academy of sciences] DOMESTIC LIFE i MEDICINE, SICKNESS, AND DEATH 121 



The reason given for avoiding the larger watercourses dining epidemics is that streams are 

 thought to be the high roadsfor the sea demons when they come upon their work of destruction. 

 There were never wanting some in each settlement who had seen these demons under some 

 monstrous form or other. 



Propitiation of the demons oj contagious diseases. — Besides such offerings as may be made to 

 them during the regular ritual, there is a special method of propitiating these plague bearers and 

 thereby of inducing them to betake themselves whither they hailed. 



A raftlet a is made of bamboo, with a platform of the same material raised several inches 

 above the surface of the craft. This is adorned with palm fronds arched over it. Upon it is firmly 

 lashed a young pig or a large fowl, of a white color, and by its side are placed various other offer- 

 ings of betel nut, rice, or eggs, according to the bounty and good will of the priest and of the settle- 

 ment. When all is ready, it is taken to the water's edge about sunset, for that is the hour when 

 the mightiest of the demons begin their destructive march. Here the priest makes an address to 

 the demon of the epidemic, descanting on the value of the offerings, the scarcity of victims at that 

 particular time, the reasons for mutual friendship between him (the demon) and the settlement. 

 The demon is then requested to accept these tokens of good will and to go his seaward way. The 

 disease itself, though never mentioned by name, is requested in the same manner to take passage 

 upon the raft and to accompany its master downstream. The raft is then launched into the 

 water and allowed to follow the will of the current. No one may even touch it or approach it on 

 its downward course, for it has become foul by contact with its pestilential owners. 24 



SICKNESS AND DEATH 



THE THEORY OF DEATH 



Except in the case of a warrior chief, or a priest, or one who has met his end at the hands of 

 an enemy, death is ordinarily attributed to the maleficence of the inimical spirits. The latter 

 are believed to be relentless, insatiable demons "seeking whom they may devour." In some 

 mysterious manner they are said to waylay a poor defenseless soul, and ruthlessly hold it in cap- 

 tivity till such time as it suits their whims, when they actually devour it. Notwithstanding the 

 numerous explanations given to me throughout the Agiisan Valley, I have never been able to 

 satisfy myself as to the various circumstances of time, place, and manner in which the capture 

 and consumption of the soul takes place. Suffice it to say, however, that in its essential points 

 this is the universal belief: One of the soul companions is seized, and the owner falls sick. Every 

 available means is tried to effect a cure. When everything fails the priest declares that the ail- 

 ment is due, not to any natural infirmity, but to the capture or wounding of one of the souls of 

 the patient by inimical spirits. Sacrifices are ordered, during which usually a large number (from 

 four to eight) of priests of both sexes invoke their various divinities and beseech them to rescue 

 the spirit companion of the patient. During these ceremonies the priests describe minutely how 

 the capture was effected. In lengthy chants they set forth the efforts of their deities to find the 

 missing soul; they describe how they travel to the ends of the sky, seeking the cruel captors and 

 vowing vengence upon their heads. They are said to make use of an espiho 26 to discover the 

 whereabouts of the enemy and of the captive. The recapture of the soul and frequently the 

 mighty encounter between the good and bad spirits is chanted out at length by the priests. I 

 was told that in some cases the rescued soul is taken to the home of the deities and there consoled 

 with feast and dance and song before its return to its earthly companion. 



FEAR OF THE DEAD AND OF THE DEATH SPIRITS 



The utter fear, not only of the malignant spirits but also of the person of the dead and of his 

 soul, is one of the most peculiar features of Man6bo culture. In the death chamber and hover- 



» Gt-kil. 



" Bisayas have no scruples in appropriating the fat fowls and pigs thus found floating to doom. 



" This e«-pi-Ao (from Spanish espejo, a looking-glass) is some kind of a wonderful telescope by which objects can be described at the farther extremi 

 ties of the firmament. No lurking place is so remote or so secret as to be hidden from its marvelous power. 



