The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-04-08

ing OF Easter Sunday. The
rest are either Adohammedans
who observe the birthday OF
their prophet or savages who run in the
woods without any clothes to speak Of.
shoot with bows and arrows and scarce
ly know one day from another.
The 100000 that do observe Easter.
however, go in for it with an intensity
sufficient to make up for the ignorance
or lukewarmness Of all the rest. Three
months before the time your TagaIo OF
either sex begins to prepare for the
Easter festivities. His annual holy
week shirt is as much an object Of anx-
iety to the Hagalo masculine as girls
wedding uress is to her. Like other
prlnaltlVe races, the Philippine natives
money and none at all of steady work.
Al nlgn church festival seasons even
those who are sufficiently civilized to
ne typesetters viii not work to get a
newspaper out; consequently on such
occasions there is no morning or after
noon Journal High church holidays
come exceedingly often in the Philip
pines ana every one is an excuse for
the native to knock or work. but Eas-
ter is the greatest Of all, excepting only
Christmas
At the beginning Of the month before
Easter the Tagalo servant persuades
his master to advance him a months
wages TO buy his holy week shirt. In
the year that has passed since he had
the last one he has not saved 3 cent
The master is usually induigent and
advances the sum. Every household Of
even modest pretensions must have at
least four manseryants.-a cook a man
to do the chamber work, clean the
house and wait at table. a goodman
and hostler There is a swarm OF
Tagalo servants, with their wives.
mothers-in-law and little brown babies,
In every gentleman's establishment.
Sometimes they occupy separate nipa
palm huts in the native colony near by.
sometimes they live in the basement OF
their masters house. and on occasion
there are tremendous domestic rows In
this miscellaneous menage.
The Tagalo's shirt is his main show
garment, therefore his care concerning
1t. 1t is worn flowing down outside his
trousers, being particular not to get It
unused" 1t is made Of fine organdie
OF pineapple cloth, embroidered up and
down and across the bosom. The Ia
gallo women learned from the Spanish
nuns to embroider exquisitely. It is al
most the only thing they do well.
Easter Sunday the Tagalo appears in
the splendor OF his new garment. II he
wants to initiate the white man, he has
thin undershirt beneath It; otherwise
he wears nothing, and the brown skin
shines picturesduely beneath. He
wears loose white or light colored cot
ton trousers and is occasionally extrav-
agant enough to initiate the Chinaman
in the selection of best suit. In such
case he has the trousers made OF fine
and strong pongee silk. It will go hard
with him If he cannot complete the cos
tune with velvet slippers embroidered
in gold and bright colors. He will be
sure to have these II he is a thorough
Tagalo dandy. As to 3 hat-that does
not matter
AS to his little brown wife, she also is
attired as well as may be. One essen
tial is a fiery red gingham skirt cut
above her ankles in front, but dragging
a foot upon the ground behind With
out this fiery train her gentility would
be nowhere. She wears pineapple
(pina) cloth bodice. cut off both at the
top and bottom. It is very low in the
neck, does not reach to the waist line
and hangs unconf1ned at the bottom
like a dressing sack. But It would not
be a proper garment If It did not have
immensely wide elbow sleeves. It has
no fastening, for it is loose enough to
slip over the brown woman's head. A
beautifully embroidered handkerchief,
folded three corner wise, is draped about
hair is drawn smoothly back and fas-
tened in a knot, oftentimes with the
long, coarse toothed comb which raked
the snarls out of it. The use of hair
pins is not general among the Tagalo
ladies. But their own hair and that OF
l their husbands are creased ito kill,
usually with cocoanut oil, which gives
off rank odor as you pass to ieeward.
The Tagalo family goes to church de-
voutly Easter morning The wife ball
ances her baby astride her left hip, en-
/ braces it with her left arm to keep IL
from falling and wriggles along with
the little brown kid. The husband. In
all the glory of his new holy week shirt,
strides in front. The baby wears a lit
tie shirt that reaches to its waist; that
is all. Tagalo wise women say Il gives
infants ringworm to clothe them below
the waist, and the tradition seems to
I hold good UP to the age of 10 or ~.
From early morning Easter Sunday till
the last service at 10 o'clock the stream
of brown skinned black haired. bare
headed Tagalos men. women and chill
dren, pours into the church 1t is an
animated picture. with color dashes OF
red white black and yellow. The pro-
cession is singularly quiet. The Tagalo
is not noisy unless violently excited
This quiet of the people shows they
have reached the sedateness OF racial
old age.
After divine service the pleasures OF
the day begin. There is a feast at
which the Tagalos, doubling their feet
under them, sit upon the floor Of the
huts and. with their fingers, eat roast
pig, rice and other Malay delicacies.
In the afternoon there is always
dancing in some of the larger huts Of
the village. with music on the mando-
lin, guitar and violin. In initiative mu-
sicai faculty the Philippine native Is
really gifted. After one hearing he can
reproduce upon his mandolin or with
his voice any air whatsoever. A sere-
made by a native string band under the
tropical moon is a pleasure OF the meme
DRY ever after.
Robust young men who do not care