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4 7" QLO is, perhaps, the most inter-
unrig, uf mc mum vf 'JwmJ
ttAici orm iff Sulu archi
pelago of the Philippines," urote' a recent
' visitor. "This, because of its historical as
sociations, because it is the residence of the
sultan, and because here one steps suddenly
into a warlike atmosphere.
"Life in Joo is not always the peaceful
'dream of the tropical Orient. One never
knows when a religious fanatic, running
amuck, will slip a sharp baron g into him.
Indeed, Jolo is now, perhaps, the one place
wider the flag where murder is a religious
rite'
Natural pirates, too, are the Moros of
the archipelago. They delight in traditions
of the time when their Malay ancestors set
out in their war praus to conquer the m(i
tude of islands in the South Seas and to
scour the waters for prey. One of the frst
tasks of the United States authorities was
to ore an up me system or slavery mat naa
'flourished there from earliest times.
Born to warfare and inheriting hatred
of Christians, the Mohammedan Moros do
I not tane Kinuty fu inc ran uinu v western
' civilization.' At any time a juramentada,
or religious fanatic, is apt to be seized with
' a murderous, craze.
SOLDIERS and foreigners in many parts
4 of Jolo go armed. They wish to be ready
should a crazed juramentada make them
tho object of attack.
As a rule, the juramentada becomes wrought
to a remarkable frenzy. When one breaks loose
the people of " the community arm themselves
and hunt hid down as they would a dangerous
wild beast.
j "One is. constantly greeted," said the trav
eler quoted above, "with the sight of a lot of
men' going: about with big .pistols strapped to
them.v I-met-Bomo soldiers returning . from a
plunge- in the . aurf . They worc-only bathing
Kuite, but each man carried lis revolver in his
hand." .rK -r;-s "
t , VT Xr?1??- wentJriiiJUtned.
under the , priestly -ministrations .to-determine
Wnen a Moro becomes sufficiently inflamed
upon a juramentada career, he formally an-
nounoes his purpose. The word juramentada
pronooncea s nooramentada" ig Spanish land
means "vowed ones," the to win. question being
to die killing Christians. -9: ; ; r
; Having announced- his 'desire to take the
required vow before.his priest the fanatic ie
votes three days to ablutious--this -in itself' be
inc. a" 6U?picioTis thintf. "Thn' b b H on.
trow? feharfd off, puts on his best clothes, usn-
monies..-,,".
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llaving' already arranged his worldly affairs,
he may spend a few.days working himself up to
a white heat of murderous frenzy. Then,, some
fine morning, armed with the sharpest weapon
he, can-lay -bands on,, be bounds into a village.
'Charging through the streets, cutting right and
left, he keeps on his desperate way until some
one kills him.
Under the. Spanish rule the juramentada
was much more in evidence than now. Many a
Spaniard seated, quietly in front of his house,
. his place of business or a cafe, has had his head -
ripped from' his shoulders by a charging Moro '
before he was aware that danger was .approach- -ing.
.- . ; :
When General Arolas became Governor of
Jolo or Sulu jhe made a determined effort, to -prevent
this religious slaughter, which was such
menace not only to his countrymen, but to-all
.other, foreigners.
He-issued an order that all Moros must be
disanoed before . -leing permitted to- enter ia
nw tW Viin-i;. ' ' .
wA.dead Jine,was established. Outside each, '
gate was, oompanyoi, soldiers under orders to , passedA, package of v cigarettes- around t as; ann
ehoot.to kiU every: Mora who did not give-up '.eyidence of' peace. and good wilL. - , ;
" i tf y'-lk- iw ' ' . '-'' ; SeveMl' of the- soldiers set their guns down '
;of w w : we;""" 3uramen-;.; in:0rder,to light their -cigarettes. Instantly the.
feJf8 run amuck and Moro sprang upon them, killed two .or three'and 1
,8lfUfKeLIr their path. Vv.wounded-otherjdeBperately before he could. be! i
w Un one v occasion a. lloro entprpA u.'MWn : .v . ..,,(-,., . s . . .. - ........ .. .
