Much as the fighting knives are prized, the dagger, _bayadau_ or
_badau_, is in even greater favor. It is worn on the front left-hand
part of the body in ready reach of the right hand, and is never removed
unless the owner is in the company of trusted relatives. A light thread,
easily broken, holds the dagger in its sheath and the slightest
disturbance is enough to cause the owner to draw his weapon.
The older warriors claim that it formerly was their custom to protect
themselves with strips of hemp cloth, _limbotung_, which they wound many
times around their bodies in order to ward off knife thrusts, but this
method of protection seems to have fallen into disuse.[133]
[133] This type of protective armor is still used by the Bukidnon of
Central Mindanao.
Individual warriors lie in ambush for their foes, but when a great raid
is planned the party is under the command of a _bagani_. These attacks
are arranged to take place during the full moon and the warriors usually
assault a settlement which they think can be taken by surprise, and
hence unprepared. It is very seldom that these people fight in the open,
and invaders do not attempt a combat unless they feel sure of the
outcome. If they find a house well protected they may attempt to fire it
by attaching a torch to an arrow and shooting it into the grass roof,
the occupants being slaughtered as they rush out. If one of the enemy
puts up an especially good fight his body is opened and the warriors eat
a portion of his heart and liver, thinking thus to gain in valor.
Mr. Maxey mentions the use of poisoned weapons in the neighborhood of
Cateel, but the Mandaya of the south seem to be entirely ignorant of
this custom, Maxey's account of the preparation of the poison is as
follows:
"The poison is, according to the writer's informant, prepared as
follows: A long bamboo is cut and carried to a tree called
_camandag_.[134] The bamboo must be long enough to reach to the limit of
the shadow cast by the tree to the trunk of the same, as the tree is so
poisonous that it even affects those who stand beneath it. The bamboo
has a sharp point which is stuck into the tree and receives the milk
which exudes from the cut. After several days the bamboo is removed and
the contents emptied into another bamboo which serves for a sheath or
quiver for the arrows, these being placed in it point down. The
slightest scratch will cause death. A peculiar thing about the tree from
which the poison is extracted, is that the person extracting must not
only not get under the tree, but must approach it from the windward, as
the effects of even the odor are unpleasant and dangerous."
[134] _Croton tiglium L_.