BENEDICT, BAGOBO CEBEMONIAL, MAGIC AND MYTH 27 



The most deeply reverenced of them all is Tolus ka Balekat, the 

 god of the balekat, which is the highest type of altar, and the one 

 before which the culminating act of Ginum is performed on the 

 last night. In honor of this divinity, the ceremonial bamboos are 

 set up; before him the sacrificial food is placed on a sacred shelf, 

 and he is apostrophized by the priest in some such words as these: 

 "Tolus ka Balekat, we are making a Ginum for you; we are 

 killing a victim for you." Many manufactured articles are hung 

 on the altar for this god, who is said to wear a shell bracelet into 

 which the spirit of each offering passes for his enjoyment, and he 

 makes known, through the lips of a medium, that he is extremely 

 jealous of his rights, not permitting the sale of any object that 

 should come to the balekat. Yet he is not indifferent to the interests 

 of the Bagobo, for he warns them against sickness, and informs 

 them of the source whence the disease comes. 



The god called Tolus ka Kawayan is the "All-knowing One of 

 the Bamboo." He is particular about the punctual performance of 

 the Ginum, and threatens to send sickness if there be undue delay. 



The Tolus ka Balekayo co is a female divinity who is associated 

 with the sections of forest made up of that slender, thorny variety 

 of bamboo called balekayo. She is also interested in the proper 

 conduct of the great festival and gives directions, through a priestess, 

 on this subject. 



Another woman-god is the Tolus ka Talegit, called the "All- 

 knowing Medicine of the Loom," who understands perfectly the 

 art of weaving and knows all about the work of the women. 



At present, it is impossible to state in how many connections the 

 unseen beings called tolus appear, but that a very large number of 

 them function as the mysterious, impelling forces of industry, is 

 highly probable. The little bamboo prayer-stand beside a black- 

 smith's forge 01 suggests the existence of a tolus for workers in 



60 There is some evidence that a Tolus may be associated with each of the magic 

 plants and trees which are employed for repelling the approach of Buso ; one of these is 

 the balekayo, another the dalinding. At a certain devotional office, the spirits of these 

 vegetable growths are addressed, and they are asked not to let the Buso pass by, but 

 to prevent him from getting into the ceremonial house. The dalinding, as well as the 

 balekayo, is asked to be "all-knowing" in respect to the Bagobo — the form of address 

 used to a Tolus. It seems to be understood that the spirits residing in those plants which 

 have a charm value shall shield the people from evil beings, and I am inclined to think 

 that it is a Tolus that gives such plants their magical effect. 



8 * It is interesting to note that Cole found at Sibulan the belief that the "workers in 