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Being Mohammedans of a peculiarly fanat
ical Bort, they have long been imbued with the
idea that the killing of Christians ridding the
earth of their hateful presence insures admis
sion to heaven. ;
The greater the number of "unbelievers"
slain, the'higherthey think, will be the slayer's
seat upon' the' steps of the heavenly throne.
, When the Spaniards discovered the Philip
pines, some 400 years ago, they found the Moros
occupying, as now, about nlnctyisjands south of
Mindanao, the large southern island of the Phil
ippine group, and stretching far away toward
Borneo. v
Not so very long before, it seemed, a large
tribe of Malays from Borneo had made their
way into the Sulu islands-a people so fierce
and warlike in disposition, so bold and daring in
action, that, for centuries thereafter, they defied
the power of Spain and made that part of the
Philippines a very uncomfortable place for the
Europeans.
Any kind of work except that connected with
his profession as a warrior is distasteful to the
average Moto. lie expects to find all his phys
ical wants supplied by his wives they were
looked after largely, by his slaves as long as he
was permitted to have them.
Much to the disgust of the Moros, the Amer
icans have done away with slavery. Formerly,
for failure to pay a debt as low as $2.50 gold,
both a man and his family could be enslaved.
It.was a Maro practice, , running back for
hundreds, of years. At one time, .it was esti
mated that nearly 10,000. Filipinos were held in
slavery on the island of Jolo,"
Until some-, time in the sixties, when a fleet
of steam," gunboats broke up the practice, the
Moros were given greatly to' piracy on the high
seas. Even now they are not averse to any dep
redations they may carry on in the waters about
their -island homes. .. , r .
Their,praus, or boats, are neatly carved from
logs, are sharp at both ends, and can be sent
through the water at great speed. Bamboo out
riggers prevent them from sinking, i
Moro lads begin their education early it is
an education of arms. They practice constantly
with the shield, the campihu, a kind of "Bword;
the barong, w.hich is .used for close conflict and
is the favorite weapon of the juramentada ; and
the kris, which is for thrusting and cutting A
Moro, as a rule, becomes so expert in the use of
the .barong that. he can decapitate a man at a
single stroke.
- On the water these people use a kind of as
segai, called "bagsacay," or "simbilin," which is
about half an.' inch in diameter, with a sharp
point. , Some of the more expert can throw four
of these at a time, making them spread out in
their flight
-. Very, skilful do .the Moros become in the
manufacture, of their weapons.. Blades of their
knives are as finely' tempered and as sharp as a
- Damascus blade. Their : homes are armories.
Within ; the last few .years a number of Moros
have come into the possession of firearms.
"The innate cruelty of the Mojjos," stated a
Filipino 'writer shortly . after - American", oecu
.pancy of 'the . archipelago, "is shown in their
. dealings . with the savage tribes of Mindanao,
; whose men they-hunt' with murderous zeal. ;u ','
- " "The title -of bagani' gives its holder the
f right to wear a" scarlet' turban and makes him
eligible to the' office of chief. But to obtain this
: title the aspirant must have cut off sixty human
heads: i ? '.-'-;,' -vy - ' ::
."These are', sought from' the , savage iMan-'
dayas of( the interior, Iwho are pursued, remorse
lessly thro'ughthe deep .forests. . They build their
.huts high up in ithe -trees and defend themselves .
-with "stones. '. . . t'
"The ' Moros seek. te' bring them down by
; shooting burning arrows at the huts. " If these '
i Ail; they climb.the trees, with their shields lockr
.;' ed above their ,h'eads, and cut down the posts that
support the huts. --(.The 'captives are then divided,"
the heads' of the men are cut off and the women
and children held as slaves.
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- : . ws ;exPeca Jrom mm. . , : ;r -vweapons-seldom' leave theirbdts exccpt'forusev , ...
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