aqujemt of sconces] SACRIFICES AND WAR RITES 213 



THE TAGBUSAU'S FEAST 



In the ceremonies connected with the celebration in honor of his war lord the warrior priest 

 is the principal personage, but he is usually assisted by several of the chief priests of the ordinary 

 class. Such is the general account, and such was the procedure in the ceremony that I witnessed 

 in 1907, of which the following are the main details and which will serve as a general description 

 of the ceremony: 



The appurtenances of the ceremony were identical with those described before under cere- 

 monial accessories, except that a piece of bamboo, about 30 centimeters long, parted and carved 

 into the form of a crude crocodile with a betel-nut frond hanging from it, was suspended in the 

 diminutive offering house referred to so many times before. Objects of this kind, like this piece 

 of bamboo, have a mouthlike form and vary from 30 to 60 centimeters in length. They are, 

 as it were, ceremonial salvers on which are set the offerings of blood and meat and gibang 12 for 

 the war deities. 



In the ceremony that I am describing I noticed a plate of rice set out on an upright piece of 

 bamboo, the upper part of which had been spread out into an inverted cone to hold the plate. 

 The pig had been bound already to its sacrificial table, but was ceaseless in its cries and in its 

 efforts to release itself. Several war and ordinary priests, covered with all their wealth of charms 

 and ornaments, were scattered throughout the assembly. The war priests particularly presented 

 an imposing appearance, vested in the blood-red insignia of their rank. Around their necks 

 were thrown the magic charm collars, with their pendants of shells, crocodile teeth, and herbs. 



About 5 o'clock in the afternoon of the day in question the ceremony was ushered in in the 

 usual way by several male and female priests. The warrior priests did not take part till the 

 following day, though during the night they chanted legendary tales of great Manobo fights and 

 fighters. The following morning, however, they led the ceremonies. 



During the whole performance there seemed to be no established system or order. Both 

 warrior priests and others took up the invocation and the dance as the whim moved or as the 

 opportunity allowed them. One noteworthy point about the ceremony was the ritual dance of 

 the warrior priests in honor of their war deities. Attired as they were in the full panoply of war, 

 with hempen coat and shield, lance, bolo, and dagger, they romped and pirouetted in turns around 

 the victim to the wild war tattoo of the drum and the clang of the gong. Imagining the victim 

 to be some doughty enemy of his, the dancer darted his lance at it back and forth, now advancing, 

 now retreating, at times hiding behind his shield, and at others advancing uncovered as if to give 

 the last long lunge. Under the inspiration of the occasion their eyes gleamed with a fierce glare 

 and the whole physiognomy was kindled with the fire of war. The spectators on this particular 

 occasion maintained silence and attention and manifested considerable fear. It is believed 

 that the warrior priest, being under the influence of his war god, is liable to commit an act of 

 violence. 



At the time I did not understand the tenor of the invocations that followed each dance, 

 but was informed that they are such as would be expected on such an occasion, namely, an invi- 

 tation to the spirits of war to partake of the feast and a prayer to them to accompany the 

 party and assist them in capturing their enemies. 



When the moment for the sacrifice arrived the leader of the party, the chief warrior priest, 

 danced the final dance and, stepping up to the pig, plunged his spear through its heart, and, apply- 

 ing his mouth to the wound, drank the blood. Several of the other priests caught the blood in 

 plates and pans and partook of it in the same manner. The leader put the blood receptacle 

 under the wound and allowed some of the blood to flow into it. He then returned it to the dimin- 

 utive offering house. The ordinary priests fell into the customary trance, but the war-priest, 

 together with several of the spectators, took the blood omen. Apparently this was not favor- 

 able, for they ordered the intestines to be removed at once and examined the gall bladder and 

 the liver. 



u Gi-baflQ is the nape of the neck, and here refers to that of a pig. 



