East Basak Malutlut, Awar St. Marawi City, BARMM, Phil.

9700
Reg. Sec. No. 200927088 Institutional Code: 15064
TIN #: 007-565-606 / E-mail Add: LCCILAYKO@gmail.com

SSC 1
Social Studies in Elementary Grades (Culture and Geography)

REFLECTION PAPER
Like Stars on Earth, Every Child is Special (2007)

Instructor :

Ma'am Raihanah P. Guinar

Name:

Jalila D. Socor
Course & Cluster

BEED I & C - II
 “Dream your dreams never doubt, never rest until those dreams is yours “ – Dr. Bae Okile M. Sharief D.

MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF HISTORY

“What is history? An echo of the past in the future; a reflex from the future on the past.” – Victor Hugo

Think of the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word
history. Heroes, past events, and historic places are some ideas that you might
have. History is an interesting subject for some, but for a number of students,
they may find it boring or irrelevant in relation to their chosen college degree,
or even to their lives! Perhaps, one of the reasons is, not knowing what history
really means and not realizing its relevance to one’s life and to a nation’s
destiny as well.

As a discipline, Merriam-Webster (2018) defined history as “a chronological

record of significant events (such as those affecting a nation or institution),
often including an explanation of their causes.” This definition merely pertains
to the events that are significant to an organization sequentially arranged to
tell a coherent story of the past. However, looking into the etymology of the
word, ‘history’ was derived from the Greek word ‘historia,’ which means ‘inquiry
or knowledge acquired by investigation.’ Hence, the subject is not just about
knowing which event comes first, but it requires readers to examine every
information coming from a source to justify the cause of a certain event and to
identify the reasons for the actions of the personalities involved. On the other
hand, historiography refers to how, what, and why history is written. It is
about the methods and practices used in producing history, the development of
history as a discipline, or the philosophy or significance of historical writing.
Encyclopedia Britannica (2017) shortly defines it as the writing of history based
on the critical examination of sources, the selection of particular details from
the authentic materials used in those sources, and the synthesis of the details
into a narrative that stands the test of critical examination.
The term historiography also refers to the theory and history of historical
writing.

In short, history is the study of past events and historiography is the study of
history.

Prehistory and History In this study, it is important to distinguish what is

prehistory, history, and historiography. Prehistory refers to that period where
information of the past were recorded in materials other than written
documents, which may not be understood by a historian. These include
artifacts, drawings, paintings, sculptures and any other forms. History covers
information derived from largely written records of past experiences.

Why study history?

Peter N. Stearns in 1998 has published an article with the American Historical
Association that enumerated the reasons why we should study history. Here
are some of his justifications why the subject is worth our attention:

1. History helps us understand people and societies. In the first place,

history offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies
behave. Understanding the operations of people and societies is difficult,
though a number of disciplines make an attempt. An exclusive reliance on
current data would needlessly handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if
the nation is at peace - unless we use historical materials? How can we
understand genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that
beliefs play in shaping family life, if we do not use what we know about
experiences in the past? Some social scientists attempt to formulate laws or
theories about human behavior. But even these recourses depend on historical
information, except for in limited, often artificial cases in which experiments
can be devised to determine how people act. Major aspects of a society's
operation, like mass elections, missionary activities, or military alliances,
cannot be set up as precise experiments. Consequently, history must serve,
however imperfectly, as our laboratory, and data from the past must serve as
our most vital evidence in the unavoidable quest to figure out why our complex
species behaves as it does in societal settings. This, fundamentally, is why we
cannot stay away from history: it offers the only extensive evidential base for
the contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to
have some sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives.

2. History helps us understand change and how the society we live in

came to be. The second reason history is inescapable as a subject of serious
study follows closely on the first. The past causes the present, and so the
future. Any time we try to know why something happened, we have to look for
factors that took shape earlier. Sometimes fairly recent history will suffice to
explain a major development, but often we need to look further back to identify
the causes of change. Only through studying history can we grasp how things
change; only through history can we begin to comprehend the factors that
cause change; and only through history can we understand what elements of
an institution or a society persist despite change.

