BENEDICT, BAGOBO CEREMONIAL, MAGIC AND MYTH 99 



July 29 et seq. The women are finishing- the weaving- of choice 

 textiles, some of which are to be ceremonially displayed at 

 the Ginum, and others are to be made into skirts, trousers 

 and jackets that will be worn at the dance on the last night. 



August 1. Men are completing work on the Long House; they 

 are closing in great open spaces in the walls to the east and 

 to the west, by binding together sections of balekayo (a light 

 bamboo) with rattan, and tying them to the house timbers. 

 They work always in the direction prescribed for the Bagobo, 

 that is, from north to south, when adding section to section. 

 Datu Oleng, anxious for Ido's return, goes down the trail, with 

 several other men, in the hope of meeting him. 



August 2. Oleng and his party return, after a futile wait at 

 Bungoyairs house, half-way down the trail. 



August 3. The moon is in her last quarter, and hence the festival 

 must now be deferred until the new moon, or even, perhaps, 

 until the close of the first quarter, when the moon will be 

 "big-horned." The girls finish their textiles and remove them 

 from the looms. 



In the evening, a supply of powdered lime called apog, for 

 chewing with betel, is prepared. A fire is kindled under Ido's 

 house; certain kinds of small shells are calcined and the hot 

 shell ashes dropped into a little water. 



August 4. Ido returns with supplies; he had stayed at the coast 

 in order to be present at the great fiesta given by the Visayan 

 /tnsirlente, in memory of his wife, on the first anniversary of 

 her death. Old Miyanda, Oleng's sister, is making fresh clay 

 pots for the Ginum. The textiles are put through a process 

 of softening and polishing. They are then laid in clay pots 

 to remain for thirty-six hours. 



August 5 — 6. The work of molding the pottery continues. Un- 

 der the direction of Miyanda, the textiles are washed by young- 

 girls, and hung up to dry. 



August (J. At night, the God of the Bamboo (Tolus ka Kawayan) 

 and the God of the Altar (Tolus ka Balekat) speak at an anito 

 si-iiiicc, and urge the speedy celebration of Ginum. They 

 threaten a visitation of sickness if there be further delay. 

 Oleng assures the gods that the Ginum shall be held when 

 the moon is in the west. The Tolus ka Kawayan blames Oleng 

 for not bringing a human sacrifice. 



