hermano mayor: The manager of a fiesta.
husi: A fine cloth made of silk interwoven with cotton, abaka, or pineapple-leaf fibers.
ilang-ilang: The Malay “flower of flowers,” from which the well-known essence is obtained.
Indian: The Spanish designation for the Christianized Malay of the Philippines was indio (Indian), a term used rather contemptuously, the name Filipino being generally applied in a restricted sense to the children of Spaniards born in the Islands.
kaing̃in: A woodland clearing made by burning off the trees and underbrush, for planting upland rice or camotes.
kalan: The small, portable, open, clay fireplace commonly used in cooking.
kalao: The Philippine hornbill. As in all Malay countries, this bird is the object of curious superstitions. Its raucous cry, which may be faintly characterized as hideous, is said to mark the hours and, in the night-time, to presage death or other disaster.
kalikut: A short section of bamboo in which the buyo is mixed; a primitive betel-box.
kamagon: A tree of the ebony family, from which fine cabinet-wood is obtained.
Its fruit is the mabolo, or date-plum.
kasamá: Tenants on the land of another, to whom they render payment in produce or by certain specified services.
kogon: A tall, rank grass used for thatch.
kris: A Moro dagger or short sword with a serpentine blade.
kundíman: A native song.
kupang: A large tree of the Mimosa family.
kuriput: Miser, “skinflint.”
lanson: The langsa, a delicious cream-colored fruit about the size of a plum. In the Philippines, its special habitat is the country around the Lake of Bay.
liam-pó: A Chinese game of chance (?).
lomboy: The jambolana, a small, blue fruit with a large stone.
Malacañang: The palace of the Captain-General in Manila: from the vernacular name of the place where it stands, “fishermen’s resort.”
mankukúlan: An evil spirit causing sickness and other misfortunes, and a person possessed of such a demon.
morisqueta: Rice boiled without salt until dry, the staple food of the Filipinos.
Moro: Mohammedan Malay of southern Mindanao and Sulu.
mutya: Some object with talismanic properties, “rabbit’s foot.”
nakú: A Tagalog exclamation of surprise, wonder, etc.
nipa: Swamp-palm, with the imbricated leaves of which the roots and sides of the common Filipino houses are constructed.
nito: A climbing fern whose glossy, wiry leaves are used for making fine hats, cigar-cases, etc.
novena: A devotion consisting of prayers recited on nine consecutive days, asking for some special favor; also, a booklet of these prayers.
oy: An exclamation to attract attention, used toward inferiors and in familiar intercourse: probably a contraction of the Spanish imperative, oye, “listen!”
pakó: An edible fern.
palasán: A thick, stout variety of rattan, used for walking-sticks.
pandakaki: A low tree or shrub with small, star-like flowers.
pañuelo: A starched neckerchief folded stiffly over the shoulders, fastened in front and falling in a point behind: the most distinctive portion of the customary dress of the Filipino women.
papaya: The tropical papaw, fruit of the “melon-tree.”
paracmason: Freemason, the bête noire of the Philippine friar.
peseta: A silver coin, in value one-fifth of a peso or thirty-two cuartos.
peso: A silver coin, either the Spanish peso or the Mexican dollar, about the size of an American dollar and of approximately half its value.
piña: Fine cloth made from pineapple-leaf fibers.
proper names: The author has given a simple and sympathetic touch to his story throughout by using the familiar names commonly employed among the Filipinos in their home-life. Some of these are nicknames or pet names, such as Andong, Andoy, Choy, Neneng (“Baby”), Puté, Tinchang, and Yeyeng. Others are abbreviations or corruptions of the Christian names, often with the particle ng or ay added, which is a common practice: Andeng, Andrea; Doray, Teodora; Iday, Brigida (Bridget); Sinang, Lucinda (Lucy); Sipa, Josefa; Sisa, Narcisa; Teo, Teodoro (Theodore); Tiago, Santiago (James); Tasio, Anastasio; Tiká, Escolastica; Tinay, Quintina; Tinong, Saturnino.
Provincial: Head of a religious order in the Philippines.
