CHAPTER IV 



RELIGIOUS IDEAS AND MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS IN GENERAL 



A BRIEF SURVEY OF RELIGION 



A study of Man6bo religion is difficult because of the natural secretiveness and suspiciousness 

 of this primitive man, because of his dependence for his religious ideas on his priests, because of 

 the variations and apparent contradictions that arise at every step, and, finally, because of his 

 inability to expound in a satisfactory manner the beliefs of his religious system. 



THE BASIS, INFLUENCE, AND MACHINERY OF RELIGION 



The religious belief of the Manobo is an essential part of his life. On his person he often 

 carries religious objects. The site for his home is not selected till omens and oracles are con- 

 sulted. In his method of cooking there are religious rules. He can not procure his meat from 

 the forest nor his fish from the streams without making an appropriate offering. He sows and 

 harvests his rice under the auspices of certain deities. His hunting dogs are under the pro- 

 tection of a special divinity. His bolo and his spear must answer a special magic test. He can 

 not go forth to fight till divination and sacrifice have assured him success. All the great events 

 of his life — his marriage, the pregnacy and parturition of his wife, death, burial, war — all are 

 consecrated by formal, and often public, religious rites. 



As far as I have been able to judge, fear of the deities of evil spirits, of the dead — of all that 

 is unintelligible, unusual, somber — is the mainspring of the Manobos religious observances and 

 beliefs. 



In order to detect the evils, natural and supernatural, to which he may be exposed, he has 

 recourse to dreams, divination, auguries, and omens, and, in more serious cases he calls upon his 

 priests to ascertain by invocation, oblation, and sacrifice, the source of the evil that has befallen 

 him, or of the danger that he fears. 



THE HIERARCHY OF MANOBO DIVINITIES, BENEFICENT AND MALIGNANT 



There is no supreme being in the Manobo pantheon, though there are two principal classes 

 of beneficent divinities. Little is known of one of these classes beyond its supposed existence. 

 The other class is made up of humanlike deities called diudta that retain a fondness for this world 

 and the good things thereof. They select mortals for their favorites, and through them keep 

 themselves provided with such earthly delicacies as they may desire, even though they may have 

 to plague their mortal votaries in order to secure them. 



There is another category of spirits, of a. slightly different character, whose desire is blood. 

 These are the war divinities that select certain individuals for their champions and urge them on 

 to deeds of valor, with the hope of procuring blood. 



In contradistinction to the above divinities are others of a malignant or dangerous character. 

 Chief among them are the busau, black, hideous spirits that dwell in dark, desolate places, and 

 who are for the most part implacable enemies of man. To counteract the machinations of these 

 spirits, the beneficent dieties are called upon by Manobo priests and feasted with song and 

 dance and sacrifice. Pleased with these tokens of friendship, the good spirits pursue the evil 

 ones, and even engage in battle with them. 



The tagbdnua are a class of local spirits that reign over the forest tracts and mountains. 

 They are not of an unkindly nature as long as a certain amount of respect is paid them. Hence 

 the practice of making offerings during hunting and other forest occupations. 

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