The following is an excerpt from the book, "The Philippine Islands and Their People" by Dean Conant Worcester (New York City:MacMillan) (1899). Worcester was an Assistant Professor of Zoology at the University of Michigan who had been to the Philippines twice at that point, visiting the Philippines in the last few years of Spanish rule. While a Graduate Student at the University of Michagin in 1887, at age 21, he was plucked from obscurity by the eminent Dr.Steele and chosen to assist Steele on a tour of the Philippines in which they were keen on cataloguing the islands' unique bird species. Speaking of that time Worcester admitted that he never wanted to see the Philippines again.
Then, offered a generous grant while employed as an Assistant Professor of Zoology at that same university, Worcester and a colleague once again accompanied Steele, although this time with much more independence due to their own grants. Again they concentrated on unique bird species although they also looked far and wide for other flora and fauna. This trip was originally funded for two years but was then extended a third year so that it covered 1890 to 1893, an interesting epoch in Philippine History, politics, and culture.
Worcester didn't intend on writing this, his first of several books and papers, and only did so in 1899 because he became involved in an acadamic "battle" with John Barrett, another American academic of that same era whose work I have included in a prior entry. America had just grabbed the country ("grabbed" is exactly the right word) and its government badly needed "experts" to explain their shiny new trinket to them. Worcester's book landed him a role on the first Philippine Commission, from 1899 to 1901, hand picked by then-President of the United States, William McKinley. He left that position to become the Secretary of the Interior of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, a lofty sounding position and one that gave Worcester incredible power over the colony's resources, though at the time it was mostly timber, abaca (hemp), and rubber that were being exploited the most- apart from land allotment, an exploitable resource if ever there was one. It was Worcester whom we have to thank for those early land laws which gave Christians more lands than any other group, etc., etc.
Worcester is well known for a couple of reasons. In 1908 a Manila-based Spanish periodical, the hyper-nationalist "Aves de Rapina," was created just to politically assassinate the man. Worcester was a Zoologist by training, as noted, one who specialised in the study of birds. The title "Ave de Rapina" was a double entendre in which two Filipino nationalists, possibly funded by Americans hoping to muscle in on Worcester's honeypot, did everything but come out and actually say Worcester's name as they outlined greedy scheme after greedy scheme, all they said, the evil doings of "someone who isn't Secretary of the Interior."
In that same year, 1908, Worcester sued both the author and publisher for Libel, a case that eventually wound its way to the US Supreme Court, a case which eaerned the publisher and author twelve and six months in prison respectively. Although these sentences were upheld by every court, including the aforementioned US Supreme Court, Worcester's arch nemesis, Governor General Burton Harrison, pardoned the two two defendants in 1914. Ironically, Worcester himself publicly accused Harrison of the same type of pernury and corruption, or in Filipino-speak, "Plunder."
Worcester is controversial in a number of other ways. A deep interest in Ethnography led to such admirable works as his book, "The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon" (1906) but it also led to Worcester's habit of photographing nude male and female tribespeople in ways that appear to transcend the late 19th/early 20th Century fascination with Eugenics and veer straight into pornography. McCoy has actually labeled it as porn, though I am not sure that was what was at stake. If one actually read's Worcester's full body of work Eugenics is often a touchstone and in that era, perfectly normal. Noone accuses the National Geographic Society of publishing porn (OK, some do but they are usually of the ilk who imagine Adam and Eve rode dinasours) and yet Worcester's photographs were no more risque than any NG magazine of the era. Anyway, it isn't something really worth debating at this point. Worcester's "sins" are catalogued far and wide and most greatly outweigh whatever sexual exploitation may or may not have taken place.
Worcester remained in the Philippines for most of his life, dying in 1924, at age 58. His work, "Slavery and Peonage in the Philippine Islands" (1913) should earn the man at least enough acclaim to mitigate his inequities, real or perceived, and make all his output worthy of consideration.
