiasm and devotion; but his principal employment was in the confessional, where he exercised his calling to such advantage that there was scarcely a man or woman who confessed to another priest. He also, at the instance of the bishop, read in our house for the benefit of the clergy, the Materia de sacramentis, which lasted, several months; but after that was finished he read no longer, as he could not attend to so many things.

Father Francisco Almerique began the study of the Chinese language, in his zeal to aid in the conversion of the many Chinese who came to Manila and whom we in the Filipinas call Sangleys. He effected several conversions, in particular, that of a young man of much talent who had studied their learning, and made more than ordinary progress, and was about to be graduated in his own country. This young man, abandoning his studies and ambitions for our holy faith, was solemnly baptized in our church at Manila by the hand of the bishop, and took the name of Paul, in devotion to that most glorious apostle, the teacher of the Gentiles. I met him afterward and came to know him well, and saw in him a Christian of the primitive church. Since it enters most opportunely into this matter, let me relate how, having once seen an honorable Spaniard commit some act by no means Christianlike, he said to me: "Father, are not these Christians? and, if so, how can they do this?" I was obliged to satisfy him by making a distinction between the living and the dead faith, and the appreciation and estimation of the things of God in contrast to the inclination and affection for earthly things, which is so common among our Christians of long standing—to the great scandal of the new converts, as this incident shows.

The Japanese who came to Manila also repaired to our church; and I once saw them perform a very decorous and devout dance in a feast of the most holy sacrament. Their mode of dress is decorous, and they sing, to a slow and solemn music, marking the pauses by strokes with a small fan grasped in the palm of the left hand; they move in time with this, only stamping their feet, inclining their bodies somewhat. The effect is most striking, and invites devotion, especially in those who understand what they sing, which are all things pertaining to the divine. In the year one thousand five hundred and eighty-seven, one of them named Gabriel, a native of Miaco, reared in the Society, brought with him to Manila as converts four other companions—who, as soon as they arrived, were baptized with great solemnity in our church and confirmed by the bishop, who treated us with the same love and confidence as if he were of our religious order. On the feast of St. Michael, the twenty-ninth of September of this same year, there was a jubilee in our church, and the bishop desired to celebrate the mass; on that occasion, six hundred persons received communion; for a country and a Christian community so new as that one, this was a very large number, and gave all the more consolation and edification to all.

In this same year occurred a miraculous conversion of an infidel. This latter was crossing the river of Manila in one of those small boats so numerous in the islands, which do not extend more than two dedos [52] out of the water. As there are many caimans in this river (which in that respect is another Nile), one of them happened to cross his course, and, seizing him, dragged him to the bottom with a rapidity which is their mode, by a natural instinct, of killing and securing their prey. The infidel, like another Jonas, beneath the water called with all his heart upon the God of the Christians; and instantly beheld two persons clad in white, who snatched him from the claws of the caiman, and drew him to the bank, safe and sound; and as a result of this miracle he was baptized, with his two sons, and became a Christian. The very opposite befell another Christian, who, forgetful of God, passed every night to the other side of that river to commit evil deeds. God, wearied of waiting for him, sent his "alguazil of the water"—which is the name that we give there to the cayman—who, seizing him, executed upon his person the divine chastisement for his wickedness. All this took place in Manila, in which place Ours were not long confined; they went forth, and dispersed through the islands, the number and variety of which we shall now describe in greater detail.

Of the number and size of the Filipinas Islands. Chapter VI.

The islands properly called the Filipinas begin at the large island of Burnei, not far from Malaca, which serves as a roadstead for the Portuguese who sail for Maluco. This island extends from the first or second degree on the south of the equinoctial line to about the eighth degree on the north side. The Mahometan king of this island, although he retained his own religion, rendered obedience as a vassal of the crown of Castilla when Doctor Francisco de Sande [53] was governor of the Filipinas. The island of Siao [54] is east of Burnei and about six or eight degrees latitude toward the north; its king and his subjects are Christians, converted by the fathers of our Society who live in Maluco. To render homage to the crown of Castilla, he came to the court of Manila at the time when Gomez Perez de las Marinas, knight of the habit of Santiago, was governor of the islands. On this journey he was accompanied by Father Antonio Marta, an Italian, the superior of the Society in the islands of Maluco, and by his companion, Father Antonio Pereira, [55] a Portuguese. I had them all as guests in a house at Tigbauan, in the island of Panai, where for two years I was instructing those peoples, to their profit and my own satisfaction, as I shall later relate. I do not mean Cian, but Siao, for that is the name of the island. Cian is not an island, but the mainland between Malaca and Camboxa, contiguous with Great China and Cochin China. By journeying northward from the two islands of Siao and Burnei, one may traverse in his course from island to island the whole extent of the Filipinas; and, by going east and west, their entire width. Passing through Sarrangan, Iolo, and Taguima, which are three distinct islands, one reaches the great island of Mindanao, whence one comes to the island of Manila, the metropolitan see; as well as to Babuyanes, Hermosa Island, and the greater and lesser Lequios, which include many islands. Of the more northern islands, besides those already named, those which are known and are most populous are: Manila, Mindoro, Luban, Marinduque, Cabras, Tablas, Masbate, Capul, Ibabao, Leite, Bohol, Fuegos, Negros, Imares, Panai, Cagayan, Cuyo, Calamianes, Paravan—besides many others which are less known, although populated, all of which will reach forty or more in number. This is excluding other small uninhabited islands and some of fair size. Among those islands that I have mentioned there are some much larger than Espana, as, for example, Manila and Burnei; and others which are certainly no smaller, as Mindanao and Calamianes. Some are somewhat smaller, as Mindoro, Ibabao, and that of Negros; others very much smaller, as Leite, Sebu, and Panai, but all of them are well peopled, fertile, and rich, and not far distant from one another, and not one so small that it is not in reality large.

