The following excerpt is from a wonderful 17th Century travelogue,"A New Voyage Around the World" (London:James Knapton)(1697) by the Englishman William Dampier. Dampier was an English Privateer, a pirate operating under liscence to his sovereign, the King of England. Though attacks on English shipping were verboten everything else was fair game though the Crown much preferred that he concentrate on England's enemies, the Spanish and the Dutch with emphasis on the former. During Dampier's long voyage the ship skirts the coasts of the Americas, preying upon Spanish shipping in Central and South America. Then it is onto the Pacific and eventually, after a stop over in Guam, to Mindanao.
Dampier thought like a businessman and so his writings tend to focus on commercial opportunities for fellow Englishmen. I have omitted long rambling portions about the weather, the moorings at sea, and about flora and fauna the modern reader is more than familiar with. While one understands a 17th Century Englishman's fascination with the banana not many modern readers will need to hear his very in depth discussion about it. Basically I have retained those portions I imagine to be somewhat unusual to the modern reader, Filipino or otherwise. For example, most Mindanowans are unaware but rice wasn't common in the Southern Philippines until the middle of the 19th Century. On Mindanao and points south the staple was Sago, which Dampier discusses at length. Likewise the incredibly deeply entrenched custom of Betel Chewing has all but disappeared. Strangely one can find it much more easily in Metro Manila (though only amongst the elderly) than they can anywhere in the Southern Philippines.
Arriving in the Philippines six days put of Guam Dampier mistakenly labels Siargao Island, today part od Mindanao's Surigao del Norte Province, as "Saint John's Island." The mistake was no fault of his own since a Portugese cartographer nearly a hundred years before had applied the label which heretofore had belonged to an islet in the Caroline Islands. Sighting a canoe off of Siargao Dampier's crewmates went out in a skiff to meet it but instead terrified the natives manning it. Giving chase they followed the canoe onto shore but were unable to coax the terrified natives who had escaped into the jungle.
Closing in on Mainland Mindanao at the northeast tip, today's Surigao del Norte, they began skirting the coast as the moved south. Rounding the southeastern tip they continued following the southern coast until thet found Saragani Bay where thet found a decent mooring and spent some time hunting deer in the cogon grasslands surrounding parts of the bay. Thry then continued on until rounding the southwest tip. Following the western coast the finally arrived at the mouth of the Pulangi River, or as the Spanish called it, "El Rio Grande de Mindanao."
There they found a settlement on the southern shore of the river, extending 1.3 kilometer or so upriver, though the settlement wasn't particularly wide. This was the Sultanate of Maguindanao though at the time the Maguindanawons referred to themselves as "Mindanawons," a name which was later applied to the whole island by the Spanish. The two word's meanings are closely related and in a later installment of "History of Central and Western Mindanao Part IV: The Maguindanao Sultanate in the late 17th Century" I delve into the etymology of both words. Ruling the town, and in the eyes of Dampier, the island, was the 9th Sultan of Maguindanap, Barahaman Mohammedwho ruled the Sultanate from 1678 to 1697, when he died.
The people had adopted Islam in the previous century but were far from religious. In fact, aside from an abhorrence of swine nothing else remotely connects them to the faith. There is one mosque but only the Sultan attended it, semingly out of protocol since his own brother, commander of the Sultanate's naval forces never went near it. In Part 6 we even see the brother get racously drunk on rice liquor.
At first Dampier showers the Sultanate and its people with accolades but within two months he is accusing the Sultan's brother of thievery and lying but alas, I don't want to spoil it for you:
Chapter 11 "They Resolve to go to Mindanao":
While we lay at Guam we took up a resolution of going to Mindanao, one of the Philippine Islands, being told by the friar and others that it was exceedingly well stored with provisions; that the natives were Mohammedans, and that they had formerly at commerce with the Spaniards, but that now they were at war with them. This island was therefore thought to be a convenient place for us to go; for besides that it was in our way to the East Indies, which we had resolved to visit;and that the westerly monsoon was at hand, which would oblige us to shelter somewhere in a short time, and that we could not expect good harbors in a better place than in so large an island as Mindanao; besides all this, I say, the inhabitants of Mindanao being then, as we were told (though falsely) at war with the Spaniards, our men, who it should seem were very squeamish of plundering without liscence, derived hopes from thence of getting a commission there from the prince of the island to plunder the Spanish ships about Manila, and so to make Mindanao their common rendevouz. And if Captain Swan was minded to go to an English port yet his men, who thought he intended to leave them, hoped to get vessels and pilots at Mindanao fit for their turn, to cruise on the coast of Manila. As for Captain Swan he was willing enough to go there as best suiting his own design; and therefore this voyage was concluded on by general consent.
