158 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GAK VAN lBtoo j$£*3S£ 



the duty, often bequeathed by father to son, to obey this stern law. One who would allow a 

 deliberate breach of his rights to pass without obtaining sufficient compensation would be looked 

 down upon as a sorry specimen of manhood. The feeling is so deeply rooted in the heart that 

 the wife may urge her husband, and the fiance, her lover, to carry out the law, and the father 

 may instill into the hearts of his little ones the desire to wreak vengeance upon their common 

 enemies. 



CUSTOMARY LAW 



ITS NATURAL BASIS 



The intense conservatism of the Man6bo, fostered by the priestly order, is the basis of the 

 customary law that determines and regulates social and individual dealings in Man6boland. 

 So strong is this conservatism, based on a religious principle, that it is believed that any act 

 not consistent with established customs arouses the resentment of the spirit world. This 

 feeling exerts so powerful an influence that in many cases a definite custom is carried out even 

 when a departure from it would be manifestly to the material advantage of the individual. As 

 has been set forth before in this monograph, the ridiculously low prices at which rice is sold in 

 harvest time is a case in point. 



The extreme cautiousness and suspiciousness that is such a dominant feature of Man6bo 

 character tends also to maintain the customary law. The Man6bo prefers to jog along in the 

 same old way rather than to do anything unusual, thereby laying himself open to the displeasure 

 of his fellowmen and to that of the gods. 



ITS RELIGIOUS BASIS 



The legion of taboos, religious and magic, limits the Man6bo's actions, in no inconsiderable 

 manner, within fixed and definite rules, the nonobservance of which would render him responsible 

 for such evil consequences as might follow. To cite an instance: When I first went into a region 

 near Talak6gon that was considered to belong to a local deity, my guide cautioned me to avoid 

 certain actions which, he said, were displeasing to the reigning deity. I asked him what would 

 be the consequence if harm were to befall him as a result of my failure to comply with his 

 instructions. He quietly informed me that I would be responsible to his relatives for any harm 

 which might come to him. 



Again if one enters a rice field during harvest time the displeasure of the goddess of grain 

 is aroused, and the rice is likely to be diminished in quantity. The transgressor may do all 

 in his power to appease the offended goddess, but if she refuses to be appeased and permits a 

 decrease of the supply, not otherwise explainable, he will be held responsible, and in the due 

 course of events will have to make good the shortage according to the tenets of customary law. 



Another example will show the rigid regulations that custom imposes in the matter of 

 omens. I started out with a Man6bo of the upper Agiisan for a point up the Nabok River. 

 At the beginning of our trip the turtle bird's cry came from a direction directly in front of us — an 

 indication of impending evil either during the trip or at its termination. My guide and com- 

 panion begged me not to proceed, but I managed to convince him that there was nothing to 

 be feared, so he consented to continue the trip with me. Now it happened that he had a quantity 

 of loose beads in his betel-nut, knapsack and that a hole was worn in the sack before the end 

 of the trip, the result being that he lost his beads. He held a consultation with the chief of 

 the settlement at which we had arrived, explaining the omen bird's evil cry and the efforts he 

 had made to persuade me to desist from the trip. It was decided that because of my failure 

 to follow the directions indicated by the omen bird, I was responsible for the loss of the beads. 

 On further discussion of the point it became apparent that I would have had to answer for the 

 life of my companion, if he had lost it on. the trail, for it was intimated to me that the omen 

 bird's voice had clearly warned us of danger and I was requested to explain my failure to heed 

 the warning. 



The observance of customs for religious reasons suggests an explanation of many acts 

 that to an outsider seem inexplicable, not to say unreasonable. The selection of farm sites at 



