In the description of the house we have mentioned most of the
furnishings. In addition it is customary to find a few well made mats of
_pandanus_ or _buri_ palm leaf. These are spread on the floor when the
owners wish to retire and for the rest of the time are rolled up and
laid along the walls. Carved forked sticks which serve as torch-holders
stand in various parts of the room, while somewhere near the stove is a
miscellany of wooden meat blocks, bamboo fans and fly swatters, gourds
filled with millet, salt, or mashed peppers, and shovel-shaped or round
rice winnowers, which also serve as common eating dishes for the family
and guests. Well made baskets stand by the walls or hang from pegs along
with articles of clothing, while spears, shields, and other weapons are
fastened to side walls or roof.
Small clearings are found at no great distance from these dwellings and
in them the people raise rice, corn, millet, camotes, sugar-cane, and a
few banana and hemp plants (Plate L). As is the case with all the wild
tribes in this district, the Bila-an make new clearings as soon as the
cogon grass begins to invade their fields, and this in time causes them
to move their homes from one locality to another.
The domestic animals consist of a few chickens, dogs, an occasional cat
and pig, and in the lower cogon lands, a few families possess horses.
Some fish are secured from the river, while deer, wild pig, jungle fowl,
and other game are taken with traps or secured by hunting.
There seems never to have been a time when this tribe was organized
under a single leader as was the case with the Bagobo. Each district is
so isolated from the others and the population so scattering that any
such development has been barred, and hence the people of each river
valley or highland plain have their local ruler. The power of this ruler
is real only so far as his personal influence can make it so. He
receives no pay for his services, but his position makes it possible for
him to secure the help of his fellows when he is in need of workers or
warriors. In return he conducts negotiations with other groups and
administers justice in accordance with the customs handed down from
bygone ages. Upon his death he is succeeded by his eldest son, unless
the old men of the group should consider him incompetent, in which case
they will determine upon the successor.
Warriors who have killed one or more persons[57] are known as _lEbE_
(Plate XLII), and are permitted to wear plain red suits decorated with
embroidery. Their duties and privileges are much the same as those of
the Bagobo _magani_.
[57] Said to be four among the Tagkogon.
A class known as _almo-os_ is composed mostly of middle-aged women who
are in close communication with the spirits and who, like the _mabalian_
of the Bagobo, conduct ceremonies to aid in the cure of the sick, to
secure good crops, or to thank the higher beings for their help and
watchfulness. Unlike the _mabalian_, these women are seldom midwives,
such duties being performed by a group called _fandita_.[58] Finally, we
learn that slaves are sometimes taken from neighboring tribes or even
from unfriendly settlements of their own people, to which class may be
added offenders against the laws of the group. Slavery, however, is not
very prevalent, for men are not greatly desired unless needed for a
sacrifice, while young girls and women soon become regular members of
their master's family.
[58] Probably a corruption of the Moro term _pandi'a_.
As has just been indicated a man may have as many wives as he can secure
by purchase or capture, provided they are not blood relations, but a new
wife cannot be added to the family until the one preceding has borne a
child.
Difficulties are generally settled between the parties concerned, but if
they carry their case to the ruler they must abide by his decision. A
thief is usually compelled to return the stolen property, but in at
least one case the culprit was sacrificed.[59]
[59] See p. 145.
Murder can be avenged by a murder so long as the trouble remains a
family affair, but if the case goes to the ruler it is probable that he
will levy a fine on the culprit. Unfaithfulness in a wife can be
punished by the death of one or both offenders if the husband exacts the
punishment, otherwise a fine is imposed.
The type of clothing worn by this tribe is practically identical with
that of the Bagobo, while the cloth from which it is made is procured by
a like process. However, in the ornamentation of these garments there is
wide variation. Beads are not used to any great extent, but in their
place are intricate embroidered designs which excel, both in beauty and
technique the work of any other wild tribe in the Islands, while on the
more elaborate costumes hundreds of shell disks are used in artistic
designs. The woman's skirt is of hemp and is made in exactly the same
manner as those of the Bagobo, but the general pattern is different, and
it seldom contains the broad decorative center panel (Plate LX).
Some of the men cut their hair so that it falls in bangs along the
center line of the forehead and behind reaches to the nape of the neck,
but the majority of them, and all the women, allow the back hair to grow
long and tie it in a knot at the back of the head. Ordinarily the men
dispense with head covering, or at most twist a bit of cloth into a
turban, but for special occasions they wear palm leaf hats covered with
many parallel bands of rattan and crowned with notched chicken feathers
(Plate LI). Rarely is a women seen with any kind of head protection or
hair ornament other than a small comb which is peculiar to this tribe
(Fig. 36). This comb is made of bamboo or rattan splints drawn together
at the center but flaring at top and bottom until it forms an ornament
in the shape of an hour glass. The ear plugs worn by the men are of wood
and are undecorated, but those of the women have the fronts overlaid
with incised brass plates (Fig. 37). In other respects the dress of the
women differs little from that of the Bagobo. They have the same
necklaces, arm and finger rings, leglets, and anklets, although in less
quantity. They also carry trinket baskets, but these are larger than
those used by the women of the other tribe and are lacking in bead and
bell pendants. However, they are tastily decorated with designs in
colored bamboo or fern cuticle. We have already noted that the use of
plain red garments is limited to warriors, but cloth of that hue which
contains narrow black stripes may be used by all. Quite a number of
garments are seen in which white pattens appear in a red background
(Plate LVIIIc). In this tribe the use of such suits is not restricted,
but with the neighboring Kulaman they can be worn by warriors[60] only.