FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118  
119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   >>   >|  
h they were guilty. Two evil-doing demons play an important part among them, and in which all believed before the conquest of the Philippine islands. One of those malevolent demons is the Tic-balan which I have already mentioned, who dwells in the forests, in the interior of the large fig-trees. This demon can do every possible harm to anyone who dares not to respect him, or who does not carry certain herbs about his person; every time an Indian passes under one of these fig-trees he makes a movement towards it with his hand, saying: "Tavit-po," Tagal words, signifying: "Lord! with your permission!" The lord of the place is the Tic-balan. The other demon is called Azuan. She presides especially over parturitions in an evil manner, and an Indian is often seen, when his wife is in labour, perched upon the roof of his hut, with a sabre in his hand, thrusting the point into the air, and striking on all sides with the edge, to drive away, as he says, the Azuan. Sometimes he continues this manoeuvring for hours, until the labour is over. One of their beliefs--and one that Europeans might envy--is, that when a child that has not reached the age of reason dies, it is happy for all the family, since it is an angel that has gone to heaven, to be the protector of all its relations. The day of the interment is a grand fete-day; relations and friends are invited; they drink, they dance, and they sing all night in the hut where the child died. But I perceive that the superstitions of the Indians are drawing me from my subject. I shall have occasion, further on, to describe the manners and customs of these singular people. I now resume my statement, at the moment when my lieutenant tried to assure me that I had some anten-anten, and that consequently I could not be wounded by a shot fired at me. He then addressed the young girl, who had remained in the corner, more dead than alive. "Ah! cursed creature!" said he to her; "you are Cajoui's mistress: now your turn is come!" At this moment he advanced towards her with his dagger in his hand. I ran between him and the poor girl, for I knew he was capable of killing anyone, particularly after I had been attacked in a manner that had placed me in danger. "Wretch!" said I to him, "what are you going to do?" "No great things, master; only to cut off the hair and ears of this vile woman, and then send her to tell Cajoui that we shall soon catch him!" It cost me much troubl
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118  
119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

manner

 

labour

 

Cajoui

 
relations
 
demons
 

moment

 
Indian
 

customs

 

singular

 

people


resume
 

assure

 

Wretch

 

lieutenant

 

manners

 
statement
 

perceive

 

troubl

 

superstitions

 
Indians

occasion

 
wounded
 

describe

 

things

 

subject

 

drawing

 

mistress

 
invited
 

dagger

 

killing


advanced

 

capable

 

addressed

 

attacked

 

remained

 

danger

 

corner

 

cursed

 

creature

 

master


person

 

respect

 

passes

 

signifying

 

permission

 

movement

 
important
 

believed

 

guilty

 

conquest