BENEDICT, BAGOBO CEREMONIAL, MAGIC AND MYTH 277 



This entire question, of course, is one that must be left to oriental 

 scholars; but, whatever the final conclusion in regard to a hypo- 

 thetical occupation of the Philippines by an Indonesian people, we 

 are in no wise dependant upon this theory for an explanation of 

 Indian elements in Bagobo myth, or for the presence of such ele- 

 ments in the religion of any other tribe in the Philippines. Even 

 setting aside the possibility of premigration influences, there are 

 records showing that a few centuries ago a much more intimate 

 relation 53y held between the Philippines and the East Indies than has 

 been the case since the Spanish occupation. More than that, if these 

 interrelations had been much less close, there would still have been 

 abundant opportunity for the diffusion of religious tradition and 

 story, from the most southern of the Spice islands to Mindanao, to 

 the Visayas and to Luzon, so that we would surely look for a 

 blending of Malay and Indian material in the customs and the 

 ceremonies of these peoples of the Philippines. 



Diffusion of myth and of ceremonial rites is a cultural phenom- 

 enon found occurring all over the world, throughout very extended 

 areas, and, as Professor Boas has repeatedly pointed out, diffusion 

 of any sort requires no large movements of peoples, but only" such 

 continuous transmission of cultural elements through the agency of 

 individuals as may give opportunity for imitation, borrowing and 

 permanent assimilation. 



As for the Bagobo, whatever the time and manner of their emi- 

 gration, they and the neighboring mountain tribes were in possession 

 of Mindanao long before Islam dominated the southern coast, and 

 the way was open for communication with the southern archipelago. 

 Their Malay heritage may easily have been enriched by increments 

 from Hindu Buddhism, during the long centuries that the great 

 Indian empire flourished in Java, in Sumatra and the adjacent islands. 



The entire problem is an intricate one, and must remain open 

 until further research work in the Philippines and among the wild 

 tribes of the southern Malay islands shall have secured such de- 

 tailed records of ceremonial and such full collections of songs, 

 stories and folklore as to make possible an intensive study of this 

 entire area. A few general conclusions, however, may be drawn 

 from the material that has been presented in the preceding pages. 



The religious culture of the Bagobo is essentially like that of 



i39 See footnote 475. 



