Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1899-04-07
HOME life: OF: FlL.IplNlO|s;.
Characteristics and Customs q
the Native z Population.
THE PRIMITIVE BAKEoo sHAoKa
oussr Dwellins Slaces Of the RuPal
CsaA.nitiss u the Vicinity . lla-
\ aila-TAs water Buffalo the Chief
Il Bsast 81 Dsrass-Dress se tAs NJ.
tive women. II j5 S38
Copyright. IN. by the Author

KIN In order TO form fair idea Of native
life n tho Philippines one must visit
the Filipino IN his bamboo shack. with
tho Filipino sonora and senorits and
that most interesting Of youngsters In
the world. ths Filipino pickaninny.,
who seems @ content In a bamboo bas-
ket on the mothers head a. Ia the
wickerwork cradle or hammock. 70
American eyes the native home life
presents many unique and interesting
.phasea There IL . wide difference be-
tween city and country life in the Phil,
ippines, and it is In the rural sections
that the Filipino Is seen in his natural
ness and simplicity. Here, az in most
other tropical countries. tho houses are
built with steep matched roofs, with
the caves running nearly down to the
ground About Manila bay the native
shacks are built of bamboo, and there
are many villages of these queer
houses. Bacoor. Paranique. Pasig, Tun-.
gallo. Maricaban. Malaban and hun.
dred other towns are scattered about
the bay, and in all of these the natives
are thickly crowded. "sr 81
A native shack is usually only one
story high, with the floor raised three
feet from Il ground, which is neces
sary on account of the swampy condi
ton of the land. All about the nativ !
huts are piles Of dirt and filth. an 4
everywhere The most insanitary condi
tions prevail There are usually three
or four generations quartered in each
shack Aside from, the natives Of all
sizes and ages. from the gray haired
padre and sonora down to the diminu.
tive pickaninny. the goats and other an
finals are sheltered within. The, water
buffalo 10 housed in an adjoining shack
Before we reached here our men had
heard Of the Philippine water buffalo
and had formed various ideas of the ami
NAL When one was first sighted. We
were not little surprised. The water.
buffalo. which is the Filipino's chief
beast Of burden. closely resembles an;
OK in size and form. though it's horns
are larger and more widely spread apart
The natives are frequently seen bathing
the buffalo in the waters of the Pasig.f
OAu w UC ~ was q 0OvOA pCA4OA 0A0uC0sa
The animals disport themselves in the
stream in real amphibious fashion. jus.
tifying the title of water buffalo 5
In . native village nearly all the peo-.
pie are related as result Of the system
Of intermarriage. One family usually
settles down in some place apart from
the others, and as the family increases
the town or hamlet grows. new shacks
being added as they are needed. In the
original marriage customs Of the natives
the usuages Of Pacific islanders were
closely followed. While some of the
primitive customs have been lost sight
Of in the recent changes. many Of them
still prevail. Like Jacob of old, the
Filipino lover is still required to do
term Of service for the father of his in.
tended bride. and the courtship is filled
with trying ceremonies and unpleasant
vicissitudes for the young couple before
they wed and obtain place in the
household. " 3&@.
Great simplicity prevails in all phases
Of Filipino life. A native will live upon