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



of some of these desired articles, but whatever the gift may be, a return 

 present equal to half its value must be made. 1 Should the girl's parents 

 reject the gift all negotiations would be called off and the guests return 

 home, but as a rule, both families are well aware of and favorable to the 

 expected wedding sometime before the visit of the groom's parents. 

 After the exchange of gifts, food is furnished first to the guests and later 

 to the couple, who in the presence of all the friends, feed each other 

 with rice and are henceforth considered as husband and wife. Until 

 after the birth of a child the couple live with the girl's family and the 

 groom serves his father-in-law. After the birth of an heir the couple 

 establish a home of their own and to it the husband may bring other 

 wives if he desires. He pays a price for these new wives, but does not 

 give any services to their families. The first mate is considered su- 

 perior to the others, and in case her husband dies, she acts as admin- 

 istrator of his property; however, the children of a second wife share 

 equally with those by the first marriage. 



The evening following a death, the friends gather and throughout 

 the night sing of the virtues of the deceased and of their own sorrow. 

 The body is placed on a mat in the center of the house and for three 

 days is watched over by the relatives, who, during this time, abstain 

 from music, dancing, shouting, or loud talking. The women cease 

 from weaving and the men refrain from all labor. A breaking of this 

 taboo would result in the certain death of the offender, for the spirit 

 of the dead man is still near at hand and is sure to wreak his vengeance 

 on those who show him disrespect. Finally, the body is wrapped in 

 mats and is buried at some little distance from the house. All the 

 people return to the dwelling, where the headman makes a cup out of 

 leaves, and having placed in it a narrow belt or string, together with 

 betel leaves, sets it adrift on a near-by stream, while all the men shout. 2 

 This removes the ban, so that all the people can resume their re- 

 gular occupations. 



If the deceased has been a person of great importance, the death 

 should be followed eight days later by a human sacrifice. This rite, 

 while less common than with the Bagobo, is by no means infrequent, 

 and may be occasioned by several causes beside that of death. For 

 instance, if a person has been ill for a long time and his relatives have 

 become convinced that an enemy has used magic to bring about the 

 misfortune, they may seize and sacrifice him, even though he be a mem- 

 ber of their own community. A case is known where a thief was put 



1 Note the similaritj' to the Bagobo custom. Page 101. 



2 See pp. 157 and 161. 



