210 THE MANOBOS OF MINDANAO— GARVAN rMBM [vo£ xxra* 



dancing ceased her trembling still continued, but now the loud belching could be heard. No words 

 can describe the vehemence of this prolonged belching, accompanied as it was by violent trem- 

 bling and painful gasping. The spectators still continued their loud talking with never a care for 

 the scene that was being enacted, except when some one uttered a shrill cry of animation, possibly 

 as menace to lurking enemies, spiritual or other. 



It was some 10 minutes before the paroxysm ceased, and then the now conscious priestess 

 broke forth into a long harangue in which she described what took place during her trance, 

 prophesying the cure of the sick man, but advising a repetition of the sacrifice at a near date, and 

 uttering a confusion of other things that sounded more like the ravings of a madman than the 

 inspirations of a deity. During all this time frequent potations were administered to the spec- 

 tators, so that in the early night everyone was feeling in high spirits. 



After the first priestess had emerged fully from the trance the drum and gong resounded for 

 the continuation of the dance. In turn the other priestesses fell under the influence of their 

 special divinities and gave utterance to long accounts of what had passed between them. It was 

 at a late hour of the night that the whole company retired to the house, leaving the victim still 

 bound upon his sacrificial table. 



The religious part of the celebration was then abandoned, for the priestesses took no further 

 part. Social amusements, consisting of various forms of dancing, mimetic and other, were per- 

 formed for the benefit of the attendant deities and finally long legendary chants * by a few 

 priests consumed the remainder of the night. 



Next morning at about 7 o'clock the ceremonies were resumed by the customary offering 

 of betel nut and by burning of incense, but instead of dancing before the small religious house 

 the three priestesses, joined by a priest, took up their position near the sacrificial table on which 

 the victim had remained since the preceding day. The invocations were pronounced in turn, 

 followed by short intervals of dancing. During these invocations the victim was bound more 

 securely, and a little lime was placed on its side just over the heart. The priest then placed 

 seven betel-nut quids upon the body of the pig and made a final invocation. A rice mortar 

 was placed at the side of the sacrificial table, a relative of the sick man stepped upon it, and, 

 receiving a lance from the hands of the male priest, poised it vertically above the spot designated 

 by the lime and thrust it through the heart of the victim. 



One of the female priestesses at once placed an iron cooking pan under the pig and caught 

 the blood as it streamed out from the lower opening of the 'wound. Applying her mouth to 

 the pan she drank some of the blood and gave the pan to a sister priest. 5 At the same time a 

 little was given to the sick man, who drank it down with such eager haste that it ran upon his 

 cheeks. One of the priestesses then performed blood lustration by anointing the patient's 

 forehead with the remainder of the blood. A few others, of whom I was one, had these bloody 

 ministrations performed on them. 



The priest and priestesses at this period presented a most strange spectacle. With faces 

 and hands besmirched with clotted blood, they stood trembling with indescribable vehemence. 

 Their jingle bells tinkled in time with the movement,of their bodies. The priestesses recovered 

 from their furious possession after a few minutes, but not so the male priest, for to prevent 

 himself from collapsing completely he clutched a near-by tree, shading his eyes with his blood- 

 stained hand. The drum and gong came into play again and the priestesses took up the step, 

 circling around their entranced companion and addressing him in terms that on account of the 

 rattle of the drum and the clanging of the gong could not be heard. He finally emerged, how- 

 ever, all dazed and covered with perspiration. Through him a diudta announced the recovery 

 of the patient, at which yells of approval rang out, and then began a social celebration consisting 

 of dancing and drinking. This was continued till the hour for dinner, when the victim was 

 consumed in the usual way. 



In this instance, as in many others witnessed, the sick man recovered, and with a suddenness 

 that seemed extraordinary. This must be attributed to the deep and abiding faith that the 



• TM-um. 



' Not infrequently the blood is sucked from the upper wound. This Is a custom more prevalent among the Mandayas than among the Mandbos. 



