academy or sciekces] MEANS OF SUBSISTENCE 77 



spirit whose pleasure seems to be to bring hunger 2i to humankind. The dead, whose final 

 feast 25 has not yet been celebrated, are given a betel-nut offering and requested most devoutly 

 not to tamper with the rice. Even the greedy parrakeets, the gregarious ricebirds, and other 

 enemies of the rice have portions of the first fruits set out for them in little leaf packages. Hakia- 

 dan is asked to instruct these creatures to behave themselves during this delicate season. 



The pig is killed in the ordinary way, and the feast ends with the usual revels. When the 

 farmer is unable to procure a pig, a chicken is substituted, specious excuses being made for the 

 failure to provide a larger victim. 



After the celebration the women and children of the household, assisted by such of their 

 friends and relatives, women and children, as have agreed to harvest the rice, begin the work in 

 real earnest. Each one starts out with her basket hanging upon her back, supported by the string 

 which passes over her head. In her hand she carries the harvesting knife, which is a clamshell 

 set at right angles in a palm's length of rattan, or in lieu of the shell a similarly shaped piece of 

 tin. With this she snips off a ripe ear with a few inches of the stalk and throws it into her basket, 

 which now hangs from her shoulder. When her basket is full she returns to the place where a 

 larger basket 26 has been set and deposits her load in it. Thus the process goes on for the few 

 days (three to five) necessary to harvest the crop. 



The men in the meantime make the granary H somewhere in the clearing, usually in the 

 center. It is ordinarily a crude structure consisting of four small posts, upon which rests a 

 roof of rattan leaf thatch. Intermediate between the roof and the ground is a floor either of 

 bamboo slats or of bark, upon which are set the cylindrical bark or grass receptacles for the rice. 

 Sometimes wooden disks or inverted cones of bamboo slatwork are attached to the posts of the 

 rice granary to prevent the entrance of rats and mice. 



The rice in the larger baskets is brought to the granary and in the course of a few days is 

 put on coarse mats of grass and threshed with hands and feet. It is then spread out thinly on 

 these same mats and dried in the sun for one day. After it is dried it is cleaned of chaff by 

 being tossed into the air from the winnowing tray. It is then ready for permanent deposit in 

 the granary, to be disposed of later either by sale or by home consumption. 



A field 1 hectare in area will yield, at a low estimate, 25 sacks, but where the soil is particu- 

 larly well adapted for rice culture, as it is on the upper parts of nearty every river in the Agiisan 

 Valley, 50 sacks are not considered an extraordinary yield. 



THE CULTURE OF OTHER CROPS 



The rice straw that stands upon the field is burnt down, and sweet potatoes, some maize, 

 a score or more of sugarcane plants, a patch of taro, and sometimes a few banana plants are put 

 in at intervals after the harvest entertainments. The time selected for the planting of sugarcane 

 and bananas is around noon. It is thought that, if planted then, they will grow taller and bigger 

 than if planted at any other hour. Taro and corn, on the contrary, must be planted during 

 the morning hours, probably for some reason analogous to the above. If the rumbling of thunder 

 is heard during the planting of these crops, it is an intimation that the planting should be dis- 

 continued till the following day, or, in case of urgency, till proper omens be taken to ascertain the 

 attitude of the powers above. 



Fruit trees of divers kinds are found scattered throughout the broad expanse of forest that 

 covers eastern Mindanao, but they are not of man's sowing nor does the Manobo ever lay claim 

 to them. He takes the fruit, frequently branch and all, eats it, throws the seed away and goes 

 his way rejoicing. 



HUNTING 



The Manobos are excellent hunters, keen, clever, determined, and enduring, but by no 

 means incessant. In fact, it is only under the stress of hunger or when a few of them rally together 

 that they start off with hunting spears and dogs. Occasionally one meets a professional who 



» Ma-ka-bun-tas-ui. n Diwitan. 



u Ka-ta-pus-an. v Tam-b6-bwng. 



