Such lighter offenses, as gazing at the person of a woman while she is

bathing, or on any other occasion when her person is exposed, are

punished with appropriate fines. Improper suggestions and unseemly jokes

undergo the same fate. It is a very common report among Bisáyas that to

touch a Manóbo woman's heel is an exceptionally serious offense against

Manóbo law. I never heard of any such regulation among Manóbos, although

it may exist. To touch any other part of her person, however, is an

offense punishable by a good-sized fine.

Death is the consequence of adultery, fornication, and seduction, except

in very exceptional cases where the influence of the guilty one's

relatives may save him. But it is certain that in these cases the fine

is very heavy. I believe that it is never less than the equivalent of

three slaves.

All reports, both Bisáya and Manóbo, state that when fornication has

been attempted or accomplished the woman herself may make known the

offense to her parents and relatives.

The law is even more rigid in the matter of adultery. While I was on the

upper Agúsan River a case of adultery committed by a Christianized man

and woman was discovered. The death of the man had been decided upon,

and that of the woman was being mooted. I succeeded in having the death

sentence commuted to a heavy fine of three slaves.

It is the common report in Manóboland that, when a woman makes known the

act of her lover, the latter does not deny it. Not only under such

circumstances, but in nearly all other instances when brought face to

face with the truth a Manóbo will confess, sometimes even though there

be no witness against him. Such is my observation of dealings between

Manóbo and Manóbo. In his relations with outsiders, however, the Manóbo

is not so veracious; on the contrary, he displays no little art in

suppressing or in twisting the truth.

MARRIAGE CONTRACTS AND PAYMENTS

In the chapter on marital relations it was made manifest that marriage

is practically a sale in which a certain amount of the marriage price is

returned to the bridegroom. This rule is very stringent. Should the

marriage negotiations discontinue without any fault of the man or of his

relatives all payments previously made have to be returned, item for

item. In this respect it is to be noted that marriage contracts are

almost relentlessly rigid, a fact that suggests an explanation of the

length of the period that is usually required to terminate the

negotiations. For it is only by many acts of attention and even of

subservience that the suitor's relatives break down the obdurateness of

the fiancé's relatives and make them relax the severity of their

original demands. Very minute and strict accounts of the various

payments, including such small donations as a few liters of rice, are

recorded on a knotted rattan strip in anticipation of a final

disagreement.

When it is decided that the marriage is not to take place by reason of

the death of one of the affianced parties, the father and relatives of

the fiancé must return all the purchase payments which may have been

made. Custom provides that these payments shall be returned gradually,

the idea being, presumably, to allow the fiancé's relatives an

opportunity to profit by the donations of a new suitor, if one should

present himself within a stipulated period. It will be readily

understood that the nature of the debts incurred by an obligation to

return marriage payments determines the character of the payments that

will be exacted from a new suitor. Thus, if A's relatives, for good

reasons, decide not to continue their suit for the hand of B's daughter,

B would be granted a specified time in which to await the presentation

of a new suitor for his daughter's hand. This new suitor would be

required to bring a lance, for example, and other objects that would

serve as first and more urgent payments to A.

In the case of fornication committed by a man with his fiancé, death may

be the penalty if the girl's father desires to have the marriage broken

off, but I was given to understand that such a heavy penalty is rarely

inflicted, the girl's father contenting himself with imposing a heavy

fine.

ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN

In all my wandering among the Manóbos, I never knew nor heard of an

illegitimate child, so can not say what regulations govern, if such

births occur. In Mandáyaland the father of an illegitimate child is

obliged to marry the girl and to enter his father-in-law's family in a

state of semiservitude. The marriage takes place before the birth of the

child.

I was told by Mandáyas that illegitimate children belong to the nearest

male relative of the mother, that in case of her marriage they still

belong to her relative, and that they are treated in all other respects

as legitimate children.

EXTENT OF AUTHORITY OF FATHER AND HUSBAND

The laws governing family relations are very simple. The father has

theoretically absolute power of life and death over his wife, children,

and slaves. In practice, however, this power is seldom used to its full

extent. An arbitrary exercise of domestic authority over his wife and

children would arouse the antagonism of her relatives and lead to a

rupture of friendly relations. Hence, in family dealings there are

displayed on one side paternal affection and leniency and on the other

filial devotion and a sense of duty, so much so that the members of the

family live in peace and happiness with seldom a domestic grievance.

The wife, of course, is the absolute property of her husband, but is

rarely, if ever, sold. I know of only one wife who was sold and she was

a Bisáya woman married to a recently Christianized Manóbo.

It is not in accord with Manóbo custom for a man to have two or more

wives unless the first wife consents to the later marriages, and, if she

does consent, she must always be considered the man's favorite and must

be allowed to have a kind of motherly jurisdiction over the other wives.

In all cases that have come under my observation, this rule was followed

among Manóbos but not among Mandáyas. The latter frequently seem more

attached to their second, third, or fourth wives, but do not separate

the first wife either from bed or board. As a result of the necessity of

the first wife's consent to a second marriage, bigamy is comparatively

rare.

RESIDENCE OF THE HUSBAND

The man is always expected to take up his residence in his wife's family

and he nearly always does so. In fact, such is the implied and

frequently the explicit contract made between his relatives and those of

the girl. But after a few years, if not sooner, he usually takes his

wife back to his own clan, leaving his father-in-law or other male

relative of his wife some gift in the shape of a pig or other payment.

In such a case it seems to be the custom for the father-in-law to

acquiesce.

CRIMES AND THEIR PENALTIES

CRIMES

It must be laid down as a general principle that in Manóboland it is

considered proper and obligatory to seek redress for all wrongs (except

a few serious ones) by an appeal to the relatives of the wrongdoer,

either directly by a formal meeting or indirectly through the mediation

of a third party. The first exceptions to this rule are cases of

adultery, fornication, rape, and homicide when the murderer, wantonly,

and without an attempt to arbitrate, kills a fellow man. The great law

of vengeance presupposes in nearly every case a recourse to arbitration,

and not a hasty, unannounced, deliberate killing.

The one who orders the death of another or in any other way deliberately

causes it is the one on whom vengeance must be taken. Thus, if A pays a

neutral warrior chief to kill his opponent, the responsibility for the

death will be laid, not on the warrior who did the killing (unless he

had personal motives for committing the murder) but on the one who

ordered the death. The warrior was paid and accordingly bears no

responsibility. He may be paid again by the relatives of the slain to do

a similar act to their enemies. Thus it is, that in Manóboland, it is

very necessary to be on such terms of friendship with the members of the

warrior class that they will not be inclined to undertake for payment

the task of taking vengeance for another.

Killing for public policy is a recognized institution, but such

executions very seldom take place. On the upper Tágo River word was sent

to me that my guide would be killed if he led me into a certain remote

region at the headwaters of that river. It was reported on all sides

that the principal chiefs of the region had assembled before my

departure and had decided upon his death. For some reason, probably

fear, the sentence was not carried into effect.

It was reported to me that in time of an epidemic it is permitted to

kill anyone who dares to break the quarantine.

Involuntary killing when it is manifest that it was a pure accident can

be compounded.

THE PRIVATE SEIZURE

By the _tawágan_ system a Manóbo is permitted to kill or seize anything

or anybody that he may decide upon, _provided that he has made every

endeavor to settle the dispute by amicable means_. Having failed to

adjust the matter without bloodshed, he may avenge himself, first and

above all, on the guilty party. I will not make a positive statement to

the effect that he must announce his intention to make use of the right

accorded him by the _tawágan_ custom, but I am of opinion that this must

be done, for in every instance that came under my observation it had

been generally known beforehand that the aggrieved party would make a

seizure within a specified time. I know that on one occasion I had to

exact a promise from a man that he would not lay hands on merchandise of

mine that was deposited under a house in the vicinity of his settlement.

He had made public announcement that he would make a seizure, even

though it should be that of my merchandise.

The aggrieved party in making use of his right must, if possible,

inflict damage, even death, upon the debtor or other wrongdoer or on

some of his relatives, but should this prove impracticable he is at

liberty to select anyone. If he kills a neutral party, he must compound

with the relatives of the slain one for the death inflicted and enter

with them into a solemn promise to act jointly against the offending

party. In the case of seizure, he can not dispose of the object seized

until the owner be consulted. It is customary for the two to enter a

compact by which they bind themselves to take joint action against the

offender, advantageous terms being guaranteed to the new colleague. The

man whose property is thus seized is very often one who has had an

old-time grudge against the original offender or debtor.

PENALTIES FOR MINOR OFFENSES

Minor offenses such as stealing, slandering, failure to pay debts,

deception that causes material damage to another, loss or damage to

another's property, the lesser violations of sexual propriety,

disrespect to another's property, etc., are punishable by fines that

must be determined by the assembled relatives of the two parties. I have

never been able to find the least trace of any definite system of fines.

In the determination of them for the more serious of offenses (adultery,

wanton killing, etc.), the equivalent of a human life, 15 or 30 pesos,

is the basis of the calculation. In the case of minor offenses, however,

lesser quantities are determined upon after a lengthy discussion of the

subject by the respective relatives of the parties involved.

CUSTOMARY PROCEDURE

PRELIMINARIES TO ARBITRATION

The aggrieved party, upon hearing of the offense and after making many

futile efforts to come to an agreement, consults with his relatives,

when, after being assured of their cooperation he begins to issue

threats, all of which reach the ear of his opponent. At first the latter

probably is not disturbed by these, but, as they begin to pour in from

all sources, he makes up his mind either to face his opponent in person,

if the affair has not gone too far, or to look around for a friendly

chief or other person of influence and sagacity to mediate. All this

time new rumors of his enemy's anger and determination to appeal to arms

reach him, but he must not display cowardice, neither must his opponent

openly seek arbitration, for such an action would bespeak fear on both

sides. So, on the part of the aggrieved one, there is menace, revenge,

and a pretense at least not to be amenable to peaceable measures. On the

part of the other, there must be no display of fear, no hurry to

arbitrate, and a general indifference, at least simulated, as to the

outcome. If the offending party answers threat by threat, his opponent

may become incensed and hostilities may break out, as happens in other

parts of the world.

In the meantime neighboring chiefs and influential people are throwing

the weight of their opinions in favor of peace and if they prevail one

or more of them are requested to assist in the final settlement,

definite emolument sometimes being promised, especially when either of

the contending parties is very anxious to have the matter settled.

It is the duty now of the mediating chiefs or other persons to bring the

parties together. This they do either by inviting the contestants to a

neutral house or by persuading one of them to invite the other to his

house.

It may happen that the aggrieved party, instead of following this

procedure, precipitates a settlement by sending a fighting bolo or a

dagger or a lance to his opponent. This is an ultimatum. If the weapon

is retained it means hostilities. If it is returned, it denotes a

willingness to submit the matter to arbitration. But the one who

receives the weapon probably will not return it at once as he desires to

disguise, in the presence of his opponent's emissary, the bearer of the

ultimatum, any eagerness he may feel for arbitration. Once having

decided that he will submit the matter to arbitration or that he will

yield, he announces to the messenger that he will visit his opponent

within a specified period and talk matters over and that he is willing

to have the affair settled but that his relatives are unwilling. If a

bolo or other such object has been sent to him he returns it, for to

retain it would signify his unwillingness to submit and his readiness to

take the consequences.

A few days before the appointed time he orders drink to be made and he

may go out on a big fishing expedition. He procures also a pig or two.

With these, and accompanied by a host of male relatives, he sets out for

the house that has been agreed upon. The pigs and drink and other things

are deposited in a convenient place near the house, for it would be

impolitic to display such proofs of his willingness to yield.

