Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-05-15
A Weekly Letter From the Orient
FURNISHED BY THE RECORDER sSPao-
IAL CORRESPONDENT, Who Is
y MAKING A TOUR OF THE EAST
ERIN COUNTRIES.
Especial to Recorder.)

|
religion of the Philippines their his
! tory would have been one of blood
shed terrible to contemplate. Mo-
hammedanism among the Philip
! pine Malays, possibly more than
| anywhere else, has instilled into the
minds of the people a disposition
| toward continual warfare. The
Moro is a Mohammedan, but he
has perverted the Mohammedan be-
lief until at times it is a wierd,
grotesque and terrible religion. In
the heart af the Moro there is no
fear of death; it is to him but-an
incident of life. The Moro idea of
government is force. He never
knew anything else, and if you are
kind to him he thinks it is because
your fear him, His whole world is
ruled by fear and notlove.
He has no definite comprehen-
sion of abstract principles of gov
eminent, nor does he appreciate an
absent government. His allegiance
is always personal, and he pays it
to the Dato or the American officer
with whom he comes in daily con-
tact. This disposition allegiance
has been handed down to him
through legions of Datos, or feudal
| chieftains. Until the American oc-
cupation these Datos were contin-
ually at war with each other, and
it is largely through this lack OF
unity that the Moros never subju-
| gated much of the territory beyond
the country in which they lived.
Their wars with the Fillipinos,
the peacable Christian tribes who
live hundreds of miles to the north,
are confined to acts of piracy and
raiding. His religion, as set forth
in the Koran, tells the Moro that
/
he must obey without question the
commands of his superiors. Under
rigid personal supervision the Moro
makes a good servant, but is not
to be trusted when left alone.
The Moro, when not under the
influence of strong ruler, is sub,
ject to strange, murderous fits Of
insanity. When a Moro, without
previous preparation on his part,
becomes seized with a desire to com,
NIT murder, he "runs a-muck, .
and dashes about, wildly .slashine
and killing even his own people
| He is in an insane frenzy and Is moi
accountable for his actions. Al
other times, however, he works
himself up into passion of religious
frenzy, for the purpose of killing
| Christians. When in this state Of
passion a Moro is said to be Juram
entado. He has then taken a re
ligious oath, perhaps administered
| by some sacred Hadji who has
made a pilgrimage to Mecca. The
Moro having taken the oath binds
himself up with cords and cloth un
til he suffers axcruciating pain
and then through his physical sui
fering is reduced to nervous fren
zy.
! Having once taken the oath th'
religious Juramentado is bound tt
continue Staying until he him
self is slain, In Jolo, since the
American occupation, More
went Juramentado while thu
band was playing on the square
and in shooting the Moro, who min
| gled with the soldiers, soldier wa
wounded and the trombone playe
had his instrument pierced in sew
eral places.
| 1t is recorded in Jolo, that
Spanish general who was mucl
troubled with the fanatical juram
| entadoes, about thirty years ag'
ordered out one of his batteries
and told it to shell the palace o
the sultan. The sultan happene'
| to be absent at the time, and lev
DAYS later rushed to the resSdenc
of the general, exclaiming agalns
the Smelling of his house. Will
he was complaining the battery be
gan Smelling part of the Moro vii
lage,
The sultan exclaimed, General
your troops are killing my people
stop them"
| n1 ntnn them as the