The island of Sebu, one of the smallest, would have, if we were to credit the statement of a certain author, a circumference of twelve leguas; but I myself have sailed along the coast of two-thirds of the island (it is triangular in shape), and assert that its circumference is more than fifty Spanish leguas.

Of the division and distribution of bishoprics and provinces in the Filipinas. Chapter VII.

At the instance of the first bishop, Don Fray Domingo de Salazar, and with the information which he gave to the Catholic king Don Felipe Second, of glorious memory, his Majesty divided those islands into four dioceses, beseeching the Holiness of our most Holy Father, Clement Eighth, to establish the aforesaid bishop as the metropolitan archbishop of the city of Manila, with three suffragan bishops. [56] Two of these were in that same island, one in the eastern part, and one in the western; one, the bishop of Nueva Segovia (which by sea is but sixty leguas distant from Great China); his bishopric extends as far as the Ilocos, more than a hundred leguas distant, being conterminous with the archbishopric of Manila. The other is the bishop of Camarines whose bishopric is but little smaller, reaching from the lagoon of Manila to the channel-mouth through which we enter the islands on the way thither from Espana. The third bishopric is even larger, for it embraces almost all the islands of the Pintados (the proper name for which is Bisayas)—beginning with the islands of Panay, Bantayan, Leite, Ibabao, and Capul, and extending to the great island of Mindanao and the more southern islands. Its cathedral and see are in the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, so named from the discovery of [an image of] the Child Jesus which was found there, as we have related.

The people of the Bisayas are called the Pintados, because they are actually adorned with pictures [Span. pintados—i.e., painted, or tattooed]—not because this is natural to them, although they are well built, of pleasing countenance, and white; but because they adorn their bodies with figures from head to foot, when they are young and have sufficient strength and energy to suffer the torment of the tattooing; and formerly they tattooed themselves when they had performed some act of valor. They tattoo themselves by pricking the skin until the blood comes, with sharp, delicate points, according to designs and lines which are first drawn by those who practice this art; and upon this freshly-bleeding surface they apply a black powder, which is never effaced. They do not tattoo the body all at the same time, but by degrees, so that the process often lasts a long time; in ancient times, for each part which was to be tattooed the person must perform some new act of bravery or valiant deed. The tattooed designs are very ingenious, and are well adapted to those members or parts whereon they are placed. During my stay in the Filipinas, I was wont to say, in my satisfaction and admiration for the fine appearance of those natives, that if one of them were brought to Europe much money could be made by exhibiting him. Children are not tattooed, and the women tattoo all of one hand and part of the other. They do not, however, on this account go naked; they wear well-made collarless robes, which reach the ankle and are of cotton bordered with colors: when they are in mourning, these robes are white. They take off these robes in their houses, and in places where garments are unnecessary; but everywhere and always they are very attentive and watchful to cover their persons, with great care and modesty, wherein they are superior to other nations, especially to the Chinese.

The Catholic king also decreed, for the sake of peace, and to facilitate the preaching of the gospel, that the provinces of the religious orders should remain distinct, and that there should be no interference or confusion between the religious and the clergy. He left the orders of St. Francis and St. Augustine from that time in those districts of Indians which they previously occupied, which are numerous and very good. He bestowed upon the Order of St. Dominic, which had gone thither five or six years later than our Society, the remaining territory in the bishopric of Nueva Segovia. To us he granted the islands of Ibabao, Capul, Leite, Samar, Bohol, and others in that vicinity, as well as authority to found a college in the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus.

How the Society extended its labors to the villages of the Indians outside of Manila. Chapter VIII.

