They practice baptism or gúnting, which they have learned, although badly, from the Christian captives.
For the administration of baptism, they prepare cocoanut oil, rice flour, water from the cocoanut and natural water. When the child is four or six months old, on that day that they think best, the imam takes a little of each of those ingredients abovesaid, and places them on the forehead of the child, at the same time uttering certain words from the Koran. At the end of the ceremony the feast follows, and the imam is the first to whom the large tray of food must be presented.
The fathers or owners of the young girls rather sell than give them for wives. Fees are assigned for the petitions made by the young men to the fathers or masters of their sweethearts. Consequently, it is seldom that the young woman is given to the suitor at his first or second petition. The young woman is granted to the suitor, who pays greater or less fees, according as the family is more or less principal and as the young woman is more or less good-looking. Consequently, thirty, fifty, or more pesos are demanded for her delivery, besides the marriage feast.
The ceremonies observed by them, as I have seen them, are as follows. The groom chews his buyo as he is required, then goes into the midst of the guests, makes some wry faces, and passes his hands along his face. By that means they say that he is asking pardon of God by confessing his sins. This is called magtanbat. Then if the groom has not paid because of poverty, for a suitable banquet, some of the chiefs present strike him several blows on the back with a rattan formed like a hand, more or less numerous, according to what he has neglected to prepare for the banquet.
Then the groom goes to wash his feet and clothe himself in white garments. On coming out he seats himself on a mat, and places his right hand between the two hands of one chief, and his left upon the right hands of the other chiefs. Then the imam covers his right hand and that of the groom with a white handkerchief, and thus being united, they utter some words from the Koran. The imam lifts his hands, and extends them so that his palms are turned outwards and at a distance of two cuartas, [117] and lifts them to his head. The groom does the same, but the palms of his hands are turned toward his face. They clasp hands again with the chiefs in the manner abovesaid, and then the feast immediately follows. At the end of the feast, they go to the home of the bride, and the same ceremonies are there repeated with her as with the groom.