18 THE MAN6B0S OF MINDANAO— GARVAN IMm( Wx5e£ 



The various articles of food may be divided into two classes, one of which we will call the 

 staple part of the meal and the other the concomitant. It must be remembered that for the 

 Man6bo, as well as for so many other peoples of the Philippine Islands, rice or camotes or some 

 other bulky food is the essential part of the meal, whereas fish, meat, and other things are merely 

 complements to aid in the consumption of the main food. Under the heading, then, of staples 

 we may classify in the order of their importance or abundance the following: Camotes, rice, taro, 

 sago, cores of wild palm trees, maize, tubers and roots (frequently poisonous). Among the 

 concomitant or supplementary foods are the following, their order being indicative of the average 

 esteem in which they are held: Fish (especially if salted), domestic pork, wild boar meat (even 

 though putrefied), venison, iguana, larvae from rotted palm trees, python, monkey, domestic 

 chicken, wild chicken, birds, frogs, crocodile, edible fungi, edible fern, and bamboo shoots. 

 As condiments, salt, if on hand, and red pepper are always used, but it is not at all exceptional 

 that the latter alone is available. 



Sweetpotatoes, taro, tubers, and rice are cooked by steaming. Maize and the cores of 

 palm trees are roasted over the fire. 



There are only two orthodox methods of cooking fish, pork, venison, iguana and chicken: 

 (1) In water without lard; (2) by broiling. Python, monkey, crocodile, wild chicken, and birds 

 must be prepared by the latter method. 



When the meal is prepared, it is set out on plates, banana leaves, or bark platters, with 

 the water in glasses or in the coconut-shell dipper. On ordinary occasions the husband, wife, 

 children and female relatives of a family eat together, the unmarried men, widowers, and 

 visitors partaking of their meals alone, but on festive occasions, all the male members, visitors 

 included, gather in the center of the floor. 



The hands and mouth are washed both before and after the meal. All begin to eat together 

 on the floor. The men eat with their left hands and, on occasions, when the remotest suspicion 

 of trouble exists, keep their right hand on their ever-present weapons. It is customary not to 

 leave one's place after the meal without giving due notice. 



NARCOTIC AND STIMULATING ENJOYMENTS 



The most common and indispensable source of everyday enjoyment is the betel-nut quid. 

 It would be an inexcusable breach of propriety to neglect to offer betel nut to a fellow tribesman. 

 Not to partake of it when offered would be considered a severance of friendship. The essen- 

 tial ingredients of the quid are betel leaf, betel nut, and lime, but it is common to add tobacco, 

 cinnamon, lemon rind, and several other aromatic elements. At times substitutes may be used 

 for the betel leaf and the betel nut, if there is a lack of either. 



Another important masticatory is the tobacco quid with its ingredients of lime and mdu- 

 mau juice. This is carried constantly between the lips. Occasionally, however, the men like 

 to smoke a little mixed tobacco in small pipes or in little leaf cones. 



The greatest and the most cherished enjoyment of all is drinking: Men, women, and chil- 

 dren indulge, the last two sparingly. In Mandboland the fame of a banquet is in direct propor- 

 tion to the number of those who became drunk, sobriety being considered effeminate, and 

 a refusal to drink an affront to the host. 



The main drinks are of four kinds: Cabo negro toddy, sugarcane brew, bahi toddy, and 

 mead. The first and third are nothing but the sap of the palms that bear their respective 

 names, the sap being gathered in the same manner as the ordinary coconut tuba. The second 

 or sugarcane brew is a fermented drink made from the juice of the sugarcane boiled with 

 a variety of the ginger plant. It is the choice drink of Manobo deities. The fourth drink 

 mentioned above is mead. It is similar to the last mentioned except that instead of sugar- 

 cane juice, honey is used in its preparation. 



One feature of the drinking is that it is seldom unaccompanied by meat or fish. Hence, 

 on every occasion that a supply of these may be obtained, there is a drinking bout. Religious 

 sacrifices, too, afford abundant opportunity for indulgence. 



Quarrels sometimes ensue as a result of the flowing bowl, and war expeditions are proposed, 

 but on the whole it may be said that the Man6bo is a peaceful and a merry drinker. 