At this time we had again brought our number in Manila to five. In the place of Father Alonso Sanchez, who was absent in Espana, and of the late Father Hernan Suarez, two others of us had gone to the islands and had learned the language; and one of us, in holy obedience to orders given him, and at the instance of a prebendary of Manila, began to use it in his benefice, fourteen leguas from the city. The principal village of this district is called Balayan; in it and in numerous other villages of the same region there are many good Christians, converted by the discalced friars of the Order of the seraphic Father St. Francis—especially in Balayan, among whose inhabitants there are many persons of note, who are very intelligent and well disposed. During several years an apostolic man of that order preached there, named Father Juan de Oliver, whose holy teaching shone forth in the piety and devotion of that people. I dwelt in that district for more than two months, and during my stay they kept me well occupied in the baptism of children and adults, and in confessions and communions, which were so numerous that all that time seemed to me a Holy Week. All these peoples hold our holy law in the highest esteem, and therefore have the deepest respect for its priests. I shall relate in this connection an incident that befell me at this time with some of the chiefs of Balayan. There was an epidemic of small-pox (called by them Bolotong), which was killing off children and old men, although more fatal to adults than to the young. I was in the habit of walking through the principal streets twice a day, morning and night, when I would send boys on both sides of the street to discover and indicate to me those who desired confession and baptism. Whenever they sent for me (which was not seldom), I entered the house; all the living-rooms are in the upper part, the lower floor being used only for household duties. And it was no small labor to ascend and descend so often, especially by ladders of cane; which are used everywhere. One day, when busied in this my occupation, I passed by a group of their chiefs, who, upon perceiving me, formed a row on one side of the street and saluted me all together, uncovering their heads, and making a low bow. I, inclining my head, removed my cap and passed on. They appreciated my politeness, and considered themselves so favored and honored by it that, upon my return, they displayed the same courtesy, standing in line, and then they all fell upon their knees, as if they desired to excel me in politeness; for that which I had shown them when I first approached seemed to them all too much. My greatest aid to them was at Lian, three leguas from Balayan, in which place—as well as in another near by, called Manisua—I converted many to Christianity and heard many confessions. I was here on Ash Wednesday; not only did the adults receive the ashes with incredible reverence and devotion, but all the mothers brought all their children to receive the emblem, and were not willing to depart until they and all the others had received. For this journey I thank and am deeply grateful to the bishop who was most earnestly desirous that Ours should aid in so important a ministry. As it was clearly evident that the villages of Taitai, Antipolo, and others of that encomienda—which was six leguas from Manila, up the river, and in which there were already some Christians—contained many infidels who should be converted, he entrusted it to the Society. Through the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord, such fruitful results were accomplished as shall be seen in the course of this narrative. I shall simply state for the present that, at the end of ten years, I was in the habit of saying (in imitation of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus) that I was most thankful to our Lord, for, when I entered the place, I found hardly forty Christians, and at the end of that time there were not four infidels. If I am not mistaken, we baptized with our own hands more than seven thousand souls; and today it is one of the most flourishing of Christian communities that Holy Church possesses, and none in those regions is superior to it.

How the village of Taitai improved its site. Chapter IX.

At that time the village of Taitai lay along the water, on the banks of a marsh or stream formed by waterfalls from the mountains of Antipolo, which emptied into the river near the same mouth by which it flows out of the lagoon. It was situated in a most beautiful and extensive valley, formed between the lagoon and the mountains; and so low that each year, when the waters of the lagoon rise on account of the floods from the many rivers which enter it, the valley is flooded and submerged as is Egypt by the Nile, and remains thus inundated from August until October or November. At this period the valley itself becomes a lagoon of more than an estado in depth, and can be traversed only by means of boats. This inundation abundantly fertilizes the rice fields and seeded lands with which the valley is covered, and, as a result, rich and abundant harvests are gathered. The water enters at the proper season when the rice stalks are hardening and are beginning to ear; consequently the copious irrigation helps it to form seed without hindering the grain from hardening, or the harvest from being gathered. On the contrary it is a convenience, as I myself have often seen, to go in boats for the reaping, and in those boats to bring the bundles of grain to the houses, where they are exposed to the sun to dry. When it is thoroughly dry they thresh and clean it, and store it in their granaries. This inundation not only flooded the village—to such an extent that the streets could be traversed only in boats, in which I went often enough—but also, although the floor of the church had been raised and repairs made to guard against the water, it flowed in over the steps, even to the main altar. On account of this inundation they had selected, not far from the church and farther back from the water, a hill, where those who died during this season were interred. For mass they repaired to Antipolo, which lies a scant three miles inland among the mountains. The first time when I saw my church flooded, and realized that I could not say mass in it, I was obliged to believe what I had never been able to credit, although I had been often told of it. It is customary for these villages, for greater convenience of government, to be divided into districts on the plan of parishes, which they call barangais. Each one of these is under the command of a chief, who governs it and appoints those who are to provide for all contingencies; the latter are called datos. At that time this village had four hundred families and was divided into four barangais; consequently there were four datos, each one of whom had charge of a hundred inhabitants who are called collectively catongohan. I summoned my four datos and from the choir I showed them the altar; they saw (and they had known it beforehand) that mass could not be celebrated. "Without celebrating mass each day," I said to them, "although I may be unworthy of it, I cannot live, for that is my sustenance which gives me strength to serve you for Christ's sake. Now I must go where I can say it—that is, to Antipolo. If you wish to see me again, you will build for me, on the hill where the dead are now buried, a little church in which I can say mass, with some little room to which I can retire; until this be done, I remain with God;" and I went away. Desiring my return, they soon began the work and finished it in such wise that I could stay and celebrate mass, and, too, serve as an attraction to any one who might pass that way. At first they did very little, and that slowly; but as it was necessary to dismantle the church and carry to the hill its materials, and with these the cross belonging to the cemetery, they soon began to show such haste in migrating to the new village that ten or twelve of them crowded into one house, until each one could build his own. Surprised at such haste, I inquired its cause, and they told me that at night they suffered from fear of the demons in the old village, because it had now no church or cross; and so no one dared to sleep there. With this change the village greatly improved its site. That they might not lack water near by for bathing (to which all those nations are much addicted), they carefully opened a ditch at the base of the hill, along the edge of the village, by which water could come in from the stream which they formerly had. Along the streets and around the village they planted their groves and palm-trees, which enrich and beautify it. They afterward constructed on the new site a very beautiful temple with the help of the king our lord, who paid a third of its cost, as his Majesty does for all the churches. Since I have mentioned the baths it is fitting to relate what I can tell about them.

