Chapter I: Front Matter

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THE MANÓBOS OF MINDANÁO

by

JOHN M. GARVAN

MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VOLUME XXIII FIRST MEMOIR

United States Government Printing Office Washington : 1931 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Price $1.00 (paper cover)

MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

VOLUME XXIII

FIRST MEMOIR

THE MANÓBOS OF MINDANÁO

JOHN M. GARVAN

Presented to the Academy at the Annual Meeting, 1929

THE MANÓBOS OF MINDANÁO

by

JOHN M. GARVAN

CONTENTS

PART I. DESCRIPTIVE

CHAPTER I. Classification and geographical distribution of Manóbos and other peoples in eastern Mindanáo

Explanation of terms "Eastern Mindanáo" The term "tribe" Present use of the word "Manóbo" The derivation and original application of the word "Manóbo" Geographical distribution of the Manóbos in eastern Mindanáo In the Agúsan Valley On the eastern side of the Pacific Cordillera On the peninsula of San Agustin The Mamánuas, or Negritos, and Negrito-Manóbo half-breeds The Banuáons The Mañgguáñgans The Mansákas The Debabáons The Mandáyas The Tágum branch The Agúsan Valley branch The Pacific coast branch The gulf of Davao branch The Moros The Biláns The Tagakaólos The Lóaks or Lóags The _conquistas_ or recently Christianized peoples The Manóbo _conquistas_ The Mandáya _conquistas_ The Mamánua _conquistas_ The Mañgguáñgan _conquistas_ The Mansáka _conquistas_ The Debabáon _conquistas_ The Bisáyas or Christian Filipinos

CHAPTER II. Physical characteristics and general appearance of the Manóbos of eastern Mindanáo

Physical type Divergence of types General physical type Racial and tribal affinities Montano's Indonesian theory Keane's view The Indonesian theory as applied to Manóbos Physical type of contiguous peoples The Mañgguáñgans The Mandáyas The Debabáons The Mamánuas The Banuáons Physical appearance as modified by dress and ornamentation

CHAPTER III. A survey of the material and sociological culture of the Manóbos of eastern Mindanáo

General material culture Dwellings Alimentation Narcotic and stimulating enjoyments Means of subsistence Weapons and implements Industrial activities General sociological culture Domestic life Marital relations Pregnancy, birth, and childhood Medicine, sickness, and death Social and family enjoyments Political organization System of government and social control Methods of warfare Intertribal and analogous relations Administration of justice General principles and various laws Regulations governing domestic relations and property; customary procedure in settlement of disputes

CHAPTER IV. Religious ideas and mental characteristics in general

A brief survey of religion The basis, influence, and machinery of religion The hierarchy of Manóbo divinities, beneficent and malignant Priests, their functions, attributes, and equipment The main characteristics of Manóbo religion Mental and other attainments and characteristics

PART II. GENERAL MATERIAL CULTURE

CHAPTER V. The Manobo home

In general Motives that determine the selection of the site Religious motives Material motives Religious ceremonies connected with the erection of a house Structure of the house The materials The dimensions and plan of construction The floor The roof and the thatch The walls The doorway and the ladder Internal arrangements Decorations The furniture and equipment of the house The underpart and the environment of the house Order and cleanliness of the house

CHAPTER VI. Dress

General remarks Delicacy in exposure of the person Variety in quantity and quality of clothes The use of bark cloth Dress as an indication of rank Dress in general Preferential colors in dress The man's dress Hats and headkerchiefs The jacket The lower garment The girdle The betel-nut knapsack The woman's dress The jacket The upper Agúsan style The style of the central group The girdle and its pendants The skirt

CHAPTER VII. Personal adornment

General remarks Hair and head adornment Care and ornamentation of the head Combs Ear disks Neck and breast ornaments Arm and hand ornamentation Knee and ankle adornments Body mutilations General remarks Mutilation of the teeth Mutilation of the ear lobes Depilation Tattooing Circumcision

CHAPTER VIII. Alimentation

Fire and its production The "fire saw" The steel and flint process Continuation of the fire Lighting Culinary and table equipment Various kinds of food The preparation and cooking of food Preparing the food Cooking the food Food restrictions and taboos Meals Ordinary meals Festive meals

CHAPTER IX. Narcotic and stimulating enjoyments

Drinks used by the Manobos Sugar-palm wine _Báhi_ toddy Sugarcane brew Extraction of the juice Boiling Fermentation Mead Drinking General remarks The sumsúm-an Drinking during religious and social feasts Evil effects from drinking Tobacco preparation and use The betel-nut masticatory Ingredients and effect of the quid Betel chewing accessories

