The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao | Page 8

two human lives. He is then entitled to wear a peculiar chocolate-colored kerchief with white patterns in it. When he has killed four he may wear blood-red trousers, and when his score has reached six he may don a full blood-red suit and carry a sack of the same color. Such a man is known as magani and his clothing marks him as a person of distinction and power in his village. He is one of the leaders in a war party; he is chosen by the datu to inflict the death penalty when it has been decreed; and he is one of the assistants in the yearly sacrifice. It is not necessary that those he kills, in order to gain the right to wear a red suit, be warriors. On the contrary he may kill women and children from ambush and still receive credit for the achievement, provided his victims are from a hostile village. He may count those of his townspeople whom he has killed in fair fight, and the murder of an unfaithful wife and her admirer is credited to him as a meritorious deed.
The workers in iron and brass, the weavers of hemp cloth, and the mediums or shamans--known as mabalian--are under the protection of special deities for whom they make ceremonies at certain times of the year.
The mabalian just mentioned are people--generally women past middle life--who, through sufficient knowledge of the spirits and their desires, are able to converse with them, and to make ceremonies and offerings which will attract their attention, secure their good will, or appease their wrath. They may have a crude knowledge of medicine plants, and, in some cases, act as exorcists. The ceremonies which art performed at the critical periods of life are conducted by these mabalian, and they also direct the offerings associated with planting and harvesting. They are generally the ones who erect the little shrines seen along the trails or in the forests, and it is they who put offerings in the "spirit boxes" in the houses. Although they, better than all others, know how to read the signs and warnings sent by the spirits, yet, all of the people know the meaning of certain omens sent through the medium of birds and the like. The call of the limokon[1] is recognized as an encouragement or a warning and its message will be heeded without fail. In brief, every natural phenomenon and every living thing is caused by or is subject to the will of unseen beings, who in turn can be influenced by the acts of individuals. As a result everything of importance is undertaken with reference to these superior powers.
[l] A dove (Calcophops indica). Similar beliefs held by the Tagalog were mentioned by Juan de Plasencia in 1589. See BLAIR and ROBERTSON, Vol. VII, p. 189.
DWELLINGS--HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS.
The houses found in the coast villages line well marked streets and differ in few respects from those built by the Christianized natives throughout the Islands. Even in the more isolated districts the effect of this outside influence is marked. However, we can state with confidence that village life is a new idea to the Bagobo. He has, from time immemorial, built his home near to his fields, and there he and his family reside, except during festivals or when extreme danger threatens. At such times all go to the house of the local ruler and there unite in the festivities or the common defense.
The smaller dwellings have but one room, the floor of which is raised several feet above the ground and supported by many piles. A part of the latter extend five of[sic] six feet above the floor and form supports for the side and cross-beams. From the center of the room lighter poles project eight or ten feet above the cross-beams and form the main supports for the ridge timber. From beams at the end and sides of the room similar pieces run to this central ridge; below this they are joined together, at intervals, by means of horizontal poles and cross-beams. To this framework are lashed strips of palma brava, supports for a covering of closely laid runo, on which rests the final topping of flattened bamboo. The ridge pole is always at a sufficient height above the floor to give the roof a steep peak, and is of such length that, at the top, the side roof overhangs the ends. The roof generally rises in two pitches and always extends past the sides of the room.
In house building, the roof, which is made first, is raised to the desired height, thus serving as a shelter for the workers until the structure is complete (Plate XIII). Resting on the cross-beams, just below the rafters, a number of loose boards are laid to form a sort