3. History contributes to moral understanding. History also provides a

terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of individuals and
situations in the past allows a student of history to test his or her own moral
sense, to hone it against some of the real complexities individuals have faced in
difficult settings. People who have weathered adversity not just in some work of
fiction, but in real, historical circumstances can provide inspiration. "History
teaching by example" is one phrase that describes this use of a study of the
past - a study not only of certifiable heroes, the great men and women of
history who successfully worked through moral dilemmas, but also of more
ordinary people who provide lessons in courage, diligence, or constructive
protest.
4. History provides identity. History also helps provide identity, and this is
unquestionably one of the reasons all modern nations encourage its teaching
in some form. Historical data include evidence about how families, groups,
institutions and whole countries were formed and about how they have evolved
while retaining cohesion. For many [Filipinos], studying the history of one's
own family is the most obvious use of history, for it provides facts about
genealogy and (at a slightly more complex level) a basis for understanding how
the family has interacted with larger historical change. Family identity is
established and confirmed. Many institutions, businesses, communities, and
social units, such as ethnic groups in the [Philippines], use history for similar
identity purposes. Merely defining the group in the present pales against the
possibility of forming an identity based on a rich past. And of course nations
use identity history as well—and sometimes abuse it. Histories that tell the
national story, emphasizing distinctive features of the national experience, are
meant to drive home an understanding of national values and a commitment to
national loyalty.

5. Studying History Is Essential for Good Citizenship. A study of history is

essential for good citizenship. This is the most common justification for the
place of history in school curricula. Sometimes advocates of citizenship history
hope merely to promote national identity and loyalty through a history spiced
by vivid stories and lessons in individual success and morality. But the
importance of history for citizenship goes beyond this narrow goal and can
even challenge it at some points. History that lays the foundation for genuine
citizenship returns, in one sense, to the essential uses of the study of the past.
History provides data about the emergence of national institutions, problems,
and values—it's the only significant storehouse of such data available. It offers
evidence also about how nations have interacted with other societies, providing
international and comparative perspectives essential for responsible
citizenship. Further, studying history helps us understand how recent,
current, and prospective changes that affect the lives of citizens are emerging
or may emerge and what causes are involved.

More important, studying history encourages habits of mind that are vital for
responsible public behavior, whether as a national or community leader, an
informed voter, a petitioner, or a simple observer.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

In the study of history, historians give interpretations of the past by

investigating historical sources.

No interpretations, however, shall be accepted unless it is supported by

evidence from the examined sources. Historical sources may refer to
everything, written or not, that may tell something about the past. These
sources are generally classified into primary and secondary sources.

Primary sources are original records of a certain event by people who have
actually experienced or witnessed it. These may include original works such as
letters, legislations, newspaper articles, diaries, interviews, government
documents, reports, photographs, literature and other creative outputs.
Secondary sources, on the other hand, are records based on primary sources.
They explain a certain event of the past through evaluation and interpretation
of the records created during a historical period. These may include researches,
textbooks, journals, commentaries, biographies, and criticism or reviews of
literary and creative works. To illustrate, if students wish to study the 1987
Constitution, the primary sources includes the Record of the 1986
Constitutional Commission, proclamations, speeches of the 48 representatives
who collectively drafted the current Constitution, and the text of the
Constitution itself. Its secondary sources, on the hand, may include textbooks,
annotations, and published opinions about the Constitution.
 Primary and secondary sources are both important in studying history.
However, it is preferred that students use primary sources in their analysis and
synthesis of the past events.

The use of primary sources is important because of the following reasons:

1. Direct contact with the original records and artifacts invites students to
explore the content with active and deeper analysis, and to respond
thoughtfully.

2. Critical thinking is developed as students probe the context, purpose,

meaning, bias, and perspectives in their analysis of the past.

