Wenceslao Retana’s “El Indio Batangueño,” a Translation [Part III]
CHAPTER II
PHYSIOLOGICAL NOTES
Batangueños are generally of stature somewhat closer to tall than to medium, and there is a certain harmonious proportion among the different parts of the body. Although not in great number, we have seen — on the shores of Balayan Bay and in some mountains such as those of Taysan and others — individuals whose bodies, by the correctness of their lines, could serve as models.
Women are much better developed; their stature is usually only slightly less than that of men, and the proportion they exhibit is considerably more harmonious than that found in the male.
The color of the skin varies between the yellow typical of the Mongol race and the olive typical of the Malay. But the most common is the dark copper‑brown, which becomes more pronounced in the towns of the northwest of the province; while the lighter copper‑brown is more frequently found in Batangas and Lipa. As for the slightly greenish yellow, although it may be seen in almost all the towns, it is more common in Taal and Lemery, no doubt due to the influence of the many Japanese who lived in those towns for a long time (which, until 1861, formed a single town), as mentioned in the previous chapter.
With regard to women, their color is distributed in the same way as that of the men; but it is almost always a little lighter.
The inócolas — that is, those who live within the town centers and therefore hardly engage in any significant physical labor — are almost all of loose and somewhat slack constitution. There are, however, some who are quite robust and of very gallant appearance.
As a general rule, women do not have the same appearance as men: industrious by nature and accustomed from childhood to constant activity, their active life and even their labors greatly influence the superiority of their physical development over that of men.
As for those who live in the countryside, of both sexes, they are naturally more robust than those who live in the town centers, although not all of them reach the stature of the latter—perhaps because of the hard life they lead from childhood.
In both men and women, the face is usually broad, which accentuates the prominence of the cheekbones more than anything else. And in not a few men, a certain flattening is noticeable in the back part of the head.
The hair is long, straight, abundant, and glossy, especially in women; and among these, none surpass those of Balayan, where the number of long and luxuriant heads of hair is astonishing. It is rare to see a bald person. Albinos, we have seen only four: one in Batangas and three in San José.
On the rest of the skin, men have hair only where it first appears on Europeans; and among women, most have hair in the same places as Western women, though not as thick nor as widespread.
Indios have some mustache, which they frequently shave—some even pluck it out (1). If they were to let it grow, they could not give it the shape and softness found among those born in the Peninsula. On the chin they also grow some hair, more bristly than that of the mustache, and like the mustache, they shave it.
(1) Father Blanco, in his notable work Flora de Filipinas, describes this task in detail: the indio usually lies down with the greatest tranquility in the world, and using two grains of palay as tweezers, plucks out the hairs of the mustache or beard one by one. This is more common among farmers, and even among them, not all do it. Usually, the indio shaves with a poor razor or with the tip of a bolo.
The forehead is broad in both sexes; in men it is often somewhat slanted backward, though only slightly. In Tuy, Lian, and Nasugbu, where the physical types seem smaller than in the other towns, the forehead is generally quite narrow and short.
In those three towns just mentioned, the eyes of both men and women are not as large as those of the inhabitants of the remaining towns. In Batangas, Lipa, Lemery, and Taal, we believe the individuals with the best eyes reside. In Taal and Lemery it is not rare to see some eyes somewhat oblique, with fleshy eyelids, large, without apparent wrinkles, and almost not convex at all.
Although the gaze of Batangueño indios is not very expressive, despite the fact that all of them, without exception, have pupils black as jet, they nevertheless possess eyesight so exceedingly sharp that they can distinguish objects at very long distances; and so excellent that they can see almost imperceptible things without great effort of the visual organ. Let the abacá, jusi, silk, and other fine fabrics, and the delicate embroideries they make on them, bear witness. It is very rare to see a myopic person.
The shape of the nose offers many varieties in both men and women. But generally, all are short; the variation consists only in the greater or lesser flattening of that part of the face. In any case, women have noses of more beautiful configuration than men. The sense of smell of these indios is superior to all.
Both men and women have somewhat thick lips—particularly the upper one, which is often full — behind which they conceal beautiful and strong teeth. It is a pity that they care for them with buyo, which is precisely what causes many to lose their teeth while still young.
We have said that the relation among the different parts of the body is usually quite harmonious; however, the legs generally appear somewhat short in relation to the trunk and arms.
Both upper and lower extremities are not striking for their thickness; although one often sees beautiful calves, especially on women, which they display when crossing rivers, bathing, or washing in the streams.
The hands are small in both sexes, especially those of women.
The feet of women are, like their hands, quite small; and those of men as well, considering that most of them go barefoot.
