The Forrest City times., 1909-04-30
BURNING A FILIPINO
QUEER FUNERAL ETIQUETTE IN
 THE PHILIPPINES.
Matters of Sickness and Death Are Solemn to the Minds of the Is- flanders, Yet They Appear
 Peculiar,
BY MARY H. FEE.
American Teacher in the Phiippin,


 passed the extremly punctilious stage Some of their strictest observances are in the matters of sickness and death.
 The sick have what We would con sider a hard time" To begin with. they are immured in rooms from which, as far as possible. all light and air are carefully excluded In a tropi- cal climate, where the breeze is almost indispensable to comfort. the reader may imagine the result Then all their relatives, from far and near. flock to see them, crowd the apartment and in sist upon talking necessarily to keep them from becoming lonesome. When the sufferer finds this insupportable and gives up the struggle 10 live the whole clan, out to the last connection. set about preparing their mourning Every woman makes a black dress and every man ties band of black cloth around his white coat sleeve.
 If there be wake il is noisy enough to out-Irish the Irish Our eastern friends resemble the Irish also in their love of a fine funeral To go 10 the last resting place escorted by a band and with all possible ceremony seems to make even death acceptable to them.
 Among the very poor this ambition is quite disproportionate to their re- sources. The percentage of infant mor- taltty. owing to poor nutrition, is es- pecially high; yet babe after babe, whose mother unwittingly starved it to death, is given a funeral in which the baby carriage hearse is preceded by local band, and hired mourners stalk solemnly behind the little coffin instead of the mother, who is due, by the rules of etiquette. to stay home.
 In Manila funerals resemble our own, save that the hearse, be it white for child or black for adult, is drawn by stately caparisoned horses, at the brides of which stalk men in eigh- teenth century court costumes, which include huge shoe buckles. black silk stockings and powdered wigs The carriages flock behind with little pre- tense of order and at much sharper pace than is customary with us The populace is, however, most respectful, rich and poor alike removing their hats while the funeral cortege is pass ing
 In the provinces where there are no hearses a funeral consists usually of coffin carried on the shoulders of four men and followed by struggling concourse of mourners. If the corpse be that of child. it not infrequently lies, gorgeously dressed, upon the blue and pink-beribboned cushions of a four wheeled baby carriage New born babes are buried in tiny little coffins covered with pink or blue muslin usually pink The Filipinos say that when child dies it's pure little soul goes straight to Gloria wherefore it is much to be congratulated upon leav- ing this abode of sorrow for one of amending happiness and only gay fes- tive music is used al it's funeral. The local bands play solely by ear. making the most of whatever music they hear sung or whistled in the streets, with the result that strangely inappropriate selections are used on these occasions At the first child's funeral l ever saw the band was playing "A Hot Time in the Old Town and friend to whom l related this fact assured me that at the first one he ever saw they were playing "I Don't Care If You Never Come Back" But this seems too fortuitously happy to be true. though il is quite within the possible
 When had lived in Capiz Ga town on the north coast of the island of Panay) year or two my lavandero twasherman) died and his widow, pointing to a numerous progeny, be- sought for an advance of five pesos for necessary funeral expenses. She wanted ten, but l refused to cOunte- nance such extravaganza She did not seem overcome with grief and her plea of numerous offspring was really valueless, for. if anything. they were all better off than before Her lord had been only a sham washerman, any way, collecting the garments for her 10 wash, delivering them and pocket ing the returns, of which he gave her as small moity as would sustain life and spent the rest in the cockpit
 Funerals in the country. where there are no conservatives, take place very soon. The lavandero died at dawn, his widow made her levy on me before seven o'clock, and coming home that afternoon I met the funeral in a thickly-shaded lane. Local tradition disapproves of near female relatives at a funpral cO the dead mans escort consisted only of the four bearers and three small boys, all under II years of age. The coffin was one in general use rented for the trip to the cemetery. Once there :be hody, wrapped in its petats (straw natl would be rolled
 Minrohes from Polar Renlon.