cent.

"They kiss by bringing the nostril near and drawing in the breath. This
is the plain kiss in the mountains, but some Filipinos of the plains,
especially of Manila, have also become accustomed to kiss with the
lips; but they always put the nose to the face at the same time,
and if they have a sincere affection, they always smell as if they
were giving a deep sigh with their mouth closed.... When they look
at a person from a distance, and desire to express their desire to
kiss him, they constrict the nose in the manner of one smelling. A
very extreme kind of kiss is given by rubbing the nose on the spot
that they wish to feel, and drawing in the breath as long as possible.

"I am greatly surprised that no one of the writers on the Filipinos
has spoken of this remarkable fact, which springs from their exquisite
sense of smell. It is so great that a servant can tell his master's
shirt, after it is cleaned and ironed, even though it lies with ten
or twelve other shirts resembling it and belonging to other persons,
by simply smelling them. They also assert that if a man be near a woman
for whom he experiences a feeling of love, she knows it by the odor of
his perspiration, and vice versa. As a pledge of affection, they ask
for a shirt that has been worn--which they return after it has lost
its odor, and replace by another, just as we beg for a lock of hair.

"They had the custom of circumcision, a custom which they did not
acquire from the Arabs, since it is still practiced on the peaks of
the independent mountains. They practice it still, and that against the
will of the curas. Ancient customs have very great force. It is to be
noted that the manner of operation is not the same as that practiced
by the Jews, for the cut is made from the upper to the lower part.

"They had the custom that the suitor for a maiden's hand went to serve
in the house of his future father-in-law for three or four years, and
did whatever he was asked--in general, the most onerous duties. Then
the parents of the bride had to give him a house, clothes, etc., and
the marriage was celebrated. In many provinces, as for instance, in
Bulacan, there is now no trace of this custom, because of the abuses
which were committed. This custom, which we meet in the first pages of
the Old Testament, could not have been acquired from the Mussulmans,
who by their Koran hold laws diametrically opposed. This custom is
still followed in Laguna, although the you