132 Field Museum of Natural History — Axth., Vol. XII. 



the wall hung rattan frames filled with half cocoannt-shell dishes, 

 spoons, and two or three old Chinese plates. Near the center of the 

 room stood a rice mortar made by hollowing out a section of log. At 

 the far end of the room was a raised sleeping platform, such as is found 

 in all Bagobo houses, and extending from this to the center and on 

 each side of the room were narrow stalls where the women were engaged 

 in weaving, and in which they slept and kept their most valued pos- 

 sessions. 



In the description of the house we have mentioned most of the 

 furnishings. In addition it is customary to find a few well made mats 

 of pandanus or buri palm leaf. These are spiead on the floor when 

 the owners wish to retire and for the rest of the time are rolled up and 

 laid along the w T alls. Carved forked sticks which serve as torch-holders 

 stand in various parts of the room, while somewhere near the stove 

 is a miscellany of wooden meat blocks, bamboo fans and fly swatters, 

 gourds filled with millet, salt, or mashed peppers, and shovel-shaped 

 or round rice winnowers, which also serve as common eating dishes 

 for the family and guests. Well made baskets stand by the walls or 

 hang from pegs along with articles of clothing, while spears, shields, 

 and other weapons are fastened to side walls or roof. 



Small clearings are found at no great distance from these dwellings 

 and in them the people raise rice, corn, millet, camotes, sugar-cane, and 

 a few banana and hemp plants (Plate L,). As is the case with all the 

 wild tribes in this district, the Bila-an make new clearings as soon as 

 the cogon grass begins to invade their fields, and this in time causes 

 them to move their homes from one locality to another. 



The domestic animals consist of a few chickens, dogs, an occasional 

 cat and pig, and in the lower cogon lands, a few families possess horses. 

 Some fish are secured from the river, while deer, wild pig, jungle fowl, 

 and other game are taken with traps or secured by hunting. 



There seems never to have been a time when this tribe was organized 

 under a single leader as was the case with the Bagobo. Each district 

 is so isolated from the others and the population so scattering that any 

 such development has been barred, and hence the people of each river 

 valley or highland plain have their local ruler. The power of this 

 ruler is real only so far as his personal influence can make it so. He 

 receives no pay for his services, but his position makes it possible for 

 him to secure the help of his fellows w r hen he is in need of workers or 

 warriors. In return he conducts negotiations with other groups and 

 administers justice in accordance w r ith the customs handed down from 

 bygone ages. Upon his death he is succeeded by his eldest son, unless 