This is the procedure followed in more serious cases. Cases of lesser

importance, which occur with great frequency, are settled almost

informally in the following manner:

When the subject under dispute is not of such a serious nature, either

in itself or by reason of aggravating circumstances, like quarrels or

violent language that may have preceded it, the ordinary method of

settling the trouble consists in a good meal given by one party to the

other. Toward the end of the repast, when all present are feeling

convivial from the effects of the drink, the question at issue, usually

a debt, is taken up and discussed by the parties concerned and their

respective relatives. It happens often that the matter is put off to

another time, and thus it may require several semifriendly meetings to

settle it. On the whole, however, the proceedings are terminated

amicably, although I have seen a few very animated scenes at such times.

On one occasion a member of the party, accompanied by his relatives,

rushed down the pole and seizing his lance and shield challenged his

adversary to single combat. The challenge was not accepted, so he and

his party marched away vowing vengeance. I have seen bolos or daggers

drawn on many occasions but the relatives and others always intervened

to prevent bloodshed. It is to be noted that such violent actions are

due often to the influence of drink but do not take place more

frequently than drunken brawls do in other parts of the world.

When the case in question is of such an involved and serious character

as to make it dangerous for the accused one to enter the house, he

remains hidden till he ascertains how his relatives and friends are

progressing. In other cases he personally attends and may argue in his

own defense.[1]

[1] There is a very formal peace-making procedure followed by the

Manóbos who have been in contact with the Banuáons of Maásam River, but

I never witnessed it, so I can not give any first-hand information as to

the details. In the chapter on war will be found such details as have

been given to me by trustworthy Bisáyas of Talakógon.

GENERAL FEATURES OF A GREATER ARBITRATION

The general features of the procedure are the following: The policy of

the aggrieved one and of his party is to maintain a loud, menacing

attitude, and to insist on a fine three or four hundred times larger

than they expect to be paid. The accused and his relatives keep up a

firm attitude, not so firm, however, as to incense unduly their

opponents, and from the beginning make an offer of a paltry sum in

payment.

Although everybody at times may break into the discussion, or all may

yell at the same time, the ordinary procedure is to allow each one to

speak singly and to finish what he has to say. The others listen and

assent by such expressions as correspond to our "yes indeed," "true,"

etc., whether they are in accord with the speaker's opinions or not.

These lengthy talks are, at least to an outsider, most wearisome, given,

as they are, in a dreary monotone, but they explain the inordinate

length of arbitrations that may last for several days.

The whole party is squatted on the floor and makes use of grains of

corn, of pieces of wood or leaf, of the bamboo slats of the floor, of

their fingers and toes or of anything convenient, to aid them in the

enumeration of the objects of which they treat. Everybody is armed,

probably with his hand on his weapon, and his eyes alert. In very

serious cases women and children may not be present. This, of course, is

an indication of possible bloodshed and is a very rare occurrence.

The chiefs or other influential men who have been selected to aid each

side in the settlement take a conspicuous part in the proceedings and

help to influence the parties concerned to come to an understanding, but

it can not be said that their word is paramount. The contestants' own

relatives have more weight than anyone else. The procedure at a Manóbo

arbitration may be likened to that of a jury when in retirement. Point

after point is discussed, similitudes and allegories are brought up by

each speaker until, after wearisome hours or days, the opinion of each

side has been molded sufficiently to bring them into agreement. In one

respect it differs from the jury method in that loud shouts and threats

are made use of occasionally, proceeding either from natural vehemence

or from a deliberate intention on one side to intimidate the other.

It is not good form for the defendant to yield readily. On the contrary,

it is in accordance with Manóbo custom and character to yield with

reluctance, feigned if not real. When a small pig is really considered a

sufficient payment, a large one is demanded. When the pig is received

and is really in conformity with the contract, defects are found in

it--it is lean or sick or short or light in weight--in a word, it is

depreciated in one way or another. The giver, on the contrary,

exaggerates its value, descants on its size, length, form, and weight,

tells of the exorbitant price he paid for it, reminds the receiver of

the difficulty of procuring pigs at this season, and in general

manifests his reluctance to part with it.

It must not be supposed that such actions and statements are believed at

once. On the contrary, it is only after lengthy talks on each side that

opinions are formed, an agreement entered into, a contract is drawn up,

or reparation made. It is the identical case of stubborn jurymen.

In the settlement of these disputes much depends upon the glibness of

tongue and on the sagacity of one or more of the principal men. For were

it not for their skill in understanding the intricacies of the subject

and in sidetracking irrelevant claims the disputes would be impossible

of satisfactory arrangement. This will be understood more readily if it

is borne in mind that outside of the reasonable facts of the case,

counterclaims are made by the debtor or the accused party. These claims

are sometimes of an extraordinary nature and date back to the time of

his grandfather or other distant relative. Thus he may say that his

opponent's great uncle owed his grandfather a human life and that this

blood debt has never been paid nor revenge obtained. Such an affirmation

as this will be corroborated by his relatives and they may immediately

break out into menaces of vengeance. Again, he may aver that his

opponent was reputed to have had a charm by which death might be caused,

and that his son had died as a result of this use of evil magic powers.

Whereupon the other vigorously repudiates the imputation and demands a

slave in payment of the slander. It is only the popularity of the chief

men, their reputation for fair dealing, their sagacity, and perhaps

their relationship with the respective contestants that dispose of such

side issues and bring about an amicable and satisfactory settlement.

It is customary for the one who loses to regale the assembly with a good

meal. In Manóbo-land this latter is the great solace for all ills and

the source of all friendship. So, when the question under dispute has

been settled, the one who lost sends out and gets the pig and drink that

have been brought for that purpose. When prepared, the food is set out

on the floor, the guests are distributed in due order, and then begins

one of those meals that must be witnessed in order to be understood. One

feature of this feast is that the two former adversaries are seated

together and vie with each other in reciprocating food and drink. As

they warm up under the influence of the liquor they load large masses of

food into each other's mouths, each with an arm around the other's neck.

Upon the following day, or perhaps that same day, the winner of the case

reciprocates with another banquet. When that is finished, the other

party may give another banquet and so they may continue, if their means

permit, for many days. I assisted at one peacemaking in which the

banqueting lasted for 10 successive days.

DETERMINATION OF GUILT

BY WITNESSES

The usual and natural method of determining the guilt of the accused is

through the instrumentality of witnesses. They are questioned and

requestioned at great length even if the defendant be not present. There

seems to be no necessity for this procedure, for the defendant admits

his guilt when brought face to face with the plaintiff or with the

witnesses. The testimony of children is not only admissible but is

considered conclusive. That of a woman testifying against a man for

improper suggestions and acts is considered sufficient to convict him.

False testimony in the presence of witnesses and relatives is almost

unheard of. I suppose that this marvel is to be attributed to the fear

of the dire retribution that would infallibly overtake the false witness.

BY OATHS

Ordinarily no oath is administered nor any other formal means adopted to

make certain that the accused or the witnesses will tell the truth, but

there is a practice which is sometimes followed whenever the veracity of

anyone is doubted. This is called _tó-tung_ or burning of the wax, a

ceremony that may be used not only with witnesses but with anyone from

whom it is desired to force the truth. I have used it very successfully

on numerous occasions in getting information about trails. The ceremony

consists in burning a piece of beeswax in the presence of the party to

be questioned. This signifies that if he does not answer truthfully his

body by some process of sympathetic magic, will be burned in a similar

manner. After making his statement and while the wax is being burned, he

expresses the desire that his body may burn and be melted like the wax

if his statement is untrue. This is another example of the pervading

belief in sympathetic magic.

BY THE TESTIMONY OF THE ACCUSED

In the various instances that have come under my observation, the guilty

one, as a rule, vigorously denied his guilt until confronted in public

assembly by his accusers, so that I judge that custom does not require

him to make a self-accusation until that time. But when duly confronted

with witnesses, he nearly always admits his guilt.

For if the defendant should deny his guilt and if there were no evidence

against him other than suspicion, the injured party would be justified

in inflicting injury on anyone else, according to the principles of the

private-seizure system. If it should later be discovered that the

defendant was the original offender, the innocent parties who were the

victims of this seizure would ultimately take terrible vengeance on him.

I was informed by the Debabáons that a false denial of one's guilt

before the assembled arbiters and relatives is especially displeasing to

the deities. I failed to get information on this point from Manóbos, but

it would be fairly reasonable to conclude that their belief in the

matter is identical with that of the Debabáons.

Should the accused one deny his guilt and should circumstantial evidence

point to him as the guilty one, the wax-burning ceremony above described

would be performed. If he should still maintain that he was innocent,

various methods for the determination of his guilt would be resorted to.

BY ORDEALS

The tests made to determine the innocence or guilt of a person are

threefold: (1) the hot-water ordeal, (2) the diving ordeal, and (3) the

candle ordeal.

_The hot-water ordeal_.[2]--A brass anklet, armlet, or similar metal

object is put into boiling water in one of the iron pans so common

throughout the Agúsan Valley. The suspected party, or parties, is then

called upon to insert a hand into the water and to remove the object

that has been placed at the bottom of the shallow pan. Although I have

heard many threats of an appeal to this test, I never saw the actual

operation of it, but I have been assured repeatedly by those who claimed

to have seen the performance that the hand of the guilty one gets badly

scalded, while that of an innocent one remains uninjured. The belief in

the truth of this test is so strong, that, at times when the ordeal was

threatened, I have heard many express not only their willingness but

their eagerness to undergo it.

[2] _Pag-ínit_.

I have made numerous and very definite inquires in different localities

and from members of different tribes as to the reason for the value of

the ordeal as a test and as to whether or not it might be explained by

the agency of supernatural beings, but in reply always received the

answer that no reason could be given except that it had always been so

and that religion had no connection with it.

_The diving ordeal_.[3]--I never witnessed the actual operation of this

ordeal except in play, but the belief in its efficacy is strong and

widespread. The operation consists in a trial between the parties under

suspicion as to the length of time they can remain under water. Two at a

time undergo the test. The one that retains his head under water longer

is declared innocent for the time being, but has to undergo the test

with each one of the suspected parties. This method seems impossible as

a final proof, but such is the procedure as described to me on the upper

Tágo River.

[3] _Sún-ub_.

Another and more common method is a simultaneous trial by all the

accused. At a given signal they submerge their heads. The one that first

raises his from the water is declared guilty. I was told by one party

that the respective relatives of the accused ones stand by and hold them

down by main force. This statement was corroborated by all those present

at the time, but, as neither my informant nor anyone else could explain

what it would be necessary to do in case of asphyxiation, I do not give

credence to the story.

On numerous occasions I made diving tests in sport with Manóbos and

found that I could retain my breath longer than they could. They assured

me, nevertheless, that if the test were made as an ordeal and if I were

the guilty party, I would infallibly lose.

_The candle ordeal_.--Among the Christianized Manóbos of the lake region

I found the belief in the efficacy of the candle ordeal for determining

the guilt of one of the suspected parties. Candles of the same size are

made and are given to the suspects, one to each of them. They are then

stuck to the floor and lit at the same time. The contestants have the

right to keep them erect and to protect them from the wind. The one

whose candle burns out first is declared guilty.

A belief in the value of ordeals is widespread, but the actual practice

of them is very rare. No reason for this has been given to me, although

it is stated that the refusal to submit to one would be considered

evidence of guilt.

BY CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

In Manóboland circumstantial evidence, in the absence of other evidence,

has sufficient weight to convict one who is under suspicion. Hence

footprints and other traces of a man's presence are carefully examined.

In fact, as a gatherer of testimony, even of the most insignificant

kind, the Manóbo is peerless; he is patient, ceaseless, and thorough.

This is due, no doubt, to his cautious, suspicious nature and to that

spirit of revenge that never smolders. He may wait for years until the

suspicion seems to have died out, when one fine day he hears a rumor

that confirms his suspicions and the flame of contention bursts forth.

One by one the successive bearers of the incriminating rumor are

questioned in open meeting until the truth of it is ascertained and the

guilty one brought to justice. I have known many cases, principally of

slander, traced in this way from one rumor bearer to another. This

illustrates the statement made before that in cases involving damage or

loss to another the guilty party and the witnesses as a rule declare the

truth, when they are called upon, knowing that one day or another the

secret will probably be ferreted out and then the punishment will be

greater.

