RELIGIOUS IDEAS AND MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS 29 



Among the other inimical spirits are: The rice pilferer, Dagau; Anit, the thunderbolt 

 spirit; numerous epidemic demons; the goddess of consanguineous love and marriage; the spirit 

 of sexual excess; the wielder of the lightning and the manipulator of the winds and storms; the 

 cloud spirit; and various others. 



Agricultural and hunting operations are all performed under the auspices of gods and god- 

 desses. Thus Hakiddan and Taphdgan take care of the rice during sowing and harvest time, 

 respectively; Tagamdling attends to other crops; Libtdkan is the god of sunshine and good 

 weather; and Sugujun is the god of the chase. 



There are other gods: Manddit, the birth deity; Ibu, the goddess of the afterworld; Ma kali- 

 dung, the founder of the world; Manduydpit, the ferryman; and Yumud, the water wraith. 



PRIESTS THEIR FUNCTIONS, ATTRIBUTES, AND EQUIPMENT 



The performance of nearly all the greater religious rites is left to the priests who are of two 

 classes — baildn or ordinary priests, and bagdni or war priests. It is the prerogative of these 

 priests to hold communication with their familiar spirits; to find out from them their desires; to 

 learn the doings of the unfriendly spirits, and the means to be taken for a mitigation of the evil in 

 question. 



The ordinary priests are simple intermediaries, claiming no wondrous powers, making use of 

 no deceptive nor mercenary methods, as far as my observation goes, with no particular dress and 

 little paraphernalia, having no political influence, but possessing, in all that concerns religion, 

 paramount authority. Their title to priesthood is derived from violent manifestations, such as 

 trembling, perspiring, belching, semiunconsciousness, that are believed to be a result of com- 

 munication with their familiars. 



The war priests have blood spirits for their favorites, and accordingly perform their rites 

 only in matters that concern war and wounds. 



Ceremonial accessories consist of a few heirlooms, a small altar house, a wooden oblation 

 tray, a one-legged stand, a sacrificial table, ceremonial decorations, sacred images, and sacrificial 

 offerings. 



The religious rites peculiar to the ordinary priests, consist of betel-nut offerings, the burning 

 of incense, invocations, prophylactic fowl waving, omen taking, blood unction, the child cere- 

 mony, the death feast, the rice-planting ceremony, the hunting rite, and the sacrifice of pig or fowl. 



The ceremonies peculiar to the warrior priests, besides the betel-nut tribute to the war spirits 

 and invocation offered to them, are: Invocation and offerings to the spirit companions or "souls" 

 of the living enemy, special forms of divination connected with war, a special invocation to the 

 omen bird preparatory to the war raid, placation and propitiation of the tutelary war deities 

 by invocation, by sacrifice, and ceremonial cannibalism; and, probably, in the remote districts, 

 by human sacrifice. 



THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF MAn6bO RELIGION 



The main features, then, of the Manobo religious system are: 



(1) A firm traditional belief in the existence of anthropomorphic beneficent deities that will help the Man6bo 

 if he supplies them with the offerings they desire, but, if not, that will allow and even cause evil to befall him. 



(2) A belief in the existence of forest spirits and sky spirits, who on occasions may become hostile and must 

 be propitiated. 



(3) An absolute reliance on priests, who are the favorites of one or more of the friendly divinities, and through 

 whose mediation he secures their good will and assistance. 



(4) The fear of the dead who are thought to harbor an envious feeling toward the living. 



(5) The frequent consultation or interpretation of omens, auguries, and oracles for ascertaining future events. 



(6) A rigid adherence to a numerous set of taboos, some based on religious ideas, some founded on sympa- 

 thetic magic. 



(7) A frequent application of the principle of sympathetic magic by which one act is believed to be produc- 

 tive of a correlated result. 



(8) A conscientious avoidance of everything disrespectful in word and act toward one of the brute creation. 



(9) A belief in two spirit companions that accompany each mortal from birth till death. 



(10) A belief in the possibility of capture of one of these spirit companions by malignant spirits. 



