BENEDICT, BAGOBO CEREMONIAL, MAGIC AND MYTH 87 



rhythm with her steps, while swinging the scarf in soft waves of 

 motion that follow the curves of her form as she turns and bends, 

 in a series of balanced movements, to the right hand and to 

 the left. 



The Feast. Near the close of every Bagobo ceremony, or imme- 

 diately following it, there is served a generous meal, which, in 

 view of the abstemiousness of every-day fare, might properly be 

 called a banquet. The regular festival foods, differing somewhat 

 according to the ceremonial occasion, include roast venison, pig-fat, 

 boiled fish, grated cocoanut and boiled white rice. At Ginum, the 

 fish is slivered, mixed with grated cocoanut and pressed into moulds 

 between leaves held in the palms of the hands ; and at this festival 

 the dishes are made of pieces of hemp-leaf, curved at one end and 

 fastened by a bit of pointed rattan. The guests are served seated 

 on the floor, and a separate dish is given to each. During the 

 preparation of the food, nobody tastes a morsel, for the fast since 

 the preceding meal, however long, must not be broken until the 

 moment that all the company begin simultaneously to enjoy 

 the feast. 



Mangailito, During the nights immediately preceding a great 

 ceremony, and in some cases, as at harvest, on the night following 

 the main ceremonial, it is customary to consult the gods through 

 the instrumentality of a priestess, or of some other person who 

 acts as medium. 1G8 



Various Types of Altar 



The Bagobo recognize several types of altar, fairly distinct in 

 function, chief among which are the following : Tambara, Tigyama, 

 Balekat, Sonaran, Buis, Parabunnian. Roughly grouped from the 

 structural aspect, the above-named types include four classes of 

 altar, which may be distinguished as: (a) Bamboo prayer-stands 

 (tambara) ; (b) Hanging altars (tigyama and balekat) • (c) Agong 

 altars (sonaran) ; (d) Hut-shrines (bids and parabunnian). 



Bamboo prayer-stands called tambara. This is a form of altar 

 to be seen everywhere, since it functions as a family altar, as an 

 out-of-door shrine, and in various associations with ceremonial wor- 

 ship of a more formal type. The tambara consists of a small 



168 See Part III. t: Every-day forms of religious response." 



