164 Field Museum of Naturae History — Anth., Vol. XII. 



From our present information it seems probable that the Ata are 

 descendants of an early invading people who intermarried first with the 

 early Negrito inhabitants, and later with other tribes with which they 

 came in contact. They have been free borrowers from their neighbors 

 in all respects, and hence we find them occupying all the steps from the 

 nomad condition of the pygmy blacks to the highly specialized life of 

 the Guianga. 



The following account of their beliefs was extracted from letters 

 written by Governor Bolton. He fails to designate the section from 

 which the information was gathered, but its similarity to Bagobo and 

 Guianga makes it probable that the account comes from the Ata 

 dwelling near those people. Considerable variation will doubtless be 

 found in other districts. 



"The greatest of all the spirits is Manama 1 who made the first men 

 from blades of grass, weaving them together until they resembled a 

 human form. In this manner he made eight persons — male and female 

 — who later became the ancestors of the Ata and all the neighboring 

 tribes. Long after this the water covered the whole earth and all the 

 Ata were drowned except two men and a woman. The waters carried 

 them far away and they would have perished had not a large eagle 

 come to their aid. This bird offered to carry them to their homes on 

 its back. One man refused, but the other two accepted its help and 

 returned to Mapula. 



"The other deities are Mandarangan, Malalayug, god of agri- 

 culture; Mabalian, the spirit who presides over childbirth; Tarasyub 

 and Taratuan, the guardian spirits of the brass and iron workers; 

 Boypandi — the spirit who guards over the weavers." 



While in the Ata country the Governor observed certain customs 

 of the people. As his party approached the palisaded house of Ma- 

 dundun they stopped for twenty minutes to perform a ceremony called 

 anting-anting. "An old man waved his shield and a cloth, meanwhile 

 repeating mysterious words. Then each man was given a chew of 

 betel-nut and was well rubbed with a charm." "At Tuli a swarm of 

 bees passed over the house just as the party was ready to start. This 

 was taken as a sign that some of the party would be killed by the arrows 

 of the enemy, hence they refused to go." "Likewise, if the dove 

 limokan calls on the left side of the trail the party will refuse to proceed, 

 unless another limokan answers the call from the right side of the path." 



1 See page 106. 



