academy of soences j DOMESTIC LIFE: PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND CHILDHOOD 117 



He soon learns to smoke tobacco, to chew betel nut, and even to take a drink of the brew 

 that is being passed around, and thus he grows up to be, at the age of 1 4 or 1 5, a little full- 

 fledged man with his teeth blackened, his lips stained, and his bolo at his side. 



He enters youth without any special ceremony. It is true that as the boy grows to puberty 

 his teeth are ground and blackened and he is tatooed and circumcised. Such operations might 

 be considered as an initiation into manhood or at least as a survival of a custom that is so much 

 in vogue in certain parts of Oceania. In other words, the youth begins to tattoo and to assume 

 other ornamentation in order that he may attract the attention of the female portion of the 

 tribe. 



It is needless to say that he receives no schooling. In fact, the average Manobo who has 

 not come in contact with civilization would not know what to think of a pencil. On one occasion 

 I accidentally allowed some Manobos to see my pencil. The sight of it aroused an animated 

 discussion as to the nature of the tree that yielded such peculiar wood. All the schooling which 

 the Manobo boy gets is from the forest and the streams. From them he learns to trap the 

 timid deer and to catch the wily fish. In them he acquires a quick step, a sharp eye, and a 

 keen ear. In the ways of nature he is a scholar, because the fijfst moment that he can clamber 

 down the notched pole he betakes himself to the surrounding forest and schools himself in all 

 her ways and moods. 



As soon as the boy reaches the age at which he feels that he is a man, he ceases to be under 

 paternal restraint, which even up to that age has been more or less lax. At this period he assumes 

 as much independence as his father, but will obey any behest without understanding the pro- 

 priety or the necessity of complying. As a general rule, filial relations are most cordial, and 

 great respect is entertained for both parents, but it may be said that male children respect and 

 love the father, while girls love their mother. 



BIRTH ANOMALIES 



MONSTROSITIES 



Monstrosities are extremely rare. I met only one case, that of a child with an abnormally 

 large head. 31 Idiocy also is very uncommon, only one case having come under my observation. 



ALBINISM 



Albinism also is very infrequent. An albino is considered to be the child of an evil spirit 

 in so far as one of those relentless demons is supposed to have exercised a malign influence on 

 the mother. It is believed that an albino can pay nightly visits to the haunt of its demon sire. 

 Among the Mandayas on the upper Kati'il River, I saw some 1 2 cases of albinism in a settlement 

 of about 500 Mandayas. No explanation was obtained as I did not think it prudent at the 

 time to ask for one. 



HERMAPHRODITISM 



Hermaphrodites, 32 in a secondary sense, are found occasionally. I am personally acquainted 

 with five. In every case they were womanly in their ways, showing a preference for sewing, 

 and other occupations of women, and frequenting the company of women more than that of men. 



In one case at San Isidro, Simiilao River, an hermaphrodite, a fine specimen of manhood to 

 all appearances, was dressed as a woman. In another case a Mandaya hermaphrodite of the 

 Baklug River, a few miles south of Compostela, was married. I was informed on all hands 

 that the marriage was for the purpose of securing the alliance of the hermaphrodite's relatives 

 against certain hereditary enemies and that probably there would be no issue. I hope to get 

 further information on this point at a future date. 



On the Laminga River, a tributary of the Kasilaian River, there lived a woman who presented 

 all the outward characteristics of a man. Her voice was deep and resonant, her countenance 

 of a male type. She constantly carried a bolo, by day and by night, and in manual labor, such 

 as building houses, was the equal of any man in the settlement. She had never married and 

 had always rejected overtures toward marriage. 



" Basa, SimOlao River, middle Agtisan. " Bin-tut (Mandaya to-dd). 



