PART II. GENERAL MATERIAL CULTURE 

 CHAPTER V 



THE MANCBO HOME 

 IN GENERAL 



The Manobo, as a rule builds a house of no great pretensions, because he always remembers 

 that an evil combination of omens or a death in the house or an attack by his enemies, may 

 deprive him in the near future of his home. His best structure is better than the low wall-less 

 Mafigguangan home but can not compare with the comparatively solid structure of the Mandayas 

 of Kati'il and the Debabaons of the Salug country. 



He has no tribal halls, no assembly houses. In fact, with the exception of a rude shack ' 

 on his farm, built to shelter those who are guarding the crops against marauders (monkeys and 

 birds), he builds only one house, where he and usually several of his relatives dwell until such 

 time (usually after a year) as he finds it convenient or necessary to abandon it. 



MOTIVES THAT DETERMINE THE SELECTION OF THE SITE 



The motives that determine the selection of the site are twofold. 



RELIGIOUS MOTIVES 



It is obvious that in such an important undertaking the Manobo must be guided by the 

 omens and oracles that manifest to him the will of the supernal powers. Hence, as he sallies 

 forth to seek the site, he keeps his ear alert for the turtledove's 2 prophetic cry. If this is un- 

 favorable, he returns home and resumes his search the following day. It frequently happens 

 that this omen may be unfavorable for two or three successive days, but, however urgent the 

 case may be, this bird's sacred warning must on no account be disregarded, for it would mean 

 failure, disaster, or death, as the Manobo can prove to you by a host of instances that happened 

 within his memory, or that of his relatives. Once satisfied, however, with this first omen, he 

 proceeds upon his journey and selects, from material motives that will be mentioned later 

 on, a site for the new house, and returns to his people to inform them of the outcome of his 

 journey. 



Now, the selection of the site is of such serious import to the Manobo that he must assure 

 himself, by every means in his power, that it is approved by the unseen powers, and for this 

 purpose he has recourse to the egg omen and the suspension oracle. The former I witnessed 

 on several occasions and in every case it proved auspicious. The bu-dd-lcan or vine omen is some- 

 times consulted in selecting a house site, and the significance of the various configurations is 

 the same as that described under "Divination or Omens." I was told that this latter omen 

 is also taken in the forest before the final decision as to the selection of the site is made. 



The occurrence of ominous dreams at this juncture, as also the passing of a snake across 

 the trail, are considered of evil import, but the evil is neutralized by the fowl-waving cere- 

 mony that will be described later. 



MATERIAL MOTIVES 



When no further objection is shown by the "powers above" to the selection of the home 

 site, the Manobo is guided by such motives as fertility of soil, proximity of water, and fishing 

 facilities, and, if he is in a state of vigilance against his enemies, as in remote regions he nearly 

 always is, by desirability of the site for defense. In this latter case he selects a high place 

 difficult of access, frequently a lofty mountain, and chooses the most strategic point upon it. 



1 Pin-di-ag. J Li-mo-kon. 



37 