ENFORCEMENT OF THE SENTENCE

The sentence having been agreed to by the consensus of opinion of both

sides, and the defendant having manifested his concurrence therein, a

time is set for the payment. When the offense is of a very serious

character, partial payment is made at once, the object being to mollify

the feelings of the enraged plaintiff. This payment ordinarily consists

of a weapon belonging either to the defendant himself or to one of his

relatives, but in urgent cases it might be a human being, as a relative

for instance. I myself saw delivery of a son made after the termination

of an adultery case.

The whole payment or compensation is not exacted at once but a suitable

length of time for the completion of it is always agreed upon. The

defendant receives a strip of rattan with a number of knots and is at

times made to take the wax-burning oath.

His conduct on these occasions is apparently submissive for he does not

want to run counter to tribal opinion, but it happens sometimes that

upon leaving the house of adjudication he expresses his dissatisfaction

with the decision or throws the blame upon somebody else. In this case

there may arise another contention. On the whole, however, he abides by

the decision.

In the great majority of cases the convicted man makes the stipulated

payment, for a refusal to do so would lead to more serious difficulties

than those already settled, and excuses for nonfulfillment are not

accepted as readily as before. Moreover, a second arbitration subjects

his opponent and his opponent's relatives to unnecessary trouble and

long journeys. Hence, realizing that a second trial will only serve to

exasperate his opponent and arm public opinion against him, he fulfills

his obligations faithfully.

CHAPTER XXI

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION: INTERTRIBAL AND OTHER RELATIONS

INTERTRIBAL RELATIONS

Dealings on the part of. Manóbos with other tribes such as the Banuáon,

the Debabáon, and the Mandáya are almost without exception of the most

pacific kind. I made frequent inquiries, especially while on the upper

Agúsan River, as to the reason for this, and was always given to

understand that any trouble with another tribe was carefully avoided

because it might give rise to unending complications and to interminable

war. I am of the opinion that, in his avoidance of war with neighboring

tribes, there is ever present in the Manóbo's mind a consciousness of

his inferiority to the Mandáya, Debabáon, and Banuáon, and a realization

of the consequences that would inevitably follow in case of a clash with

them. Thus the Manóbos of the upper Agúsan, who had provoked the

Mandáyas of the Katí'il River at the beginning of the Christian

conquest, suffered a dire reprisal on the Húlip River, upper Agúsan,

when some 180 of them were massacred in one night.[1]

[1] See Oartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús, 5:22, 1883.

The current accounts of Debabáon warriors, as narrated to me by many of

them on the upper Sálug River, show the severe losses suffered by

Manóbos of the upper Agúsan in their conflicts with Debabáons. The same

holds true of the Manóbos on the lower Agúsan when they matched their

strength with the Banuáons of the Maásam, Líbañg, and Óhut Rivers. A

perusal of the "Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús" will give one

a vivid picture of the devastation caused by not only the Banuáons but

by the Mandáyas and the Debabáons in Manóboland.

The reason for these unfriendly intertribal relations and for the

consequent defeats of the Manóbos in nearly every instance is not far to

seek. The Manóbo lacks the organization of the Mandáya, Debabáon, and

Banuáon. Like the Mañgguáñgan he is somewhat hot-headed, and upon

provocation, especially while drunk, prefers to take justice into his

own hands, striking down with one fell swoop his Mandáya or other

adversary, without appealing to a public adjudication. The result of

this imprudent proceeding is an attack in which the friends and

relatives of the slain one become the aggressors, invading Manóbo

territory and executing awful vengeance upon the perpetrator of the

wrong. The friends and relatives of the latter, with their inferior

tribal organization and their conscious feeling of inferiority in

courage, together with a realization of the innumerable difficulties

that beset the path of reprisals, very rarely invade the territory of

the hostile tribe.

Both from the accounts given in the aforesaid Jesuit letters and from my

own observations and information, I know that the same statements may be

made of the intertribal relations of Mañgguáñgans and Mandáyas,

Mañgguáñgans and Debabáons, and Mañgguáñgans and Manóbos. The

Mañgguáñgans are much lower in the scale of culture than the Manóbos,

and when they are under the influence of liquor yield to very slight

provocation. As a result of a rash blow, the Mañgguáñgan's territory is

invaded and his settlement is surrounded. He is an arrant coward as a

rule, and, hot-headed fool as he is, jumps from his low, wall-less house

only to meet the foeman's lance. Thus it happens that thousands and

thousands of them have been killed. If we may believe the testimony of a

certain Jesuit missionary, as stated in one of the Jesuit letters, the

Mañgguáñgan tribe numbered 30,000 at one time and their habitat extended

eastward from the Tágum River and from its eastern tributary, the Sálug,

between the Híjo and the Tótui Rivers, to the Agúsan and thence spread

still eastward over the Simúlau River. In 1886 Father Pastells estimated

them to number some 14,000. In 1910, I made an estimate, based on the

reports of their hereditary enemies in Compostela, Gandía, Geróna, and

Moncáyo, and venture to state that in that year they did not number more

than about 10,000 souls. Their territory, too, at that date, was

confined to the low range of mountains that formed the Agúsan-Sálug

divide and to the swamp tracts in the region of the Mánat River, with a

scattered settlement here and there on the east of the Agúsan to the

north of the Mánat River.

The Manóbos of the Ihawán, Baóbo, and Agúsan Rivers played a bloody part

in the massacre of the Mañgguáñgans. While on my first visit to the

upper Agúsan in 1907, I used to hear once or twice a week of the killing

of Mañgguáñgans. Many a time my Mandáya or Manóbo or Debabáon companions

would say to me, upon seeing a Mañgguáñgan: "Shoot him, grandpa, he is

only a Mañgguáñgan."

I know from the personal accounts of Manóbo, Mandáya, and Debabáon

warrior chiefs that in nearly every case they had acquired their title

of warrior chief by bloody attacks made upon Mañgguáñgans. The warrior

chiefs of the upper Agúsan, upper Karága, upper Manorígau and upper and

middle Katí'il had nearly to a man earned their titles from the killing

of Mañgguáñgans. This is eminently true of the Debabáon group. Moncáyo

itself boasts of more warrior chiefs than any district in eastern

Mindanáo, and stands like a mighty watchtower over the thousands and

thousands of Mañgguáñgan and Manóbo graves that bestrew the lonely

forest from Libagánon to the Agúsan.

INTERCLAN RELATIONS

It must be borne in mind that, judging from the testimony of all with

whom I conversed on the subject as well as from my own personal

observation, interclan feuds among Manóbos have diminished notably since

the beginning of missionary activity and more especially since the

establishment of the special government in the Agúsan Valley. Upon the

establishment of this government in the lower half of the Agúsan Valley,

there was a perceptible decrease in bloody fights due to the effective

extension of supervision under able and active officials. Here and there

in remote regions, such as the upper reaches of the Baóbo, Ihawán,

Umaíam, Argáwan, and Kasilaían Rivers, casual killings took place. On

the upper Agúsan, however, where no effective government had been

established until after my departure in 1910, interclan relations were

not of the most pacific nature. Thus, in 1909, the settlements of

Dugmánon and Moncáyo were in open hostility, and up to the time of my

departure four deaths had occurred. The Mandáyas of Katí'il and

Manorígao had contemplated an extensive movement against Compostela and

after my departure did bring about one death. However, the intended move

was frustrated happily by the establishment of a military post in

Moncáyo in 1910. Several Mañgguáñgans at the headwaters of the Mánat

River met their fate in 1909. The whole Mañgguáñgan tribe went into

armed vigilance that same year and rendered it impossible for me to meet

any but the milder members of the tribe living in the vicinity of

Compostela. On one occasion I had made arrangements to meet a

Mañgguáñgan warrior chief at an appointed trysting place in the forest.

Upon arriving at the spot, one of my companions beat the buttress of a

tree as a signal that we had arrived, but it was more than an hour

before our Mañgguáñgan friends made their appearance. Upon being

questioned as to the delay, they informed us that they had circled

around at a considerable distance, examining the number and shape of our

footprints in order to make sure that no deception was being practiced

upon them. When we approached the purpose of the interview, namely, to

request permission to visit their houses, they positively refused to

allow it, telling us that they were on guard against three warrior

chiefs of the upper Sálug who had recently procured guns and who had

threatened to attack them. Upon questioning my companions as to the

likely location of the domicile of the Mañgguáñgans, I was assured that

they probably lived at the head of the Mánat River in a swampy region

and that access to their settlement could be had only by wading through

tracts of mud and water thigh deep.

During the same year various other raids were made, notably on the

watershed between the Sálug and the Ihawán Rivers. The Manóbos of the

Baóbo River, which has been styled by the well-known Jesuit missionary

Urios "the river of Bagáni" (warrior chiefs), were reported to be in a

state of interclan war. Such a condition, however, was nothing unusual,

for I never ascended the upper Agúsan without hearing reports of

atrocities on Baóbo River.[2]

[2] The Baóbo River rises in a mountain that is very near the confluence

of the Sálug and Libagánon Rivers, and empties into one of the myriad

channels into which the Agúsan is divided just below Veruéla.

In time of peace, interclan dealings are friendly, but it may be said in

general that dealings of any kind are not numerous and that their

frequency is in inverse ratio to the distance between the two clans. It

is seldom that a given individual has no feudal enemy in one district or

another so that in his visits to other clans he usually has either to

pass through the territory of an enemy or to run the risk of meeting one

at his destination. This does not mean that he will be attacked then and

there, for he is on his guard, but it must be remembered that he is in

Manóboland and that a mere spark may start a conflagration.

Hence, visits to others than relatives and trips to distant points are

not frequent. This is particularly true of the womenfolk. Here and there

one finds a Manóbo man who travels fearlessly to distant settlements for

the purpose of securing some object that he needs, but he never fails to

carry his lance, and frequently, his shield; he is never off his guard,

either on the trail or in the house he may be visiting.

During the greater social and religious gatherings the greatest

vigilance is exerted by all concerned as everyone realizes beforehand

the possibility of trouble. Hence bolos or daggers are worn even during

meals. Enemies or others who are known to be at loggerheads are seated

at a respectful distance from each other with such people around them as

are considered friendly or at least neutral. This arrangement of guests

is a very striking feature of a Manóbo meal and one of great importance,

for it prevents many an untoward act. The host, in an informal way, sees

to the distribution of the guests, and when his arrangement is not

acceptable to any of the interested parties, a rearrangement is made and

all seat themselves. This proceeding has nothing formal about it. The

whole thing seems to be done by instinct.

EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL RELATIONS

EXPLOITATION BY CHRISTIAN NATIVES

The shameless spoliation[3] practiced during my residence and travels in

eastern Mindanáo (1905-1909) by Christian natives upon the Christianized

and un-Christianized Manóbos is a subject that deserves special mention.

[3] Since the establishment in 1909 of government trading posts, this

spoliation has practically ceased in the Agúsan Valley.

_Exploitation by falsification_.--The hill people, living in their

mountain fastnesses out of communication with the more important

traders, had to depend wholly for their needs on petty traders and

peddlers of the Christian population. They were accordingly kept in

absolute ignorance of the true value of the commodities that they

required. False reports as to the value of rice, hemp, and _vino_ were

constantly spread. To-day, it would be a report of a war between China

and Japan that caused a rise of several pesos in the price of a sack of

rice. To-morrow, it would be an international complication between Japan

and several of the great European powers which caused a paralysis in the

exportation of hemp and a corresponding fall of several pesos in the

value of it. These and numerous other fabrications were corroborated by

letters purporting to come from Butuán, but in most cases written by one

trader to another on the spot, with a view to giving plausibility to the

lie. It was a common practice for the trader's friend or partner in

Butuán to direct, usually by previous arrangement, two letters to him,

in one of which was stated the true value of the commodity and in the

other the value at which it was desired to purchase or to dispose of it.

