
THE MATERIAL SIDES OF LIFE 9] 
thatched roof, and floor raised above the ground. No 
traces of architecture in stone, either native, Hindu, or 
Mohammedan, have been found at any place in the 
archipelago. The Spanish edifices in Manila have 
several times suffered severely from earthquakes; yet 
it is not these seismic disturbances so much as his lack 
of cultural stimulation that kept the Filipino from 
construction in the more dignified and substantial 
material. Java, which is also severely shaken, is full of 
ruined Hindu temples, and Borneo is not without some 
traces. Had not the Philippines been so remote that 
the first force of Indian contact was spent before their 
shores were reached, we should undoubtedly find ancient 
stone buildings here also. 
There is nothing very distinctive about the Filipino 
house. Its general type occurs through the forested 
tropical parts of the earth, at any rate wherever the 
population does not live clustered in cities. The main 
requisite is a steep roof to provide a dense shade from 
the sun and shed the torrential rains. The higher the 
peak, the better will the roof accomplish the latter 
purpose, besides drawing up under itself the hottest 
air in the interior. In a country of palms and luxuriant 
grasses, thatch is by far the most easily put on material 
and perhaps the most durable. The only drawback is 
the danger from fire; but with the building. so easily 
replaced, the risk is felt to be rather toward inmates 
and property. 
The second requisite is a floor that shall be raised above 
the dampness of the ground and the snakes and vermin 
that infest its surface. The Filipino floor is always a 
few feet above the soil, often eight or ten, and some- 
times, when houses are set in the forked branches of 
trees, twenty, forty, or even sixty feet. The latter 
elevation of course serves no purpose other than pro- 

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