3. In the interaction with the various sources from the past, a learn-led inquiry
is being fostered

4. There is a realization that history is a reflection of various perspectives of

those who interpret the past events; and 5. It brings back to story to history
allowing students to share the author’s perspectives.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CRITICISM

Being able to identify primary sources from secondary sources is the first step
of historical method. Historical method refers to the process of probing
primary sources that will be used in writing history. This includes source
criticism which studies the external and internal validity of sources.

According the Gilbert J. Garraghan and Jean Delanglez in 1946, source

criticism asks the following questions:

 When was the source, written or unwritten, produced?

 Where was it produced?
 By whom was it produced?
 From what pre-existing material was it produced?
 In what original form was it produced?
 What is the evidential value of its contents?
 The first five questions are considered to be part of external criticism.
Historians determine the authenticity of sources by examining the date, locale,
creator, analysis and integrity of the historical sources. These information
must be consistent with each other. It means, for example, that the materials
used in a source must match the time and place when it was produced.

The last question is treated as internal criticism as it helps the historians

determine the credibility of the source. It studies the content of the source to
know its truthfulness. For a source to be valid, its content must be reasonable
and historically precise. One should now rely on a data which is not supported
by evidence.

Neuman in 2013 has explained the difference between external and internal
criticism in the illustration on the next page.

One of the disputed documents which may illustrate the application of

external and internal criticism is the Code of Kalantiaw. The Code was
introduced as written by Datu Kalantiaw of Negros in 1433. However, in a
study presented by William Henry Scott, it was found out to be a hoax – a
forgery written by Jose E. Marco in 1913.

Today, history books no longer include the said Code. But Atty. Cecilio Duka, in 2018,
has interestingly provided the 18 articles of the Code in his book, Struggle for
Freedom, to be critically examined by the students and conclude its truthfulness. For
similar reasons and to feed our curiosity here are the said laws:

Article I - Ye shall not kill, neither shall ye steal nor shall ye hurt the aged, lest ye incur
the danger of death. All those who this order shall infringe shall be tied to a stone and
drowned in a river or in boiling water.

Article II - Ye shall punctually meet your debt with your headman. He who fulfills not, for
Article VI - time
the first Ye shall revere
shall respectable
be lashed places, trees ofand
a hundredfold, known value,
If the and otherissites.
obligation Hehis
great, shallhand
pay ashall
month's
work, in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if twice committed, he shall be declared a slave.
be dipped threefold in boiling water. On conviction, he shall be flogged to death.
Article VII - They shall die who kill trees of venerable aspect; who at night shoot with arrows the aged men
andArticle III - he
the women; who ye:
Obey enters
no the
onehouse
shallofhave
the headman without
wives that are permission;
too young,henor
whoshall
kills they
a fishbe
or shark
more or
striped
thancrocodile.
what he can take care of, nor spend much luxury. He who fulfils not, obeys not, shall
Article VIII - Theyto
be condemned shall
swimbe slaves
three for a given
hours and,time
for who steal away
the second the women
time, shall beofscourged
the headmen;
withhespines
who
possesses dogs that bite the headmen; he who burns another man's sown field.
to death.
Article IV - Observe and obey ye: Let not the peace of the graves be disturbed; due

The Code is just one of the many sources that was included in our former study of the Philippine
history and there may be other sources that are, up until now, accepted but not fully examined.
As students of history, the challenge is for us to externally and internally criticize sources before
accepting them as evidence to the history of our past.

In addition to the questions of Garraghan and Delanglez, historians also have presented the
following principles of source criticism for determining reliability (Olden-Jørgensen, 1998
and Thurén, 1997):

 Human sources may be relics such as a fingerprint; or narratives such as a statement or a

letter. Relics are more credible sources than narratives.
 Any given source may be forged or corrupted. Strong indications of the originality of the
source increase its reliability.
 The closer a source is to the event which it purports to describe, the more one can trust it
to give an accurate historical description of what actually happened.
 A primary source is more reliable than a secondary source, which is more reliable than a
tertiary source, and so on.
 If a number of independent sources contain the same message, the credibility of the
message is strongly increased.
 The tendency of a source is its motivation for providing some kind of bias. Tendencies
should be minimized or supplemented with opposite motivations.
 If it can be demonstrated that the witness or source has no direct interest in creating bias
then the credibility of the message is increased.

