THE PEOPLING OF THE PHILIPPINES. 257 



THE PEOPLING OF THE PHILIPPINES.* 



By professor rud. virchow, 



UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. 



SINCE the days when the first European navigators entered the 

 South Sea, the dispute over the source and ethnic affiliations of 

 the inhabitants of that extended and scattered island world has been 

 unsettled. The most superficial glance points out a contrariety in 

 external appearances, which leaves little doubt that here peoples of 

 entirely different blood live near and among one another. And this 

 is so apparent that the pathfinder in this region, Magellan, gave expres- 

 sion to the contrariety in his names for tribes and islands. Since 

 dark complexion was observed on individuals in certain tribes and in 

 defined areas, and light complexion on others, here abundantly, there 

 quite exceptional, writers applied Old World names to the new phe- 

 nomena without further thought. The Philippines set the decisive 

 example in this. Fernando Magellan first discovered the islands of 

 this great archipelago in 1521, March 16. After his death the Span- 

 iards completed the circle of his discoveries. At this time the name of 

 Negros was fixed, f which even now is called Islad de los Pintados. 

 For years the Spaniards called the entire archipelago Islas de 

 Poniente ; gradually, after the expedition of Don Fray Garcia Jof re de 

 Loaisa (1526), the new title of the Philippines prevailed, through 

 Salazar. The people were divided into two groups, the Little Negroes 

 or Negritos and the Indies. It is quite conceivable that involuntarily 

 the opinion prevailed that the Negritos had close relationship with the 

 African blacks, and the Indios| with the lighter-complexioned inhabit- 

 ants of India, or at least of Indonesia. 



However, it must be said here that the theory of a truly African 

 origin of the Negritos has been advanced but seldom, and then in a 

 very hesitating manner. The idea that with the present configuration 



* Sitzungsberichte der Koniglich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenscliaften 

 zu Berlin. Berlin, 1897, January-June, 279-289.' Translated with notes by 

 Professor 0. T. Mason for the annual report of the Smithsonian Institution, and 

 printed from an advance copy supplied by Professor Samuel P. Langley, secre- 

 tary of the Institution. 



t Note. — The island of Negros received its name because it was peopled 

 chiefly by a dark, woolly-haired race, while in other islands these were confined 

 to the interior. Cf. A. B. Meyer, Negritos, 1899, p. 16. — Translator. 



t This word, except in an historical sense, should never be used for non- 

 Negrito Filipinos. 



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