As for this book I am covering with this entry...Worcester's memoir is quite interesting for a number of reasons; on one hand, this book was written mere weeks after the Americans invaded- and "invaded" is EXACTLY what they did- and ran roughshod over a newly independent group of nations. Most Filipinos, let alone foreigners, imagine that the Philippines would have been independent in its current form if America had never came on the scene. In fact, the Americans arrived and invaded several nations. Zamboanga was an independent republic, Butuan was nearly there as was Cotabato. Cebu was on its own, the Ilonggos on the other end of the Visayas had formed their nation, and of course, on Luzon, there were at least three such nations. America merely co-opted the Spanish model of colonialist counter-intuitive cartography and with a few strokes of the pen managed to erase the national aspirations of at least seven different young nations.
Although it was basically a bloodless invasion, the blood-LOTS of it coming a bit later on- had been spilled before arrival, remembering that the Americans HAD fought a very bloody couple of rounds in the Caribbean. Cuba for example, and that had come to fruition only after a disgusting anti-Spanish propaganda campaign in the American Media, "Remember the Maine" probably being the best example of ho-hokumness arising from the buildup to the confrontation in Havana Bay. Worcester was not a media hack. He was an academic, and yet he was a man of the late 19th Century. The "White Man's Burden" was alive and well, as was "Manifest Destiny." This juxtaposition of proto-fascist ideologies produced a curious intersection that had- in Worcester's mind abyway- the Negrito, or "Savage," some steps above the slovenly, backwards, corrupt, and brutal Spaniard. Yet, being who he was, Worcester could not deny his inner superiority complex and we end up seeing what he REALLY thinks of the "Filipino" (an invented term if ever there was one), the Catholic Church, and just about everything else Worcester spends time with.
Some interesting points: Worcester, while not being a rigirous academic, did offer some very important observations; My concentration, of course, is on Mindanao, which includes Mindanowan islands to the south in what is today the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi Tawi. On these perhaps the most valuable insights involve Zamboanga City's Barangay Ayala (in this entry). However, in his musings upon Palawan Worcester mentions the Tagbauna Tribe's system of writing on knots of bamboo. He personally observed this and this is EXTREMELY important since most believe that the Tagbauna lost this practice in the 17th Century. Aside from the Tagbauna, whose system of writing has been believed to have been extinct for centuries, only Mindoro's Mangyan Tribe has produced a unique and organic system of writing that has managed to survive into the Modern Era. Islamicised Tribes of course co-opted Arabic lettering- sans vowels and accent marks- to phonetically compose omportant documents in both tribal languages like Maranaw (Maranaon) and Maguindanaw (Maguindanaon), but also Bahasa Malaya, the lingua franca of littoral Southeast Asia. Yet that is a world apart from the organic development of a unique, specific writing system.
Also, this book was written at a time when the gorilla had just been discovered in Africa. Westerners were somewhat obsessed about larger apes. Worcester mentions that the Tagbauna believe in the existence of a large ape on Palawan, a creature they call "Pakda," along with the much less interesting- to me- feral goats they say live in the mountains around them. They also have a version of that pan-Malayan bogeyman Tagalogs call "Awang," only the Tagbauna don't see it as a beautiful alluring female, but rather as an old man with very long fingernails, who after flying through the night skies lands upon their thatched roof, and then, with a very long tongue that slips through their thatched roofs, licks their necks. According to Worcester, they also believe body lice to play an integral part in their version of the "Afterlife," but alas, here I am touching upon all this and I haven't even included Palawan in my excerpt (don't you hate me?); I begin in the Chapter where Worcester and his party board an inter-island steamer sailing south out of Puerto Princessa, then like now, the capital of Palawan. Travelling south, stopping on the Islamicised island of Balabac, administratively attached to Palawan now, and onto Jama, then called Cagayan de Sulu (and decades letter renamed "Cagayan de Tawi" before recently being renamed its current label), one of the Tawi Tawi Islands, but far from the main group. Veering east and slightly north, the ship lands in Zamboanga City and here is where most of my excerpt takes place. One quick note, when they land at "Sulu," they are landing at today's Jolo City.
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Chapter VI
Balabac, Cagayan Sulu, Mindanao, and Basilan
Our first stop on the voyage to Sulu was at Balabac, a small island just south of Palwan. It is inhabited by Moros, who, while not so warlike as their brethren in Sulu and Mindanao, are still very far from being good citizens.