Historians may also look into oral traditions as a source of history. These
traditions, however, may only be accepted if they satisfy the following
conditions:

1. Broad conditions:

a. The tradition should be supported by an unbroken series of witnesses,

reaching from the immediate and first reporter of the fact to the living mediate
witness from whom we take it from, or to the one who was the first to commit it
to writing.

b. There should be several parallel and independent series of witnesses

testifying to the fact in question.

2. Particular conditions:

a. The tradition must report a public event of importance, such as would

necessarily be known directly to a great number of persons.

b. The tradition must have been generally believed, at least for definite
period of time.

c. During that definite period it must have gone without protest, even
from persons interested in denying it.

d. The tradition must be one of relatively limited duration (Elsewhere,

Garraghan suggests a maximum limit of 150 years, at least in cultures
that excel in oral remembrance)

e. The critical spirit must have been sufficiently developed while the
tradition lasted, and the necessary means of critical investigation must
have been at hand.

f. Critical-minded persons who would surely have challenged the

tradition – had they considered it false – must have made no such
challenge.
KINDS AND REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY RESOURCES

Establishing the reliability of primary sources is vital in studying history. As

students, it is equally important for one to identify the various kinds of primary
sources as used in different avenues.

This lesson presents the classification of primary sources and the obtainability
of each.

Primary sources may be published or unpublished documents.

Published documents are those that are intended for public distribution or
use. Newspapers, magazines, books, reports, government documents, laws,
court decisions, literary works, posters, maps, and advertisements are some of
the examples. The fact that these documents are published does not mean that
they are reliable, accurate, or truthful. The readers must comprehend not just
the substance of the document but also the background of the author, as it
may be written based on the author’s perspective. Documents such as diaries,
journals, letters, wills, and other personal papers that are not published may
be used as primary sources. Unpublished documents, unlike published ones,
may be difficult to locate as they are kept in private and hence, may not be
easily accessed by the public. These documents are also confidential and are
restricted from public use like personal letters, which are in the possession of
the recipients.

Primary sources may also be unwritten. These may include oral traditions,
oral histories, artworks, and artifacts.

Traditions and histories or stories transferred through generations may tell us

something about the past. Accepted as primary sources of this kind are those
that come from people who have actually witnessed or experienced the past
events. Personal or first-hand knowledge is necessary in considering these
sources as primary. Although some oral traditions (from some cultures) that
are still unwritten up to date may be used in writing history, it is essential that
that their reliability is properly evaluated. Other unwritten sources include
artworks and artifacts. These are visual documents that tell us several views of
the past from the perspectives of creators. Drawings, paintings, sculptures,
photographs, and artifacts are some of the visual documents that may have
captured historic moments and provide evidence to changes that happened
over time. Knowing the type of primary source helps in identifying its
repository.

Written documents may be found in libraries or archives while unwritten

documents may be stored in museums and galleries. Primary sources of
Philippine history are placed in several repositories around the country. Some
of these places are the National Archives, National Library, the National
Museums, and other local government repositories.

The National Archives of the Philippines

Organized under Republic Act No. 9470 passed on May 21, 2007, the
National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) was established to store, preserve,
conserve, and make available to the public the records, papers, periodicals,
books or other items, articles or materials, that have been selected for
permanent reservation. These materials may be in the form of electronic,
audio-visual or print, which by their nature and characteristics have enduring
value.

