120 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. XII. 



called Darago, whose feast they are celebrating, in the following words : 

 'Darago, we are making you this feast, with great good will and 

 gladness, offering you the blood of the sacrifice which we have made 

 and this wine which we drink so that you may be our friend, accompany 

 us, and be propitious in our wars.' *********** 



"When they marry, if the lovers think that it will be of any use 

 they make a human sacrifice so that they may have a good marriage, 

 so that the weather may be good, so that they may have no storm, 

 sickness, etc., all things which they attribute to the devil. In the same 

 way also when they learn that there is any contagious disease, or fear 

 death, several of them assemble and make a human sacrifice, asking 

 the devil to let them live, since they generously offer him that victim. 

 They also believe that the disease can be conjured. But the time that 

 it is necessary to make a sacrifice, according to the law of the Bagobos, 

 is at the death of anyone of the family, before they can remove the 

 laldoan or mourning * * * At the point and on the day assigned, 

 all the sacrificers assemble, or possibly one member of each of the 

 families who are in mourning, at times fifty or more. The value of the 

 slave sacrificed is paid among them all, and he who pays most has the 

 right to sacrifice first."** 



By the side of the trail, or in the forests, little shrines or platforms 

 about 3 ft. high and a foot square at the top, are frequently seen. 

 These are known as bids and are erected for the buso, in order to avert 

 their displeasure and to keep them at a distance from the dwellings. 

 When the family has been subjected to petty annoyances, or when for 

 any other reason, the mabalian thinks an offering should be made, she 

 orders the family to provide her with betel nut, a piece of iron, and bits 

 of broken dishes, or castoff clothing. These are placed on the platform 

 and the buso are exhorted to come and accept them. Good offerings 

 are never made to this class of spirits, for "they do not expect to be 

 treated like the more powerful." A shrub known as dalingding is 

 planted by the side of the shrine so that its location may be known even 

 after the platform has fallen, and all passersby will make some small 

 offering, hoping thus to keep these evil beings in good humor. 



Rain can be stopped by placing an offering of a leg ring, or prepared 



betel nut beside the trail and presenting them to the Gimokod, at the 



same time asking them to stop the downpour. 



**In Blair and Robertson, Vol. XLIII, pp. 244-51, will be found a very in- 

 teresting letter from Father GisberT, in which he describes the sacrifice of a Bagabo 

 half-blood who had fallen in debt. 



The official files in the Governor's office at Davao contain an account, written 

 by Gov. Bolton, of the sacrifice at Cataloonan, July 1, 1904. This was held to 

 secure the return to health of Chief Obo, who later died. 