The latter letter was for public perusal and rarely failed to beguile

the ignorant _conquistas_ and Manóbos.

But it was not only in the exorbitant rates charged and in the

unspeakably low prices paid for objects of merchandise that the

Christian trader swindled his pagan fellow men. The use of false weights

and measures was a second means. The Manóbo had little conception of a

_pikul_[4] or of an _arroba_[5] of hemp, so that he was utterly at the

mercy of the trader. The steelyards used by Christian traders from 1905

to 1908 were never less than 30 per cent out of true and frequently as

much as 50 per cent. One pair of scales I found to be so heavily leaded

that the hemp that weighed 25 pounds on them weighed between 38 and 39

pounds on a true English scales.

[4] A _pikul_ is the equivalent of 137.5 Spanish pounds.

[5] An _arroba_ is 25 Spanish pounds.

Another method of defraudation consisted in false accounts. The Manóbo

had no account book to rely upon in his dealings with the trader, but

trusted to his memory and to the honesty of his friend. The payment was

made in occasional deliveries of hemp or other articles, such deliveries

covering a period usually of many months. When the day for settling

accounts came, the Manóbo was allowed to spread out his little grains of

corn or little bits of wood on the floor and to perform the calculation

as best he could. Any mistakes in his own favor were promptly corrected

by the trader, but mistakes or omissions in favor of the trader were

allowed to pass unobserved. The account would then be closed and the

trader would mark with a piece of charcoal on a beam, rafter, or other

convenient place, the amount of the debt still due him, for it was

extremely rare that he allowed the poor tribesman to escape from his

clutches.

_Defraudation by usury and excessive prices_.--Another method of

exploitation consisted in a system of usury, practiced throughout the

valley but more especially on the upper Agúsan. An example will

illustrate this: A Bisáya advances 5 pesos in various commodities with

the understanding that at the next harvest he is to receive 10 sacks of

paddy in payment. At the next harvest the Manóbo is unable to pay more

than 6 sacks. He is given to understand that he must pay the balance

within two months. After that period the trader goes upstream again and

proceeds to collect. The paddy is not forthcoming, so the trader informs

his customer that the prevailing price of paddy in such and such a town

is actually 5 pesos per sack and that he accordingly loses 20 pesos by

the failure to receive the paddy stipulated for and that the debtor must

answer for the amount. The poor Manóbo then turns over a war bolo or

perhaps a spear at one-half their original value, for the contract

called for paddy and not weapons. In that way he pays up a certain

amount, let us say 10 pesos, and has still a balance of 10 pesos against

him, he having no available resources wherewith to settle the account in

full. He is then offered the alternative of paying 20 sacks at the next

harvest or of performing some work that he is unwilling to do, so he

accepts the former alternative. The bargain is then clinched with many

threats on the part of the trader to the effect that the Americans will

cut off his head or commit some other outrageous act should he fail to

fulfill this second contract.

The worst depredation committed on the Manóbo consisted of the advancing

of merchandise at exorbitant rates just before harvest time with a view

to purchasing rice and tobacco. It is principally at this time that the

Manóbo stands in special need of a supply of pigs and chickens for the

celebrations, religious and social, that invariably take place. As he

has little foresight in his nature and rarely, if ever, speculates, he

was accustomed to bartering away in advance a large amount of his paddy

and tobacco. The result was that after paying up as much of his paddy

debts and tobacco debts as he could, he found that his stock was meager,

barely sufficient for a few months. So the time came when he had to

repurchase at from 3 to 10 pesos per bamboo joint that which he had sold

for 25 centavos.

_Exploitation by the system of commutation_.--Another means of

defrauding perpetrated on the Manóbo was the system of commutation by

which the debt had to be paid, if the creditor so desired, in other

effects than those which were stipulated in the contract. The value of

the goods thus substituted was reckoned extraordinarily low. For

example, in the event of a failure to pay the stipulated amount of

tobacco, its value in some other part of the Agúsan, where that

commodity was high, would be calculated in money, and any object would

be asked for that the trader might desire. Suppose the customary value

of this object, a pig for instance, to be 10 pesos, at which price it

would be offered to the trader, who would reply that he had contracted

for tobacco and not pigs. He would go on to show that he had no use for

pigs, that he could procure a pig of the same size for 2 pesos in

another town, and he would finally persuade the debtor to turn over the

pig for 2 pesos.

I adjudicated unofficially, at the request of the Manóbos, several cases

where the Bisáya trader tried to collect not only the value of a sow but

of the number of young ones that it might have given birth to had it

lived. These pigs had been left with Manóbos for safe-keeping and either

had died from natural causes or had been killed. One Bisáya went so far

as to demand payment for the chickens that a hen would have produced had

it not been stolen from the Manóbo to whom it had been entrusted. This

part of the claim I did not allow, so the claimant demanded pay for the

eggs that might have been laid.

_Wheedling or the puának system_.--Another means of exploitation

practiced on the Manóbos of the upper Agúsan was the _puának_ system,

invented by the Bisáya trader. The _puának_ was some prosperous Manóbo

who was chosen as an intimate friend and who, out of friendship, was

expected to furnish his Bisáya friend anything which the latter might

ask for. The Bisáya in return was expected to do the same.

The Bisáya paid his Manóbo friend a few visits every year, on which

occasions he was received with all the open-hearted hospitality so

characteristic of the Manóbo. Pigs and chickens, purchased frequently at

high rates, were killed in his honor. The country was scoured for

sugar-cane wine or other drink, and no means were left untried to make

the reception royal. The Bisáya, in the meanwhile, lavished on his host

soft, wheedling words, at the same time giving him sad tales of the rise

in the price of merchandise, of his indebtedness to the Chinese, and

before leaving gave him a little cloth or some other thing of small

value. In return he received paddy, tobacco, and such other articles as

he needed. The farewell was made with great demonstrations of friendship

on the Bisáya's part and with an invitation to his Manóbo friend to

visit him at a certain stated time.

During his friend's visit the Manóbo had gone around the country

canvassing for paddy and such other articles as he had been instructed

to barter for. His wife and female relatives had stamped out several

sacks of paddy for their friend. His sons and other male relatives had

cleaned the Bisáya's boat and supplied him with rattan. In a word, the

whole family had made menials of themselves to satisfy the Bisáya's

every desire.

At the stated time the Manóbo started downstream with the various

commodities that had been requested of him, paddy, tobacco, and other

things. At his friend's house he was received with a great exhibition of

joy and welcome. During his stay he was kept happy by constant doses of

_vino_. Besides the killing of a suckling pig and of a few chickens, a

little wheedling and palavering were about the only entertainment he

received. But as the grog kept him in good humor and it is supposed to

cost one peso per liter, he was perfectly happy, turned over his wares

to the host, had his accounts balanced for him (he was usually in a

hilarious condition while this was being done), received further

advances of merchandise at the usual usurious rates, and left for his

upland home to tell his family and relatives of the glorious time he had

at his _puának's_.

_Bartering transactions_.--The following schedule of approximate values

of commodities in the Agúsan, 1905 to 1909, will serve to show the

commercial depredations committed on Manóbos and _conquistas_ by the

Bisáyas who have ever looked upon them as their legitimate prey.

Sale

price

in Gain Value

barter in of

for weighing abaká

Quantity Original Monetary abaká or in

Article retailed cost value fiber measuring Butuán

------- --------- ---- ----- ----- --------- ------

Pesos Pesos Kilos Per cent Pesos

Rice 1 sack 5-8 12-22 100-200 30-50 16-38

Vino 1 demijohn 5.50 16 240 30-50 42-48

Salt 1 sack 2.50 12 100 10-30 21-24

Salted fish 1 jar 6.00 16 205 -- 33-37

Turkey red 1 piece 4.00 14 106 15-25 26-28

----- -----

26.00 138-175

To this list might be appended the values of exchange in paddy, beeswax,

and rattan and the corresponding gain made when these latter are

bartered in their turn for hemp or disposed of to the Chinese merchants.

From the above list it is evident that a Bisáya trader could go up the

river with goods valued at 26 pesos and within a few weeks return with

_abaká_ valued at 138 pesos to 175 pesos, according to the scales and

other measures used. His total expenses, including his own subsistence,

probably would not exceed 30 pesos.

No mention is here made of such luxuries as shoes, hats, or European

clothes on which gains of from 500 to 1,000 per cent are the rule.

Neither have various other usuries been included, such as high interest

or payment of expenses in case of delays, all of which go to swell the

gain that a Bisáya considers his right and his privilege when he has to

deal with beings whom he hardly classes as men.

Among the Manóbos the credit system almost invariably prevails, based

upon the sacredness with which the Manóbo pays his debts. It is true

that the Christianized Manóbo occasionally is not very scrupulous in

this respect, but this is because he has been fleeced so much by his

Christian brethren.

Arriving in a settlement, the trader displays only a part of his wares

at a time. If he has two pieces of cloth, he displays only one. Of five

sacks of rice, only two are his, he claims. In answering the inquiry as

to whether he has dried fish, he says that he has just a little for his

personal use, for the price of it in Butuán was prohibitive. On being

besought to sell a little, he secretly orders it taken out from the jar

and delivered to his customer, at an outrageous price. The object of

this simulation is to hasten the sales of his wares, for should he

display all his stock, many of his customers might prefer to wait in

hopes of a reduction in prices, a sort of a diminutive "clearance sale."

As the article for which the exchange is made is nearly always _abaká_

fiber, it is evident that a certain period, longer or shorter according

to the amount of fiber contracted for, must be allowed the customer.

When this period exceeds a week, the stipulation is made that the

payment shall be made in installments. A shorter period is allowed than

is necessary for the stripping of the hemp, under the pretense that the

trader is in a hurry to leave the settlement and catch a certain steamer

with which he deals. This is a prudent precaution as the Manóbo is not

very methodical in his affairs nor quick in his movements. A thousand

and one things--omens, sickness, bad weather--may delay him in the

fulfillment of his contract. It is this tardiness that gives rise to the

ill feeling and bickering that are not infrequently the outcome of this

system of trading. The Manóbo, moreover, has long since become aware of

the stupendous gain made by the traders, and, when not dealt with

gently, becomes exasperated and on occasions deliberately delays his

creditor. Then again, some other trader may have got into the settlement

in the meantime and seduced him into buying, cash down, some more

enticing article, for this primitive man, like the rest of the world,

often buys what he lays his eyes upon without any thought of the future.

For this reason, the trader keeps close observation upon all who owe

him, almost daily visiting their houses and profiting by the occasion to

help himself to whatever little fish or meat or other edibles he may

find therein. One who has been in debt a long time is a favorite victim,

for when he is unable to pay his debt on time he is shamelessly required

to offer a substantial apology[6] in the form of a chicken or some other

edible.

[6] _Ba-lí-bad_.

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF TRADING

In general, there was no established system in the Agúsan Valley as far

as the dealings of Bisáyas went. The constant fluctuation of prices was

a sufficient explanation of this. Thus, rice might be worth 13 centavos

per kilogram in Butuán, while at the same time it might command a price

of 43 centavos on the Híbung River or in Veruéla. Salted fish might be

selling in Butuán for a trifle, whereas up the Simúlau a jar of it at

retail might be worth 20 or 30 sacks of paddy. In general the increase

in price of a commodity was in direct proportion to its distance from

points of distribution. By points of distribution are meant the Chinese

stores in Butuán and Talakógon.

Again the old-time custom of selling paddy at a fixed customary price

held the Manóbo in commercial servitude to his Bisáya compeer. This was

due to the intense conservatism of the Manóbo and to his peculiar

religious tenets in this regard, both of which were fostered and

sustained by the tribal priests and encouraged by Bisáyas. Could he have

been induced to retain his paddy instead of selling it at 50 centavos

per sack he would not have been obliged to repurchase at P5 per sack.

