The Washington herald., 1907-07-07

"pangasi." women glide gracefully 10 and
fro or IN a circle. chanting softly. Men,
wilder and stronger. shouting. leap into
the air like frenzied rabbits until they
fall exhausted upon the ground. And over
the whole the voice OF the officiating
chief his body glistening in the moon
light with COc0anut OIL speaks forth
strange words OF hope.
Upon the death Of a member Of the
tribe the ceremony is more solemn. The
body is carried reveTcntly to the family
burying place followed by a somber train
of mourners; clothing. articles Of food,
and household utensils that may be
needed i'm the other world are carefully
placed near by; and the service Of chant
ing performed. Caun0uades boom over the
spot.
The laws Of the tribe DO not forbid
uolycamv If the wealth and position OF
The husband warrants the extra expendi-
ture necessary for more than one wife
but in the family the FIRST wife always
rules the household. and her children
have prior rights in the line Of success
sion Divorce laws are stricter than
would naturally Doe imagined In such a
state of culture
Won't stand Insult.
Although the Tagbauuas as a rule are
.peace-lov.ug. they are not Of the nature
10 stand insSt or oppression. on the
comparatively rare occasions that they
do 80 to war from their skill and num-
bers they are heartily feared by the other
tribes Armed with bow and arrow and
b'owguu. with Moro kris and spear, with
few muskets Of very old pattern.
they are a picture TO inspire reverence
from their less enlightened neighbors.
Closely allied 20 the Tagbanuas. vet
their main rivals in numbers and advance
meut. are the Palawanes. To the P0la-
wan tribe belong a host Of settlements for
the siza of the territory strangely varied.
The more civilized Of the people have built
up a culture in the main very similar 10
that of the Tagbannas There are among
them. however. some NIohammedans who
observe Moro customs entirely. And yet
within the same tribe there are those
who would shoot Moro on sight, and
who feed on wild animals vermin Of the
forest. worms and grasses. centipedes.
-If.ahf~r IL.t'-alNfh~H NY t- A-NfN A''tl-i
of industry. They prefer 70 hunt with
their kris and bl0wg1n Through the
blow-guu they shoot a poisonous quill
fashioned from cane and black on the end,
making even more dangerous a weapon
tlan the much-prized muslets Of their
ueiEhbors.
In one feature. at least. they lead the
island. They have worked out 20 the
Of
rivals. a system OF weights and measures.
perhaps not Of metric accuracy. but fully
adequate 70 their purposes. And vet there
is one tribe which in a way gets ahead
even Of the Palawanes.
The Qucnevs. inhabitants mostly Of the
mountains. but for an occasional offer Of
becswax and "almaciga," ," seldom trade or
even communicate with their neighbOrs
All that is known Of them can be put
into hundred words They keep very
much 70 themselves. They have no chief,
no rancherias. Their government is pa
trarchal They build no houses. but live
in rude huts and trunks Of large trees.
They Clothe themselves in bark and eat
wild beasts and vermin. They are arro-
CANT. but mortally afraid Of catarrh. II
they have anv religion at ALL no foreigner
IltN ever NtFA lItAtfl lf'i lAtN' rs sfN.NA -Ao-
just Like Beasts.
Far in the north, hidden by the noun
tains. exists still another tribe Of dark
skins. which a score Of years ago were
little more than beasts. They wandered
In the forests from day TO day, sleeping
under trees and occasionally in a cave
wherever night overlook them. hunting
for a living, and dying when hunting was
poor. Since then. however. brought into
contact with traders from other regions.
they have assimilated many customs.
habits. and beliefs of Eastern and local
peoples. They have now much Of the Tag
banuan In them. They still shun agrieuI-
ture. and only when forced to it trouble
TO raise a crop Of rice. At rice harvest
time. all the neighbors Of the tribe hold
an old-fashioned husking bee or logrolling
party. assisting each other in gathering
the crop and taking equal shares as pay
ment.
These Batacs are not a clean tribe.
Senor Venturello found 60 per cent OF
them diseased But with all their un-
cleanliness of body they insist upon clean
liness Of soul. IT, after death, their god
Diwata. should judge their souls Un-
stained. they are sent with the accompani-
ment of stringed instruments and flute
10 the happiness Of Lampanag. The guilty
souls. however, are doomed 10 be thrust
into the depths Of Basal, where are wait
ing caldrons of fire and boiling water
Much like the Batad clan of the early
DAYS IS a little tribe of agile men. the
Taadulanes. They live on the seashore,
and roam in the forests, with not even
huts to visit for shelter. Much Of their
time is spent in bee hunting. for the great
ships that visit their coast will pay them
well for wax and honey. They, too, abhor
catarrh; stories Of victims buried alive
ere told you by the head men. But now
the Tandulancs have dwindled Two
decades ago a powerful people. as power
gues among these natives. they were al
most Obliterated by a sCourge Of tropical
measles-a scourge from which they may
never recover.
Point for the Adver;lser-The
newspaper that goes into the
homes is the newspape- that brings
advertising results More people
J.. .