Balabac is hilly, and is almost entirely covered with forest, but in the few places where attempts have been made to cultivate the soil, it has proved very fertile.
The island is extremely unhealthful. Fever, of a virulent type, is very common, and so is that disgusting disease Biri-Biri. An appointment as Governor of Balabac is not ordinarily regarded as a compliment. In fact, it is quite generally understood that this honour is, as a rule, reserved for someone who could be conveniently spared should he be providentially removed. This was at all events the view of the case taken by the Governor who came off of our steamer. His face and neck were covered with the evil brown spots that are the sure sign of bad malarial poisoning, and he openly avowed his belief that he had been sent to the accursed place to die. We at first thought he had a very bad case of "funk," but when, a few minutes later, Marines from one of the gunboats were brought out from our ship for removal to the hospital, and we saw that they were swollen into utter shapelessness with Biri-Biri, we decided to drop Balabac from our list of islands to be visited.
Our next stop was a little volcanic island in the midst of the Sulu Sea, called Cagayan, where we put in to load more cattle. It is inhabited almost exclusively by Moros, the only Government representative being a "Mestizo" interpreter. The people seemed to be peacable, and on our second visit to the Philippines, we planned to make a stop there. Unfortunately, they had in the meantime fallen into bad ways. While we were at Sulu, a boatload of them were brought in by gunboat. They had been caught selling firearms and ammunition in Tawi Tawi. General Arolas put them to work on his streets. Among their number were two chiefs who felt that they had been mortally insulted, and when finally allowed to return to their homes, they promptly stirred up so much ill feeling that their island became a very unsafe place for whitemen; so we were forced to abandon our proposed visit.
When we arrived at Sulu, we found things unusually lively. General Arolas had sacked Malibun, the Moro stronghold, only two days before, and the island, dangerous enough at any time, was in ferment. Arolas objected strongly to our going outside of the walls, saying that he felt personally responsible for our safety, and, if we insisted on hunting, he should have to send a strong escort of troops with us. It was useless to attempt to collect under such circumstances, so we remained on the steamer until we reached Zamboanga, at the extreme southwestern point of Mindanao, and disembarked there.
Mindanao is nearly as large as Luzon, and many times larger than any of remaining islands of the Philippine group. Until within a short time, next to nothing has been known of its interior; but the priests of the Jesuit mission have persistently and fearlessly pushed explorations until they have gathered data for a fairly complete and accurate map.
They recognize twenty-four distinct tribes of people, of whom seventeen are pagan, six Mohammedan (Moro), while the remainder are Christian Visayans, who have come in from the northern islands and settled at various points, especially along the Northern Coast.
Most of the wild tribes are of Malayan origin, but there still remain in Mindanao a considerable number of the little black Negritos, and with them some of the Malay tribes have intermarried.
The warlike Moros are especially dreaded. They are found along the Southern and Southwestern Coasts, and near the large rivers and inland lakes.
Although the island is nominally divided into provinces, Spanish control is, as a matter of fact, effective only in narrow and more or less isolated strips along the sea and near a few of the rivers which afford the only means of communication with the interior. There are no roads, and the futility of attempting to move troops inland was beautifully demonstrated by General Weyler during our second visit.
For some reason best known to himself, he saw fit to send an expedition against the Moros. It was broadly hinted by his countrymen that he had an itching for the rank of Marshall and hoped to win it. Whatever the cause, all the available forces in the archipelago were concentrated, and marched into the Mindanao forest. An officer who accompanied the expedition told me that the enemy simply ran away, and they were never able to overtake them, while eighty percent of their own men were disabled by starvation and fever. Although the starvation might have been avoided, it is certainln that the fever was inevitable.
The mortality was certainly terrible. We saw the wreck of the expedition come back, and in spite of the fact that the priests from all the towns near Zamboanga were called in, they could not shrive the soldiers fast as they died. Sick men were sent away by the shipload. Meanwhile, Weyler was directing operations from a very safe distance, spending much of his time on a despatch-boat.
We learned, later, that several glorious victories were announced in Manila, and were celebrated with processions, fireworks, and great rejoicing.