The same might be said of his tobacco, which he sold wholesale by the

bamboo joint at 25 centavos each, or, at most, at a peso each, and which

he repurchased, paying, in times of scarcity, 20 centavos for enough to

chew a few times.

The credit system, too, was an impediment to his financial advance. It

seems to have been a tribal institution. During my trading tour I

frequently heard my Manóbo debtors proclaim boastingly to their fellow

tribesmen that I had much confidence in their integrity.

The Manóbo who could gain the confidence of the traders and accumulate

his debts seemed to be an honored person, but when he was able to make

sufficient payment to satisfy his creditors he was a great man. Hence,

the traders played upon his vanity and advanced him such commodities as

he desired, seldom obliging him to settle in full his obligations, and

induced him to accept on credit a certain amount so as to retain him in

bondage to them. It must not be imagined that there was anything

tyrannical in the manner of collecting outstanding debts. On the

contrary, it was almost always done in a gentle diplomatic way, the

trader knowing full well that the Manóbo regarded a debt as sacred and

that he would finally pay it. But it must not be supposed that the

transactions were entirely free from disputes and quarrels. It happened

occasionally that the Manóbo detected the frauds in his creditor's

accounting or remembered omissions of his own in a past reckoning, and

so the bickering began, the Bisáya never caring to admit his errors or

frauds, while the Manóbo, who is a hard and fast bargainer, insisted on

claiming what he considered his rights. As a rule, the matter was

settled peaceably by the principal men of the region. Numerous

instances, however, occurred wherein the Manóbo, exasperated by the

numerous frauds of his creditor, awaited a favorable occasion to

dispatch him. On the whole, it may be said that differences which arose

between Bisáyas and their mountain compeers in eastern Mindanáo are to

be attributed in no small degree to the ruinous, relentless exploitation

of the unsophisticated, untutored Manóbo by the greedy Bisáya

traffickers.

INTERNAL COMMERCIAL RELATIONS

By internal trading is meant those simple transactions that take place

between Manóbo and Manóbo. The subject presents a striking contrast to

the merciless system adopted by the Christian traders in their dealings

with their pagan congeners.

The transactions are simple exchanges of the absolute necessities of

life.

MONEY AND SUBSTITUTES FOR IT

There is little conception of money as such among the hillmen unless

they have been in contact with Christian or Christianized traders, and

even then although monetary terms are made use of, there is but a vague

conception of the real value of what they represent. I asked a Manóbo of

the upper Wá-wa the price of his little bamboo lime tube. The answer was

30 pesos.

Money, therefore, has no value as a circulating medium, although it may

be prized as a material out of which to make rings and other ornamental

objects. As substitutes, there are several units of more or less

indefinite value. Thus, the value of a slave which, expressed in

monetary value, varies between 15 and 30 pesos, is mentioned in

connection with large fines and with marriage payments. Again, plates of

the type called _píñggan_ are referred to in small fines and in other

payments, but as these are imported articles the price varies. On the

whole, however, 100 _píñggan_ are worth a good serviceable slave--that

is, 30 pesos. Pigs also are mentioned as a unit of value, but here again

the value is not wholly definite, as a great many of them are imported

and vary with the purchasing price.

PREVAILING MANÓBO PRICES

The following list will give a fair idea of the monetary value of some

of the commodities that are most frequently exchanged between Manobos.

1. A slave who can perform a full-grown person's work. ..... 30.00 Pesos

2. A slave who can do a certain amount of work. ..... 20.00

3. A slave whose right hand can not reach the tip of his left ear .....

15.00

4. A male pig 1 year old ..... 1.00

5. A sow that has given birth once ..... 1.00

6. One fathom of _abaká_ cloth nearly 1 meter wide ..... 1.00

7. A woman's skirt of _abaká_ ... .50

8. One double sack of paddy (150 liters) ..... .50

9. Three double _gantas_ (15 liters) ..... 0.0625

10. One large basket (15 liters) of _camotes_, corn, taro, etc. .....

0.0625

11. One bunch of bananas ..... 0.0625

12. One dugout, 7 fathoms long, with a beam of 4 spans ..... 1.50

13. One dugout, 11 fathoms long, with a beam of 5 spans ..... 2.50

14. One bamboo jointful of tobacco, into whose mouth the closed hand can

not be easily inserted ..... 0.0625

15. One bamboo jointful of tobacco, into whose mouth the closed hand can

be easily inserted ..... 0.125

16. One full-grown hen or rooster ..... 0.125

The values above indicated are based on the monetary terms used to

represent their value, and borrowed, possibly, from the terms which are

still in vogue in eastern Mindanáo.[7]

[7] _I-sá-ka sá-pi_ (Bis., _ú-sa'-ka sa-lá-pi_), P0.50; _ka-há-ti_,

P0.25; _Si-ká-pat_, P0.125; _Si-kau-au_, P0.0625.

From the above scale it will be seen that a pig 1 year old could be

exchanged for 2 full-grown chickens, 2 sacks of paddy, and 2 bamboo

joints of tobacco. It is not customary to trade in such things as

_camotes_, taro, and corn, the return of them being the usual

stipulation, but the corresponding values have been inserted in the

above list in order to give the reader an idea of the value of food

commodities.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

No measure of weight is used by the hill Manóbo. The Christianized

Manóbo may have obtained some old scales of the type used by Bisáyas for

weighing _abaká_ fiber. These scales are steelyards, the construction of

which permitted the Bisáya trader to fleece his non-Christian customers

of as much as 50 per cent of their _abaká_ fiber. The method of

falsifying the balance was by loading the counterpoising weight with

lead, and by filing the crosspiece that acts as fulcrum. Another method

which might be used with even true steelyards consisted in giving the

counterpoise arm a downward tilt, after the _abaká_ fiber had been

loaded on the other arm. This was usually done on the pretense of

picking up the counterpoising weight which had been purposely left on

the ground.

In measures of volume the Manóbo is almost equally destitute for he has

only the _gántañg_. This is a cylindrical measure made out of the trunk

of a palm tree, with a bottom of some other wood. It has a capacity of

from 10 to 15 liters, but I know of no rule which fixes its exact size.

An interesting point with regard to the size of this measure is that it

is double that of the one used by Bisáyas.[8] It is suggested that the

early Bisáya traders, on the introduction of the Spanish _ganta_ and

_fanega_, taught, for obvious purposes, their unsuspecting mountain

friends to make a measure double the size of the legal one.

[8] The _gántang_ measure in eastern Mindanáo is of two kinds, _de

almacen_, "of the store," and _de provincia_, "of the province." The

latter is twice the size of the former, and is universally used by the

mountain peoples.

In the manner of measuring out paddy (for it is practically only for

this purpose that the _gántang_ serves) there is a feature that is

characteristic of Manobo frugality and economy. The paddy is scooped

with the hands, little by little, into the measure, which is not moved

until it is full. Then with a piece of stick the surface of the paddy is

leveled off and it is emptied into the larger receptacle. At the same

time the number is counted out loudly. The intention in not moving or

disturbing the measure is to allow the paddy to have greater bulk, for

if it is disturbed the grains settle and it requires more to fill the

measure.

Twenty-five of these _gántang_ make a _kabán_, _bákkid_, or _anéga_, as

it is variously called. This _kabán_, although there is no measure

corresponding to it in Manóboland, would be equivalent in bulk to two

sacks of rice, or about 150 liters.

The yard is the distance from the end of the thumb, when the arm is

extended horizontally, to the middle of the sternum. It, of course,

varies somewhat with each individual.

The Bisáya trader, in measuring cloth, considerably shortens his yard by

not giving a full stretch to the arm, and by slightly turning the

outstretched hand toward his body. This gain, together with another

little one secured when he bites off the measured piece from the bolt,

makes a total gain of 10 centimeters approximately. Remonstrances on the

part of the customer are unavailing, for he is told that such is the

length of the trader's yard and, if the customer is not satisfied, he is

not obliged to accept the cloth. As it is a credit transaction, the poor

Manóbo is obliged to yield.

The fathom[9] is the distance between the thumb tips when the arms and

hands are outstretched. The fraud practiced by the Bisáya trader in the

yard measure is also employed in this.

[9] _Dú-pa'_.

The span [10] is the stretch between the tip of the first finger and

that of the thumb as they are stretched over the object to be measured.

[10] _Dáng-au_.

The finger length[11] is the length of either the first or of the middle

finger, according to the custom of each locality.

[11] _Túd-lo_.

The joint length [12] is the length of the middle joint of the finger.

It is a measure that is very seldom used.

[12] _Lúm-po_.

SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVES

SLAVE TRADE

I have not visited the Agúsan Valley since 1910, so that I am unable to

give any information as to the actual extent of slave trading at the

present day. From 1905 to 1909 the practice was in vogue, but to no

great extent. It is reported on all sides by Mañgguáñgans, Mandáyas,

Manóbos, and Banuáons that since the American occupation it has

diminished to a remarkable degree, due to the wonderful reputation of

the Americans for having overcome the Spaniards. This diminution was a

natural sequence of the decrease of war raids.

Slave trading among the Manóbos of eastern Mindanáo was practically

confined to the Ihawán, Baóbo, upper Simúlau, and Agúsan Rivers. I am of

the opinion that during my four years' residence in the Agúsan there

were not more than 100 cases of slave trade in the regions outside of

the Ihawán and Baóbo River Valleys.

The customary value of a slave has been mentioned in this chapter, but

it is only proper to add that a great many considerations, such as poor

health, weak constitution, and other defects which might lessen the

ability of the slave to work, detract from his value. It may be said in

general that the value of a slave ranges between 10 and 30 pesos, never

exceeding the last figure, at which he stands on a par with an unusually

good hunting dog, or with an extra large prolific sow.

Slave trading does not, in the Manóbo's mind, involve the idea of

degradation which attaches to it among other nations. A slave is to the

Manóbo a chattel which he can sell, kill, or dispose of in any other way

that he may deem expedient.

CLASSES OF SLAVES

Captives[13] are those who have been captured from the enemy. At first

their treatment may be a little harsh, or they may, when their owners

happen to be angry, be killed outright. This is due to the fact that the

feelings of revenge have not cooled off. But after a few days their

condition and treatment is similar to that of ordinary slaves, except

that more precautions are taken to prevent their escape. If fear of

their escape is entertained, it is usual to sell them as soon as

possible.

[13] _Bi-ha_.

By ordinary slaves[14] are meant those who have been purchased or who

have been delivered over in payment of fines or marriages. There is no

institution in Manóboland by which a freeman, not a minor, can become a

slave by reason of debt. But minors, usually relatives of the debtor,

sometimes in an exigency are turned over in payment of a debt. This is

usually done with a view to avoiding bloodshed.

[14] _Áñg-lañg_.

DELIVERY AND TREATMENT OF SLAVES

The manner of delivering the slave to a new owner depends ordinarily

upon the feelings with which he regards the change, except in the case

of children, who are easily coaxed into accepting it. In the case of

older persons who have been attached to their owners, the matter is more

difficult, as they display a reluctance to change hands. A ruse is then

resorted to, as in a case which I witnessed. The person, in this case a

slave girl, was sent to her purchaser's house, ostensibly for the

purpose of procuring salt and of delivering a basket of paddy. As she

was about to return her purchaser called her back into the house. She

then, realizing the circumstances, burst into tears, but was soon

soothed by the wives of her new owner.

On the whole slaves are not mistreated. Like all menials, they at times

become remiss in the performance of what is expected of them, and

accordingly are given a few blows with a stick or other convenient

object. In a very passionate moment, or when drunk, the master may cut

off his slave girl's hair or denude her completely in the presence of

the household, but such acts are of very rare occurrence.

