172 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



First comes the Ira unit, or clearing away of undergrowth; next the 

 pamuli, or felling of large trees, one week after kamut] and finally 

 the burning over of the land, called panorok. 



The Marummas is a co-operative affair, to which all the neigh- 

 bors come to assist in turn the man whose field is to be sown. 

 During the season for planting, there is a Marummas held every 

 few days at one or another field. After the sowing is done, the 

 host gives a feast to all who have helped him. The occasion is 

 made one for a display of rich textiles worn by the women, while 

 the men have on good trousers and richly beaded carrying-bags 

 and kerchiefs. 



The ceremonial at the sowing is performed for the pleasure of 

 the god Tarabume, who cares for the rice plants, making them grow 

 and bear grain for the Bagobo. The ceremonial tool is the digging- 

 stick, a slender pole of wood, ranging in length from six and one- 

 half to eight and one-half feet, to one end of which is tied a little 

 spade (karok or mata) of wood or iron, while at the upper end the 

 pole is run through a nodal joint of bamboo about two feet 

 long, split , lengthwise to form a clapper. Whenever the digging- 

 stick hits the ground, the two halves of the bamboo clapper 

 strike together, producing a crisp rattling sound very pleasant to 

 the ear, especially when many are striking in unison. The clapper 

 is called palakpak, and the entire digging-stick is katebalan, but 

 the palakpak being the significant part of the tool, from a ritual 

 standpoint, the whole stick usually goes by the name of palakpak. 

 The clapper is decorated with cocks' feathers, as long and gorgeous 

 as can be obtained, and often with strings of beads and little bells, 

 while the long handle is frequently scratched or carved in patterns, 

 and colored with torchblack and dyes from roots and sap. It is 

 for the pleasure of Tarabume that the clapper is put on the digging- 

 stick, and it is to rejoice the eyes of Tarabume that it is orna- 

 mented with feathers and bells. The Bagobo say that "The feathers 

 are to make the palakpak very pretty to please the god in the 

 sky; the bamboo clapper is to make a pretty sound for the god to 

 hear. When Tarabume sees the feathers and hears the sound, he 

 makes much rice." The bamboo is cut for the palakpak several 

 months before planting. Each man cuts an inter node of a fixed 

 size, measured on his own body, it must be the length of the 

 distance from a point on his right arm called katitu to a point at 

 the wrist called taklaya. The katitu is a few inches below the 



