100 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN [Memo {vo?xxiu; 



continues, with never a care for the various household sounds, such as the chopping of wood, 

 or the yelping of dogs; and not even the announcement of supper, and the partaking thereof, 

 can stay his eloquence. The householder at times emits a sleepy grunt of approval, relapses 

 apparently into a drowse, and after several hours, rolls into his mat and feigns sleep. At this 

 juncture one of the visitors hastens down the notched pole and gets the silver-ferruled lance or 

 silver-sheathed knife that has been left concealed near the house. The spokesman of the visitors 

 then offers it to the father of the hoped-for bride on condition that he rise and listen, for they 

 have come with an object in view — to beg for the hand of his daughter. It is then his turn to 

 begin a painfully drawn-out discourse, to which the visitors assent periodically with many an 

 humble and submissive "ho" and "ha," "bai da man" (yes, indeed), and so forth. He strains 

 and racks his brains to think of every imaginable reason against the marriage, and finally, after 

 he has exhausted every resource, he bids his visitors go home and come back on such a day, 

 because he has to consult his relatives; but he can not get them to stir until he gives them a 

 counterpresent, which he claims is of much more value than their present to him. 



On the appointed day the young man's relatives again proceed to the same house, but in this 

 case reinforced by all the relatives within reach, each one carrying his present. 



Upon the arrival the same performance is repeated and the same tactics pursued as before, 

 except that this time the visitors kill their fatted pig and set it out, inviting the householder and 

 all his relatives to partake, but, lo and behold! no one will eat. No amount of persuasion will 

 induce them — they have eaten already — they are all sick — they do not like to be invited to eat by 

 their visitors, it being against all the rules of hospitality, etc. To all of these objections the visi- 

 tors by turn answer, offsetting one reason by another and all the while trying to put the other 

 people into good humor and soften their hearts. But no, the owner of the house and his party 

 refuse, and all this while the fatted pig lies in big black chunks on the floor, surrounded by rice in 

 platters, baskets, and leaves. At this point a few of the visitors again hasten down the notched 

 pole, and gather up out of the grass or underbrush in the adjacent jungle the concealed presents. 

 The arrival of the presents is a grand moment for the father and relatives of the young man. 

 Even the future bride, who up to this tune has coyly hidden away in a corner, can not help steal- 

 ing a few peeps at the display of spears, bolos, daggers, plates, and jars. 



Picking them up one by one the owner descants on their beauty, their value, (naming an out- 

 rageous sum), and his relatives express their sorrow at parting with them. "But, " he goes on to 

 say, "it matters not, provided that you see our good will and will join us in this banquet." Where- 

 upon he distributes among his guests according to the order of their standing the array of pres- 

 ents, after which all squat down and begin to eat, the visitors giving an extra dose of wassail to 

 their friends in order that under its warming influence they may soften and yield. 



During the course of the meal, the discussion is continued and every appeal made to motives 

 of friendship and self-interest, but in vain — the other side shows no signs of yielding; they say 

 that they can not yet make a fixed contract, that the girl is too young, or that she does not want 

 the suitor; and so the hosts are bade to have patience and to go their way. But now that they 

 have spent an amount varying from ^30 to !P50 they are not minded to lose it, but will persist in 

 their suit for years. I have heard of marriage transactions that covered 10 years and have 

 personal knowledge of numerous cases that have extended over 6. 



The case of a Manobo in Pilar, upper Agusan, will illustrate the point. His father, during 

 the interregnum of 1898, first made the proposal for the hand of the girl. It was refused until 

 toward the end of 1904 the parents finally yielded, but on condition that 10 slaves be paid. A 

 few months subsequently, after a course of hard haggling and cunning bargaining, the contract 

 was modified to four slaves plus the equivalent of the value of six. Three slaves were delivered 

 after a raid on a Mafigguafigan settlement on the middle Salug (about April, 1905). The 6 

 "thirties," 2 or 1*180, were paid in lances, knives, and other things before the demise of the father 

 toward the latter part of 1905, so that one slave still remained to be delivered. On my last visit 

 to Pilar (February, 1910) the poor fiance" was still doing chores around his mother-in-law's house, 



' Kat-lo-in, meaning 30, is a monetary unit, representing the value of a good slave. 