Accordingly June 2nd, 1686 we left Guam bound for Mindanao. The 21st day of June we arrived at the island of St.John, which is one of the Philippine Islands. As we were passing by the south-east end we saw a canoe of the natives under the shore; therefore one of our canoes went after to have spoken with her; but she ran away from us, seeing themselves chased, put their canoe ashore, leaving her, fled into the woods; nor would be allured to come to us, although we did what we could to entice them; besides these men we saw no more here nor sign of any inhabitants at this end.
When we came aboard our ship again we steered away for the island of Mindanao, which was now fair in sight of us; it being about 10 leagues distant from this part of St.John's. The 22nd day we came within a league of the east side of the island of Mindanao. We steered toward the north end, keeping on the east side and there we anchored in a small bay, about a mile from the shore.
Of the trees, there is one sort which deserves particular notice; called by the natives libby trees. These grow wild in great groves of 5 to 6 miles long by the sides of the rivers. Of these trees sago is made,which the poor country people eat instead of bread 3 or 4 months in the year. This tree for its body and shape is much like the palmetto-tree or the cabbage-tree, but not so tall as the latter. The bark and wood is hard and thin like a shell,and full of white pith like the pith of an elder. This tree they cut down and split in the middle and scrape out all the pith; which they beat lustily with a wooden pestle in a great mortar or trough, and then put into a cloth or strainer held over a trough; and, pouring water in among the pith, they stir it about in the cloth; so the water carries all the substance of the pith through the cloth down into the trough, leaving nothing in the cloth but a light sort of husk which they throw away; but that which falls into the trough settles in a short time to the bottom like mud; and then they draw off the water, and take up the muddy substance, with which they make cakes; which being baked proves very good bread.
The native Indians of Ternate and Tidore and all the Spice Islands have plenty of these trees, and use them for food in the same manner; as I have been informed by Mr.Caril Rofy who is now commander of one of the king's ships. He was one of our company at this time; and being left with Captain Swan at Mindanao, went afterwards to Ternate and lived there among the Dutch a year or two. The sago which is transported into other parts of the East Indies is dried in small pieces like little seeds or comfits and commonly eaten with milk of almonds by those that are troubled with the flux; for it is a great binder and very good in that distemper.
In some places of Mindanao there is plenty of rice; but in the hilly land they plant yams, potatoes, and pumpkins; all of which thrive very well. The other fruits of this island are watermelons, musk melons, plantains, bananas, guavas, nutmegs, cloves, betel-nuts, durians, jacks or jacas, coconuts, oranges, etc.
On the plantain,the fruit of this tree is of great use for food so is the body no less serviceable to make clothes; but this I never knew till' I came to this island. The ordinary people of Mindanao do wear no other cloth. The tree never bearing but once, and so, being felled when the fruit is ripe, they cut it down close by the ground if they intend to make cloth with it. One blow with a hatchet or long knife will strike it asunder; then they cut off the top, leaving the trunk 8 to 10 feet long, stripping off the outer rind, which is thickest towards the lower end, having stripped 2 or 3 of these rinds, the trunk becomes in a manner all of one bigness, and of a whitish colour; then they split the trunk in the middle; which being done they split the 2 halves again as near the middle as they can. This they leave in the sun 2 or 3 days, in which time part of the juicy substance of the tree dries away, and then the ends will appear full of small threads. The women, whose employment it is to make the cloth, take hold of those threads one by one, which rend away easily from one end of the trunk to the other, in bigness like whited-brown thread; for the threads are naturally of a determinate bigness, as I observed their cloth to be all of one substance and equal fineness; but it is stubborn when new, wears out too soon, and when wet feels a little slimy. They make their pieces 7 or 8 yards long,all one thickness.
The betel-nut is much esteemed here, as it is in most places of the East Indies. This fruit is bigger than a nutmeg and is much like it but rounder. It is much used all over the East Indies. Their way is to cut it into four pieces, and wrap one of them up in an arek-leaf which they spread with a soft paste made of lime or plaster,and then chew it together. Every man in these parts carries his lime-box by his side and,dipping his finger into it, spreads his betel and arek-leaf with it. The arek is a small tree or shrub, of a green bark, and the leaf is long and broader than a willow. They are packed up to sell in parts that have them not, to chew with the betel. The betel-nut is most esteemed when it is young and before it has grown hard, and then cut it only in two pieces with the green husk or shell on it. It is then exceedingly juicy and therefore makes them spit much. It tastes rough in the mouth and dyes the lips red, and makes the teeth black,but it preserves them, and cleanses the gums. It is also accounted very wholesome for the stomach; but sometimes it will cause giddiness in the head of those that are not used to chew it. But this is the effect only of the old nut for the young nuts will not do it. I speak of my own experience.
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I will begin Chapter 12 in my next "History" entry,"History of Mindanao, Part IV: Central and Western Mindanao in Late 17th Century, Part 2"
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