The scenery in Mindanao is very fine. The largest known flower, measuring some three feet in diameter, has been discovered there. There are several active volcanoes on the island, of which the most famous is Mt.Apo, near Davao. Extinct volcanoes are numerous.
Extensive areas are covered with magnificent trees, and apart from the valuable forest products which Mindanao has in common with several of the other islands, gutta-percha is abundant in several localitiesm
As might be inferred from its name, which signifies "Man of the Lake," Mindanao is well watered. Its rivers are more important than those of Luzon. The Butuan rises within a few miles of the South Coast, and runs north, traversing the whole island. The Rio Grande, on the other hand, rises near the North Coast, and flows south and west. Important lakes are connected with the Rio Grande and the Butuan, while Lake Lanao, situated just where the Western Peninsula joins the main body of the island, empties into the sea by the river Agus.
The soil, especially in the river and lake regions, is enormously productive. Little is known of the mineral wealth, but it is certain that gold exists in paying quantities at a number of points. Diggings have long been worked by the natives near Misamis and Surigao.
Zamboamga, the port at which we landed, is the capital of a province bearing the same name. It is the oldest of the Spanish setlements, having been taken and fortified in the early days as a base of operations against the Moros. It still has an old stone fort into which the inhabitants might retreat if attacked.
The town is large and clean. It has a pier extending out to moderately deep water, but large vessels have to lie some distance offshore. The port would be a convenient place for Australian steamers to call, and as a matter of fact they used to stop there but the excessive harbour fees and senseless Customs restrictions have long since caused it to be shunned.
We established ourselves at a small and very poor hotel, on our arrival, and while there, had an opportunity to see how natives are sometimes treated. There was a grey headed old fellow about the place, who did some work in the stables. He one day chanced to pass through a room in which we were sitting, in company with several Spanish officers, and one of the latter ordered him to bring a drink. Although he was not a waiter, he set off on the errand; but he was old and slow, and when he returned the officer flew into a passion because he had been gone so long, knocked him down, and kicked his ribs in. We found him, later, dying in a horse-manger.
The natives of the town and vicinity, known as "Zamboanguehos," are an odd lot. Perhaps a majority of them are descended from Visayans who migrated to the island long ago; certainly a very considerable portion are the offspring of slaves who have contrived to escape from the Moros. As the latter people were not at all particular where they obtained captives, so long as they got them, the result has been that representatives of most of the Philippine coast tribes have found their way to Zamboangan where their intermarriage has given rise to to a people of decidedly mixed ancestry. On account of the multiplicity of native dialects, Spanish became the medium of communication, but they have long since converted it into a Zamboangueno patois which is quite unintelligible to one familiar only with pure "Castellano.'
Many of these people have the best of reasons for hating the Moros, and on one occasion they displayed such bravery in helping the troops to repel an attack on the town that a special decree was issued declaring them all "Spaniards of the first rank." This honour seems to be without practical value, however.
It happened that our boy Mateo was a Zamboangueno, born of a Tagalog father and a Visayan mother, both of whom were escaped Moro slaves. Thirteen years before, Dr.Steere had picked him up at the little native village called Ayala, some eighteen miles from town. Having gone almost immediately to America and remained there ever since, without once hearing from his own people, he was naturally anxious to find them, and at once set off on horseback for his old home.
As there was no good collecting ground near Zamboanga, we decided to follow him by sea, as soon as we could get a boat to take us and our belongings. We soon found one, but unfortunately the Doctor paid the owner in advance. He promptly got very drunk, and remained in that condition for three days, at the end of which time we got off.
The boat was a clumsy dugout, kept upright in the water by means of bamboo outriggers, lashed to heavy cross-pieces, which held them parallel to its sides, and about eight feet out. If the craft tipped, the bamboos on each side were sunk in the water, while those on the other were lifted out, and the bouyancy of the former combined with the weight of the latter to right it at once. An arched nipa shade at the stern protected us from the sun. Our men were obliged to row with oars made by tying board blades onto poles of suitable length. Although we started early and had a good crew, it was long past noon when we reached our destination; for one of the strong currents which sweep the coast of Mindanao ran against us all the way.
Mateo met us with a very sober face. He had long counted on seeing his father and mother, but they had both died of cholera, and of his large family of brothers and sisters, all but three had met the same fate.