It is noteworthy how widely separated their toes are, particularly the big toe and the next one, between which they easily hold the stirrup arch when riding a horse. With these extremities they have considerable strength and such singular dexterity that they often use them to pick things up from the ground, like other indios of other provinces.
Just as the madre‑cacao (2) sprouts, grows, and spreads in a short time, so too does the indio grow and develop in a few years; and if his nature does not acquire the vigor that predominates among Westerners, it is because the powerful influence of this enervating Philippine climate encourages softness and prematurely awakens sensual appetites. Moreover, the nature of much of the food he eats, his customs, and other powerful causes contribute to the fact that most individuals lack the vigor typical of the inhabitants of cold countries.
(2) Sadelupa pungan, Linn.
Nevertheless, these indios have more muscular strength than those of other eastern regions.
Their vital strength, however, is not as great; the narrowness of the chest seems to indicate this.
Among males, broadly developed chests are not common, nor do Batangueños stand out for the width of their shoulders.
Up to forty or forty‑five years of age, they work as much as they can or as much as they need; from that age onward, few — except the Taaleños — can endure the labors of the field.
From childhood, Taaleños lead an extremely active life; and the enterprising spirit that distinguishes them contributes greatly to freeing them from many of the circumstances that cause the rest of the townspeople to lose much of their vital strength long before reaching old age.
Not a few indios of the province of Batangas die after reaching sixty‑five years; but they are not as many as some believe, and this is shown by the small number of indios whose heads are completely white.
In any case, given the powerful causes already mentioned, to which others may be added that we shall point out later, it is still noteworthy how excellent the physical development is among most of the indios described in these notes.
Women, as we have already said, are much better developed than men; but they are not large‑breasted, particularly those who live in the towns, and among these, those of the moderately well‑off class.
In Lipa, however, many women of broader forms are seen; and the cool climate that distinguishes that locality undoubtedly contributes to the fact that physical development there is not as early as in the other towns of the province, which prevents to some extent the precocity of certain instincts.
As a rule, the breast of the indio woman has a very beautiful shape; it remains almost straight for many years.
Menstruation begins at twelve years of age, or even earlier; it is an exception for a woman not to be capable of conceiving at thirteen. Menopause occurs at thirty‑five or forty.
Like almost all the daughters of the Philippines, those of the province of Batangas are very fertile. Their way of life makes them soft in constitution and extremely flexible: they enjoy ease and comfort; and in their loves, they show themselves passionate, gentle, and yearning, within that placid indolence that characterizes them. And although fickle at times, they always love more — much more — and are more constant than men. Men are naturally sensual. They marry at a very early age, more than anything else to satisfy their strongly developed sexual instincts. If they envy others, they try to marry as soon as possible; and those who do not, often seek a mistress.
As for women, it should be noted that one who has not married by twenty or twenty‑two years of age will no longer marry. This is the general rule. Hence, many of them, unable to live intimately with a man in a legal way, forget their duties in favor of certain demands of their organism.
“Sexuality, as a dominant vice, is so universal in both sexes that it burns reason in concupiscent flames.” This was written by Father Concepción (3) nearly a century ago.
(3) General History of the Philippines (Manila, 1788), Vol. I, p. 317.
Today, nothing similar can be said of the Batangueños: the indio, under the powerful influence of Catholicism, has been greatly regenerated, considering how little he lends himself to change; for it is evident that, in certain things, with rare exceptions, men and women have changed very little in the past three centuries.
But whether due to the influence of this enervating climate or to other considerable circumstances—some already mentioned and others to be discussed in later articles — many indio women resemble certain flowers of this fertile soil. Flowers are born and develop with great quickness and freshness: they open; they show their splendid colors and perfume the breeze with the delicate softness of their aromas; but a sun of scorching rays, in the brief space of a few hours, steals their hues, withers them, and casts them to the ground.
In the same way, many indio women who at fifteen enjoyed splendid development, at twenty become languid and slack; their breasts lose the delicacy of their lines, and from the contours of their once beautiful forms, the artistry of the curves disappears. And so, at twenty‑five or thirty years of age (when the European woman is in the fullness of life), the indio woman finds herself wilted, dry, and without fragrance — like a fallen flower.
Despite all this, Batangueño men and women are well developed when compared with the rest of the Tagalogs.
And as for their beauty, we doubt that in other Philippine provinces there are women as lovely as the daughters of Lipa, nor of more correct forms than those of Balayan.
In later articles, in which we shall speak of customs and habits, the reader may learn other matters related to physiology.
For now, we place a period here.