30 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— OARVAN IMBM To*xxin\ 



(11) A universal and constant faith in the existence of an afterworld and of the eternal survival of at least 

 one spirit companion therein. 



(12) A belief in dreams as being often indicative of future evil. 



(13) A belief in secret methods that may- be productive of harm to others. 



(14) The recourse to oaths and ordeals for the enforcement of promises and for the determination of truth. 



(15) The unmistakable apotheosis of bravery as illustrated by the warlike character of one class of deities. 



Such are the main characteristics of this form of primitive religion. The peculiar fear, enter- 

 tained by its lowly votary, of lonely mountains, odd-shaped rocks, gloomy caves and "holes, hot 

 springs and similar formations of nature; his belief that planted things have "souls" and his 

 peculiar respect for animals and insects — these and minor manifestations may point perhaps to a 

 former nature and animal worship, but at present there is no indication of such. The Manobo's 

 conduct in the presence of such objects and phenomena is one of fear toward, and placation of, 

 the agencies which he believes produce the phenomena or of the spirit owners of the objects that 

 come across his path. It is to them alone that he pays his respect, and not to the material object 

 or manifestation that has become the object of his perception. 



Though one of the characteristics of Man6bo religion is the apotheosis of bravery, as is 

 apparent from the warlike character of the divinities, and from the general desire to die the 

 death of the slain, yet I find little trace of ancestor worship. The dead are feared, their burial 

 place is shunned, their character is deemed perfidious, and relations with them are terminated 

 by a farewell mortuary feast, after which it is expected that they will depart, to vex the living 

 no more. 



MENTAL AND OTHER ATTAINMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS 



The Man6bo's intellectual attainments are very limited. He counts on his fingers and on 

 his toes, or by means of material objects such as grains of maize. He has never had any system 

 of writing and does not know how to read. His "letters" and his "contracts" are material 

 objects in the shape of bolos and other things, sent from one person to another with a verbal mes- 

 sage, or strips of rattan with knots. His method of counting is decimal, and comprehends all 

 numbers up to a hundred, though I am inclined to think that this last number represents to him 

 infinity. 



The reckoning of time is equally simple. The day is divided into day and night, the hour 

 being indicated by stretching out the arm and open hand in the direction of that part of the sky 

 where the sun or the moon would be at the time it is desired to indicate. 



The month is not divided into weeks but the lunar month itself is carefully followed, each 

 phase of the moon having its distinct name, though it is only in the case of the extreme of each 

 phase that they agree on its name. 



Years are reckoned by the recurrence of the rice-harvesting season, which varies according 

 to the climate and geographical position of different regions. It is seldom that one can count 

 backwards more than four or five years unless he can help his memory by some event such as an 

 earthquake, and extra heavy flood, the arrival of the Spanish missionaries, the Philippine insur- 

 rection, or the growth of trees, but as a rule no attempt is made to determine the number of years 

 that have elapsed since any event. I have seldom met a Manobo who had any idea as to his 

 age, or any ability to judge approximately of the age of another. 



Historical knowledge is confined almost entirely to events that have occured within one's 

 lifetime. There are few traditions that have any historical value, and even in these there is an, 

 element of the wonderful that makes them unreliable as guides. 



It is obvious that the pagan Manobo has made no advance along academic lines, due to the 

 fact that he never has had an opportunity afforded him, but judging of his intellectual ability 

 by that of the Christianized Man6bos, it is not inferior to that of the Bisaya. I had experience 

 in organizing and conducting schools among the conquistas, and it has been my experience that 

 ceteris paribus, they advance as rapidly as Bisayas. If the conquistas have not progressed as far 

 intellectually, it is due to lack of facilities and not to any inherent inability to learn. 



