September, 1913. Wild Tribes of Davao District — Cole. 145 



to death in this manner. As there is considerable variation in the 

 accounts of this important ceremony the writer has thought it wise to 

 give the descriptions of two eye-witnesses. 



The first informant was an eighteen year old Bila-an boy of Labau 

 named Lantingan. His account is as follows: 



"Sololin of Ma-al, the wife of Karan, a Bila-an living near Digos, 

 died and her husband, in company with Umook, Gamban, and Bunod, 

 Bagobos of Digos, and the people of Labau, decided that a sacrifice 

 was necessary both because of the death and in order that the size, 

 wealth, and fame of the tribe might be increased. About this time 

 Dianon, a Bila-an of Latian (now deceased), caught a man named 

 Saligon stealing camotes, sugar-cane, and corn from the land. 1 He 

 bound and tied the man, and after a conference with Karan, Dianon 

 agreed to turn over his prisoner for the sacrifice if paid five agongs and 

 one gun. 



"The sacrifice took place on a stream called Matinao near Labau 

 during the new moon. Two poles were sunk into the ground seven feet 

 apart, and a cross-piece attached about six feet above the ground. 

 The culprit was tied with hands crossed., one on each side of the horizon- 

 tal pole so that his arms were high above his head, and his feet were 

 fastened to a stake. 



"The men gathered close around the poles, but the women and 

 children stood at a distance. Karan took his stand just back and to the 

 right of the victim, and Umook stood in front on the left side. Both 

 unsheathed their knives and then they called upon the spirits Dwata, 

 M£lu and Lamot ta Mangayo to look and see that they were killing 

 the man because of his great fault; if this were not true they surely 

 would not kill him. 2 At this point Saligon, the victim, told the men 

 that he was not afraid to die, that if they killed him, their fault would be 

 great, but that if they would release him, he would return at once to 

 his home in Bilawan and would not cause them any trouble because of 

 what they had proposed to do. When he stopped talking, Karan 

 struck him from in front just below the ribs with his fighting knife,, and 

 Umook struck him from in back. The other men present who were 

 willing to pay for the privilege then struck at the body with their knives. 



1 The woman Sololin had planted this sugar-cane and is reported to have eaten 

 some of it just prior to her death. The cane stolen was from the patch, but the 

 informant could not say whether or not this had anything to do with later develop- 

 ments. 



2 The informant here added that if the man had not been guilty, Karan and 

 Umook would surely have been punished with sickness; but since they were not ill, 

 it is certain that he was bad, and that Dwata had taken his body up and would 

 not punish his murderers. 



