The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-11-07
They Claim to Have Made Great
Strides in Culture and Industry,
But Some Of Them are
Still Crude.
THEY ARE NEGRITos
These People are True Aborigines of
That Land and Distinctly Diff
ferent from Other lnhab-
itants There.

Though the Philippines have made
marked strides in culture, industry
and civilization in recent years, as
set forth in their recent pleas for in
dependence, some natives of the
island, as do a few indian tribes in
the United States. still present strik-
Ing subjects for study by ethnolo-
gists. according to bulletin from the
National Geographic society.
The Negritos are generally consid-
cred to be the true aborigines Of the
Philippines. and are racially sharply
distinct from most other numerous
tribes of the islands," says the buile-
tin, which is based on a communica-
ton to the society from Dean G. Wor-
cester. "They are of low, sometimes
even dwarfish. stature, with very
dark brown or black skins Their
heads are covered with closely curl
ing hair, and many of them have
abundant woody boards. They often
have so-called pepper corn hairs
distributed very abundantly over
their bodies. Their noses are broad
and flat. their lips thick, their arms
disproportionately long.
They do not tattoo their bodies, but
ornament them with scar patterns,
produced by cutting through the skin
with sharp pieces of bamboo and
rubbing dirt into the wounds thus
formed in order to infect them and
make good big scars. The men wear
small clouts, and the women short
skirts reaching from the waist to the
knee. They are very fond of brightly
colored cloth, scarlet being preferred,
but individuals who cannot get cloth
and there are many such-use in
stead the so-called bark CLOTH so
widely employed by inhabitants OF
the islands of the Pacific. Men fire.
quently shave the crowns of their
heads in order to let the heat out.
Throughout the year they subsist
chiefly on vegetable products, which
they obtain from the virgin forest
and on fish and game. They are
wonderful woodsmen and display
great skill in taking fish and game
and in still hunting their enemies.
But here their proficiency ends. They
are good at nothing else, and their
intelligence is of an exceptionally
low order.
MANY Of the Negritos point their
front teeth, but not by filing them,
as is commonly supposed. A chip
of wood is held behind the tooth to
be operated upon; the point OF a
bolo is placed in such a position as
to slant across the corner of the tooth
to be removed and sharp blow on
the bolo chips a piece from the tooth.
The opposite corner is similarly op-
Grated upon and an artistic point is
thus produced
"The music and dancing of the Ne
gritos are especially interesting.
Many of them know how to make and
to play both the bamboo nose flute
and a kind Of jews-harp made from
bamboo. Some Of them use crude
stringed instruments fashioned from
single joints of bamboo, the strings
being cut from the outer layer OF
wood, to which their ends remain
attached, and being raised up by
means Of bridges The distribution
Of the several kinds Of musical in
struments above mentioned is more
or less local, but the bronze tom-tom,
or 'gansa,' is in universal use, al
though some Negritos play it with
drumstick, while others beat 1t with
their hands. Many of their dances
are pantomimic. Their singing is
often weird in the extreme.
There are many stories current to
the effect that Negritos are often to
be met with wandering through the
forest in state Of absolute nudity,
and that they indulge in various OBJ
scene dances. | am satisfied that
the former series of tales are without
foundation in fact. Objectionable
dances are very rare among the wild
peoples OF the Philippines, although
they are sometimes INDUCED in by
the Moros, and are common among
the Manobos of Mindanao.
1.-The head-hunting peoples of the
Philippines are apparently limited to
northern Luzon. None of the war
like hill tribes inhabiting other parts
OF the archipelago are known to take
the heads of their victims"
The DeseHsed Public.