26 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN 1ME ToS 



selects and of the crops that he plants thereon. As soon as he abandons the land it becomes 

 the collective property of the clan. Land disputes are unknown. 



Property that is the result of one's labor or one's purchase belongs to the individual except 

 in the case of women, children, and slaves. Loss of and damage to property belonging to another 

 must be made good, no excuses being admitted. 



The law of contracts is stringent, but a certain amount of consideration is shown in case of a 

 failure to fulfill a contract on tune, unless a definite stipulation to the contrary has been pre- 

 viously made. All contracts are made in the presence of witnesses, and frequently a knotted 

 rattan slip, representing the number of items or the number of days to elapse before payment, is 

 delivered by the one who makes the contract. 



Nearly all transactions are made on a credit basis, hence frequent disputes arise out of the 

 failure of one party or the other to fulfill the terms of the contract. The failures are sometimes 

 due to the fact that one individual man depends on payment from another in order to satisfy 

 his debt to a third party. Undue delay on the part of a debtor finally gives the creditor the 

 right to seize the property of the debtor, or even the property of a third party. Such an action 

 is not common and is always taken tinder the stress of exasperation after repeated efforts to 

 collect have proved unavailing. As a rule the relatives of the debtor prefer to settle the obliga- 

 tion rather than to allow matters to become too serious, but it happens at times that they, too, 

 are obstinate and allow things to take their course. 



No interest is charged on loans except in the case of paddy. There are few loans made, and 

 no leases or pledges. These last imply a distrust that is not pleasing to the Manobo. 



The law of liability is very strict. For instance, if one shoidd ask another to accompany 

 him on a journey and the latter should fall sick or die, the former would be liable for his death. 

 If one should die in the house, thereby causing the abandonment of it, the relatives of the dead 

 man would have to pay the value of the house. Similar instances are of frequent occurrence and 

 can readily be understood. This liability law extends to evils supposed to be due to the violation 

 of taboos and to the possession of magic powers. 



There is a system of fining that serves, harsh though it may seem, to maintain proper defer- 

 ence to the person and the property of another. Thus, spitting on another, rudely grasping 

 another's person, entering another's district without due permission, bathing in river without the 

 owner's leave, are a few of the many cases that might be adduced. The fine varies according to 

 the damage and amount of malice that may be proved in the subsequent arbitration. 



Regulations governing domestic relations and property; customary procedure in settlements of 

 disputes. — The house belongs collectively to the builders. The property in it belongs to the 

 male inmates who have acquired it. 



The elder brother takes possession of the property of his deceased brother, unless the eldest 

 son of the deceased is of such an age as to be capable of managing the household. In case the 

 deceased did not have a brother, a brother-in-law or a son-in-law becomes the representative of 

 the household. The eldest son inherits his father's debts and must pay them. 



There is so little property in the ordinary Manobo home that there are no disputes as to the 

 inheritance. After a death the house is abandoned and the grief-stricken relatives scurry off with 

 their baskets, mats, and simple utensils to make another home in a solitary part of the forest. 



The relations both prenuptial and postnuptial between the sexes are of the strictest kind. 

 All evil conduct from adultery down to immodest gazing is punished with appropriate fines and 

 even with death. The fines vary from the equivalent of three slaves down to the equivalent of a 

 few pesos. 



The marriage contract is very rigid. I know of few cases in which the stipulated price was 

 not paid prior to the delivery of the fiance\ In case of the death of one of the affianced parties, 

 the payments made must be refunded. In case of the refusal of the bridegroom to continue his 

 suit even though there has been no fault on the part of the bride or of her relatives, he loses all 

 right to recover. Should the bride's people, however, decide to discontinue the proceedings, they 

 must return the previous payments and make, I believe, compensation for the trouble and expenses 



