VIII, B. 6 Heiser and Villafranca: Albinism 495 



Livingstone,' states that in certain parts of Africa albinos 

 were destroyed because they were looked upon as the omens of 

 evil. In other countries they are worshiped as favored beings. 

 Neither of these beliefs is entertained in the Philippines. 



Doctor Llora, district health officer for Leyte Province, records 

 a superstition that albinism is caused by an evil spirit called 

 cahoy-non, who resides in the field and exerts his evil influence 

 on persons who incur his displeasure. This belief is confined to 

 the lower class. Albinos are neither hated nor admired; they 

 are simply looked upon as having incurred the displeasure of this 

 spirit for which there is no remedy. 



Defects of vision are not constant. Eighteen cases of pho- 

 tophobia, 13 cases of nystagmus, and 3 cases of myopia are 

 recorded in the report submitted. These are the cases that 

 are usually called moon-eyed. Properly adjusted glasses will 

 remedy the cases of myopia as it will in other people. 



According to many observers and travelers, albinism is to 

 be found among all the races and in every zone of the earth. 

 It is known by different names in different countries; for in- 

 stance, albinia, acromia congenita, and leucopatia. In the Phil- 

 ippines, also, albinism has different names according to the 

 dialects of the provinces in which it is found. In the Visayan 

 dialect of Leyte Province it is called ila, a word which signifies 

 "marked;" others call it pamusag, which signifies "whitened" 

 or "painted white." In Misamis it is called vulgarly kdbang, 

 when it is incomplete, and linakaran sa huan when it is com- 

 plete. In Albay Province it is called akos sin adlao, which 

 signifies "son of the sun;" in Zambales, anac aulo 6 labang; in 

 Ilocos Sur, ampurao. 



Albinism is found in the lower animals and even in vegetables. 



Villafranca has seen carabaos, pigs, and rats that were complete 

 albinos. Doctor Garcia, district health officer for Zambales, 

 describes, in his report on albinism, an American albino sow 

 which gave birth to 9 pigs, 5 almost complete and 4 partial 

 albinos. In the almost complete albino pigs the skin was 

 transparent and of a pinkish white color, the hair was black, 

 and the eyes blue. On the other hand, the partial albino 

 pigs suffered from lack of pigment in certain parts of the skin 

 and none was found in the hair of the body. 



The first report on this subject by the Bureau of Health 

 is as follows: 



" Ciencias Medicas, etc., see footnote 3. 



