acadeht of sciences SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL CONTROL 141 



amount of respect is shown. This is especially true in the great social and religious gatherings 

 and on the visit of a chief to another house. Here he gets an extra supply of pork and of brew 

 and of everything that is being distributed. 



From what has been said in a previous part of this monograph it is obvious that women 

 play no part in the control of public affairs. There are no female chiefs. Women are domestic 

 chattels relegated to the house and to the farm. There is a common saying that women have no 

 tribunal — that is, are not fitted to take part in public discussions — the reference being to the 

 town hall of the Spanish regime. Yet I know of one woman, Sinapi by name, who travels around 

 like a chief and through her influence arbitrates questions that the more influential men of the 

 region are unable to settle. She lives on the Simulao River, just above the settlement of San 

 Isidro, and is without doubt the individual of most influence on the upper Simulao and Bahaian. 

 In the Jesuit letters mention is made of one Pinkai who had great weight among her fellow 

 tribesmen of the Argawan River. 



Ceteris peribus, the word and authority of the old are respected more than those of others, 

 probably because the former have more numerous relatives, including often their great-grandsons 

 and great-granddaughters, as well as the indefinite number of relatives by marriage that have 

 joined the family since their first sons or their first daughters married. When, however, they 

 reach the age at which they can no longer travel around and take part in the numerous imbroglios 

 and disputes that arise their influence is much less. This, it seems, is one of the great differences 

 between the social system of theMandayas and that of the Manobos and will explain the greater 

 constancy and stability of the Mandaya character as compared with that of the Manobo. 



THE WARRIOR CHIEF 3 



The sword in Manoboland, as in all other parts of the world, is the final arbiter when con- 

 ciliation fails. Hence the prominent part played by the warrior chief in time of war and fre- 

 quently in time of peace. For this reason it becomes necessary to discuss at more length the 

 powers, prerogatives, and character of the warrior chief. 



GENERAL CHARACTER 



The general character of the warrior chief is, among all the tribes of the Agiisan Valley, 

 that of a warrior who has to his credit an average of five deaths. As such deaths are attributed 

 primarily to the special protection of divinities, called Tagbusau, who delight in the shedding of 

 blood, the chief is regarded in the light of a priest in all that concerns war in somewhat the 

 same way as the baildn or ordinary priest, under the protection of his familiars of tutelary 

 spirits, is expected to officiate in all ordinary religious matters. To the priestly office of the 

 warrior chief is added that of magician to the extent that he can safeguard himself and his 

 friends with magic means against the evil designs of -his enemies. Finally, in a country where 

 there is no supremely constituted authority with sufficient force to remedy grievances, but 

 only personal valor and the lance and the bolo to appeal to, it may be expected that in the major- 

 ity of cases the warrior will assume a fourth prerogative, namely, that of chief. Thus the 

 warrior chief will be considered heir in his warlike character of warrior, in his magic character 

 as medicine man, and finally in his political character as chief. 



The Christian conquest of the Agiisan Valley, begun in 1877, and the establishment of a 

 special form of government therein in 1907, have contributed in no small measure to diminish 

 the number of feuds and bloody reprisals that had given the Agiisan Valley its reputation as 

 "the country of terror," and as a consequence leave little opportunity for the recognition of 

 new warriors. Thus it is that at the present day the ancient system is fast fading away, and 

 it is only a matter of years before the warrior chief will be a thing of the past. 



INSIGNIA AND PROWESS OF THE WARRIOR CHIEF 



As a person of recognized prowess, the warrior chief is naturally the leader in all warlike 

 expeditions, and in time of peace he is looked up to as the future defender of the settlement in 

 which he resides. 



» Ba-gd-ni from ba-ri-ni (Malay), valiant. 