At Ayala we saw, for the first time, a village of decent, civilized natives completely under Spanish control. There is a good deal of similarity between such villages. Each has a church, a "Convento," and a "Tribunal." The church is usually the most pretentious office of the place, and the "Convento," or "priest's house," the most comfortable.
The "Tribunal" is the one which chiefly concerns travellers. It is a sort of town-hall, where the head men of the village meet to transact business. It contains a pair of stocks, or some other contrivance for the detention of prisoners. It is frequently used as a barracks for troops, and, last, but not least, any traveller who chooses to do so has a right to put up there.
Hanging on the wall is ordinarily to be found a list of the proper local prices for rice, fowl, eggs, meat, and other articles of food,as well as horse-hire, buffalo-hire, carriers, etc. The object of this list is to protect strangers from extortion.
The priests and friars in the smaller towns and villages are, as a rule, very hospitable, and are frequently glad to have the monotony of their lives broken by a visit from a stranger. They are often imposed upon, however, and as our party was so large, and our work so dirty, we made it a rule not to stay at a Convento even when urged to do so.
Upon our arrival at Ayala we at once started for the Tribunal, where the "Gobernadorcillo" immediately set about making us comfortable.
A "Gobernadorcillo" (literally "Little Governor") is to be found in every Philippine town or village, and is a very important personage. He is aleays a native or "Mestizo," and is the local representative of the Governor of his province, from which he receives instructions, and to whom he sends reports. His headquarters are at the Tribunal. He is addressed as "Capitan" during his term of office, and after his successor had been chosen is known as the "Capitan Pasado."
He settles all local questions except those which assume a serious legal aspect and therefore properly belong to the Justice of the Peace; but his most important duty is to see that the taxes of his town are collected, and to turn them over to the administrator of the province. He is personally responsible for these taxes, and must obtain them from his "Cabezas" or make good on the deficit. He is obliged to aid the Guardia Civil in the capture of criminals, and to assist the parish friar in promoting the interests of the Church, frequently, also, in advancing his private ends. Finally, he is at the beck and call of all the public officials who visit his town. He often has to entertain them often at his own expense, and not infrequently finds it advisable to make them presents. He is liable at any time to be called to the capital of the province, but is given no compensation for the cost of travelling or the loss of time. If he does not speak Spanish, he must employ a Clerk ("Directorcillo").
There is a great deal of writing to be done at the Tribunal, and as the allowance for "Clerk-Hire" is usally utterly insufficient, the Gobernadorcillo must make up the difference. In return for all this, he is allowed a salary of Two US Dollars per month, and is permitted to carry a cane! If he does not squeeze his fellow townsmen, or steal public funds,he is apt to come out badly behind.
While the office is nominally filled by election every two years, the elective system is such a nature that service can readily be made compulsory. Wealthy men are chosen for the place, if any such can be found, and are often kept in office for two years, sorely against their will. Yet there is nothing quite so dear to the heart of the average Philippine heart as a little authority over his fellows, and in spite of the numerous drawbacks, the position is sometimes earnestly sought.
The families of every town are divided into groups of from fourty to sixty, each under a "Cabeza de Barangay" who is responsible for their taxes. If he cannot get them from the people, he must pay them out of his own pocket. Excuses are useless. For obvious reasons, men of means are chosen for this position, and though nominally elected every two years, they are actually kept in office as long as they have anything to lose, and sometimes longer. I have seen "Cabezas" suffer confiscation of property and deportation, because they could not pay debts which they did not owe.
The Gobernadorcillo has a "Ministry," consisting of the first and second "Tenientes" (Lieutenants) who take his place in his absence; other tenientes having charge of outlying districts; and chiefs of police, plantations, and cattle.
At the Tribunal is maintained a small force of "Cuadrilleros," who perform police duty, and who are supposed to defend the town against bandits and the like.
A man who has been elected Teniente or Gobernadorcillo, or who has served ten years as a Cabeza de Barangay, is numbered among the "Headmen" of the place.
