Volume 40 — Chapter XLII

Of the physical features and clothing of these Indians

427. The women (and in many parts the men, especially the mountaineers), have certain large holes in their ears, in which they place pendants and earrings of gold. They make the greater display of it according to the greater size and openness of the holes. Some women have two holes in each ear, for two kinds of earrings. This is usual among the Zimarrònes and blacks, for the civilized people have now adopted the custom of the Castilians in this regard.

428. In olden times the men wore their heads covered or wrapped about with a narrow strip of cotton or linen. Those who esteemed themselves as valiant men wore the two ends hanging to the shoulders. This they called the potong; and some wore this of colored cloth, to declare their chieftainship. No one could wear a red one unless he had killed at least one person, and he could not have it striped until he had killed seven. Now they wear neat white and black hats, which are woven from various materials which they gather in the field.

429. Of the mountain people it is already known that their own skin is their clothing, and that they only use the bahag, which is a linen or cloth which keeps in the privies. But the clothing of the men who live in villages is a half-shirt of linen, silk, or some other material—which, at the most, reaches to the navel; it is open to the air, and has wide sleeves without wristbands, and this is called the baro—and certain garments that they call saluàles, which correspond to our small-clothes or under-drawers. These are also loose and wide, and made of any kind of linen or other material; they do not open at the front, but at the side, and they are tied there. They never wear anything on feet or legs. The above is the whole amount of their clothing, and, at the most, a cord or belt at the waist, like a girdle, where they hang the knife. The chiefs and others wear, for church functions and other meetings of theirs, in addition to the said clothing, a long black garment reaching to the feet, with sleeves fitted at the wrists. This they call barong-mahaba, which signifies “long baro.” It is an eminently modest and decent garment, and is worn loose and not girdled. For outside wear, these garments are of ordinary materials. For gala attire, they are of silk, and much worked with embroidery, except the long baro, which is always the same. Today the people of highest rank in the villages dress in the Spanish fashion, with coats, trousers, stockings, and shoes, although it is the most usual practice to wear stockings of natural skin, in the midst of all these adornments. In former times, their greatest care was exercised in supplying the lack of clothing with abundance of gold, with which they adorned all the body. That custom is still preserved, although not in the abundance of which we read earlier. In what they wore the full complement of their gala attire was a colored sash drawn up under the arm, which is no longer worn at the present time. All the clothing of the Filipino Indian is reduced to the above, and I believe that it is so throughout this archipelago, without any difference of special note.

430. The dress of the women is the baro already mentioned, but not so long, and only covering the breasts and hanging loose; and a garment as wide above as below, in which they envelope the body from the waist down, fastening one of the ends in the girdle in order to secure it. This garment is called a tàpis. The mestizo women wear skirts with plaits and seams, with the opening at one side. The tàpis is the unchangeable costume of the Indian women of this archipelago, and this, at the most, is generally of silk, but of a modest hue, and of only one color. Upon their festival occasions the women—some for gala attire, or others, because they are more modest—wear white Spanish petticoats. Some wear an underskirt, especially within doors. But when they go abroad, the tàpis is [preferred] above all. Some of them wear garments resembling black mantillas, which they call cobìjas, with which they cover the whole body from the head down, in the manner of the mantillas of España. With this and the bits of gold that they wear on the body—in the ears, at the throat, on the wrists and fingers (and she who does not possess these ornaments must be very poor indeed)—they appear as Indian women in their wealth of gold, and are Indian women in their being and clothing. Now when the Indian women go abroad, they wear slippers embroidered with silk and gold; few and far between are those who wear shoes. Formerly, they wore a ribbon, of wrought gold which covered their foreheads and temples. Now, at the most, they usually wear a chased silver or gold nail, thrust through the knot of their hair. Women of a somewhat more advanced age and respect wear the long baro, which is made in the same manner as that of the men above described. It is certain that an Indian woman appears well in this manner, for there is no more modest dress for women that one can imagine.

431. The chief bodily adornments of the Visayans were the tattooing and designs which gave them the name of Pintados. They did this in the same manner as the Moro men and women, and it was the olden custom of the Huns, Gelones, and Agathyrsos; but the kind of the designs was according to the deeds and merit of each person. But that barbarous method of adornment was lost long ago, and has not been seen among them for many years. Perhaps they have erased those pictures with the water of holy baptism, since they embraced the true Catholic ceremonies.