154 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GAKVAN [MEMO [vo? xxnt 



the war tattoo was beaten. The clanging of the gong, the rolling of the drum, the booming of 

 the trumpets, the ululation of the war cry, and the lusty yells and shrieks of joy, welcome, and 

 inquiry produced a pandemonium that baffles description. Before the victors crossed the 

 river they all took a bath, 18 not for sanitary but for ceremonial reasons. The bath is thought 

 to have a purificatory effect in that it removes the evil influence 19 of death. 



When the victors had crossed the river they removed the palm fronds 20 with which they had 

 adorned their lances and put them on the necks and heads of their wives and friends. Later on a 

 banquet was prepared and the reader is left to conceive for himself the revels that followed. It is 

 said that not infrequently at this time some of the captives are given to the unsuccessful warriors 

 for immediate slaughter. That this has occurred I have absolutely no reason to doubt, and every 

 reason to believe. I have heard many describe among themselves how it was done, and what joy 

 it gave them to be able to take revenge upon one of their hereditary enemies. 



AMBUSHES AND OTHER METHODS OF WARFARE 



Ambush 21 is a legitimate method of warfare, according to Manobo customs. It consists in 

 locating one's self with one or more companions at a place which the enemy is expected to pass. 

 A favorite place for the ambush is on the trail between the enemy's house and his rice or camote 

 field, but a spot on a river bank or at any suitable point may be selected. Great precautions 

 are taken by putting up screens of leaves to prevent the enemy from discovering the ambush. 

 This is always made on the right hand 22 and very frequently there is a supply of sticks and stones 

 in readiness. The position on the right hand is chosen because it gives those in wait an oppor- 

 tunity to deal a blow on the weaker side of the enemy, all of whom carry the shield in the 

 left hand. 



It is customary to take an ear or the right forearm of one slain in ambush as a proof of his 

 death if the conditions of the ambush require such a proof. An instance occurred during my 

 first visit to the upper Agiisan in 1907. Three Mafigguaftgans were ambushed by a mixed 

 group of Manobos and Debabaons, and the above-mentioned parts of their bodies were taken 

 by the victors to their clans as a proof of the killing. 



After a rupture between two parties, one or both of them go into a state which is expressed 

 by the word lama . This signifies that one or both of them abandons his homestead and trans- 

 fers himself and the members of his household (usually a few brothers-in-law with their families) 

 to some place difficult of access. If the house can be built on a bluff, or a hill that is approach- 

 able from only one or two sides, so much the better. On such a site a house 23 is built varying 

 from 5 meters to 8 meters in height, sometimes, though rarely nowadays, being built upon a tree 

 trunk. The felled timber at the edge of the forest is left unburned. Bamboo or palma brava 

 caltrops are placed in the encircling forest. In addition to these, spring traps 24 for human 

 beings may be set out if it is suspected that an attack is imminent. In certain localities I have 

 seen a stockade 26 erected around the house. Sometimes a wall of old bamboo may be built 

 from the ground up to the floor, inclined inward at the bottom at an angle of about 70° to the 

 ground. The ladder is invariably a log with a number of notches in it. Strips of bark or even 

 bamboo shingles may form the roof but as a rule the Manobo takes his chances with a roof of 

 rattan leaf. 



On approaching the house of one who is in state of vigilance, it is not unusual to find 

 certain signs on the trail. Thus a broken earthen pot is frequently hung up, or if the trail leads 

 to the house of a warrior chief, there will be probably the parted bamboo called binulca, and a 

 number of saplings slashed down at a certain point on the trail, both of which signs are symbolic 

 of the evil fate that will befall such as dare to enter the guarded region. 



18 This is an invariable custom, I was told. 



i» Bd-ho, literally foul smell. 



30 Called Ma-yun-hau. It is said that these are frequently stained with the blood of the slain. 



n BdHg-nn. 



K Right hand refers to the right hand of the party to be attacked. 



» I-U-li&n. 



» Bi-tik. 



II In-d-gud. 