Immediately after being captured, or after a change of master, the slave

feels his lot keenly, but as time goes on and as he realizes that there

is no hope of deliverance, the remembrance of his relatives fades away

and he resigns himself to his fate. Sometimes one finds a slave who has

become so attached to his master that he is unwilling to return to his

relatives. This is true of those who have been captured when young, and

especially of girls. A fondness often grows up between the latter and

their master's wife, and separation causes loud and long weeping.

A slave enjoys no rights, either personal or political. He can be

disposed of without his consent either by sale or in marriage, or in any

other way his master sees fit. If he runs away he is pursued and brought

back to his master's house. If he runs away with frequency, and the

owner is unable to dispose of him to some one else, he is simply speared

to death. I never witnessed the actual killing, but trustworthy accounts

authenticate the fact that formerly, at least, it occasionally took

place. If a slave flees from his master's house no one may aid or abet

him in his flight, though it is lawful for anyone to capture him with

the intention of returning him to his master, who in this case must pay

the capturer P15.[15]

[15] On my last trip among the Mandáyas of southeastern Mindanáo (Karága

River) I was instrumental in saving the life of a woman slave who had

escaped six times. At the time of her escape six slaves, led by a boy

slave of about 14 years of age, had fled from the house of their master.

They were recaptured and no punishment except a good scolding and an

infinity of threats was meted out to them. A few days afterwards an

elderly slave again escaped. She was discovered in a neighboring house

and brought back by the wife and daughter of her owner. When her master

saw her he rushed from his house with spear and bolo and would have

killed her had it not been for my remonstrances and entreaties.

The slave does his share of domestic service. To the female falls the

task of drawing water, gathering firewood, pounding rice, cooking, and

weeding; to the male that of acting as his master's companion, porter,

and general messenger, and of planting _camotes_ and other crops.

The slave's dress is usually sufficient to cover his nakedness and no

more. Ear disks, bracelets, and similar articles of feminity[sic] are

not allowed, and too neat arrangement of the hair is not countenanced,

as it might be indicative of matrimonial inclinations. Marriage of his

slaves is not looked upon with favor by the master, and he does not

permit it unless the material advantages are so great that they will

repay him for the loss of the slave's services.

I know of few slave marriages. Captives, however, are said to be married

off for a good payment, when their looks and other good qualities have

won the heart of some young man.

My observation and the testimony of Manóboland as to the sexual morality

of slaves is that it is excellent, though no vigilance seems to be

exercised over them in the matter. The female slave makes trips alone to

the water place even by night, and spends many hours of the day in

solitary places while working in the clearings or traveling to the

granary. This sexual morality is due to the fact that intercourse with a

female slave is looked down upon with unmitigated contempt.

The slave fares no worse in the matter of food than the inmates of the

house; possibly he fares even better, for he gets more secret tastes of

sugarcane and roasted _camotes_ between meal hours; during meals he does

not forget himself, as he often has the handling of the pots.

PART IV. RELIGION

CHAPTER XXII

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MANÓBO RELIGION AND NATURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF

MANÓBO DEITIES

INTRODUCTORY

The matter of Manóbo religious belief is so difficult of investigation,

and withal so important, that I feel a certain amount of timidity in

taking up the subject. The natural suspiciousness of the Manóbo and his

inclination not to answer questions truthfully until he has assured

himself of his interrogator's motives in asking it are the principal

sources of this difficulty. Then again his fear of offending the

divinities, coupled with his absolute subjection in spiritual affairs to

his priests, do not render the undertaking easier. And finally his

primitive, untutored mind is not capable of setting forth in a

satisfactory manner the intricacies, and not infrequently, the numerous

variations and apparent contradictions that arise at every step in the

investigation. However, my sojourn among, and intimate dealings with,

both laymen and priests give me hope that the following is in its

essentials a true interpretation of this primitive religion.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF RELIGION

SINCERITY OF BELIEF

The life of a Manóbo is as deep an expression of his religious beliefs

as that of any man I know. Belief in the supernatural seems to be

instinctive with him. He undertakes no action out of the ordinary

routine without consulting the powers above, and when he has assured

himself of their disapprobation, he refrains most sacredly from his

intended project, even if it should be one so cherished as vengeance on

an enemy. But if these higher powers manifest their approbation he

carries out his project with full assurance of success.

To the Manóbo his deities and demons, spirits, giants, ghouls, and

goblins are as real as his own existence, and his belief in them seems

to him entirely rational and well founded, because for authority he has

tradition and revelation--tradition handed down from generation to

generation, revelation imparted to priests while manifesting all the

indications of what he considers supernatural influence.

BASIS OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF

I have had occasion to study the working of the Manóbo mind when brought

into contact with phenomena which it had never contemplated before and I

observed that when the phenomenon impressed him as being not prejudicial

nor unintelligible it was ascribed to a beneficent supernatural agency,

but when it produced the impression of being unintelligible or

detrimental it was at once condemned as being the work of evil spirits.

On one occasion a Manóbo of the upper Agúsan accompanied me to Talakógon

and, upon seeing the government launch, made inquiries as to its nature.

His questions being answered to his satisfaction, he made his comments,

praised its form, and finally declared it to be the work of a god. But

when it began to move, giving forth its shrill whistle and producing the

noise characteristic of a gasoline launch, he at once condemned it as

being the work of evil agency.

I saw another instance illustrative of this tendency upon the arrival of

the first phonograph in the Simúlau River district. My companion was a

Manóbo of the upper Bahaían. Upon hearing the strains of the phonograph

he concluded at once that there was an evil spirit within it.

Notwithstanding the fact that I assured him to the contrary, he

persisted in his belief, averring that no good spirit would give vent to

such an unearthly noise.

Almost invariably my watch, cornet, compass, and barometer were

condemned as being the work of malevolent spirits. Instances might be

multiplied indefinitely, but the general conclusion is that anything

that suggests the unintelligible, the unusual, the suspected, the

gloomy, is at once attributed to inimical powers. Hence a crow that caws

at night is thought to be an evil spirit. The crashing of a falling tree

in the forest is the struggle of mighty giants. The rumbling of thunder,

the flash of lightning, the tempest's blast, and all the other phenomena

of nature are the operations of unseen agencies. The darkness is peopled

with hosts of spirits. On the desolate rocks, in the untrodden jungle,

on the dark mountain tops, in gloomy caves, by mad torrents, in deep

pools, dwell invisible powers whose enmity he must avoid or whose good

will he must court, or whose anger he must placate.

Fear then seems to be the foundation of the Manóbo's religious beliefs

and observances. Untutored as he is, he fails to understand occurrences

which the average trained mind can easily explain. On one occasion I was

at the headwaters of the Abagá River, a tributary of the Tágo River. I

had to cross the river at a point where a mighty rock stood in

midstream, dividing the river in two. I noticed that each of my Manóbo

carriers deposited a little stone near an aperture in the rock. I asked

them why they had made their tribute to the spirit dweller of the rock,

and I could not convince them that the rock was not placed there by the

spirit, but was a natural result of the action of the water. They would

never, they said, be able to return to the Agúsan unless they showed

their good will to the spirit lord of Abagá.

MEANS OF DETECTING SUPERNATURAL EVIL

In all the concerns of life the Manóbo must secure immunity from the ill

will of the multitudinous spirits that surround him. But this alone is

not sufficient. He must be able to detect future evil, otherwise how can

he avoid it? His ancestors for long bygone generations, have taught him

how to foresee and avoid evil, for they have learned, often after bitter

experience, the signs of present and approaching evil and the means of

effectively avoiding it. These signs are embodied in a system of augury,

that forms one of the most important parts of Manóbo religion. Hence,

before all important undertakings, and, above all, whenever there is any

suspicion of bodily danger or any apprehension of supernatural ill will,

the omens must be sedulously consulted and the machinations of evil or

of inimical spirits thereby detected.

BELIEF IN AN HIERARCHY OF BENEFICENT AND MALIGNANT DEITIES

Now it happens that at times these omens can not be observed, so that it

might seem that the Manóbo is left exposed to, and defenseless against,

a host of spirit enemies.[1] However, he knows a means of defense, for

the good old people of yore have handed down the belief that there is an

hierarchy of beneficent divinities called _diwáta_ that are ever ready

to be his champions against the powers of evil. The old, old, people

found this faith justified and experienced the help of the beneficent

gods. Why should not he?

[1] _Búsau_.

How then is he to communicate with these invisible champions? Evidently

through those who have been chosen by the deities themselves for that

purpose--the order of priests called Italian. And so, following out the

practice of his forefathers, he has recourse to the priests in more

important concerns in which he can not otherwise ascertain the schemes

of malignant spirits or determine the pleasure of the gods. The priest,

in answer to his call, either by means of divination, or by ecstatic

communion with his tutelary deity, or by appropriate offerings, learns

the means to ward off the impending or suspected evil.

Living in a "land of terror," as he had up to about 35 years ago,

surrounded on all sides by mortal enemies, and in constant warfare with

them, the Manóbo, like his forebears, felt the necessity of having

recourse to spiritual agents for protection against his enemies and for

assistance in conquering them. Herein is involved another feature of

Manóbo religion--the belief in a multitude of warlike spirits called

_tagbúsan_ with whom communication is held through the mediation of

warrior chiefs called _bagáni_.

OTHER TENETS OF MANÓBO FAITH

Other points of importance in the religious ideas of the Manóbos are the

belief in a future life and in the existence, immortality, and duality

of the soul.[2] An inordinate fear of the dead and of all connected with

them, a host of religious and of other taboos, and a belief in the

efficacy of charms, talismans, and sympathetic magical means complete

the summary of Manóbo religion. For champions the Manóbo has the

tutelary _diuáta_; for mediators, the _bailán_; for guides, dreams,

divination, auguries, and omens; for propitiation, prayers, invocations,

oblations, and sacrifice; for proof of faith, tradition, revelation, and

personal experience.

[2] Not the metaphysical soul that is maintained in biblical and

theological belief, but a material counterpart of each individual.

SPIRIT COMPANIONS OF MAN

The _umágad_,[3] or spirit companions of man, as understood by the

Manóbo, may be defined as his material invisible counterparts without

whose presence he would cease to live. He attributes to these spirits or

souls invisibility, power of locomotion, and to at least one of them

immortality. He invests not only men, but also animals and such plants

as are cultivated by man for his sustenance, with souls or spirits. He

will tell you that the soul of rice is like rice, and exists as a

separate invisible form beside the visible material entity known as

rice. I was given to understand that trees once had souls and in proof

of the assertion the narra tree was cited, for even yet, it was

explained, it bleeds when cut.[4] No other explanation is offered in the

case of animals, than that they live and die and dream, therefore they

must have a spirit or soul.

[3] From _á-gad_, accompany.

[4] The sap of the _narra_ tree bears a very striking resemblance to

blood. _Narra_ is one of the _Pterocarpus_ species.

Vegetable souls in such plants as are used for the nourishment of man,

are explained in the following way: The offerings of rice and drink

which are set out for the deities, tutelary or other, are partaken of

and after repast of the gods the offerings become insipid, because they

have lost their "soul." I frequently tested the substantial remains of

the spirits' feast and found that they had still retained their pristine

savor and strength. No argument of mine, however, could convince my

Manóbo friends to the contrary. The spirits had consumed the soul, and

there remained, according to their staunch belief, nothing but the

outward form and inert bulk of the former offerings.

The Manóbo supposes himself to have been endowed by Mandáit with two

invisible companions and he is convinced that without their attendance

he could not exist. These souls or spirits are not indwelling principles

of life but are two separate indeterminate entities that differ only in

two respects from the person whose associates they are. The first

difference is that of size, for it is the general belief that they are a

trifle smaller than their bodily associates. Besides being smaller, they

are invisible. No mortal eye, it is said, except the priest's, has seen

a man's spirit companion, and yet it is only for brief intervals that

they are absent from their corporal companions. At times they crouch

upon the shoulders. When the man is making ready for a journey, they do

likewise. When he sets out upon his travels they follow him, one on each

side in somewhat the same way as the "guardian angels" of other creeds

accompany their wards. I once witnessed a little incident illustrative

of this belief. It was on the middle Agúsan, when a mother was about to

leave the house of birth. At the last moment she addressed the spirits

of her little one, conjuring them to follow and to care for their tender

ward.