Of baths in the Philippines. Chapter X.

From the time when they are born, these islanders are brought up in the water. Consequently both men and women swim like fishes, even from childhood, and have no need of bridges to pass over rivers. They bathe themselves at all hours, for cleanliness and recreation; and even the women after childbirth do not refrain from the bath, and children just born are bathed in the rivers and springs of cold water. When leaving the bath, they anoint the head with ajonjoli [i.e., oil of sesame] mixed with civet—of which, as we shall later show, there is great abundance in those regions. Even when not bathing, they are accustomed to anoint their heads for comfort and adornment, especially the women and children. Through modesty, they bathe with their bodies drawn up and almost in a sitting posture, with the water to the neck, taking the greatest care not to be seen, although no one may be near to see them. The most general hour for bathing is at the setting of the sun, because at that time they have finished their labors, and bathe in the river to rest and refresh themselves; on the way, they usually carry some vessel for bearing water to use in their domestic duties. In the island of Panay I saw all the people, at the conclusion of a burial, hasten to the river upon leaving the church and bathe there, as was the custom among the Jews—although these Indias have no knowledge of that dead law. They keep a vessel full of water before the door of every house; every person, whether belonging to the house or not, who enters it takes water from the jar with which to wash his feet before entering, especially during the season of much mud. They wash their feet with great facility, rubbing one foot with the other: the water flows down through the floor of the house, which is all of cane and fashioned like a window-grating: with bars close together.

They also employ the baths as a medicine, and God our Lord has given them for this purpose springs of hot water. In the last few years the hot springs of Bai, on the banks of the lagoon of Bai, have been most healthful and famous, and many Spaniards of both sexes as well as ecclesiastics and religious, have had recourse to them in various maladies and recovered their health. And, indeed, the ease and delightfulness of the trip almost compel one to undertake it, even though he may not need it. The [Pasig] River extends inland as much as six leguas; and from its source in the lagoon until it reaches the bay of Manila, it is dotted with houses, gardens, and stock-farms, in most delightful variety. As the trees in that climate bear leaves the whole year through, their verdure and coolness increase the charm. I noticed but two trees which shed their leaves; both of them are wild, and do not bear fruit, but both are highly useful and valued for that reason. One is the balete, [57] which grows very tall, has a round, cup-shaped head, like a moderately large walnut tree, and is of a most delightful green. Its leaves are somewhat narrow, like those of the almond tree; and are hard, compact, and glossy to the touch, like those of the orange tree. The Filipinos prize them for their use in cooking, as we do the laurel and the rosemary. This tree is very hardy, and most often flourishes in rocky places; it has a natural tendency to produce roots over almost the whole surface of its trunk so that it appears to be covered with a beard. The Chinese, who are really ingenious, are wont to plant one of these trees on a stone (so small that both the tree and stone can be held in the hand), just as if it were in a flower-pot, and then it can be carried from one place to another; and the tree, like a dwarfed orange tree, grows in proportion to its roots, hardly reaching five palmos in height. As this method of planting these trees on a stone may seem as difficult as it is curious, I shall describe how I have seen it done. They take a sprout of the tree when it is already covered with roots, and a stone which must not be too hard, or smooth, but not very solid, and somewhat porous or hollow. These stones are found there in abundance among the reefs and shoals of the sea. They tie the little tree or sprout to this stone, covering the latter so far as possible on all sides with the fibres and roots; and to make it grow, they cover the stone with water. With the water the tree clings much more readily to the stone, entwines about it, and becomes grafted into all its pores and cavities, embracing it with remarkable amity and union. A large balete stands in the patio [i.e., inner court] of our house in Manila, near the regular entrance. In the year 1602, in the month of April or May, I saw it all withered, with its leaves falling. Thinking that it was dying I was greatly grieved, for I did not wish to lose so fine a tree. My sorrow was increased when I saw it next day almost without a leaf; and I showed it to our procurator, who chanced to be with me while I was inspecting the tree. But on the third day I beheld it covered with new leaves, tender and beautiful, at which I was as rejoiced as I had previously been saddened; for it is in truth a beautiful tree. In this I saw represented, as in a picture, the truth of the resurrection.

There is another tree which they call dabdab. [58] Its leaves also have an agreeable taste and serve as a lining for the inside of the kettle in which they cook their rice, preventing the latter from adhering to the sides. This tree is very similar to the almond-tree, although its trunk and leaves are much larger. These leaves are nearly as large as the palm of the hand and shaped like a heart. It apparently dies in September and revives in January, when the flower appears, before the leaf; it is different from the balete, being larger and of a different shape, and red like a ruby.

Among other plants brought from Nueva Espana to the Filipinas is the anona, [59] which has grown larger and is more successfully raised in these islands; it yields a most delicious and delicate fruit. It also loses its leaves, but soon renews them, almost as quickly as does the balete.

But, to return to the river of Manila—over which the passage to the baths is made in boats, large or small according to the number of passengers—by going up the stream the lagoon is reached; this, with its forty leagues of circumference, is one of the most remarkable objects in the world. All that region is full of rivers, villages, and groves. The lagoon itself is of fresh water, and has many islets which render it beautiful. It abounds in fish, and in herons, ducks, and other water-fowl. Above all, it contains many crocodiles or caimans (which there are called buaya), which cause great havoc among the poor fishermen and traders who navigate the river—especially in stormy weather, when the waters become tumultuous, as often happens, and swamp their vessels.

