38 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN IMEMO |vo?xxm' 



RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES CONNECTED WITH THE ERECTION OF A HOUSE 



An invocation to the special deities of the family is made by a priest, usually a relative. 

 After an offering of a betel nut has been made to the local deities of this particular part of the 

 forest, the head of the family, assisted by such of his numerous relatives as are able to help 

 him, proceeds to clear the ground for the new building. When a more influential Manobo 

 begins to erect a capacious house, usually everyone in the vicinity — men, women, and children — 

 attracted by the prospective conviviality that is sure to accompany the work, throng to lend 

 a helping hand, so that in a few days the clearing is made, cleaned and planted, and the frame 

 of the house with the roof completed. 



People belonging to the less influential class may take months to complete the house, de- 

 pending on the number of relatives who help them and on the leisure that they have. It is of 

 importance to note here that the house must not be completed at once. 3 



When the first post is put into the ground, a sacrifice is frequently made and a part of the 

 victim's blood is poured upon the base of the post. As soon as the roof and floor have been con- 

 structed, a formal sacrifice of a chicken is made to the special divinities under whose protection 

 the family is thought to be. The chicken must be of the color that is pleasing to these deities. 

 An interesting feature of this ceremony is that the center of the floor, the place intended for the 

 doorway, and one or more of the posts, are lustrated with the blood of the victim. 



STRUCTURE OF THE HOUSE 



THE MATERIALS 



The materials for the house are taken from the surrounding forest and are generally of a 

 light character. It is only in the erection of a house 4 for defense that more substantial materials 

 are employed. 



THE DIMENSIONS AND PLAN OF CONSTRUCTION 



In height from the ground to the floor the house may vary from 1.50 to 8 meters, though a 

 structure of the latter height is infrequent. In size it may be between 2 by 3 meters and 5 by 8 

 meters, but as a rule it is nearer to the former than to the latter figures. Rectangular in form, 

 it is built upon light posts varying in number from 4 to 16, the 4 corner ones being larger and 

 extending up to support the roof. Four horizontal pieces attached to these corner posts and, 

 supported by several of the small posts, form, together with a few joints, the support for the 

 floor. In order to give more rigidity to the building and to render the floor stronger, the joints 

 are supported by several posts, these last being propped by braces set at an angle of about 45°. 

 In the case of a house built for defense, the number of supports and crosspieces is such that the 

 enemy would find it impossible to hack it down. 



Houses built on trees were rare at the time of my stay among the Manobos of the Agtisan 

 Valley. In the few cases which I saw, the tree was cut off at a point about 2 meters above the 

 divergence of the main branches from the trunk. Then the house was built in the ordinary way 

 by erecting long auxiliary posts, the trunk of the tree and its main branches for min g the principal 

 support. In Baglasan, upper Salug River, I saw a Debabaon house, belonging to Bagani pina- 

 mailan Lantayuna, built on a tree but without any auxiliary posts. 



No nails, and pegs only very occasionally are employed in fastening together the various 

 parts of the structure. Either rattan strips or pieces of a peculiar vine 6 are used in lashing the 

 beams and crosspieces to the posts, whereas for the other fastenings, rattan strips are universally 

 employed. 



THE FLOOR 



The floor consists of laths of bamboo, or of a variety of palm 6 laid parallel and ru nnin g 

 along the length of the house with more or less regular interstices. Almost universally one or 



* It is believed that the thatch must be allowed to turn yellow before the bouse is completed. 

 ' UUiin. 



8 Hag-nai-a (Stenochtena spp.). 



• A-na-nau. Fauna brava. (LicUtcnia sp.). 