Hence our souls are as our shadows, our other selves. Notwithstanding

the close association between them and their human companions, they are

seldom invoked. They are considered to have little, if any, power to

help. It is thought that without their presence man would become mad,

and in proof of this I was informed of cases where persons, on being

awakened rudely and hurriedly, had recourse to the bolo, in a fit of

madness due as it was thought, to the absence of their souls.[5]

[5] This belief explains the reluctance that the Manóbo, like members of

other Philippine tribes, feels in arousing a person hurriedly from sleep.

It is said that when we sleep these spirits wander off for a brief space

on their own mystic errands, and their doings are mirrored in our

dreams. Hence the strong and abiding belief of the Manóbo in dreams.

These strange companions of man have no material wants yet they lead an

insecure existence, exposed, as they are, to the insidious attacks of

the common foes of mortals. Hence it comes to pass that one of them,

while away on its random rambles some unlucky day, is mysteriously

kidnaped and finally "devoured" by a ruthless evil spirit.[6] As soon as

the surviving soul realizes what has taken place, it bemoans the loss of

its companion and leaving its corporal companion unattended wends its

way, sad and solitary, to the land of Ibú. I have been assured by

priests that this companionless soul frequently returns to the scene of

sickness and there bemoans with piteous cries the loss of its companion,

heaping horrid imprecations on the head of the foul spirit that wrought

the evil. Only the priest can hear its wild wail of woe and see its

piteous face, all suffused with tears. Upon seeing the spirit's grief

the priest renews at once his supplications to his tutelary deities,

beseeching them to rescue the captured soul from the clutches of its

enemy and thereby save the life of the patient. Should the prayers of

the priest prove unavailing, the soul wends its way to the region of

Ibú, where, free from the agressions[sic] of earthly enemies, it begins

its second and unending existence in the company of its spirit relatives.

[6] The "souls" of an ordinary priest and of war priests, as also those

of the slain, are not subject to such attacks, being under the

protection of numerous dieties[sic].

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE DEITIES

Manóbo religion consists primarily of a belief in an innumerable number

of deities called _úmli_ and of secondary deities called _diuáta_. In

contradistinction to these is a multitudinous host of demons known as

búsau, waging incessant and ruthless war against the Manóbo world. In

addition to these there is a numerous array of spirits known as

_tagbánua_ to whom is assigned the ownership of the forests, hills, and

valleys, while the various other divisions and operations of nature are

thought to be under the superintendence of other preternatural beings,

beneficent or otherwise.

The conception which the Manóbo has of the supernatural world is very

much like his idea of the world in which he lives. His gods, like his

warrior chiefs, are great chiefs, no one of whom recognizes the

sovereignty of the other. We find no idea of a supreme being as such.

The priests of one settlement have their own special deities to whom

they and their relatives have recourse, while the priests of another

settlement have another set of deities for their tutelaries, with whom

they intercede, either for themselves or for such of their friends as

may need assistance. It is true that each priest has amongst his

familiars a major divinity from whom he may have experienced more help,

but in the spirit world there does not exist, according to Manóbo

belief, one supreme universal being.[7] Each priest declares the

supremacy of his major deity over those of other priests, and Manóbos

declare Manóbo deities to be superior to those of other tribes.

[7] During the great religious movement that was at its height in 1909,

there was a general belief in the existence of a _Magbabáya_, or supreme

being, that was to overthrow the world, but before my departure from the

Agúsan in 1910, this supreme being was multiplied and was being sold to

anyone of Manóbo belief who could afford to pay the equivalent of a

human life. Thus one frequently heard that So-and-So had received one or

more _Magbabáya_.

CLASSIFICATION OF DEITIES AND SPIRITS The following is a general

classification of Manóbo deities and spirits.

BENEVOLENT DEITIES

(1) _Úm-li_, a class of higher beings who on special occasions, through

the intercession of the _diuáta_, succor mortals.

(2) _Diuáta_, a minor order of benignant deities, with whom the priests

hold communion on all occasions of impending danger, before all

important undertakings, and whenever it is considered necessary to feast

or to propitiate them.

GODS OF GORE AND RAGE

(1) _Tagbúsau_, a category of sanguinary gods who delight in blood and

who incite their chosen favorites, the _bagáni_ or warrior chiefs, to

bloodshed and revenge, and ordinary laymen to acts of violence and

madness.

(2) _Panaíyang_, a class of fierce deities related by ties of kinship,

and subordinate to the _tagbúsau_ or gods of gore. Their special

function seems to be to drive men to madness.[8]

[8] They are called _ma-ka-yáng-ug_, i. e., "can make mad."

(3) _Pamáiya_, retainers of the _tagbúsau_, and their emissaries, when

it is desired to incite men to acts of rage.

MALIGNANT AND DANGEROUS SPIRITS

_Bú-sau_, an order of insatiable fiends, who, with some exceptions,

occupy themselves wantonly in the destruction of human kind. The

following are some of the classes and individuals who are commonly

believed in but who, unlike most of the other _búsau_, are not of a

perfidious nature unless aroused to anger.

(1) _Tag-bánua_, a class of spirits who are not unkind, if duly

respected, and who live in all silent and gloomy places.

(2) _Táme_, a gigantic spirit, that dwells in the untraveled jungle and

beguiles the traveler to his doom.

(3) _Dágau_, a mischievous, fickle spirit that delights in stealing the

rice from the granary. If aroused to anger she may cause a failure of

the rice crop.[9]

[9] She is called also _Ma-ka-bún-ta-sái_, i. e., "can cause hunger."

(4) _Anit_ or _Anítan_, is the spirit of the thunderbolt, and one of the

mightier class of spirits that dwell in the upper sky world.[10]

[10] _In-ug-tú-han_.

(5) Epidemic demons, who hail from the extremity of the world at the

navel[11] of the ocean.

[11] _Pós'-ud to dá-gat_.

AGRICULTURAL GODDESSES

(1) _Kakiádan_, the goddess of the rice, and its custodian during its

growth.

(2) _Tagamáling_, the goddess of other crops.

(3) _Taphágan_, the harvest goddess, and guardian of the rice during its

storage in the granary.

GIANT SPIRITS

(1) _Mandáyangan_, a harmless humanlike giant whose home is in the

far-off mountain forests.

(2) _Ápíla_, an innocuous humanlike giant, the rival of Mandáyanñgan for

the wrestling championship.

(3) _Táme_, the giant demon referred to above.

GODS OF LUST AND CONSANGUINEOUS LOVE

(1) _Tagabáyau_, a dangerous goddess, that incites to consanguineous

love and marriage.

(2) _Agkui_, half _diuáta_, half _búsau_, who urges men to

consanguineous love and to sexual excesses.

SPIRITS OF CELESTIAL PHENOMENA

(1) _Inaíyau_, an empyrean god, the wielder of the thunderbolt and the

lightning, and the manipulator of the winds and storms.

(2) _Tagbánua_, who, besides being local gods reigning over the forest,

have the power to produce rain.

(3) _Umoúiuí_, the cloud spirit.

OTHER SPIRITS

(1) _Sugúdon_ or _Sugújun_, the god of hunters and trappers, under whose

auspices are conducted the operations of the chase and all that pertains

thereto. He is also the protector of the hunting dogs.

(2) _Libtákan_, the god of sunrise, sunset, and good weather; a god who

dwells in the firmament and seems to have special power in the

production of light and good weather.

(3) _Mandáit_, the soul spirit who bestows upon every human being two

invisible, not indwelling, material counterparts.

(4) _Yúmud_, the water wraith, an apparently innocuous spirit, abiding

in deep and rocky places, usually in pools, beneath the surface of the

water.

(5) _Ibú_, the queen of the afterworld, the goddess of deceased mortals,

whose abode is down below the pillars of the world.

(6) _Manduyápit_, the spirit ferryman, the proverbial ferryman who

ferries the departed soul across the big red river on its way to Ibúland.

(7) _Makalídung_, the founder of the world, who set the world on huge

pillars (posts).

NATURE OF THE VARIOUS DIVINITIES IN DETAIL

THE PRIMARY DEITIES [12]

[12] Called also _úm-li_ or _ma-di-góon-an no di-u-á-ta_.

The primary _diuáta_ are a class of supernatural beings that dwell in

the upper heavens. It is generally believed that at one time they led a

human existence in Manóboland but finally built themselves a stone

structure up into the sky and became transformed into divinities of the

first order. They stand aloft in a category by themselves and have no

dealings with the Manóbo world. On occasions the minor _diuáta_ or those

of the second class, when they are unable to afford man the required

help, have recourse to these greater deities. During my last trip to the

Agúsan Valley, it was the common report that the _diuáta_ of a certain

Manóbo clan on the upper Umaíam River, having been unable to protect the

people from military persecution had recourse to this higher hierarchy

and that it was only a matter of time when the members of the clan would

be taken up into the higher-sky regions where the supreme powers dwell

and where they would themselves become _úmli_ or _madigónan no diuáta_.

It is thought that these deities have brass intestines and that they can

draw up a house into their ethereal abodes with a gold _limbá_,[13] but

the conception of them is so vague and so varying that I am unable to

give further definite information.

[13] _Lim-bá_ possibly means chain.

THE SECONDARY ORDER OF DEITIES

It is with the secondary order of divinities, however, that we have to

deal more at length, for they are the guardians and champions of the

Manóbo in all the vicissitudes and concerns of life.

They are thought to be beings that in the long forgotten past lived

their earthly lives here below and after their mortal course was run

were in some inexplicable way changed into _diuáta_. Though belonging

now to a different and more powerful order, they still retain a fondness

for the tribesmen who sojourn here below. Selecting certain men and

women for their favored friends [14] they keep in touch with worldly

affairs and at the call of their favorites hasten to the help of

humankind.

[13] _Lim-bá_ possibly means chain.

[14] These are the _báilan_ or priests and priestesses of Manóboland.

In physical appearance these deities are human and Manóbo-like but they

are described as being "as fair as the moon." Warriors they are, to a

certainty, for they are said to carry their shield and all the insignia

of a Manóbo warrior chief and to fare forth at times to punish some bold

demon for his evil machinations against the tribe.

They are said to reside on the highest and most inaccessible mountains

[15] in the vicinity of their favorite priests but are ready to fly "on

the wings of the wind" to any part of the world in answer to a call for

help.

[15] We find several mountains and promontories in eastern Mindanáo

named after these gods, notably Mount Magdiuáta to the southwest, and

the Magdiuáta range to the northwest, of the town of Liañga. Point

Diuáta also, to the west of Butuán, is reported as being the dwelling

place of Manóbo divinities.

On these lofty heights they ordinarily lead a peaceful life. They are

blessed with wives and children and have attendant spirits [16] to do

their bidding. They have slaves, too, in their households, black

ill-visaged demons captured in some great raid. They have few material

wants, for betel nut is said to be their food but still they love to

join in the feasts of mortals and to be regaled with all the good things

of this world. They do not consume mortal offerings in a material way,

for the offerings remain intact except for some slight fingerings that

have been found at times on the surface of the rice and other offerings.

It is only the "soul," or, as is held by others, the redolence of the

viands that is partaken of. An exception, however, must be made in the

case of the blood of victims, for this is actually consumed by the

deities.

[16] These retainers are called _lim-bó-tung_.