Of the mission at Tigbauan, and what the fathers of the Society accomplished there. Chapter XI.

In January of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-two, one of us two who were employed at Taitai had to depart for the island of Panai to give instruction and continue the work of conversion in the encomienda of Tigbauan. The island of Panai, as I have already said, is in the province of the Pintados, in the diocese of Sebu. It is a little more than a hundred leguas in circumference, and, in all its extent, most temperate and fertile. Its inhabitants are the Bissayas, a white people, who have among them some blacks—the ancient inhabitants of the island, who occupied it before the Bissayas did. They are not so dark or ugly as are the natives of Guinea, but are very diminutive and weak; but in their hair and beard they closely resemble the Guineans. They are much more barbarous and untamed than are the Bissayas and most of the Filipinos, for they have not, like those peoples, houses or fixed sites for their villages. They do not sow seed, or gather harvests; but with their women and children wander, half naked, over the mountains like beasts. They capture on foot the deer and the javali, [60] and on the spot where they capture an animal they stop, and feed upon it as long as it lasts. Their only natural property is the bow and arrow. The Bissayas through natural compassion have not destroyed these blacks, who are not hostile to them, although they have little dealing with the Bissayas. While I was in Tigbauan, however, a petty war occurred between them which is worth relating for what it shows of such wars among these nations, and their triumphs and trophies. A Bissayan chief, who lived in his solitary house among the mountains, distant from the villages, had a friendship—or, for all I know, a relationship—with a leading Negrillo, who was also headman among his people. Under the cover of this friendship, the Negrillo took his opportunity, as I shall relate, to do a treacherous act. He came one day, as he had often done before, to pay a visit to his friend, who received him as such and gave him food and drink—an act which should soften the most bloodthirsty heart, even if he had been offended. But the Negrillo, without heeding the obligation imposed by kind deeds or by the good-will with which they had been conferred upon him, seized his host unawares, and took his life, also slaying all the other members of his family—men, women, and children. His crime, however, did not go unpunished. A spirited young man, son of the dead man—not daring alone to avenge himself upon the black, who had been reenforced by others of his own color—assembled his kinsmen and friends; besides these [so many joined him that] all the villages of the island were depopulated, in order to fall upon the Negrillos—all eager to enslave the women and children, this being a great source of wealth among those people; they accomplished their purpose, killing many men. This lasted until the matter became known to the royal officials in that region, who pacified them. At the entrance of some of the villages, I saw the trophies of this victory and some of the slaves. The trophies were thus made: one of the large canes, already described, very tall, was driven into the ground. At its point were two, or three, or more pendent bannerets like streamers or pennants, and on them the hair of the dead foes. These blacks have had very little to do with the Spaniards, not so much through hate as from fear and mistrust of them. It has already happened that Spaniards, unaccompanied and straying from the road, have fallen into their hands; but with a few presents and fair words they have been allowed to go free. They also fear the priests as being Spaniards, making no distinction between them. For this reason we could not undertake their conversion, although they were near to the villages of Tigbauan; on this account all our energy was directed towards the Bissayas alone.

They call the reed-grass tigbao, and, by derivation, the lands which bear this grass are called Tigbauan; and because the site of this village is close to a great expanse of reedy land on the bank of a beautiful stream, it bears the above name. The village itself was on the same shore, at the mouth of the river—which, as well as the sea, yields various kinds of fish, excellent and plentiful, which I myself have enjoyed in abundance. As they were continually fishing on the beach, usually with three or four nets, they never made a haul without devoutly regaling us with a part of it. Tigbauan has a very beautiful district, with many villages extending more than six leguas along the coast of the sea; the entire district is well supplied with game, fruits, and vegetables, and fish from the sea. The people are very industrious; consequently I always saw them occupied—the men, with their fisheries and farming; the women, with their spinning and weaving. What we accomplished in the two years spent among a people so good and well-disposed towards the Gospel could be told in less time than what we left undone; for, since we of the Society of Jesus were then so few, and had little hope of increasing our number, we did not dare to undertake more than we thought could probably be maintained; and in this we were not mistaken, for at the present day, when at least a dozen ministers are needed, there is actually but one secular priest. For that reason we did not dare to baptize adults or children, except in cases of extreme danger, outside of the chief village (which is Tigbauan) and two or three other outlying hamlets, distant two miles or less.

