Bambi Harper

From Bambi Harper - Malaya Column February 26,2007


Other opinions

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Sir John Bowring in his book, "A Visit to the Philippine Islands" (1858) claimed Filipinos demonstrated great indifference to danger. Francisco Cañamaque thought they imitated the Spaniard in everything that was bad, such as the love of gambling or in cutting an elegant figure.

But courtesy, urbanity and good education they neither imitated nor appreciated. Of their former traditions they preserved the love of flashy and riotous weddings, worldly type of burials, and tyrannical acts of all types; to his vices he added those of the Europeans. (Four hundred-plus years of repeatedly being told your shortcomings certainly damaged the Pinoy’s self-esteem; good thing some of us didn’t believe them).

They were convinced that their ancestors could be found in the forests and that they could punish or reward them and as a result offered them sacrifices. All the books and explanations were useless compared to the teachings of an ancient one they considered wise.

The priests believed at the time that these beliefs were disappearing and that their father confessors held great influence over them; yet the devil was credited with influencing the Filipino to hide his sins and crimes from the priest and the authorities and instead discuss them with one another. The biggest offense among them was to be a "blabber mouth" which they described as "mabibig."

Often priests would have contradictory opinions regarding the various customs of their parishioners. One claimed they confessed only three sins: leaving going to church, (2) eating meat during Lent and (3) having blasphemed or cursed profusely. Yet another priest claimed that no one could beat the natives of Manila in the fervor of their devotions, their contrition at Confession and in the fulfillment of their penance. They were lovers of religious dramas especially about the passion and death of Christ and had translated it into the chanting of the Pasion.

In Lilio (Liliw?) according to a priest in 1840 there were 1,300 tribute payers; 600 never went to confession despite the fact that this was a town not far from Manila. In Vigan there were 30,000 inhabitants but according to Sinibaldo de Mas only 500 to 800 individuals assisted at church rites except on the feast of the patron saint of the town.

It has been said that the Filipino was good with his hands and swift on his feet. His fingers were long and his toes nimble and skillful that served well climbing the riggings of the galleons and for other active functions. He was almost amphibious, spending a good part of the day in the water and impartial to the sun as to the heavy rain. Events make little impression him and luckily he had a short memory (I understand this is the secret to a happy life, according to Sophia Loren).

The natives of Pampanga, Cagayan, Batangas, Iloilo and Cebu were known for their bravery, generosity, labor and a general tendency for the arts. The talent and practice of music and sculpture was universal but the fame for painting became well known only in the 90’s with Luna and Hidalgo.

The Filipino farmer was moderate, quiet, timid, a lover of his home, good with his children, obsequious with his visitors, sedentary in his traditions, badly paid, active during the planting and harvesting months, and a loafer after the harvest. He did not go to town except to hear Mass which the parish priest obliged him to do or to visit the cockpit where he gambled searching for relief from his poverty.

He fished for dalag or trout in the banks or in the swamps if there were any; stole chickens from his neighbor which he didn’t consider a grave sin. He was impervious to danger yet timid in fights, serene about death. Despite the scapulars and reliquaries he displayed like amulets under his roomy shirt of jusi or rayadillo, his religion may have been only skin-deep. He was untiring in his work, dull in his fatigue, persistent in business, verbally abusive when angry. His town was his happiness and he loved his home; he had little ambition because Nature offered him rice, water, fruits, fish and root vegetables. (Which was fine when there were just a couple of million people spread out over 7000 islands).

As a worker the Filipino was humble, accommodating, obedient, affectionate, hard- working, quiet and good. On the negative side his defects included a tendency to murmur under his breath when displeased, ungrateful, informal in his commitments and variable in his values.

Among the working class were the journeyman or the daily worker and these included painters, artists, craftsman, laborers or operators. Then there the servants of two classes: the "batanes" or young domestic helpers. These were the responsibility of the Guardia Civil Veterana from Manila to San Pedro Makati. Among the older "batans" were servers, operators, foremen, laborers, servants and agents who were active, hard working, humble, and resigned. It was true that some servants liked to sleep in the ledge before the railings of the windows (presumably because it was cooler but which some Spaniards found odd), others it seems stole what they needed without their conscience being bothered, and loved without any preparation for the future. These so-called "batanes" were curious and unimaginable busybodies but they were loyal and affectionate as well.

(Olvidos de Filipinas, Francisco Entrala,1881)



 
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From Bambi Harper - Malaya Column March 06,2007


 
‘Obviously he must have been staying in a hotel or with friends in the Walled City since he says he crossed Calle Real in Intramuros.’


