FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83  
84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   >>  
eyes sparkling and his face and manner eager. They are much like children in their curiosity to see the white man's belongings, and are as greatly pleased with the gift of a trinket. Their expressions and actions on beholding themselves in a mirror for the first time are extremely ludicrous. One man who had a goatee gazed at it and stroked it with feelings of pride and admiration not unmixed with awe. Superstitions It will also take a close acquaintance to learn much of the superstitious beliefs of the Negritos. Some hints have already been given in regard to feeding the spirits after a hunt and reasons for changing names of children. Other superstitious were mentioned, as the wearing of bracelets and leglets of wild boar's skin and the burning of deer's bones to scare away thunder. The basis of all the superstitious beliefs of the Negritos, what might else be termed their religion, is the constant presence of the spirits of the dead near where they lived when alive. All places are inhabited by the spirits. All adverse circumstances, sickness, failure of crops, unsuccessful hunts, are attributed to them. So long as things go well the spirits are not so much considered. There seems to be no particular worship or offerings to gain the good will of the spirits, other than the feeding already noted, except in one particular. On the Tarlac trail between O'Donnell (Tarlac Province) and Botolan (Zambales Province) there is a huge black bowlder which the Negritos believe to be the home of one powerful spirit. So far as I could learn, the belief is that the spirits of all who die enter this one spirit or "anito" who has its abiding place in this rock. However that may be, no Negrito, and in fact no Christianized native of Zambales or Tarlac, ever passes this rock without leaving a banana, camote, or some other article of food. If they do, bad luck or accident is sure to attend the trip. Senor Potenciano Lesaca, the present governor of Zambales, when quite young, once passed the rock and for amusement--and greatly to the horror of the Negritos with him-spurned it by kicking it with his foot and eating part of a banana and throwing the rest in the opposite direction. The Negritos were much concerned and said that something would happen to him. Sure enough, before he had gone far he got an arrow through both legs from savage Negritos along the trail who could have known nothing of the occurrence. Of course this o
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83  
84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   >>  



Top keywords:

Negritos

 

spirits

 

Tarlac

 

Zambales

 

superstitious

 
beliefs
 

banana

 

feeding

 

spirit

 
children

greatly

 
Province
 

leaving

 

Christianized

 

However

 

Negrito

 

native

 

passes

 

bowlder

 

Donnell


Botolan

 

powerful

 

belief

 

abiding

 

Lesaca

 

happen

 

opposite

 

direction

 

concerned

 

occurrence


savage

 
throwing
 

accident

 

attend

 

article

 
Potenciano
 

spurned

 

horror

 

kicking

 

eating


amusement

 

passed

 

governor

 

present

 

camote

 

unmixed

 
admiration
 

Superstitions

 

feelings

 

goatee