Nevertheless we preached the faith throughout that vicinity in the Haraya language, and even translated into the same tongue and taught the Christian doctrine and the catechism, which formerly they knew only in the Bissaya, a language different from the one they speak. [61] Many churches were erected, and some who had been baptized were confirmed in the faith. Some improper relations were dissolved and converted into Christian matrimony. In Tigbauan and its villages, besides the baptism of many children and adults, there were introduced the holy sacraments of confession, communion, and extreme unction, the last of which they neither knew nor had ever heard of. Church-feasts were celebrated with vespers and solemn masses, particularly at Easter and in Holy Week. A large school was formed, containing the children of all that region, where they learned to read, write, play musical instruments, and sing; two children from this school were sent every week to each one of the churches in the district, to take care of it and to assemble each afternoon the people of the village to repeat the doctrine in front of the church, as was done in Tigbauan. Here occurred an event regarding a boy, which gave me great satisfaction. An infidel chief living in a village called Taroc, a legua from Tigbauan, had a little son who was a Christian, a child of five or six years—of whom I knew nothing, as they had concealed him and others from me, being reluctant, through their natural barbarity and wildness, to hold intercourse with us and deliver up the objects of their affection. This child fell ill, and, realizing his condition, urged his infidel parents to summon me. They made me repair to him in great haste, for as I was told that the sick boy had called for me, I was convinced that he was not so young that he could not at least confess. In short, I went; I merely read the gospel to him, and in a few days he was cured of his sickness. As a result of the visit, which was greatly appreciated by the people, that village was won—especially his own parents, who were afterward pleased to have their son go to Tigbauan to join the school with the rest. The town of Arevalo is three leagues distant from Tigbauan; we also assisted there in the pulpit and the confessional, at the instance of the Spaniards who resided there, and of the bishop's vicar, in whose charge they were. This vicar was then the licentiate Don Francisco Gomez Arellano, archdeacon of Manila, through whose earnestness and devotion divine worship was greatly augmented in that church, and its service increased. This vicar embellished it with new ornaments, very rich and curious, such as lamps and silver candlesticks, thereby augmenting the reputation and esteem of our holy religion among those new nations.

Of our departure from Tigbauan and our entrance into Sebu, Leite, and other islands. Chapter XII.

At this time died Father Martin Henriquez, who had remained in Taitai; he gave way under the laborious task of ministering alone to so many souls, which he did with such perfection and fervor that it was impossible to maintain strength for so much. This father was so fervent and energetic that in three months he had learned the language; and, in six, composed in it a catechism and a treatise on confession. He also prepared a collection of sermons for all the Sundays and feasts, and on the four last things, [62] as well as other matters profitable to those peoples, who greatly respected his purity of life and the vigor of his preaching. I have seen him leave his food, to go to administer baptism or extreme unction to a sick man. He was most devoted to our Lady, and, whenever he sat down to study, he took out a little image of her which he always carried with him, and placed it on the table that he might have it before him. Every day I saw him, among other holy exercises, recite his rosary, and devote one half-hour to prayer in the afternoons (besides the entire hour in the morning); and every night he would scourge himself. He was an indefatigable worker, and consequently slept little, which was more than he could endure. He died a holy death, the same year when he came to the Filipinas, before twelve months had elapsed; and, when his work is considered, we wonder that he lived so long. On account of his death, Father Francisco Almerique was obliged to leave Manila—where his duties were by no means light among the Indians of that city and district, who all sought his aid. As he had abandoned these heavy labors only to undertake others as great, he soon fell ill. To lighten his burden, the two who had remained in Manila took up the double task; these two were the father rector, Antonio Sedeno, and Father Raymundo de Prado. They took turns in doing this work, one remaining a week in Manila while the other went to Taitai. This sort of life could not last long; and so our Lord, who aids the greatest necessities, inspired the good father to inform me of the difficulties in which they were, and order me to return to Manila. There we could plan our course of life in accordance with the advices which might come to us in the ships, which were expected soon—either uniting the four of us who remained, to do what we could in the city; or, if a reenforcement should come to us, extending our labors in securing conversions, according to the number of our men.

I reached Manila in May of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-five, leaving in Tigbauan and its vicinity, and in the town of Arevalo, not a few persons sorrowing at my departure. The general, Doctor Antonio de Morga, arrived in the following June, having come to serve as lieutenant of the governor and captain-general of the islands. He brought with him two fine vessels, and eight priests [63] of our Society. The joy of the communities of Manila and Sebu, and of Ours, was beyond belief upon learning that these fathers had arrived. From both places, requests came in to us for priests: from Manila, for instruction and schools, of which its sons were in great want; from Sebu, for a college which they desired in their city. On the other hand, the lieutenant governor of his Catholic Majesty urged that the Society should take charge of a province of Indians as did the other religious orders; and the Indians themselves, with several encomenderos, supported this request. Finally an effort was made to satisfy everyone, in the way which I shall relate. Four of us priests went to the island of Leite which we reached on the day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, the sixteenth of July of the same year. Two of us remained at Carigara in the house of Christoval de Trujillo, the owner of that encomienda, a man of eminent piety, and our benefactor. He straightway built for us there the first house that we possessed in that island. The other two of us went along the coast of that island and those of Ibabao and Samar, observing what peoples and posts were best adapted at that time for our settlement. We returned to Carigara at the end of July, where, thanks to the incredible haste and large number of the Indians, we found our house finished and the two fathers established in it. Early in August, I had information from the father vice-provincial, Antonio Sedeno, that he had arrived at Sebu with two other priests, and summoned me thither. Father Juan del Campo and Father Cosme de Flores remained in Carigara, and undertook the study of the Bissaya language with great fervor. Father Antonio Pereira and I, with another brother, went on to Sebu in conformity with the order of the father vice-provincial. Father Antonio Pereira had remained with Ours in these islands from the time of his arrival, as I said, with the king of Siao, waiting for the conclusion of business which the king and. Father Antonio Marta could not wait for—the latter, because he could not longer absent himself from his province and subordinates: the former, because he could not remain longer away from his kingdom and his vassals. This good father was so eager and zealous for the welfare of souls that, although a guest, he did not permit himself one moment of idleness, but always busied himself in the pulpit and confessional and in other ministries for the welfare of souls. We reached Sebu in the middle of August, where we found our good father and superior sick, in the house of a regidor of the city; and with him were Father Alonso Humanes, who had gone as superior during the journey from Nueva Espana, and Father Mateo Sanchez. He presently sent these two fathers to Leite, with orders to divide it into two stations, two fathers in each—one pair taking Carigara (where the two fathers had remained whom I have already mentioned); the other, Dulac, which is about sixty miles further on. These are both maritime villages with a situation and territory well adapted for undertaking the conversion of that new people, until then untaught. The aforementioned Father Alonso Humanes was appointed superior of both stations. In Sebu Ours had already fixed upon the site which we now possess, partly purchased with offerings from the citizens, and partly bestowed by the city and private persons. Accompanying the land was a goodly house of wood, which with little work could be made to accommodate the church and our dwelling. Father Ramon de Prado had remained in Manila as rector, with the other four fathers, two of whom were sent to Taitai to aid Father Francisco Almerique: of the two who remained in Manila, Father Tomas de Montoya [64] began to teach Latin, and Father Juan de Ribera attended to matters of conscience.

