Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-16
FILIPINOS AND SNAKES
ISLANDERS PLAY WEIRD MELO-
DIES ON A CRUDE FLUTE.
Savages of the Archipelago Delight in
Music and Are Fond Of
Charming" Reptiles.

Charming" Reptiles.
/ From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
| In general. it may be stated that the Fill
pino Indians are passionatcly fond OF
| music. Some play the guitar or mandolin,
| others the metal wind instruments, many
| the flute, the violin the ant anti. the siflon
| the langueta, the rave; but the flute or
| pito of wood and the pito of cane ere the
| favorites, and, with the raves. are the char
| acterstic instruments of the Indians who
| live in the native settlements and form
| tribes in the mountains.
The pito of cane is of especial interest.
! because it is the instrument by means OF
which lovers are able to communicate with
! each other. 1t consists of a small piece of
cane with a tongue cut some five cent?
| metres from a knot, forming the closed end.
| This tongue is scraped until il is as thin as
thick paper. Three holes TWO centimetros
apart cut in the cane.
The Indian places the reed in his mouth
so that his lips cover the reed tongue. and
with his finger covers or uncovers the holes
as he plays. With this pito of cane he plays
waltzes, polkas. schottisches and every
! thing that he hears after hearing an air
! once. Upon this instrument he also makes
| his prayers and applications.
Lovers Ways
The pito of cane serves the Indian for all
| his festivals and merryma king. and par
| ticularly for serenading his sweetheart In
| the hours of the night; above all to an
| noUnce to her from afar his approach. Be
! tween them there is a melody agreed upon
| beforehand and code for ConVersing to-
gether
| The Indian plays his melody from afar
/ and at the end sounds n certain note or
Is4.l. .p. ,T NIT 1GLj Iprsif Oh IN
| to him at the rendezvous agreed upon be-
! tween them. She replies with the notes
! previously arranged for the answering call
| The meaning of the notes is known to
| them alone.
When the parents of an Indian maiden
| object to her keeping company with her
| lover, and do not allow her TO go out, the
| two pitOS for COnNerSing together. Be-
forehand the Indian has taught his sweet
heart a species of dialogue or vocabulary,
for conversing without anybody being able
to understand them. TRANQUILITY, therefore.
in their cabins the TWO draw their pltos and
begin to question and reply to each other
as much they wish. That is to say,
with the pito the Indian forms an alphabet
and Syllables.
The Indians in general are charmers OF
reptiles: in particular. the Igorrote youth
of the Guiangan. who live in settlements or
tribes and inhabit the mountains. These
Indians are almost all semi-savage, and
when they are maddened the only thing
| which will calm them is music. 1t is a Gus
| tom of theirs to spend hours in tall trees.
| 1t may be, playing some melancholy refrain
with the wooden flute, or playing warlike
| airs with the pitO of cane.
When in their wanderngs they meet
| snake they Immediately raise the pito OF
| cane to the mouth and play a particular
| air to call TO their help the spirits Asnany
| Alfalfa and Anani. They beliye that
| playing the favorite air of the spirits these
! come running to them, and that their touch
makes reptiles insensible.
Hop+,,r;pr Carpap+s
Without fear the Indians approach the
snake and play the wooden flute certain
airs which seem to affect the snake Then
with small switch in the right hand they
give the snake light blows on the head,
without wounding it, until IT becomes leth-
argic. Instantly they seize it and place it
in leather bag.
Having so captured a SNAKE they carry
it to their hut, placing 1t Immediately in a
depository to domesticate it, and at the
sound of music to make it dance before the
public and in their family diversions. The
receptacle or depository is earthen jar
a meter high, with a circumference of LIE
meters. This jar has two handles. To one
of them the cover is fastened with thongs
of leather. The cover is crossed with thick
fibers of the palma bravo wild palm) in tho
manner of a net.
The cover is of circular form, and made
likewise. of the wild palm; this wood is
so hard that Hon cannot break it with
jar, into which 1t fastens.
The reptiles eat once month. and their
meal consists of wild pigeons magpies par
rots and little monkeys. At times, when
the Indian charmer is sick, or hunting on
the mountains, or away warning with an
other hostile tribe and has forgotten to
give the snakes their meals at the proper
time, they become so lethargic that they
appear to be dead.
When the Indian arrives with the provis-
ions and sees them in such state he
sprinkles them with nipa palm alcohol,
draws his pito of cane and plays 1t, chang
ing the airs until the reptiles revive. Some
times it happens that he finds remaining
only one or two of the largest and most
ferOcious; the others have Disappeared
eaten by the big ones. This, however, rare
~ happens.
Few Snake Bites
The Indian snake charmers are believed
by the Spanish to possess a certain power
of mesmerzing all kinds of reptiles, and TO
be able to do with them whatever they
wish. There has never been, 1t is asserted.
a case in which a charmer has been bitten
by the snakes which he carried with him
for his exhibition, or by those he frequently
encounters on the mountains and the
banks of the streams and rivers.
The Indian earns money by the exhibition
of his snakes. He has them trained to
dance to the sound of the music of his pito.
When he wishes to exhibit them he takes
his pito, and 10 the music the reptiles dance
III the edTlucH jar, their DeaQS
and half of their bodies through the holes
of the cover
The Serpentine Dance.
When the reptiles are exhibited within
house admittance is gained by each visitor
paying whatever he wishes to present.
Visitors are advised in advance that the
doors will be closed until the conclusion OF
the dance.
A circle is formed in the middle OF q
large room capable of containing comfort
ably one hundred persons. In the center
is placed the jar containing the reptiles.
When everything is ready the charmer
takes his pito and begins to play a very
slow melody, which he calls ''desaletaga-
dora" or awakener. The snakes begin to