Physical Type and Relationships 259 



Color — Varies from dark olive to red ; less commonly olive or yel- 

 lowish white. 

 Eyes — Black, sometimes reddish brown. 



Hair — Appears to be straight in most cases, but being cut short a 

 slight waviness might not be noticed. Black. 



A comparison of these figures with those of our Luzon groups 

 brings out several interesting points. It shows that the Tinguian are 

 not related to the Chinese, "because of their tall stature;" for they 

 are, as a matter of fact, shorter than either the Chinese or Igorot. 

 It is also evident that they resemble the southern Chinese no more 

 than do the people of Bontoc. Further it is seen that both the Tinguian- 

 Uocano and the Chinese show greater likeness to the Perak Malay 

 than they do to each other. As a matter of fact, we find no radical 

 differences between any of the peoples discussed; despite evident 

 minor variations, the tribes of northwestern Luzon approach a com- 

 mon type, and this type appears not to be far removed from the 

 dominant element in southern China, Indo-China, and Malaysia gen- 

 erally, a fact which probably can be attributed to a common ancestry 

 in times far past. 1 



With this data before us, we might readily dismiss most of the 

 theories of early writers as interesting speculations based on superficial 

 observation ; but the statement that the Tinguian are derived from 

 the pirate band of Limahon has received such wide currency that it 

 deserves further notice. It should be borne in mind that the scene of 

 the Chinese disaster was in Pangasinan, a march of three days to 

 the south of the Tinguian territory. It is unlikely that a force suf- 

 ficiently large to impress its type on the local population could have 

 made its way into Abra, without having been reported to Salcedo, who 

 then had his headquarters at Vigan. 



As early as 1598 the Tinguian were so powerful and aggressive 

 that active steps had to be taken to protect the coast people from their 

 raids. Had they been recognized as being essentially Chinese — a 

 foreign, hostile population — some mention of that fact must certainly 

 have crept into the Spanish records of that period. Such data are 

 entirely wanting, while the exceedingly rich traditions of the Tinguian 2 

 likewise fail to give any evidence of such an invasion. 



1 Sullivan (Anthropological Papers, American Museum Nat. History, Vol. 

 XXIII, pt. 1, p. 42) gives a graphic correlation of Stature, Cephalic and Nasal 

 Indices, which shows a striking similarity between the Tagalog and Pangasinan 

 of the Philippines, and the Southern Chinese. Had he made use of Jenks's 

 measurements of the Bontoc Igorot, that group would also have approached 

 quite closely to those already mentioned. The same method applied to the 

 Ilocano and Tinguian shows them to conform to this type. 



8 See Traditions of the Tinguian (this volume, No. 1). 