The death of Father Antonio Sedeno, first rector of the college of Manila, and first vice-provincial of the Society of Jesus in the Filipinas. Chapter XIII.

The first thing which the father vice-provincial, Antonio Sedeno, enjoined upon me on his arrival at Sebu was that I should at all events hasten the completion of the house, and carry him to it, for it was his wish to die in the house of the Society. This I did, having him conveyed on men's shoulders in a covered bed, for he was so ill that he could not go in any other way. I was greatly rejoiced at this, and he was extremely relieved at finding himself in his new home. His illness was increased by the hardships of the toilsome journey from Manila, one hundred and fifty leagues away, in the season of the vendavals and the rains, which in the bay of Manila, and as far as the entrance into the province of Pintados, is the most difficult and dangerous of the whole year. In this case, the burden of these hardships and torments fell upon a person so feeble, infirm, old, and exhausted that, although he arrived at Sebu in fair health, their effect was greatly aggravated by his immediately commencing work with two sermons, which were highly regarded in that community. But his efforts so prostrated him that he took to his bed with a fever, which so exhausted him that his holy life came to an end on the first of September of the same year, fifteen hundred and ninety-five. In life, and no less in his death, this holy man was a rare example of virtue; and so, in both, he was highly esteemed by all classes and ranks of people—especially by ecclesiastics and religious, who recognized in him an admirable virtue. When but a youth he left Espana in the service of the Duke of Feria. He was received into the Society at Loreto, studied in Padua, and had charge of the Germanic College in Rome. From this place blessed Father Francisco de Borja [65] sent him to Japon. Upon reaching Sevilla, however, he learned that the ships bound for the Indias had already left Lisboa. Waiting at this latter place for further instructions he was given the choice of embarking, at his pleasure, for either Piru or Florida. He chose Florida as a place which, in its poverty, offered greater opportunities of suffering there many hardships for the sake of Christ. In this he was not deceived; for in Florida, and later in Habana, he suffered greatly on sea and land, from hunger, cold, exhaustion, storms, hardships, exposure, and mortal perils. It often happened that he fell to the ground, while walking on the shore—sick, powerless to move, and among Indians most cruel in war, who had killed others of the Society; and yet he escaped, how, he knew not. Many a time did he eat no more than a handful of maize, planted and gathered by his own hands; for whatever else he might have must be given to poor soldiers. During a pestilence which had spread among those savages he became a physician, for he could baptize them if they should die; in this way he sent many of them to heaven. From Florida he was sent to Nueva Espana, and was the first of the Society to enter the City of Mexico, where by his virtuous life and teachings, he inspired the viceroy, the auditors of the Audiencia, and the citizens with such affection that they sought to bring over from Espana members of the Society, in order to found a college in Mexico. This was done and Father Antonio Sedeno was made rector: he laid the foundations and erected a building, which stands to this day. He went over to the Filipinas, as we have said, where his occupations were such as we have already related. While on the sea, he and his companions lived in their cabin in such modest retirement, and were so dignified in their bearing, that they spread tranquillity throughout the vessel, and accordingly their teaching was highly valued. He lived forty years in the Society, to its great edification, and preached for fifteen years in the Filipinas with admirable results. He suffered greatly from asthma, and consequently slept almost always in a chair. But he did not, on this account, allow himself any recreation, or cease to eat fish alone during Lent and fast days. It might be more accurately said that he but seldom ate at all, so great was his abstinence—which he, moreover, sought to conceal, feigning, with much dissimulation, that he ate of everything, when in reality it was a mere pretense of eating. He was very contrite; severe toward himself, but gentle to others; most exact in obedience, but very reserved and cautious in command; courteous and honorable in his dealings; liberal, generous, and devout. He gave or obtained aid for many needy persons, and all esteemed him for his labors. He was most zealous for the welfare of souls, and for the prosperity and preservation of the Filipinas, and for their settlement and aggrandizement. We have already related what he accomplished in building. He was the first to discover lime there, and made the first roof-tile, and erected the first building. He sought out Chinese artists, whom he kept in his house to paint images, not only for our churches but for others, both within and without Manila. He encouraged the encomenderos and the parish priests to provide their churches with these images, and made it most easy to procure them. Thus almost all the churches in the islands were adorned with images, nearly all of which were of the Mother of God. He took great interest in planting groves and in laying out gardens, and was anxious that silk should be produced in the islands, hoping thus to retain there for their benefit the money which was going to China, and thus to secure their prosperity. To this end he planted mulberry trees, and was active in other ways, even constructing a loom, and teaching the Indians to weave in the European fashion. He was accustomed to say that the highest form of prayer was that which most inclines one to self-mortification; and he so practiced this that his own life was a perpetual mortification. He taught this in the house and elsewhere; and in his own exercises he could not use any other method than mortification. His sermons were all on fear, judgment, and condemnation. He said that this was what the world needed; and he was not mistaken, for in truth he accomplished great results through this teaching. One of his hearers, who was once praising to me his instruction, repeated an expression which the father often used, and which had deeply impressed him: "There [i.e., "in the other world?"] you will understand it," he would say with wonderful truth and force. In our household intercourse with him, he would assert that he who aspires to perfection must be convinced that the pleasures of food, drink, the couch, idleness, and the like, are not for him. All this, however, he did not urge by force, but rather taught it in a kindly manner, and gently guiding each one according to the strength which God had given him—although he said that God gave strength to all in proportion to their courage in working and suffering for His love. He also said that one should die rather than commit the slightest venial sin; and in his own case he was so rigid in this respect that at times it seemed excess of scruple. His life was certainly most pure, and his death like unto his life. During his illness we all admired his great patience and resignation in the hands of God.

