Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-20

very popular and are used by travellers who
wish to protect themselves against the evil
spirits OF the place. Wherever rock pythons
abound there are sure to be shrinev. In the
Christian zone there will be nearly always a
DOH saint in the shrine; in the Muslem terri.
tory there is no figure, but a saucer or bowl,
which would Indicate that at some time Of
ferings OF various sorts we're given to the
spirits who protected the traveller or else to
the evil spirits in order to placate them.
OF miracles and miraculous events the
archipelago has a long list, Moslem vies
with Christian in the conviction that the
spirit world is in immediate contact with our
own and that divine or supernatural inter-
position takes place with great frequency.
There arc holy images which have been cast
UP by the sea and others which have fallen
from heaven. There are old relies, black
with age. OF whose origin nothing is known,
but which work miraculous cures, and there
are wells and springs possessing preeernat-
ural remedial power. So credulous are the
natives that unscrupulous men have often
prohted by the quality in starting miracle
working resorts. Many of these have been
suppressed by the authorities ON account OF
their bogus nature, but after the name of
having worked a cure is once gained the
place never altogether lcses its popularity.
various Tnlismnns.
Older than these religious phenomena is
the belief in anting anting, which is hard to
translate into English. A talisman which
protects you against a bullet, an ointment
which will turn the blade of a kriss, a medi-
cine which, will cure every ailment, a lotion
which will quadruple ones strength, or a
charm which will disarm an enemy, are all
said to be good anting anting. A pirate ship
which captures many trading vessels has n
good anting anting, and so has a merchan,
who d~isposes Of his wares quickly and a.
large profit. This precious quality, thing or
mystery appears to be subject to no law.
Some people are born with it and som OBJ
jects possess it as an organic part of them
selves. 1t can be attained or achieved
through great talent or prowess it can be
obtained from a good spirit, and it can be
purchased from a very wise man, a sooth-
sayer, a wizard or a pundita. A tigers claw,
a sharks tooth, the rib of a python, the ear
Of a squirrel or cat, the comb of a forest
cock, and the dried leaf of a lotus flower are
good anting anting. So is a scapular, a relic,
a piece CT a garment that has been to Mecca,
a silver bullet, a nail or screw from a coffin,
a piece of hair from the head of an executed
criminal, or the front tooth Of a warrior
slain in battle.
Running through the Filipino civilization
or society is a survival Of long-gone years.
1t is the division or classification of men
into three groups. First, the men who know
or are wise; second, the men Of the sea,
and third, the men CT the soil. These seem
to be the beginnings OF a system Of caste
based upon the Malay environment. The
most honorable class at the start was, OF
course, the men Of the sea, or sea gipsies.
1Nl,N,, ,,,r, .1Lo a.I,-.,o, .ho ,t-,,, --A
the pirates. Their leaders, medicine-men
and heroes settled on the coast and estao-
lished small communities in which the work
was done by slaves or captives, who were
the men of the soil. These landed proprie-
tors were men of the sea and also the men
Of learning or OF wisdom. The men of the
sea disdained to engage in agriculture or the
raising of floCks and herds, and looked down
upon all who pursued those peaceful call
ings. AS their power increased they drove
the agricultural tribes, who were not en-
shaved, into the interior and finally into the
mountains and wildernesses. This produced
the fourth class, the men of the forest, or the
men of the mountains. They are a separate
caste and not outcasts. Civilization has
crushed the sharp dividing lines between
these classes, but has not obliterated their
power as social factors. The men of the sea
rarely lnlertlarry WIN the men CT the SOIL,
and the men of the soil avoid the men of
the forests and the mountains. The men who
know marry from their own class or may
marry from the men of the sea, but they
rarely descend to the men of the soil. In
former times the men who know would take
wives from their own class or from the
men of the sea, and concubines from the
men of the soil. This is still kept up in
the uncivilized districts Of Luzon, in Palauan
and in Mindanao.
Love Music and Poetry.
All Malays love music and poetry, and
make these a feature of daily life. The lam
guages lend themselves to metrical compost
ton, being even more available in this re-
spect than Spanish or Persian. The large
use OF duplication and the similarity in
sound of syllable radicals enable the poorest
peasant or fisherman to turn out quite
musical lines. Love-making is carried on in
allegorical verse, and even in polite speech
it is not uncommon for an intelligent native
to accost a superior in iambics or dactyls.
II the customs and superstitions be viewed
together they throw a strong light upon the
social conditions Of the Filipinos, showing
that the population is a series of grades
ranging from the civilized and Christian
Tagals and Visayas down to the head hunt
ing, nature orshiping polygamous savages
| of central Mindanao, and that the problem
of government will be a simple one so far as
dealing with large masses is concerned, but
very complicated on account Of the number
less, varying, local customs and conditions,