82 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GAR VAN IMim0 (vol N xxi# 



Poisoning is a common and successful method of fishing, practiced more frequently on the 

 upper reaches of a river. There are four methods, all of which I have witnessed frequently 

 throughout Manoboland. 



The tuba 59 method. — A quantity of tuba varying from one-half to two sacksful is put into a 

 dugout and brought to the spot selected. Everybody comes provided with a fish spear, fishing 

 bow, bolo, boat or raft, and conical traps 60 made for the occasion. The tuba is then pounded as 

 it lies in the boat, a little water being added. This process occupies the greater part of an hour, 

 and is a very animated one, everybody being in high hopes of a grand feast. Where there are no 

 boats, the tuba is pounded in the rice mortars and brought in bamboo joints to the selected spot. 



At a point possibly a mile or more down the stream from the place in which it is decided to 

 cast the poison, the women and girls, aided by a few men, fix their conical traps across the stream 

 so that no large fish may escape. When all is ready the tuba is thrown into the river, and every- 

 one dashes downstream with loud exclamations, some in boats, some on rafts, or, where the water 

 is shallow, wading or jumping from rock to rock. 



It is some 15 minutes before the poison begins to take effect and then the women and children 

 at the traps may have a busy time removing the fish in order to keep their traps free for the 

 entrance of more. During this time the men and boys scurry around jabbing, hitting, missing, 

 and rushing from side to side with mad shouts of joy and exultation, sometimes two or 

 three after some fine big dazed fish of extra size. Thus they may continue for a few hours if the 

 river is a good sized one and the fish plentiful, for at the beginning a great number of fish probably 

 dart up side creeks, thus escaping from the effects of the poison, and when all the fish in the main 

 stream have fallen a prey, these lurkers must be sought out. 



Tuba has a deleterious effect on man, producing colic and diarrhea, if taken in fairly strong 

 solution. Yet the fish that die from the effects of it are perfectly harmless in that respect. The 

 famous is-da of the Agusan Valley is the only fish that does not succumb to the effects of this 

 poison. 



The tubli method. — The root of the tubli plant is used for poisoning. It is a quicker-acting 

 poison and more universal than the preceding, in the sense that nothing, not even shellfish, escapes 

 its baneful effects. As the plant has to be cultivated, it is obvious that it is not obtainable 

 in large quantities, and for this reason is not used as a rule on the main streams, the quantity 

 available not being sufficient to have an effect. It is used in the same manner as tuba. 



The Idgtang method. — The Idgtang is the seed of a tree that is not found in the middle and 

 upper Agusan Valley. I never witnessed the use of this poison on a large scale, due undoubtedly 

 to the absence of it in the middle and upper Agusan. The following was the procedure followed in 

 using it as witnessed by me. 



A few handfuls of the seeds are toasted in a frying pan and then pounded in a rice mortar. 

 Then ordinary earthworms, or even the intestines of a bird, are cut into small bits and mixed with 

 the poison. A deep quiet pool in a river or a likely place in a lake is selected and the mixture of 

 worms and Idgtang dropped into the water at the edge of the pool. In less than five minutes the 

 minnows and small fish rise to the surface, and begin to circle around giddily. These are followed 

 by the larger ones but it is not an easy undertaking to catch them till they have exhausted 

 themselves in their giddy circles or die in the tall runo grass that grows along the banks. 



This poison affects only such fish as eat the worms. People who eat fish caught in this way 

 seem to suffer no ill effects. 



There are other vegetable poisons used in killing fish, but I remember only the name of the 

 tree called tigau. 



DRY SEASON LAKE FISHING 61 



The mass of lakes and channels in the central Agtisan dries up into mere pools once a year, or 

 once in a few years, and affords an admirable opportunity for fishing on a large scale. Thousands 



» Pag-tu-bi-han. K San<tu. 



»• Tuba is the Croton Tiglium or croton-oil tree. a Lingig. 