The NAP is holding about 60,000,000 archival documents with Spanish

Collection comprising an estimated 13,000,000 manuscripts from the 16th to
19th Century with 400 titles on various aspects of Philippine history under the
a) Spanish rule such as royal decrees of Spanish monarchs, reports of Spanish
governors-general, documents on Filipino uprisings, records of different
provinces and pueblos, royal titles on lands and landed estates, pastoral letters
of the clergy, papers on churches and convents, maps and architectural plans
of buildings and houses, civil records like birth, marriages and death; b)
American and Japanese occupation records including Philippine National
Guard records, civil service rosters, war trials; and c) recent records composed
of notarial documents, registers, civil service records, and 1,000 cubic meter of
inactive records of national/local governments, including those of abolished,
transferred or merged offices.

The National Library of the Philippines The National Library of the Philippines
(NLP) is the repository of the printed and recorded cultural heritage of the
country and other intellectual, literary and information sources. It was
established by a royal decree on 12 August 1887 and named as the Museo-
Biblioteca de Filipinas. Its mission is to acquire, organize, conserve, and
preserve Filipiniana materials and provide equitable access to library resources
through a system of public libraries throughout the country. The NLP has one
of the largest collections of materials in various forms in the country covering
around 1.6 million books, manuscripts, newspapers, theses and dissertations,
government publications, maps, and photographs. Some of the valuable pieces
it holds are Rizal’s novels, including the unfinished novels, and the Philippine
Declaration of Independence which are all kept in a special vault. The National
Museum of the Philippines As an educational, scientific, and cultural
institution, the National Museum (NM) operates the National Museum of Fine
Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History,
National Planetarium and other branch museums around the country. Its
collection covers fine arts, archeology, ethnography, and natural history.

FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD BY MAGELLAN

Translated from the accounts of Antonio Pigafetta accompanied by original documents,

with notes and introduction by Lord Stanley of Alderley.

Saturday, the 16th of March, 1521, we arrived at daybreak in sight of a high island,
three hundred leagues distant from the before-mentioned Thieves' island. This isle is
named Zamal. The next day the captain-general wished to land at another
uninhabited island near the first, to be in greater security and to take water, also to
repose there a few days. He set up there two tents on shore for the sick, and had a sow
killed for them. Monday, the 18th of March, after dinner, we saw a boat come towards
us with nine men in it: upon which the captain-general ordered that no one should
move or speak without his permission. When these people had come into this island
towards us, immediately the principal one amongst them went towards the captain-
general with demonstrations of being very joyous at our arrival. Five of the most showy
of them remained with us, the others who remained with the boat went to call some
men who were fishing, and afterwards all of them came together. The captain seeing
that these people were reasonable, ordered food and drink to be given them, and he
gave them some red caps, looking glasses, combs, bells, ivory, and other things. When
these people saw the politeness of the captain, they presented some fish, and a vessel
of palm wine, which they call in their language Uraca; figs more than a foot long, and
others smaller and of a better savour, and two cochos. At that time, they had nothing
to give him, and they made signs to us with their hands that in four days, they would
bring us Umai, which is rice, cocos, and many other victuals. To explain the kind of
fruits above-named it must be known that the one which they call cochi, is the fruit
which the palm trees bear. And as we have bread, wine, oil, and vinegar, proceeding
from different kinds, so these people have those things proceeding from these palm
trees only. It must be said that wine proceeds from the said palm trees in the following
manner. They make a hole at the summit of the tree as far as its heart, which is
named palmito, from which a liquor comes out in drops down the tree, like white
must, which is sweet, but with somewhat of bitter. They have canes as thick as the
leg, in which they draw off this liquor, and they fasten them to the tree from the
evening till next morning, and from the morning to the evening, because this liquor
comes little by little. This palm produces a fruit named cocho, which is as large as the
head, or thereabouts: its first husk is green, and two fingers in thickness, in it they
find certain threads, with which they make the cords for fastening their boats. Under
this husk, there is another very hard, and thicker than that of a walnut. They burn
this second rind, and make with it a powder which is useful to them. Under this rind,
there is a white marrow of a finger's thickness, which they eat fresh with meat and
fish, as we do bread, and it has the taste of an almond, and if anyone dried it he might
make bread of it. From the middle of this marrow there comes out a clear sweet water,
and very cordial, which, when it has rested a little, and settled, congeals and becomes
like an apple.

