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The English called it theirs, for they first fished; the Dutch said, nay, but the island was of their discovery; Danes, Hamburghers, Bisayans, Spaniards, and French put in their claims; and at length it was agreed to make partitions.
"These Bisayans are a people little disposed to agriculture, but practised in navigation, and eager for war and expeditions by sea, on account of the pillage and prizes, which they call 'mangubas, which is the same as taking to the field in order to steal." Morga, f. 138.
There was not an old tree to which they did not offer divine worship, especially that called balete; and even at this time they have some respect for them. Beside these they had certain idols inherited from their ancestors, which the Tagalas called Anita, and the Bisayans, Divata.
From this stock we may also derive the Malays of Sumatra and Java, of Borneo and Celebes, and the Tagals and Bisayans of the Philippine Islands. Even the Hovars and other tribes of Madagascar may be referred to this division, for although in them the skin has become somewhat darker, we may still discern the characteristics which indicate their common ancestry with the Oceanic Mongols.
Pigafetta thus describes the idols which were seen by him: "They are of wood, and concave, or hollow, without any hind quarters, with their arms extended, and their legs and feet bent upwards. They have very large faces, with four powerful teeth like boars' tusks, and are painted all over." In conclusion, let me take a brief account of the religion of the ancient Bisayans from Fr.
"The Bisayans cover their teeth with a shining varnish, which is either black, or of the color of fire, and thus their teeth become either black, or red like cinnabar; and they make a small hole in the upper row, which they fill with gold, the latter shining all the more on the black or red ground." Pigafetta, p. 66; and compare also Carletti, Voyages, i. 153. 42 and 30 Cent. or 108 and 86 Fahr.
Their speech is midway between that of the Tagalogs and the Bisayans, and they themselves appear, in both their manners and customs, to be a half-breed between these two races. The inhabitants of the volcanic mountain Isarog and its immediate neighborhood speak it in the greatest purity.
John states further that the Bisayans used formerly to bring presents to the sultan; in recognition of which they received some water from the sacred jar to sprinkle over their fields and thereby ensure plentiful harvests. When the sultan was asked whether he would sell his jar for $100,000, he answered that no offer in the world could tempt him to part with it.
External appearance is more strictly regarded among the Bisayans than by the Bicols and Tagalogs. Here also the erroneous opinion prevails, that the number of the women exceeds that of the men.
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