196 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN 1MEMO (vo?xxnt 



raid. They are described as having their hair bound up in small wooden hemispheres, their 

 heads turbaned with the red kerchief, and their necks adorned with a wealth of charms, much 

 like the great warrior chiefs of Man6boland. Guiding their footsteps by means of a powerful 

 glass, 4 and traveling with tremendous speed, they are said to overtake quickly the fleeing enemy, 

 even though they may have to travel to the other side of the world. Then begins a fierce battle 

 between them and the enemy for the recovery of a human soul, or for the purpose of punishing 

 the demons for acts of malice. 



This battle is described in minutest detail by the priests during the period of divine posses- 

 sion through which they pass in the course of the religious ceremonies. At times a hand-to-hand 

 combat between a friendly deity and some more powerful demon is described at great length. 

 Again the capture of many evil spirits is the theme of a story. 



A common occurrence during these combats is the use of an iron ball by the friendly deities. 

 The sight of this is said to inspire terror in the demons and leaves them at the mercy of their 

 opponents. Shut up in this ball as in an iron prison they are brought back in triumph to the 

 domains of their conquerors and the rescued companion spirit of man hurries joyously back to 

 its mortal counterpart. These evil demons are said to be held as captives in the houses of the 

 good spirits and to serve them in the capacity of slaves, accompanying and aiding them in their 

 warlike expeditions against other evil spirits. 



BY VARIOUS MATERIAL MEANS 



Besides having recourse to the diudta the Manobos make use of a reed, 6 or vine, 6 of the 

 branches of a wild lemon tree 7 and other plants, 8 in order to counteract the evil influence of these 

 fiends. It may be remarked that 1 1 of these cause a painful wound on an ordinary human being 

 but that they are said to be particularly irritating to evil spirits; this is especially true of the 

 wound made by the sd sd reed. Hence, on occasions when these demons are expected to be 

 present, the priest secures the above-mentioned plants and sets them in places where it is thought 

 the demons may be enticed to enter. It is mostly on the occasion of a death or of a birth that 

 these precautions have to be taken for the smell of death and of human blood seems to have a 

 great attraction for these monsters. On such occasions branches of lemon trees or of the other 

 plants above mentioned are hung under the house or at any opening in the wall. The priest, 

 also, frequently carries a sharpened sd sd reed in the hope of encountering some overbold demon. 

 Although the wound inflicted by the reed does not kill the demon, yet it is very slow to heal 

 and is said to be at times incurable. 



Such is the fear which the evil spirits have of these reeds, vines, and branches that the 

 mere mention of them is believed to be sufficient to frighten the demons. Fire and smoke, 

 also, are said to keep them away and for that reason a fire is often kept burning under the house 

 during times of sickness and death. Great care is used to keep alive the fire at night on nearly 

 all occasions of apprehension. 



Loud shouts, too, are resorted to in order to intimidate the evil spirits. During funerals 

 the yelling is particularly noticeable; the loud yells which one hears while traveling through 

 solitary places in the mountains and down the rivers are intended as a menace to the malevolent 

 spirits. 



BY PROPITIATION 



When all other means have proved unavailing, propitiation is resorted to. I witnessed 

 the propitiatory ceremony during several cases of serious sickness. In each case, when the 

 offerings had been set out for the benevolent divinities on the regular sacrificial stands, 9 a cor- 



• Called e/piho. There is a universal belief among the Manobos in an espiho (from the Spanish apejo, looking-glass) by which one can see into 

 the bowels ol the earth or to the extremities of the world. 

 »S<i-*i. 

 « U-dg. 



' Sii-tf and Ka-ba-van-d. 

 ■ Ka-mili and Huit. 

 ' Ban-ki-to and fa-Jf-duty. 



