METZGER— THE FILIPINO. LMarcm 7 , 



THE FILIPINO ; HIS CUSTOMS AND CHARACTER. 



BY JOHN A. METZGER, M.D. 



{Read March ij, igoj.) 



The early history of the people of the Philippines can, unfortu- 

 nately, be none other than that of imperfect conjecture. We 

 do know, however, that the present-day Filipino is not the direct, 

 unalloyed descendent of the aboriginal inhabitants of these islands 

 but have lineage from some nomadic people who, through affiliation 

 with the aborigines, have given to the ethnologist this almost in- 

 comprehensible human being. The progenitorial element is un- 

 questionably Malayan but the source is a much debated question. 

 Some authorities contend that the ancestors of this great semi- 

 civilized people came from Chili, drifted thither by the currents 

 and prevailing winds, while others with as equitable reasoning 

 believe them to have migrated from the shores of Madagascar and 

 Patagonia. Neither the paleontologist nor the paleographer has thus 

 far been able to throw any definite light on the source or character 

 of the original inhabitants of th s dependency. However, the 

 generally accepted theory points to a mountain tribe called the 

 Negrito or yEtas, which is universally regarded as the surviving 

 remnant of this once powerful people who first populated the 

 archipelago. 



From a paleontological and structural point of view we are wont 

 to believe that during the later Miocene or the very early Pliocene, 

 there was that progressive uplifting of the land which subsequently 

 became separated from Borneo and the Asiatic continent (through 

 Formosa) by the present China sea. The evidence which warrants 

 this deduction must be admitted is very fragmentary, however, the 

 distribution of living forms is certainly calculated to throw some 

 light on the more recent history of these islands and should be 

 made to contribute all it can, but at the same time it must not be 

 forgotten that the obstacles which seem geologically of small 

 moment may limit the extension of species. The island of Cebu 

 affords a striking example of this fact regarding the bird fauna and 

 mammalia which are regarded as the descendant forms of Borneo 

 and Continental Asia. This theory is corroborated by Mr. Waller, 