Other opinions (2)

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On March 13, 1873 an adventurous young man called Francisco Entrala arrived in Manila on the day of the horse races in Sta. Mesa. (The race track was in what is now Hippodromo street.) He certainly chose a round-about way to get to Sta. Mesa but his might have been because he wanted to give us a tour of some Manila suburbs. Obviously he must have been staying in a hotel or with friends in the Walled City since he says he crossed Calle Real in Intramuros, crossed through the massive portals of the Puerta Parian, one of the nine that flanked the severe but now useless walls of Manila, crossed the Puente de España that spanned the Pasig River and proceeded to Binondo.

He passed the Hotel Oriental with tables full of Spaniards close by Calle Rosario, a narrow street where you could see a world of Chinese as though enclosed in a giant bubble, beside the tower of Binondo Church. He traversed the Escolta, flirting with the ladies who threw him a glance probably out of curiosity from their carriages.

Reaching the less commercial and gayer street of San Sebastian, flanked by pretty structures with azoteas decorated with porcelain pots of flowering plants and little shaded gardens full of shrubs of gardenias and shadows, he reached the calzada of Sampaloc where the dust formed a cloud at the wake of the carriages, calesas and horses richly harnessed. The world of delight was brought to Sta. Mesa like a large nimbus of gold and silk by Spanish mestizas who had skin like porcelain and Indias with coppery skins, their hair tied in a knot, displaying long skirts of many colors reminding him of the gypsies of his homeland.

He arrived in Santa Mesa avid to observe like a newly arrived child in the country. There was a great gathering of Spaniards and foreigners dressed in white suits, while the ladies wore their famous piña skirts and airy blouses.

It seemed as though everyone stared at him as a new person. General Alaminos, Gov. General and the Civil Governor Carrascon, occupied the grandstand decorated in rich clothes of red velvet; the trophies that were to be presented to the victors shone in the tropical sun. Swift as the wind, the horses pranced onto the track; Imparcial, Mosquito, Albay, and other horses ridden by distinguished military and enthusiastic foreign youngsters with the objective of fighting for that trophy. The native ponies were so alive, so gallant, and so strong that if they had been five or six inches taller they would have been mistaken for Arab or Andalusian.

The person to his right without his being able to identify as mestizo or native was making notes on a racing sheet that he got from his pocket and asked him:

"I’m for Mosquito, Señor. And you?"

His words: "I looked at him with envy since I was perspiring in a closed jacket and trousers of silk and satin that I had worn thinking to make an impression. He wore a loose rich shirt of piña that I later learned was worth P100 with diamond buttons in the chest and in the wrists, beautiful watch chain of gold that sparkled under the sun’s rays, a pair of linen pants and patent leather shoes.

"Bueno," I answered, "you’re for Mosquito and I will be for whoever you wish.

"How do you bet? he asked.

"Whatever you wish.

"We’ll bet P20 if you wish.

"Forty also if you want."

We lost. He wanted to reimburse me but I refused. It turned out he was the former gobernadorcillo of Pandacan. The other people present were the Tuasons, the Ayalas, the Casals, Roxas, Ortiz de Zarate, Vizmanos, the Captain General, and the commander of the Navy plus a host of others he didn’t know.

Entrala speaks of dinner dances that people called Katapusan meaning final or end. It’s a word frequently used that the researcher runs into frequently in accounts of fiestas or any celebration and was in effect a dinner dance. It wasn’t all of that different from present day fetes where guests show off their jewelry and showy gowns, dancing till they drop following the music of sometimes more than one orchestra. In between dance numbers guests would chew betel nut if they wished or smoked tobacco, ate sweets and partook of wine or beer. The buffet table displayed turkey, ham, lamb, roast pig, chicken, asado of cow or veal. The songs they sang were in Spanish or local "habaneras" written by Arche and Masaguer or other masters of the genre such as Peres, Luna or Castaneda who also wrote La Mestiza.

Entrala mentions the sculptors of his day as Arevalo, Salgado, Murriel, Tampinco, Romualdo T. de Jesus. Painters included Hidalgo referred to as Resurreccion although there is no mention of Luna yet; Felix Martinez painted a portrait of the Marquez de Estella (wouldn’t you love to know where that ended up?), Guerrero and the then young Zaragozas and Villanueva. Resurreccion presented a painting called "Siesta" to Alfonso XII.

(Francisco Entrala, Olvidos de Filipinas, 1881)