The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 40]

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THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. 40

For all of them keep a steadfast gaze on the one who
is confessing. One is astonished and amused to see
all the women with their faces turned backward 190
so that they seem to be biformed Januses, or paid
dancers with a mask at the back of the head. In this
manner, they remain until the end of the function.
The same is true on Ash Wednesday or at the adorations of the cross on Holy Friday, when all of them
wish to kiss at one time, or in other similar functions.
48. They are much given to the sin of blasphemy,19' because of their natural vileness, their
pride, and their presumption. Hence it is quite
usual for them to complain of God, whom they call
Paghihinanaquit, asking why He does not give them
this or that, and health or wealth, as He does to other
creatures. They utter words of nonsense that horrify
those who do not know that it proceeds from their
great lack of understanding and consideration, and
from their very great disability for conforming themselves with the divine will.'92 Thus the royal prophet
190 M. omits the remainder of this sentence. For "Januses,"
D. reads "worms."
191 Because some of the Indians are given to blasphemy, says
Delgado (p. 313), it does not follow that all of them are blasphemous.
192 "I shall here attempt a delicate and interesting investigation,
namely, the religiousness of the Filipinos. There are opposite
opinions on this matter, and serious errors are liable to arise.
"The women always wear scapulars about the neck, and
usually some sort of a small cross; and a reliquary, containing the
bones of a saint and a bit of the wood of the cross. But this has
become a part of the dress, like earrings or necklaces, and both the
devout women and those who are not devout wear them.
"The walls of the houses are often covered with the engravings of saints, and on the tables are many glass globes and urns
containing saints, virgins, and little figures of the Divine Child,
which generally have the face as well as the hands of ivory, and
silver clothes richly embroidered. In well-to-do houses there
are so many that they resemble a storehouse of saints rather than