So great is their desire for the savory things of life that they are

said to plague their mortal friends into providing them. Thus Mandáit,

the soul spirit, makes the babe restless, and even indisposed, with no

other intention than to induce the people to provide a fatted fowl. It

is believed too that Manaúg, the special patron of the sick, causes many

a bodily ailment in order that his idol may be set up and that he may be

treated to the various delicacies that he is fond of. And the

bloodthirsty war lords, Tagbúsau, must have their blood libation

periodically, whether it comes from a human being or from an animal

victim. It is true that this blood offering is to all appearance taken

by the warrior chief or by the priest, for they ravenously suck it from

the gory wound, or gulp it down from the vessel in which it has been

caught. But it is believed that neither the priest nor the warrior chief

drinks it, but the familiar spirits of the former, or the gods of the

latter, who at the moment of sacrifice have taken possession of them,

and produce in them violent tremblings and other manifestations of

preternatural possession. I could get no satisfactory explanation of the

manner of this possession. It is said to be effected by a mysterious

corporal transformation of the divinity such as even the demons are

capable of when they desire to ply their malice on humankind.

It is during this period of ecstatic seizure that the priest reveals to

the assembled tribesmen the directions and desires of his deities.

Breaking forth with loud voice and great belching into a wild strain, he

announces to the people the recovery of the sick one, or a plentiful

harvest, but it is not the priest that utters these prophecies and

instructions, but the _diuáta_ that speaks through him.

THE GODS OF GORE, AND KINDRED SPIRITS

These warlike beings are an order of divinities under whose special

protection the priest warrior chief performs his feats of valor, and for

whose special veneration he makes sacrifices and other offerings.

The prevailing idea with regard to them is that they are a class of

deities whose sole delight is the blood of the human race. This is said

to be their choice food, though they are willing, on nearly all

occasions, to accept as a substitute that of a pig or of a fowl.

They are said to dwell in high, rocky places on far-away mountains. In

order to be supplied with the delicacies of which they are so fond, they

select certain individuals for their favorites and servants, and accord

to them an immunity from personal danger.

It is seldom that they leave their rocky dwelling places, but when they

do it is because they consider themselves neglected by their servants or

when they experience an inordinate craving for blood. In such cases they

hasten to plague their favorites in divers ways into watchfulness and

compliance, and thereby keep themselves supplied with the viands so

acceptable to them.

They have messengers, too. These are called _pamáiya_ and are sent by

their masters to human haunts to incite men to anger, and thereby bring

on an occasion for bloodshed, much as the proverbial devil is said to

tempt humankind.

During all ceremonial feasts in their honor they are present and partake

of the blood of the victim, human or animal. And when their favorite

servants go forth to take revenge upon some long-standing enemy, they

accompany him and during the attack are by his side, protecting him and

inciting him to superhuman deeds. And when the enemy, men and women, lie

bleeding all around and the captives have been bound, these terrible

spirits eat, through their favorite's mouth, the heart and liver and the

blood of one of the slain, preferably that of the chief enemy.

CHAPTER XXIII

MALEFICENT SPIRITS

THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF MALIGNANT DEMONS

Standing out in strong antithesis to the benevolent divinities is an

order of maleficent spirits corresponding to the proverbial devils of

other cults. Throughout this paper they will be called, for want of a

better name, búsau or demons; that is, evil agents holding an

intermediate place between the higher divinities and men. No uniform

tradition as to the origin of these spirits appears to exist. It is

certain, however, from my investigation that the belief in such spirits

antedates the recent partial Christian conquest of the Agúsan.[1] It is

said that in the old, old days, these spirits were rather well disposed

toward men, and that children used to be entrusted to their care during

the absence of the parents. Be that as it may, at the present day they

have acquired a degree of maleficence that causes them to be considered

the implacable enemies of the human race.

[1] The introduction of Catholicism among the pagan tribes of eastern

Mindanáo was begun on a large scale by the Jesuits about the year 1877.

As frequently described to me by priests and by others who claimed to

have seen them, these foul spirits are human in all other respects

except that they are unusually tall, 2 fathoms being the average height

accorded them. Black and hideous in appearance they are said to stalk

around in the darkness and silence of the night. By day they retire to

dark thickets, somber caves, and the joyless resting places of the dead.

They have no families nor houses, neither do they experience physical

wants and so they wander around in wanton malice toward men. Seizing an

unwary human "soul," they make it a prisoner and, sweeping away with it

"on the wings of the wind," in some mysterious way devour it. Or, again,

simulating the shape of a wild boar, an uncommon bird, or even a fish,

they inflict bodily harm on their human victim.

The story of "Ápo Bóhon"[2] illustrates the belief in the metamorphosis

of these demons. Ápo Bóhon was a Manóbo of the Kasilaían River. One day,

in the olden time, he went forth to hunt but had no luck, though three

times he had offered his tributes to the Lord of the Agibáwa marshland.

Wearied with this hunt, he lay down to rest toward evening when lo! he

spied a monkey and taking his bow and dart arrow he shot it. But he

could not cook it. He piled wood upon the fire but still the flesh only

blackened with soot and would not cook. In his hunger he ate the flesh

raw but he never returned home, for the monkey was an evil spirit and

Ápo Bóhon fell into his power. Thus it is that until this day he wanders

around the woods of Kasilaían and may be heard toward evening calling

his dogs together for his return to his home on Agibáwa marshland. Woe

betide the unlucky mortal who may cross his path, for now his quest is

human. But if, upon hearing his voice, the traveler calls upon him and

offers him a quid, Ápo Bóhon will pass on his way and do no harm.

[2] _A-po_ means "grandfather" and _bo-on_ "ulcer."

METHODS OF FRUSTRATING THEIR EVIL DESIGNS

THROUGH PRIESTS

Naturally to the priest falls the task of opposing, through his

influence with men's supernal friends, these malicious beings. Having

got together the proper offerings he calls upon his friendly gods, one

or several, and beseeches them to rescue and release the missing spirit

or umagdd, and to punish the offending demons. Well pleased with the

tokens of good will offered by the priest and by his earthly friends,

the friendly deities are said to hasten to their home and gird

themselves for the pursuit. With lance and shield and hempen coat[3]

they start off on the raid. They are described as having their hair

bound up in small wooden hemispheres, their heads turbaned with the red

kerchief, and their necks adorned with a wealth of charms, much like the

great warrior chiefs of Manóboland. Guiding their footsteps by means of

a powerful glass,[4] and traveling with tremendous speed, they are said

to overtake quickly the fleeing enemy, even though they may have to

travel to the other side of the world. Then begins a fierce battle

between them and the enemy for the recovery of a human soul, or for the

purpose of punishing the demons for acts of malice.

[3] _Lim-bo-tung_.

[4] Called _espiho_. There is a universal belief among the Manóbos in an

_espiho_ (from the Spanish _espejo_, looking-glass) by which one can see

into the bowels of the earth or to the extremities of the world.

This battle is described in minutest detail by the priests during the

period of divine possession through which they pass in the course of the

religious ceremonies. At times a hand-to-hand combat between a friendly

deity and some more powerful demon is described at great length. Again

the capture of many evil spirits is the theme of a story.

A common occurrence during these combats is the use of an iron ball by

the friendly deities. The sight of this is said to inspire terror in the

demons and leaves them at the mercy of their opponents. Shut up in this

ball as in an iron prison they are brought back in triumph to the

domains of their conquerors and the rescued companion spirit of man

hurries joyously back to its mortal counterpart. These evil demons are

said to be held as captives in the houses of the good spirits and to

serve them in the capacity of slaves, accompanying and aiding them in

their warlike expeditions against other evil spirits.

BY VARIOUS MATERIAL MEANS

Besides having recourse to the _diuáta_ the Manóbos make use of a

reed,[5] or vine,[6] of the branches of a wild lemon tree[7] and other

plants,[8] in order to counteract the evil influence of these fiends. It

may be remarked that 11 of these cause a painful wound on an ordinary

human being but that they are said to be particularly irritating to evil

spirits; this is especially true of the wound made by the _sá sá_ reed.

Hence, on occasions when these demons are expected to be present, the

priest secures the above-mentioned plants and sets them in places where

it is thought the demons may be enticed to enter. It is mostly on the

occasion of a death or of a birth that these precautions have to be

taken for the smell of death and of human blood seems to have a great

attraction for these monsters. On such occasions branches of lemon trees

or of the other plants above mentioned are hung under the house or at

any opening in the wall. The priest, also, frequently carries a

sharpened _sá sá_ reed in the hope of encountering some overbold demon.

Although the wound inflicted by the reed does not kill the demon, yet it

is very slow to heal and is said to be at times incurable.

[5] _Sá-sá_.

[6] _U-ág_.

[7] _Su-á_ and _Ka-ba-yan-á_.

[8] _Ka-míli_ and _Húás_.

Such is the fear which the evil spirits have of these reeds, vines, and

branches that the mere mention of them is believed to be sufficient to

frighten the demons. Fire and smoke, also, are said to keep them away

and for that reason a fire is often kept burning under the house during

times of sickness and death. Great care is used to keep alive the fire

at night on nearly all occasions of apprehension.

Loud shouts, too, are resorted to in order to intimidate the evil

spirits. During funerals the yelling is particularly noticeable; the loud

yells which one hears while traveling through solitary places in the

mountains and down the rivers are intended as a menace to the malevolent

spirits.

BY PROPITIATION

When all other means have proved unavailing, propitiation is resorted

to. I witnessed the propitiatory ceremony during several cases of

serious sickness. In each case, when the offerings had been set out for

the benevolent divinities on the regular sacrificial stands,[9] a

corresponding offering of meat, rice, and other things was set out for

the evil demons that were supposed to be responsible for the sickness.

Their offerings were not placed in the house but outside, on a log or on

the ground, and were not touched again, nor eaten by anyone, for the

spirit of evil might have rendered them baneful.[10]

[9] _Ban-ká-so_ and _ta-lí-duñg_.

[10] Compare with the customs in vogue in the case of offerings made to

the _diuáta_.

After the various supplications have been made by the priests to the

good deities, the evil ones are called upon but not in the same way, for

they are not allowed within the precincts of the house, where various

objects, like _sá sá_ and lemon branches, have been placed to prevent

their entrance. They are addressed from the opening around the house as

if they were at a considerable distance, and no very endearing terms are

used. During cases of sickness and especially during epidemics the

custom of making a ceremonial raft is very common. I have heard numerous

accounts both as to the uniformity of this practice and the reason for

it.

Sickness of an unusual kind and especially of a contagious nature is

supposed to be due to the agency of some very powerful epidemic spirits,

who ascend the river, spreading the infection, and eluding at the same

time, the _diuáta_ in pursuit. When the priests decide that all efforts

to secure aid of the good deities are unavailing, they determine to

propitiate the evil epidemic spirits in the following manner: A small

raft of bamboo, 1 meter by 5 meters in the instance I witnessed, is

constructed. On this is securely bound a victim, such as a pig. Fowl

also may be offered on similar occasions and more or less elaborate

ceremonies may be performed, like the blood-unction and the fowl-waving

rite. In the ceremony which I witnessed the demons in question were

formally requested to accept the pig, not to molest the settlement

further, and to take themselves and their pig "down the river." The

sickness was then addressed and requested to transfer itself to the body

of the pig. After this the raft was freed and in its seaward course

floated into the hands of persons who had less fear of demons than their

Manóbo friends.[11]

[11] I know that the pig in question was taken and consumed in a less

religious way by a Bisáya trader.

THE "TAGBÁNUA" OR LOCAL FOREST SPIRITS

THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND METHOD OF LIVING

The _tagbánua_[12] or lords of the mountains and the valleys, are a

class of local deities, each one of whom reigns over a certain district.

To them is assigned the ownership of the mountains and the deep forest

and all lonely patches and uncommon places that give an impression of

mystery and solitude.

[12] _Tag_ a prefix denoting ownership, and _bá-n-u-a_, "uninhabited

place," the open uninhabited country as distinguished from the territory

in the immediate vicinity of the main rivers or of settled regions.

The _tagbánua_ are thought to be neither kindly nor unkindly spirits,

and without guile, provided a proper deference is shown them when we

trespass upon their domains.