CHAPTER X. Means of subsistence

Agriculture General remarks The time and place for planting rice The sowing ceremony The clearing of the land The sowing of the rice and its culture The rice harvest The harvest feast The culture of other crops Hunting Hunting with dogs Offering to Sugúdun, the spirit of hunters The hunt Hunting taboos and beliefs Other methods of obtaining game Trapping Trapping ceremonies and taboos The bamboo spear trap Other varieties of traps Fishing Shooting with bow and arrow Fishing with hook and line Fish-poisoning The _túba_ method The _túbli_ method The _lágtañg_ method Dry-season lake fishing Fishing with nets, traps, and torches

CHAPTER XI. Weapons and implements

Introductory remarks Offensive weapons The bow and arrow The bolo and its sheath A magic test for the efficiency of a bolo The lance The dagger and its sheath Defensive weapons The shield Armor Traps and caltrops Agricultural implements The ax The bolo The rice header Fishing implements The fishing bow and arrow The fish spear Fishhooks Hunting implements The spear The bow and arrow The blowgun

CHAPTER XII. Industrial activities

Division of labor Male activities Female activities Male industries in detail Boat building Mining Plaiting and other activities Female industries in detail Weaving and its accessory processes Pottery Tailoring and mat making

PART III. GENERAL SOCIOLOGICAL CULTURE

CHAPTER XIII. Domestic life and marital relations

Arranging the marriage Selection of the bride Courtship and antenuptial relations Begging for the hand of the girl Determination of the marriage payment The marriage feast and payment The reciprocatory payment and banquet Marriage and marriage contracts The marriage rite Marriage by capture Prenatal marriage contracts and child marriage Polygamy and kindred institutions Endogamy and consanguineous marriages Intertribal and other marriages Married life and the position of the wife Residence of the son-in-law and the brother-in-law system

CHAPTER XIV. Domestic life: Pregnancy, birth, and childhood

Desire for progeny Birth and pregnancy taboos Taboos to be observed by the husband Taboos to be observed by the wife Taboos to be observed by both husband and wife Taboos enjoined on visitors Abortion Artificial abortion Involuntary abortion The approach of parturition The midwife Prenatal magic aids Prenatal religious aids Accouchement and ensuing events Postnatal customs Taboos The birth ceremony The naming and care of the child Birth anomalies Monstrosities Albinism Hermaphroditism

CHAPTER XV. Domestic life: Medicine, sickness, and death

Medicine and disease Natural medicines and diseases Magic ailments and means of producing them The composition of a few "Kometán" Other magic means Bodily ailments proceeding from supernatural causes Sickness due to capture of the "soul" by an inimical spirit Epidemics attributed to the malignancy of sea demons Propitiation of the demons of contagious diseases Sickness and death The theory of death Fear of the dead and of the death spirits Incidents accompanying deaths Preparation of the corpse The funeral Certain mourning taboos are observed Death and burial of one killed by an enemy, of a warrior chief, and of a priest The after world The death feast

CHAPTER XVI. Social enjoyments

Instrumental music The drum The gong Flutes The _paúndag_ flute The _to-áli_ flute The _lántui_ The _sá-bai_ flute Guitars The vine-string guitar The bamboo-string guitar The _takúmbo_ The violin The jew's-harp The stamper and the horn of bamboo Sounders Vocal music The language of song The subject matter of songs The music and the method of singing Ceremonial songs Dancing The ordinary social dance The religious dance Mimetic dances The bathing dance The dagger or sword dance The apian dance The depilation dance The sexual dance The war dance

CHAPTER XVII. Political organization: System of government and social control

Clans Territories of the clans and number of people composing them Interclan relations The chief and his power The source of the chief's authority Equality among the people Respect for ability and old age The warrior chief General character Insignia and prowess of the warrior chief The warrior's title to recognition Various degrees of warrior chiefship The warrior chief in his capacity as chief The warrior chief as priest and medicine man

CHAPTER XVIII. Political organization: War, its origin, inception, course, and termination

Military affairs in general The origin of war Vendettas Private seizure Debts and sexual infringements Inception of war Declaration of war Time for war Preparations for war The attack Time and methods of attack Events following the battle Celebration of the victory The capture of slaves The return of the warriors Ambushes and other methods of warfare Peace

CHAPTER XIX. Political organization: General principles of the administration of justice: customary, proprietary, and liability laws

