Although we shall treat religion more fully in a later paragraph, it is
desirable that we now gain an idea of those beliefs which enter
intimately into every activity of the daily life of this people.
The Bagobo believes in a mighty company of superior beings who exercise
great control over the lives of men. Above all is Eugpamolak Manobo,
also called Manama, who was the first cause and creator of all. Serving
him is a vast number of spirits not malevolently inclined but capable of
exacting punishment unless proper offerings and other tokens of respect
are accorded them. Below them is a horde of low, mean spirits who
delight to annoy mankind with mischievous pranks, or even to bring
sickness and disaster to them. To this class generally belong the
spirits who inhabit mountains, cliffs, rooks, trees, rivers, and
springs. Standing between these two types are the shades of the dead
who, after they have departed from this life, continue to exercise
considerable influence, for good or bad, over the living.
We have still to mention a powerful class of supernatural beings who, in
strength and importance, are removed only a little from the Creator.
These are the patron spirits.
Guarding the warriors are two powerful beings, Mandarangan and his wife,
Darago, who are popularly supposed to make their home in the crater of
the volcano. They bring success in battle and give to the victors loot
and slaves. In return for these favors they demand, at certain times,
the sacrifice of a slave. Dissentions[sic], disasters, and death will be
sure to visit the people should they fail to make the offering. Each
year in the month of December the people are reminded of their
obligation by the appearance in the sky of a constellation known as
_Balatik_,[9] and soon thereafter a human sacrifice doubtless takes
place in some one or more of the Bagobo settlements.
[9] Orion.
A man to come under the protection of these two deities must first have
taken at least two human lives. He is then entitled to wear a peculiar
chocolate-colored kerchief with white patterns in it. When he has killed
four he may wear blood-red trousers, and when his score has reached six
he may don a full blood-red suit and carry a sack of the same color.
Such a man is known as _magani_ and his clothing marks him as a person
of distinction and power in his village. He is one of the leaders in a
war party; he is chosen by the _datu_ to inflict the death penalty when
it has been decreed; and he is one of the assistants in the yearly
sacrifice. It is not necessary that those he kills, in order to gain the
right to wear a red suit, be warriors. On the contrary he may kill women
and children from ambush and still receive credit for the achievement,
provided his victims are from a hostile village. He may count those of
his townspeople whom he has killed in fair fight, and the murder of an
unfaithful wife and her admirer is credited to him as a meritorious
deed.
The workers in iron and brass, the weavers of hemp cloth, and the
mediums or shamans--known as _mabalian_--are under the protection of
special deities for whom they make ceremonies at certain times of the
year.
The _mabalian_ just mentioned are people--generally women past middle
life--who, through sufficient knowledge of the spirits and their desires,
are able to converse with them, and to make ceremonies and offerings
which will attract their attention, secure their good will, or appease
their wrath. They may have a crude knowledge of medicine plants, and, in
some cases, act as exorcists. The ceremonies which art performed at the
critical periods of life are conducted by these _mabalian_, and they
also direct the offerings associated with planting and harvesting. They
are generally the ones who erect the little shrines seen along the
trails or in the forests, and it is they who put offerings in the
"spirit boxes" in the houses. Although they, better than all others,
know how to read the signs and warnings sent by the spirits, yet, all of
the people know the meaning of certain omens sent through the medium of
birds and the like. The call of the _limokon_[10] is recognized as an
encouragement or a warning and its message will be heeded without fail.
In brief, every natural phenomenon and every living thing is caused by
or is subject to the will of unseen beings, who in turn can be
influenced by the acts of individuals. As a result everything of
importance is undertaken with reference to these superior powers.
[10] A dove (_Calcophops indica_). Similar beliefs held by the Tagalog
were mentioned by Juan de Plasencia in 1589. See BLAIR and ROBERTSON,
Vol. VII, p. 189.