September, 1913. Wild Tribes of Davao District — Cole. 83 



which finally weld the iron and steel together. The blade having 

 been given its final shape is again heated and is held above a tube of 

 water until the glowing metal begins to turn a yellowish green, when it 

 is plunged into the cold water. This process, repeated many times, 

 gives a fair temper to the whole weapon. Charcoal for the fire is 

 secured by burning logs and chilling them suddenly with cold water. 



Brass wire, secured in trade, is made into bracelets in the following 

 manner. In order to soften it and make it more easily worked the roll 

 of wire is heated until it begins to turn grey, when it is allowed to cool 

 and is scraped, so as to restore the yellow color. One end is laid on an 

 anvil made of an iron strip on a wooden block (Plate XXVIII), and is 

 cut into various designs by means of metal dies. A wooden cone is 

 used as a form, about which the wire is placed in order to shape and 

 measure it. 



Hemp 1 grows wild in the Davao District and the Bagobo have, for 

 generations, used it in the manufacture of their clothing. In recent 

 years the demand for fiber has shown the people an easy way to secure 

 the trade articles which they desire and, as a result, rather extensive 

 plantings are found even in the more remote districts. The women 

 strip a large part of the fiber in local use, but all that prepared for trade 

 is produced by the men. When the ever-present cogon grass begins to 

 invade a clearing, the young hemp is planted. In about eighteen 

 months it has grown to a height of some sixteen feet and is ready to 

 be cut. The man goes to the fields, cuts down some stalks and, having 

 removed the leaves, splits off the outer fiber layers from the cellular 

 matter of the interior, using a bone knife for this purpose. When he 

 has accumulated a sufficient number of strips he carries them to the 

 hemp machine (Fig. 27). This consists of a knife which rests on a 

 wooden block. The handle turns on a pivot and the end is drawn 

 upwards by means of a bent twig, or sapling, which acts as a spring. 

 This spring is lowered and the knife blade raised by means of a foot 

 treadle ; a strip of hemp is laid on the block ; the foot pressure is removed, 

 and the knife descends. Taking a firm hold of one end of the strip, the 

 operator draws it toward him under the blade, thus removing the pulp 

 and leaving the free hemp threads. These are hung in the sun until 

 dry, when they are tied in bundles ready to be carried to the coast. 

 The work is hard and, unless necessity forces him to greater effort, 

 a man seldom engages in it for more than three or four days in a month. 

 He thinks his duty ceases with this expenditure of energy and, unless 



1 Musa textilis. 