When they wish to make oil, they take this fruit, the coco, and let it rot, then they
corrupt this marrow in the water, then they boil it, and it becomes oil in the manner of
butter. When they want to make vinegar, they let the water in the cocoa-nut get bad,
and they put it in the sun, when it turns to vinegar like white wine. From this fruit
milk also can be made, as we experienced, for we scraped this marrow and then put it
with its water, and passed it through a cloth, and thus it was milk like that of goats.
This kind of palm tree is like the date-palm, but not so rugged. Two of these trees can
maintain a family of ten persons: but they do not draw wine as above-mentioned
always from one tree, but draw from one for eight days, and from the other as long.
For if they did not, otherwise the trees would dry up. In this manner they last a
hundred years. These people became very familiar and friendly with us, and explained
many things to us in their language, and told us the names of some islands, which we
saw with our eyes before us. The island where they dwelt is called Zuluam, and it is
not large. As they were sufficiently agreeable and conversable, we had great pleasure
with them. The captain seeing that they were of this good condition, to do them greater
honor conducted them to the ship, and showed them all his goods, that is to say,
cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace, gold and all that was in the ship. He
also had some shots fired with his artillery, at which they were so much afraid that
they wished to jump from the ship into the sea. They made signs that the things,
which the captain had shown them, grew where we were going. When they wished to
leave us, they took leave of the captain and of us with very good manners and
gracefulness, promising us to come back to see us. The island we were at was named
Humunu; nevertheless because we found there two springs of very fresh water we
named it the Watering Place of good signs, and because we found here the first signs
of gold. There is much white coral to be found here, and large trees which bear fruit
smaller than an almond, and which are like pines. There were also many palm trees
both good and bad. In this place there were many circumjacent islands, on which
account we named them the archipelago of St. Lazarus, because we stayed there on
the day and feast of St. Lazarus. This region and archipelago is in ten degrees north
latitude, and a hundred and sixty-one degrees longitude from the line of demarcation.
Friday, the 22nd of March, the above-mentioned people, who had promised us to
return, came about midday, with two boats laden with the said fruit cochi, sweet
oranges, a vessel of palm wine, and a cock, to give us to understand that they had
poultry in their country, so that we bought all that they brought. The lord of these
people was old, and had his face painted, and had gold rings suspended to his ears,
which they name Schione, and the others had many bracelets and rings of gold on
their arms, with a wrapper of linen round their head. We remained at this place eight
days: the captain went there every day to see his sick men, whom he had placed on
this island to refresh them: and he gave them himself every day the water of this said
fruit the cocho, which comforted them much. Near this isle is another where there are
a kind of people who wear holes in their ears so large that they can pass their arms
through them; these people are Caphre, that is to say, Gentiles, and they go naked,
except that round their middles they wear cloth made of the bark of trees. But there
are some of the more remarkable of them who wear cotton stuff, and at the end of it
there is some work of silk done with a needle. These people are tawny, fat, and
painted, and they anoint themselves with the oil of coconuts and sesame, to preserve
them from the sun and the wind. Their hair is very black and long, reaching to the
waist, and they carry small daggers and knives, ornamented with gold, and many
other things, such as darts, harpoons, and nets to fish, like........., and their boats are
like ours. The Monday of Passion week, the 25th of March, and feast of our Lady, in
the afternoon, and being ready to depart from this place, I went to the side of our ship
to fish. And putting my feet on a spar to go down to the store room, my feet slipped
because it had rained, and I fell into the sea without any one seeing me. Being near
drowning by luck I found at my left hand the sheet of the large sail which was in the
sea. I caught hold of it and began to cry out till they came to help and pick me up with
the boat. I was assisted not by my merits, but by the mercy and grace of the fountain
of pity. That same day, we took the course between west and southwest, and passed
amidst four small islands, that is to say, Cenalo, Huinanghar, Ibusson, and Abarien.
