122 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN [Meuo, [vo?xxii^ 



ing around the resting place of the dead there is a certain noxious influence M by the infection of 

 which one is liable to become an object of attraction to the dark-visaged, hungry, soul ghouls that, 

 lured by the odor, stalk to the death house and await an opportunity to secure a victim. 



Then, again, the envious spirits of the dead are feared, for they, in their eagerness to par- 

 ticipate in the farewell and final death feast, avail themselves of every occasion to injure the 

 living in some mysterious but material way. Sickness, especially one in which the only symp- 

 toms are emaciation and debility, are attributed to their noxious influence. Failure of the crops, 

 bodily accidents, want of success in important undertakings — these and a thousand and one 

 other things — are attributed to a lack of proper attention to the envious dead. "You have been 

 affected by an umagad, ,m is a common saying to express the peculiar effect that the departed may 

 cause on the living. To avert this unkindly feeling and thereby prevent the evil consequences 

 of it, it is not an infrequent thing to see propitiatory offerings made to the departed in the shape 

 of betel nut, chickens, and other things. In one instance the father of a child that had died, 

 presumptively from eating new rice, imposed upon himself an abstinence from that article for a 

 period of several months. 



As another evidence of fear of the departed souls may be cited the unwillingness of the 

 Manobo to use anything that belonged to the dead, such as clothes. An exception, however, is 

 made in the case of weapons and other heirlooms, 28 all of which have been consecrated and are 

 supposed not to retain the odor or evil influence of death. 



Offerings made to the dead to appease their ill will are not partaken of by the living. They 

 are supposed to produce baneful effects. 29 Hence they are carefully removed to the outside of 

 the house after the departed visitor is supposed to have regaled himself. This applies to betel- 

 nut offerings, and to such offerings as chickens and pigs that in cases of unusual pestering on the 

 part of the dead may be set out with a view to propitiating them. 



One or more priests are present invariably in the death chamber. The female priests take 

 up their position near the corpse, and by the use of lemons, pieces of the sa-sd reed, and other 

 things, said to be feared by the demons, protect themselves and those present. Hence, during 

 the average "wake" the womenfolk huddle around the priestesses with many a startled glance. 

 On one occasion I saw a male priest take up his stand at the door, lance poised, ready to dispatch 

 such spirits as might dare to intrude into the death chamber. Drums and gongs are beaten 

 throughout the night, not merely as a distraction for their grief but as a menace to the ever- 

 present demons. 



An acquaintance of mine in San Luis, middle Agiisan, is reported to have wounded seven 

 evil spirits in one evening on the occasion of a death. I was assured by many in the town that 

 they had seen the gory lance after each encounter. 



Several other precautions besides those mentioned above are taken to secure immunity from 

 the stealthy attacks of the demons. A fire is kept burning under the house, and the usual magic 

 impediments, such as sa-sd reed, lemons, and a piece of iron, are placed underneath the floor as 

 menace to these insatiate spirits. Moreover, the food while still in the process of cooking is 

 never left unguarded, lest some malicious spirit should slyly insert therein poison wherewith to 

 kill his intended victim or to spirit rway an unwary soul. 



For several days both before and after the death, supper is almost invariably partaken of 

 before sunset, as this is the hour when the most mighty of the demons are supposed to go forth 

 on their career of devastation. If, however, it should be necessary to take supper after sunset, 

 it is the invariable custom to put a mat on the floor and thereby foil the stealthy spirits in their 

 endeavors to slip some baneful influence 30 into the plates from below. 



After the burial it is almost an invariable rule for the inmates of a house to abandon it. 

 This remark, however, does not hold good in the case of the decease of priests, warrior chiefs, and 



» Bd-Ao. 



« In-um-a-gdd ka. 

 » An-ka. 

 >> Ka-dii-vi. 



" This custom is prevalent among many of the Bisayas of eastern Mindanao and may perhaps explain the origin of the peculiar low table 

 used by them. 



