CHAPTER XVII 



POLITICAL ORGANIZATION: SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL 



CONTROL 



CLANS 



Territories of the Clans and Number of People Composing Them 



Man6boland, with the exception of such settlements as have been formed by non-Christian 

 Manobos in the vicinity of Christian settlements and usually situated at the head of navigation 

 on the tributaries of the Agusan, is divided into.districts, well defined, and, in case of hostility, 

 jealously and vigilantly guarded. These territorial divisions vary in extent from a few square 

 miles to immense tracts of forest and are usually bounded by rivers and streams or by mountains 

 and other natural landmarks. Each of these districts is occupied by a clan that consists of a 

 nominal superior with his family, sons-in-law, and such other of his relatives as may have decided 

 to live within the district. They may number only 20 souls and again they may reach a few 

 hundred. 



INTERCLAN RELATIONS 



In the main it may be said that in time of peace the members of the various clans live on 

 good terms, visiting one another and claiming relationship with one another, but peace inMan6bo- 

 land was formerly very transitory. A drunken brawl might stir up bad blood and every clan and 

 every individual would make ready for a fight. 



The Agusan Valley was styled by Montano, the French traveler, "Le pais de terreur," and 

 from the accounts given to me it must have deserved the name. A perusal of the " Cartas de los 

 PP. de la Compania de Jesus," which set forth the religious conquest of the Agusan Valley, begun 

 about 1875, will give an idea of the continuous raids and ambuscades that interfered to no incon- 

 siderable extent with the work of Christian conquest undertaken by the missionaries. Upon my 

 arrival in the Agusan in 1905 such rivers as the Ihawan, the Baobo, the upper Umafam, the 

 upper Argawan, and all tributaries of the upper Agusan, were seldom visited by any but members 

 of the clan to whose territorial jurisdiction these rivers and the adjoining districts belonged. The 

 establishment of a special form of government on the lower and middle Agusan, now known as 

 the subprovince of Butuan, did wonders toward repressing the interclan raids, but on the upper 

 Agusan they continued at least until my departure in 1910, though not to such an extent as in 

 previous years. 



For example, in February, 1910, the settlements of Dugmanon and Moncayo were in open 

 hostility. I traveled both by land and water with members of the two unfriendly clans. In 

 traveling by water it was necessary to proceed in midstream with shields protecting the occupants 

 of the canoe against the arrows of their enemies. On the trail it was imperative to travel in 

 bodies with a warrior on each side of the trail to guard against ambush. 



This feud arose out of a mere bagatelle, followed by the seizure of a pig, and up to the time I 

 left the region had given rise to four deaths. I made every effort to adjudicate the case, but as 

 each clan seemed unwilling to yield, failed to bring the parties together. 



THE CHIEF AND HIS POWER 



THE SOURCE OF THE CHIEF'S AUTHORITY 



It may be said in general that the chief is a man who, by his fluency of speech and by his 

 penetration and sagacity in unraveling the intricate points of a dispute, by his personal prowess, 

 combined with. sagacity and fair dealing, has won influence. Personal prowess appeals to the 



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