Thursday, the 28th of March, having seen the night before fire upon an island, at the
morning we came to anchor at this island; where we saw a small boat which they call
Boloto, with eight men inside, which approached the ship of the captain-general. Then
a slave of the captain's, who was from Sumatra, otherwise named Traprobana, spoke
from afar to these people, who understood his talk, and came near to the side of the
ship, but they withdrew immediately, and would not enter the ship from fear of us. So
the captain seeing that they would not trust to us showed them a red cap, and other
things, which he had tied and placed on a little plank, and the people in the boat took
them immediately and joyously, and then returned to advise their king. Two hours
afterwards, or thereabouts, we saw come two long boats, which they call Ballanghai,
full of men. In the largest of them was their king sitting under an awning of mats;
when they were near the ship of the captain-general, the said slave spoke to the king,
who understood him well, because in these countries the kings know more languages
than the common people. Then the king ordered some of his people to go to the
captain's ship, whilst he would not move from his boat, which was near enough to us.
This was done, and when his people returned to the boat, he went away at once. The
captain gave good entertainment to the men who came to his ship, and gave them all
sorts of things, on which account the king wished to give the captain a rather large
bar of solid gold, and a chest full of ginger. However, the captain thanked him very
much but would not accept the present. After that, when it was late, we went with the
ships near to the houses and abode of the king. The next day was Good Friday. The
captain sent on shore the before-mentioned slave, who was our interpreter, to the king
to beg him to give him for money some provisions for his ships, sending him word that
he had not come to his country as an enemy, but as a friend. The king on hearing this
came with seven or eight men in a boat, and entered the ship, and embraced the
captain, and gave him three china dishes covered with leaves full of rice, and two
dorades, which are rather large fish, and of the sort above-mentioned, and he gave
him several other things. The captain gave this king a robe of red and yellow cloth,
made in the Turkish fashion, and a very fine red cap, and to his people he gave to
some of them knives, and to others mirrors. After that refreshments were served up to
them. The captain told the king, through the said interpreter, that he wished to be
with him, cassi cassi, that is to say, brothers. To which the king answered that he
desired to be the same towards him. After that the captain showed him cloths of
different colours, linen, coral, and much other merchandise, and all the artillery, of
which he had some pieces fired before him, at which the king was much astonished;
after that the captain had one of his soldiers armed with white armour, and placed
him in the midst of three comrades, who struck him with swords and daggers. The
king thought this very strange, and the captain told him, through the interpreter, that
a man thus in white armour was worth a hundred of his men; he answered that it was
true; he was further informed that there were in each ship two hundred like that man.
After that the captain showed him a great number of swords, cuirasses, and helmets,
and made two of the men play with their swords before the king; he then showed him
the sea chart and the ship compass, and informed him how he had found the strait to
come there, and of the time which he had spent in coming; also of the time he had
been without seeing any land, at which the king was astonished. At the end the
captain asked if he would be pleased that two of his people should go with him to the
places where they lived, to see some of the things of his country. This the king
granted, and I went with another. When I had landed, the king raised his hands to the
sky, and turned to us two, and we did the same as he did; after that he took me by the
hand, and one of his principal people took my companion, and led us under a place
covered with canes, where there was a ballanghai, that is to say, a boat, eighty feet
long or thereabouts, resembling a fusta. We sat with the king upon its poop, always
conversing with him by signs, and his people stood up around us, with their swords,
spears, and bucklers. Then the king ordered to be brought a dish of pig's flesh and
wine. Their fashion of drinking is in this wise, they first raise their hands to heaven,
then take the drinking vessel in their right hand, and extend the left hand closed
towards the people. This the king did, and presented to me his fist, so that I thought
that he wanted to strike me; I did the same thing towards him; so with this ceremony,
and other signs of friendship, we banqueted, and afterwards supped with him.