The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA AND CHINA

47

before the sick, with other pleasing food. The Catalona
(priest) began with his usual dances, cut the animal, and with
his blood anointed the sick and all others in the company.
Afterwards they divided and washed the animal for eating;
and the priest, taking good care to get his fee, and making
great grimaces and waving hands and feet, seemed like one
who had lost his senses, emitting froth from his mouth, either
because he was possessed of the devil, or because he feigned
the thing for which he was given credit; and thus he prophesied what was about to happen to the infirm, whether prosperity or adversity.... If the patient died, all were consoled
by saying that the gods had elected the sick one to be one of
their anitos...." 9 This and what follows does not differ
essentially from the belief and practice in relation to anitos
which was practiced in all parts of the islands.
Briefly, the Tagalogs, and the other tribes which later became Christian, may be thought of as having added and adapted
certain Hindu conceptions to those earlier animistic beliefs
and practices which had spread with variations over all the
Islands. It is unnecessary to note the religious characteristics
of the eight tribes which later became Christian, in detail.
Much has been conjectured, but little of really scientific value
has been written about them. Much that has been said of the
Tagalogs would be true of all these other tribes (Visayans,
Ilocanos, Bicols, Pangasinans, Pampangans, Cagayans and
Zambals) in varying degrees. All of them were animists with
a veneer of Hinduism.
Everywhere existed the belief in the sacredness of the
baliti tree. There is a fable to the effect that two lovers
took refuge in a large baliti tree, to escape the wrath of their
relatives. The lady planted all kinds of plants, while her lover
cared for the breeding of animals. They lived here in the
tree many years until a flood covered the whole earth. All
men, save these two, perished. After the waters receded they
populated the earth once more with their descendants. It was
these genii called nonos who were supposed to have given
9 Paterno, "Ancient Tagalog Civilization," p. Ioo.