The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-09-06
LAAaW HGAHbT
RoLLLEMEN

the crowded central jail OF our Eastern
possessions. for long terms.
Down in the Visayas. the middle group
of our island constellation. there have
been within the last few weeks encounters
between wild sectarians and the constab-
ulary. which. In view OF the number OF
casualties. might well be dignlned with
the title OF battles.
In a hostile meeting In Cebu the con-
stabulsry whipped BOO fanatics. killing
siXty-eight OF them and making thirty
prisoners.
According to the cable this particular
sect. which put up q fight equaling that
OF he Moros in the southern islands. is
called the pu~llajanes. but l imagine that
we are on the track OF the babaylanss.
OF the babaylanes Il cannot be said as II
has been said OF the followers OF Pope
Rios. that they are banded together for
the sole purpose OF living without work
Ing. but there II a great deal stiH tothe
learned about this powerful sect, whose
chiefs and medicine men are scattered
throughout the middle islands where they
exercise much power and enjoy a popu-
larity which Is far from being on the
vans.
FILIPINO MEDICINE MEN
WERE CALLED BABAYLANES.4
The distinction has been made by the
friars that on the discovery OF the is
lands the Fflipinos had no religion. hut
only an association OF superstitlous ideas.
differing in each locality and changing
with every tribc.
The medicine men. or priests. were called
babaylsnes, and they taught a form Of
spirit worship
The spirits that they e~ndeavored to pia-
cate were antics, or bad spirits. though
this word has now come to mean
the symbols and the charms which the
babaylanes. and. in fact, all Fflipinos.
wear to protect them from evil influences.
C%uriously enough. anito and bathala.
another word which IS ever on the medi-
cine mans lips. and is. l believe. meant
to describe his religion or sect. are both
Sanscrit roots. which Is one OF the rsa-,
sons why man. hin that the babaylanes
were the product OF a religious invasion
from the East Indies about a thousand
years before the advent OF the apostles
from Mecca and the Augustinian friars
from Spain.
Our relations with the Islanders have
been almost uniformly OF a superficial
character.
Few of US. however, have travelled IN
the Philippines without witnessing an act
of superstition or stumbling upon a sur
vival Of that belief in witchcraft against
which the friars fought SO devotediy for
SO many generations. with much success.
but certainly without a complete triumph.
Crossing a stream your Filipino guide
will hesitate for a moment. standing on
the bank In client prayer.
lie is asking the genius Of the waters
for permission to cross.
There Is a bird called the tictac, and
when he is seen making his silent flight
over q village hidden away In the rice
swamps there IS great perturbation among
its Inhabitants.
This bird is the outrider of a most inf1u-
entail and powerful god. The god himself
must be near. about to take a hand in
village and family affairs. and, OF course.
everybody would like to know whose side
he ls on.
Then there Is the mono. the ancestral
old man who lives in the woods. only COM
ing out now and again to infict some hor-
rible punishment upon the irreverent.
AS q rule, the only intermediary between
these potentially bad spirits and the timid
tau. ar peasant, Is the b~abaylane, OF medi-
cine man.
POWER OF THE
ANTING+ANTINGS.
His revenue n influence arc derived
from the a~nting-antings. or charms which
he issues, which, as the Illustrations show,
render the wearer fnvulnerable to fire.
arms or to cold steel, which help him es-
cape Justice and conquer his enemies by
which he is able to reduce himself 70
smoke and disappear. to steal without
being discovered. and TO win the hearts OF
women.
II I were compelled under oath to say
which exerts the greatest power IN tina
the United States Govern
ment, the revolutionary Junta, or the
church of the babaylanes. I would DO
forced to give the palm to the mysterious
medicine men. Fortunately, SO far az we
know. in this Malay church there Is
neither a distinctly graded hierarchy nor
any one pre-eminent Individual INTO whose
hands all power is given.
Apparently each babaylan has his ois-
trict and his congregations. over whom
he has won his influence by the exercise
Of witchcraft-
When I'll the Tagal or the visayan more
often turns to the local babaylan b to
the regular practitioner. probably because
the babaylan invests the art OF healns
with a deal of grotesque ceremony Wnion
fascinates the awe-struck nativEn
The cure Is worked at. or rats4$F az q
to, a banquet, great d small,
to the means % the sick mans
family. n in equally direct ratio to tho
fortune of his patient Is the amount OF
which the babaylan produces.
A water buffalo, 6 sheep and a hog eaah
cali forth peculiar kinds Of witchcraft.
To-day these scenes Of sacrifice are to be |
witnessed In some II not In all Of the
Stances, IQSL dD LAG Vi oA AO1& i
hundred years ago, when the name Of the
gloomy Philip of Spain was given to the
sunny archipelago. but It is very dificult |
FOR a white man to witness these cers-
monies. ana few have survived them.
In the martyr roll OF the friars are 70 b
the names Of not q few priests who
upon being present and who died
the hands Of the infuriated oabsyian or
his outraged congregation. But probably
all Of US have heard the gong which calls
thu ~babayianes to prayer. Il
It Is q great copper plate In the FORM OF
basin. which when struck gives forth Q
sound that carries far. |
When this rings over the swamp and |
jungle land wa know that the houp OF
ordeal has come for the Malay priest ana
his patient |
BABAYLAN ARRIVES
BEATING HIS GONG. |
The babaylan arrives at the sick mans |
home. where all the neighbors are gath |
cred for the spectacle. beating his |
with a twig OF the sumps tree In his |
mouth.
This httie twig ~ az potent az the magic |
wand that Merlin welded OF old. It r. the
very essence OF ~bahayianIsm.
With much ceremony snd mummsrx q |