A Letter for Father De Snick, Quiangan, Ifugao

Title

Language

English

Year

1924

Subject

Catholicism

Letters

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

38 A LETTER from Father De Snick, Quiangan, Ifugao. If you ask a little girl from Manila “to whom is the month of May ded icated?” she will tell you: “to the Blessed Virgin”. Aska little boy: “to whom is the month of June ded icated?” and he will answer: “to the Sacred Heart of Jesus”. Is that true, dear Reader of the Little Apostle? It is true for you, but it is not true here amongst the Ifugaos. Most of my 65,000 Ifugaos are still pagans. They do not yet know the true God. The lovely Bless ed Virgin is a Saint they never heard about. Heaven and hell are truths they ignore. Here the month of June is the month of the devil: It is harvest time in our province and during that time more than ever the Ifugaos wor ship all kinds of spirits; really devils, for their spirits are bad spirits. The Ifugao women pluck the ears of rice one by one and make small bushels of them. The men go to the ricefields and when the women have gathered about thirty or forty bushels of rice, the men carry the bundles to their granary. Once arrived at their granary they place their bun dles on the ground but in such a way that an open space is left in the mid dle. In this space they place two or four wooden statues of men or wo men, about one or two feet high. They are not really idols but rath er a kind of fetish. Each one of them has a name. Sometimes they are dressed as Ifugaos. Some of them have glass eyes and boast of a head of hair. But how ugly they look in that heap of rice! And why are they put in that kind of a pulpit made of rice? First to protect the rice against thieves. So the Ifugaos believe, but ....... Sec ond they are there to bless the rice. Just think of it: the wooden man nequins have to’work miracles or at least to extend their blessing to the gathered rice! When all the rice bundles have been gathered and brought to the granary, the proprietor invites the old man (who acts as a priest in their religion) of the village to come to the granary and to offer sacrifices to the spirits. The neighbors gather around the place. They kill pigs and chickens, drink plenty of bubud (rice wine) and give food and drink to the fe tishes, who of course are never hun gry and cannot swallow a drop of wine. But they receive their part of the banquet. The old man makes long recitations, says some kind of prayers, while the people dance around the pig, drinking more and more until they finally get as drunk as drunk can be. Poor people..they could know God, live a life worth living, go to heaven and be happy for ever.... but no......they worship the devil in the bad spirits. If they knew only the gift of God. If only they were 39 First Convent in Quiangan^ with Fr. Hoeman taught, but who willl instruct them? I, you may say, dear reader. Yes, as their missionary I am willing to teach the Ifugaos the road to heaven, hut I can not do it alone. Come and help me ....let us work together for God and Country. Let us togeth er work for the Ifugaos, make of them a strong clearminded Christian population. Help me .... for alone, what can I do for 65,000 pagans? WHO DOES GOD’S WORK Who does God’s work will get God’s pay. However long may seem the day. However weary be the way. Though powers may thunder *‘Nay!” No human hand.God’s hand can stay. Who does His work will get His pay. Help me by your prayers, if you can not come here in the mountains; help me by supporting a catechist who will take your place, and with me, visit the hundreds of villages, instruct the thousands of children, help the old people and send the dying to heaven where they will pray for you and secure heaven for you or increase your glory there immensely for ever. Would’nt you like it? WILL GET GOD’S PAY God hurries not, nor makes delay. Who works for Him will get His pay. Some certain hour, some certain day. But God’s high wisdom knows a way. And this is sure, let come what may. Who does God’s work will get God’s pay. —Boston S. J. Calendar.

Media