from its plant. After that, certain disputes
resulted concerning the marriage of these two, on account
of the difficulties arising from the first degree
of blood-relationship, which among them is inviolable,
and thought to be allowed only that first time from
the necessity of propagating mankind. [78] In short
they recognized invisible spirits, and another life;
also demons, the enemies of men, of whom they were
in abject fear from the evils and dread which these
caused them. Accordingly one of Ours converted
many of them by means of a well-painted picture of
hell. Their idolatry is, in a word (as with many
other nations), an adoration and deification of their
ancestors—especially of those who distinguished
themselves through valiant deeds, or cruelties, or
obscene and lewd acts. It was a general practice
for anyone who could successfully do so to attribute
divinity to his old father when the latter died.
The old men themselves died with this illusion and
deception, imputing to their illness and death and
to all their actions a seriousness and import, in
their estimation, divine. Consequently they chose
as a sepulchre some celebrated spot, like one which
I saw on the shore of the sea between Dulac and Abuyo,
in the island of Leite. This man directed that
he should be placed there in his coffin (which was
done), in a solitary house remote from any village,
in order to be recognized as the god of sailors, who
would offer worship and commend themselves to him.
There was another, who had caused himself to be buried
in a certain place among the mountains of Antipolo;
and out of reverence to him no one dared to cultivate
them, fearing that he who should go thither might
meet his death. This lasted until Father Almerique
relieved them of their fear, and now those lands are
cultivated without harm or dread. In memory of
these departed ones, they keep their little idols—some
of stone, wood, bone, ivory, or a cayman’s teeth;
others of gold. They call these
Larauan,
which signifies, “idol,” “image,”
or “statue;” and in their necessities they
have recourse to these, offering to them barbarous
sacrifices.
They also worshiped, like the Egyptians, animals and
birds; and, like the Assyrians, the sun and moon;
they attributed moreover, a sort of divinity to the
rainbow. The Tagalos adored a blue bird, as large
as a thrush, and called it Bathala, which was
among them a term of divinity. [79] They also worshiped
the crow (as the ancients worshiped the god Pan and
the goddess Ceres). It bore the name Mei lupa,
which signifies “master of the soil.”
They held the cayman in the utmost veneration; and,
whenever they made any statement about it, when they
descried it in the water, they called it Nono,
which means “grandfather.” They softly
and tenderly besought it not to harm them; and to
this end offered it a part of what they carried in
their boats, casting the offering into the water.
There was no old tree to which they did not attribute