116 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GAR VAN [Memo iv<£xxii£ 



The. chicken is killed and the head, legs, and wings offered to Mandait. To these delicacies 

 are added little leaf packages of cooked maize 36 or native rice. 27 The priest, on these occasions 

 invariably a woman, goes through her invocations while the offerings are being placed on the 

 ceremonial boat. She burns incense 28 whose fragrance is said to be especially acceptable to 

 Mandait. By the direction of the smoke, she ascertains the position of Mandait and of her own 

 guardian or familiar spirit, and turning to him, welcomes him. She falls into the usual state of 

 tremor during which Mandait is supposed to partake spiritually of the repast set out for him. 



This ceremony being concluded, the fowl is partaken of, and a little sugarcane beverage w 

 is drunk, if it can be obtained. After the meal, the priestess recounts in the old archaic language 

 of song the chronicles of bygone days. This is taken up by such other makers of Man6bo monody 

 as may be present. If the child proves to be restless, it is lulled to sleep with the weird staccato 

 of the bamboo guitar. 30 During the course of the night the two souls are supposed to enter into 

 mystic consociation with the babe, and thenceforth to be its companions. 



The following morning the priestess removes the little leaf packages and, placing them on 

 a rice winnow, tosses them into the air. The children present at once grab for the packages. 

 The ceremonial canoe, however, with the offering of fowl, must be left suspended indefinitely. 



In the lower half of the Agiisan Valley from San Luis to the mouth of the Agiisan, a tray of 

 bamboo trelliswork is used for the offering to Mandait instead of the sacrificial canoe described 

 above. Otherwise the ritual is identical. 



THE NAMING AND CARE OF THE CHILD 



The child receives, without any ceremony or formality, a name that seems to depend on the 

 caprice of the parents. It is usually that of some famed ancestor, or of some well-known Manobo 

 but at other times it may depend on some happening at the birth. Thus the writer knows of 

 Manobos who bore the names Bagio (typhoon), Linug (earthquake), Badau (dagger), Bihag 

 (captive), Anglang (slave), Ka-ug (mag-got). 



The child is treated by the parents and by the other relatives with the greatest tenderness. 

 He is petted and pampered from his very youngest days, and punishment of any kind is seldom 

 administered. A hammock made out of a hemp skirt or a little bamboo frame, suspended by a 

 string from a bamboo pole in the fishing-rod style, is often provided for his resting place. He is 

 tenderly set in one of these by day, and the usual little maternal devices are used to keep him 

 from crying and to put him to sleep. 



When the little fellow is somewhat bigger and stronger, he is carried about with his legs 

 straddled across his mother's hip, or allowed to crawl around the floor. If the mother has to 

 absent herself and there is no one to watch him, he is simply tied to the floor and left to his own 

 thoughts. He is not weaned till the advent of another child, or till he of his own accord relin- 

 quishes the breast. His dress is of the simplest in most cases. 



As soon as the male child reaches the age of 7 to 8 years, and is able to run around, he 

 not infrequently accompanies his father or any other male relative on a fishing or on a hunting 

 expedition, often carrying the betel-nut bag or some other object at times almost too heavy 

 for his tender years. While at home he is often in an emergency sent out to do little chores. 

 He is bidden to run out and get some betel leaf or some firewood from the surrounding forest, 

 or again is sent for a little water. Such errands, however, are the exception. He has most of 

 his time to himself, and passes it in merry rompings with his little brothers and cousins. If 

 he lives near the river he spends a few hours a day in the water, bathing, splashing his play- 

 mates, and catching frogs and other edibles. A favorite pastime of his is to make a diminutive 

 bow and ply his arrows at some old stump or some unlucky lizard or other living thing that 

 he may have espied. If monkeys, crows, or other bold marauders are overnumerous, he prob- 

 ably has to sit out in the rude watch-house in the little clearing and keep the scarecrows moving, 

 or by shouts and other means drive off the uninvited pests. 



» Bud-bud. » fn-tut. 



« Ba-ki. * Tan-k6. 



18 Pa-li-na, the gum of the ma-yu-bai tree. 



