BENEDICT, BAGOBO CEREMONIAL, MAGIC AND MYTH 123 



Immediately afterwards, Ido himself was effused by Singan, and 

 he was followed by a group of three Sawi, a son of Sunog, 

 Bagyu the leper, who was one of Oleng-'s nephews, and another 

 youth. Then came Sigo and her cousin, Odik, while Singan was 

 pouring the water, for Oleng was now resting at the edge of the 

 stream. Xot many women received pamalugu ; but Sigo, on this 

 occasion as at the Awas, represented, it would seem, the unmarried 

 daughters of Oleng of whom she was the eldest. Sigo and Odik 

 were effused immediately before the officiating functionaries. 



When practically all of the people present had come out of the 

 river, Singan still stood waiting, and then Datu Oleng went down 

 to her alone. Up to this point, the act of lavation had been done 

 without any accompanying ritual words, except the checking of the 

 count by the occasional utterance of a number; but now a prayer 

 was said by the priestess as she poured the sacred water over her 

 husband. "Anito, take away from Oleng's body the sickness that 

 is there ; and you, Malaku t'Olu k'Waig, keep him from sickness. 

 Drive off the evil spirits, so that they may not come to our Grinum 

 and bring bad diseases to us while we hold the festival." 



Oleng was straightway followed by his sister, Miyanda, a woman 

 of distinguished presence and splendid physique, the director of 

 all the women's industries, and the leader of Anito rites. She, 

 too, stood alone, while Singan effused her the orthodox two-fold 

 nine times with the words: "All the bad sickness in Miyanda's 

 body, Anito, we want you to take away and carry it to the place 

 where the Malaki t'Olu k'Waig lives." 202 Then Miyanda added 

 her own petition: "You take away this feeling of weakness from me." 



Last of all, Singan herself received pamalugu from the hands 

 of Oleng, who said, while he poured the water over his wife: 

 "I pray to all of you who are true anito that you will take away 

 this sickness from me, for I have no hunger for my food, and I 

 am very feeble. Make me a little stronger, so that I may gain 

 many good things. Now that I have been washed in the pamalugu, 

 I think that I shall get well." 



conventional eighteen times, but Ido counted the second set of nine as eight, for he said 

 '■walu" (eight) after the last lavation. Possibly this was a detail in conformity with a 

 Bagobo custom elsewhere noted: namely, that of mentioning a number less than the 

 correct count. 



■ ° 2 The thought is, that if the sickness is taken to the benevolent Malaki at the water 

 sources, he will strangle the sickness. 