The Headmen meet at the Tribunal from time to time, and discuss public affairs with great gravity. They assemble every Sunday morning, and headed by the Gobernadorcillo, and frequently also by a band playing very lively airs, they march to the Convento and escort the friar to the church, where they all attend mass. Their state dress is quite picturesque. Their white shirts dangle outside of their pantaloons after the Philippine fashion, and over them they wear tight fitting jackets without tails, which reach barely to their waists. When the jacket is buttoned, it causes the shirt to stand out in a frill, producing a most grotesque effect.
The Gobernadorcillo of Ayala proved to be a very accomodating old fellow. He speedily made us comfortable in one of the rooms of the Tribunal, which afforded space for our hammocks, and was furnished with a table abd wooden benches. As there were no conveniences for cooking about the building, we hired a man next door to prepare our meals and serve them to us, and the plan worked successfully after he had once gauged our appetites. We fared better than in Palawan, getting plenty of fruit, fowls, and eggs, but were forced to content ourselves with boiled rice in place of bread, as there was not an oven in the vicinity.
The villagers were a happy-go-lucky set. We were rather touched by their never failing hospitality. The Philippine native always seems ready to kill his last fowl for a stranger, or share with him his last pot of rice. When we stopped at a hut and asked for a drink, its inmates were loathe to offer us water in the coconut shell cups which served their own purpose, and hunted up and washed old tumblers, or even sent to some neighbour's to borrow them. With a glass of water they always gave us a lump of "Panoche" (Coarse Brown Sugar) that we might "have thirst"- an entirely unnecessary precaution.
Their houses were like those of the poorer civilized natives throughout the archipelago. The typical Philippine house rests on four or more heavy timbers which are firmly set in the ground, and its floor raised from five to ten feet into the air. There is not a nail or a peg in the whole structure. The frame is of bamboo, tied together by rattan. The sides and roof are usually of Nipa Palm, although the former may be made by splitting green bamboos, pounding the halves flat, and then weaving them together; while if Nipa is very scarce, the roof may be thatched with the long grass called "Cogon."
The floor is usually made of bamboo strips, with their convex sides up. They are tied firmly in place in such a way that wide cracks are left between them. The windows are provided with swinging shades, which can be propped open during the day. One has to climb a ladder to enter the house.
Often there is but one room for cooking, eating, and sleeping. The cooking is done over an open fire, built on a heap of earth in one corner, and smoke often makes a house almost uninhabitable. In the better dwellings there is a place partitioned off for cooking, usually just at the head of the ladder, while the body of the house is divided into two or more rooms.
Native houses of this sort have much to recommend them. If shaken down by an earthquake, or blown over by a typhoon, no one gets hurt; for the materials used are too light to do harm when they fall. The ventilation is perfect, and the air keeps much cooler than in a tightly controlled building.
Wealthy natives sometimes build houses of boards, with galvanized iron roofs and limestone foundations, but they are very much more expensive, and decidedly less comfortable, than the humbler dwellings of "Cana" (Bamboo) and "Nipa" (Palm).
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Glossary:
"Biri-Biri," mentioned in the third paragraph is a bastardisation of the Malay word for sheep, "Beri Beri," and denotes a disease primarily caused by thiamine deficiency. "Discovered" by a Dutch physician in 17th Century Indonesia, he christened according to the Bahasa-Malaya slang for the disease, labeled just so because it makes afflicted people walk like sheep.
The word "shrive" is now an anachronism synonymous with Roman Catholic "Last Rites."
"Despath-Boat" would today read "Dispatch-Boat" and is synonymous with "Courier," or "Messenger Vessel."
The name "Mindanao" does NOT mean "Man of the Lake," as the author claims, but rather, "Land of Innundation," or, "Land of the Flood Plain."
"Gutta-Percha" is an anachronism for a tree sap that was once a valuable commodity for water proofing.
"Butuan River" actually was then, as now, the "Agusan River" and contrary to the author's claim, it does not cross the entire island though it would certainly seem so to one unfamiliar with Mindanao.
"Horse Manger" is no longer used, instead people simply say, "Stable."
"Zamboanguehos" is actually "Zamboanguenos," or more simply, "Chavacanos."
The little "native village" where Dr.Steele had found Mateo is today's Barangay Ayala in Zamboanga City.
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