Father Antonio Pereira used to say that he often visited him in order that he might profit and be edified by so admirable an example. The day when he died, we had already noticed in the morning that extreme unction should not be any longer withheld from him; and so I prepared him to receive it, telling him that it seemed to be time. He raised his eyes and hands toward heaven with great devotion, exclaiming: "To pass to eternity!" With this he became lost in thought, spoke not another word, and, receiving with much devotion that holy sacrament, died in peace. He did not become rigid or discolored in death, but preserved his bright color, and his limbs remained soft and flexible, until he was buried. All the ecclesiastics and religious of the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, all the regidors, and the honorable and prominent people, attended his funeral rites, which were celebrated with great solemnity, devotion and tenderness. [66] In Manila also, on account of the devotion of all classes for him, solemn funeral honors were held, and were attended not only with the tears and sorrow of all classes, but by the authority and concourse of all ranks and religious orders. This holy man was lost to us at a time when we were in great straits over the founding of that vice-province of the Society, which we had hoped would be successfully established through his energy and prudence. But there remained with us a great confidence that he would aid us no less in death than in life; and thus his influence was seen in the prosperous increase after his holy death of our ministries and other affairs, especially in the college of Sebu, which is indebted to his holy body as the foundation-stone of all its growth.

Of other and new members of the Society who went to the islands in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six. Chapter XIV.

In the fleet of this year fifteen hundred and ninety-five, our very reverend father-general, Claudio Aquaviva, sent to the Filipinas Father Francisco de Vera, with twenty-four of the Society, at the request and expense of his Majesty the Catholic king, Don Felipe Second. With all these, he reached Nueva Espana in the same year; and, in the following, he embarked at the port of Acapulco for the Filipinas with fourteen members of the Society, with the governor, Don Francisco Tello. [67] In order that this voyage from Nueva Espana to the Filipinas may be successfully made, it should be undertaken by the middle of March, at the latest, so as to reach the Filipinas before the vendavals or southwest winds of June set in, which are very tempestuous—like the north winds in Nueva Espana which begin in September. As these vessels left the port of Acapulco so late, upon reaching the Filipinas they encountered vendavals which exposed them to great peril and hardship. It has happened that vessels, leaving late as did these, upon striking these vendavals in the Filipinas, have been obliged to turn back with these winds to the Ladrones Islands, and to return thence with the brisas from those islands to the Filipinas; then, reaching the latter, to encounter the vendavals, and again be driven by their force to the Ladrones. The hindrance and privation thus experienced can be imagined; nor can the ship land at either islands until the months of October and November when the vendavals cease.

Almost the same thing befell Ours that year. The vendavals and currents long drove them back, and, in consequence, their voyage was lengthened, and provisions ran short; the ship's stores gave out, and, that they might not lack water, they were allotted small rations, each being given but half a quartillo a day—a privation which at sea is keenly felt. Finally, relieved from all these hardships and torments, through the mercy of God they arrived safely at the college in Manila on the first day of August of the same year. This voyage is usually made in seventy days, but they, to their own greater merit, did not reach the islands before one hundred and thirty days; and afterward they journeyed more than one hundred leguas besides, by both sea and land, coasting the shore in large boats. They crossed by land the province of Camarines, all of which is occupied by the convents of the glorious father St. Francis, where they were received and cared for according to their dire necessities; even the father commissary of those provinces, heedless of entreaties or excuses, washed with his own hands the feet of six of Ours, who chanced to pass by his abode. The first words with which one of those servants of the Lord received them were the following, which he uttered with loving tears: "Would they were a thousand fathers, for they would all have a harvest in the Filipinas." The Indians, too, who had never seen Ours in this province, were greatly rejoiced at their arrival—not only those already baptized, but even the infidels; and they gave proof of their good will in the hospitality which they showed towards our fathers, in imitation of their own fathers and ministers.