The National tribune., 1904-01-21

among the workmen OF that lnrid realm,
the Moro doubts its capacity to supply fuel
necessary to sustain an endless confagra-
tion. There is no fire in hell" he asserts,
but the torrents OF each soul are arranged
to precisely fit it's misdeeds. The thief
and bribe-taker is punished in his hands;
the coyetous~ and lustful are punished in
the eyes; while the man who talks too
much has a sore mouth for a period sufii-
Gent to expiate his crime. Eventually the
soul of the most depraved sinner, being
purified by punishment, goes to heaven.
Our universities might find an opening
with the Moros along this line. The Tag
banuas Of Palawan have no faith in hu-
man fight. They say that the soul does
not ascend into the skies at death, but
traverses narrow passage in the earth
until it reaches the judgment grove OF the
giant Taliakood, who tends the fires for
ever burning among shadowy tree trunks,
and is the inquisitor OF each traveller.
Each soul has witness, small insect
like a louise, which answers for him. IL
the person proves to have been bad, Tall
akOod throws him into the fire where he
is promptly consumed; IL good, he goes for
ward into blissful realm where he en-
joys the happiness of all comforts and
pleasures such as are known to the Tag
banuas in this life. Each person dies
seven times before finally reaching the
center OF the earth.
There are differences Of belief among
the Moros as to heaven and hell Some
panditas assert that each sinner gets his
hell on this earth before death: and 9TH
ers say that all souls remain dormant in
the air until the Day Of Judgment, when
the weigher, assisted by Michael and Ga
briel, will place each soul in the balance.
Those laden with sin will sink into hell,
and the pure spirits will rise to the de-
EsrHt 30 <rH al n II
Benjamin Franklin was once described to
me, who had wise opinions on many sub
Jects, and had renounced the faith alto
gether; but he did not live In their terri
tory, but in town OF the Camarines.
MURDER TO PLEASE GOD.
The great majority of Moros are very
fanatical, and believe that killing q Chris
tan goes long way toward finding favor
with heaven; hence the stubborn resista nee
they have made against the Spanish, and
their tendency to run amuck amongst
Christians. That a similar tendency is
sometimes found among Visayans, Taga-
los, and other Christianized tribes il true.
but this is attributed by some to Mahome-
tan teachings and influence prior to the adj
vent Of Spanish rule.
While it is impossible to determine the
time when the Mahometan faith was inn
planted in these islands, there is no doubt
TINT ~ Wdc iOHS pTIOI 10 the Ol6cOYefy or
Magellan. A short time before my mr.
rival at a hotel in Iloilo, Panay, where I
stopped for several months, the former
Spanish proprietor and owner, Senior
iacha, and two others had been killed
by Christianized Visayan running
amuck; and such cases are not infreauent
1t Is question, of course, whether this
practice Is not due rather to Unborn saw
agery than to the influence of Islam; but
there are other and stronpar raa cone Co.
supposing that Mahometan domino ton ex-
listed for several centuries prior to the ar.
rival OF the Spanish. Among these the
practice Of circumcision, which was as.
sured was general among the Christian
lied tribes; a similarity In the ancient
script of the Tagalos, Visayans, and other
tribes, to the Arabic; the fact
that among the chiefs encountered
IN Luzon on their FIRST arrival by Legaspi
and others, several bore the name Soil.
man. suggestive Of Moslem contact and
ancestry; another circumstance is the ease