General considerations General principles The principle of material substitution Right to a fair hearing Securing the defendant's good will Foundations of Manóbo law Customary law Its natural basis Its religious basis Proprietary laws and obligations Conception of property rights Land and other property Laws of contract The law of debt Interest, loans, and pledges Interest Loans and pledges Laws of liability Liability arising from natural causes Liability arising from religious causes Liability arising from magic causes The system of fines

CHAPTER XX. Political organization: Customs regulating domestic relations and family property; procedure for the attainment of justice

Family property Rules of inheritance Rules governing the relations of the sexes Moral offenses Marriage contracts and payments Illegitimate children Extent of authority of father and husband Residence of the husband Crimes and their penalties Crimes The private seizure Penalties for minor offenses Customary procedure Preliminaries to arbitration General features of a greater arbitration Determination of guilt By witnesses By oaths By the testimony of the accused By ordeals The hot-water ordeal The diving ordeal The candle ordeal By circumstantial evidence Enforcement of the sentence

CHAPTER XXI. Political organization: Intertribal and other relations

Intertribal relations Interclan relations External commercial relations Exploitation by Christian natives Exploitation by falsification Defraudation by usury and excessive prices Exploitation by the system of commutation Wheedling or the _puának_ system Bartering transactions General conditions of trading Internal commercial relations Money and substitutes for it Prevailing Manóbo prices Weights and measures Slave trade and slaves Slave trade Classes of slaves Delivery and treatment of slaves

PART IV. RELIGION

CHAPTER XXII. General principles of Manóbo religion and nature and classification of Manobo deities

Introductory General principles of religion Sincerity of belief Basis of religious belief Means of detecting supernatural evil Belief in an hierarchy of beneficent and malignant deities Other tenets of Manobo faith Spirit companions of man General character of the deities Classification of deities and spirits Benevolent deities Gods of gore and rage Malignant and dangerous spirits Agricultural goddesses Giant spirits Gods of lust and consanguineous love Spirits of celestial phenomena Other spirits Nature of the various divinities in detail, The primary deities The secondary order of deities The gods of gore, and kindred spirits

CHAPTER XXIII. Maleficent spirits

The origin and nature of malignant demons Methods of frustrating their evil designs Through priests By various material means By propitiation The _tagbánua_, or local forest spirits Their characteristics and method of living Definite localities tenanted by forest spirits Worship of the forest spirits

CHAPTER XXIV. Priests, their prerogatives and functions

The _bailán_ or ordinary Manobo priests Their general character Their prerogatives, Sincerity of the priests Their influence Their dress and functions The _bagáni_, or priests of war and blood

CHAPTER XXV. Ceremonial accessories and religious rites

General remarks The paraphernalia of the priest The religious shed and the _bailán's_ house Equipment for ceremonies Ceremonial decorations Sacred images Ceremonial offerings Religious rites Classification Method of performance The betel-nut tribute The offering of incense Invocation Prophylactic fowl waving Blood lustration Lustration by water

CHAPTER XXVI. Sacrifices and war rites

The sacrifice of a pig Rites peculiar to the war priests The betel-nut offering to the souls of the enemies Various forms of divination The betel-nut cast Divination from the _báguñg_ vine Divination from _báya_ squares, Invocation of the omen bird The _tagbúsau's_ feast Human sacrifice

CHAPTER XXVII. Divination and omens

In general Miscellaneous casual omens Divination by dreams Divination by geometrical figures The vine omen The rattan omen Divination by suspension and other methods The suspension omen The omen from eggs Divination by sacrificial appearances The blood omen The neck omen The omen from the gall The omen from the liver The omen from a fowl's intestinal appendix Ornithoscopy In general Respect toward the omen bird Interpretation of the omen bird's call Birds of evil omen

CHAPTER XXVIII. Mythological and kindred beliefs

The creation of the world Celestial phenomena The rainbow Thunder and lightning Eclipse of the moon Origin of the stars and the explanation of sunset and sunrise The story of the _Ikúgan_, or tailed men, and of the resettlement of the Agúsan Valley Giants Peculiar animal beliefs The petrified craft and crew of Kagbubátañg Angó, the petrified Manóbo

CHAPTER XXIX. The great religious movement of 1908-1910

The extent of the movement Reported origin and character of the revival Spread of the movement Its exterior character and general features The principal tenets of the movement New order of deities Observances prescribed by the founder Religious rites The real nature of the movement and means used to carry on the fraud The sacred traffic Religious tours The whistling scheme Pretended chastity and austerity The end of the movement Similar movements in former years

APPENDIX

Historical references to the Manóbos of eastern Mindanao Early history up to 1875 From 1875 to 1910 Methods adopted by the missionaries in the Christianization of the Manóbos The secret of missionary success Explanation of plates