80 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN [M '"°ivot xxn" 



TRAPPING 



TRAPPING CEREMONIES AND TABOOS 



As on all occasions, the invocation to the turtledove, the consultation of its cry, and the 

 betel-nut offering to the forest deities of the locality are performed at the outset by the prospective 

 trapper. The omission of the last ceremony might expose him to the danger of being speared 

 by his own trap. 



I observed in several districts the use of an ordinary toy magnet, 40 as a charm 4I to insure 

 success in trapping, but I suspect that belief in the efficacy of the magnet was inspired by some 

 inventive trader who wanted to dispose of his magnets with more dispatch and at a bigger gain. 

 The use, however, of magic herbs 42 is said to have been learned from the Mamanuas and is 

 resorted to in the eastern parts of the middle and lower Agusan. I was afforded no information 

 either as to the names or the nature of the herbs used. They are carried around the neck care- 

 fully concealed. 



The male priests and the warrior priests invoke their respective tutelaries before a trapping 

 expedition and the manikiad tt calls upon the emissary M of the war deities. The trapper sets a 

 sign 45 near his house upon his departure. This consists of a bunch of grass or twigs tied to a 

 stick, and is an intimation to passers-by of his absence and of the reason for it. He then sets out 

 for his trapping grounds, but if on the route he meets anyone he must return to the house at least 

 temporarily, 46 for otherwise he would catch nothing in the traps. 



In his absence the following are a few of the taboos that must be observed : 



(1) The trapper's wife must neither do work nor leave the house until his return, or, in case of protracted 

 absence, until sunset. 



(2) No one, not even a dog, may enter the trapper's home unless the visitor leaves, or unless there is left for 

 him on his departure, an object of personal use, such as his bolo. This is intended as a deposit and will be re- 

 turned. The dog must be tied till sunset or a similar deposit made for it. 



(3) The mention of the words pig and deer must be sedulously avoided, and no one must refer to the purpose 

 of the hunter unless it be in a periphrastic way. 



I observed on several trapping expeditions in which I took part, that the trapper built a 

 little offering house " near his shelter house, and at first was very regular in his offerings and 

 prayers to the spirit lord of the forest. His religious fervor, however, decreased in direct propor- 

 tion to the bountifulness with which heaven rewarded his prayers. When he found game becom- 

 ing scarce, he decided that probably the local forest spirit was displeased, and tried his luck in 

 other parts. 



THE BAMBOO SPEAR TRAP * 



A common method of trapping among the Manobos, more especially practiced during the 

 rainy season, is by the use of the bamboo spear trap that is in very common use throughout 

 the Philippine Islands. Without entering into details, it may be described as a trap in which a 

 spring of bent wood, upon being released, drives a bamboo spear that has been attached to it 

 into the side of a passing pig or deer. The whole apparatus is laid horizontally about 1 foot 

 above the ground, and is carefully concealed. It is a simple contrivance, speedily and cheaply 

 made, and in the rainy season very successful. Accidents to human beings from these traps are 

 rare, due to the keen sight and forest instinct with which the Manobo is endowed. As the pig 

 or deer passes along the trail, it releases the spring and is speared in the side. It is seldom that 

 a wild boar dies on the spot or in the vicinity. It usually has to be tracked for hours and sometimes 

 is never found. 



<° Bi-to bdni. 

 *i Sum-pa'. 

 " Sin-td-ub. 



<> A title conferred upon a man who has one or two deaths to his credit. The number depends upon the locality. 

 « This class of spirits is called pan-ai-yang. 

 «' Ba-li-ug. 



'• Manobos claim that the violation of this taboo would bring about a condition that is expressed by the word ma-ka-du-va; I can not state defi- 

 nitely what this condition is. I never have bad a satisfactory explanation. 

 " Bai-yui-bai-vui, literally, a little house. 

 «> Ba-tlk. 



