-JT> ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



the cntiic Malay region, and in ceremonial usages, magic rites and 

 folklore there is to be observed a marked resemblance to the cere- 

 monial usages, the magic rites and the folklore of other pagan 

 tribes in the Philippines, in the interior of the Malay Peninsula 

 and on the islands of the Indian archipelago. 



The close correspondence of Bagobo ceremonies and popular 

 beliefs to those of many other mountain tribes in the Philippines, 

 and to those of the Filipino in the times of pre- Spanish culture, 

 points toward a common origin in the fundamentals of religion. 

 and also to a very wide diffusion of religio-cultural elements through 

 a long period of time. Both the complex character of certain cere- 

 monial factors, and a geographical situation that would lend itself 

 to ease of diffusion, negative the hypothesis of parallel development, 

 a- well as that of convergence. 51 " 



.Many Bagobo rites and myths answer, very closely, to corres- 

 ponding rites and myths in Celebes, East Borneo, Sarawak, Sumatra 

 and Nias. In particular, the higher ceremonial of the Bagobo, on 

 it- sacrificial side, finds its counterpart in the ceremonial of several 

 tribes of Borneo. 



There are still some peculiarities in ritual details and in a number 

 of other forms of religious response among the Bagobo that, with 

 our present knowledge, seem distinctive to this tribe and would 

 indicate a considerable degree of local variation that has proceeded 

 independently of the continuous transmission of cultural elements 

 from without. Only after we become acquainted with the detailed 

 ceremonial of the various groups concerned in our discussion, shall 

 we he able to pick out what is peculiar to one group and what is 

 common to all. 



Several ceremonial factors offer a strong presumption of derivation 

 from Hindu sources; while in the mythical romances of epics, that 

 are recited by the Bagobo, then' appears a literary quality sug- 

 gestive of an appreciable [ndo-Iranian infusion. 



The influence of the Chinese seems to have been less apparent 

 on the Bagobo than on the northern tribes, although the white 

 dishes in use at shrines are referable to the Chinese. 



Contact with the Moro has given mythical episodes, perhaps, 



■" ( /'. Dr. Goldenweiser's discussion of parallelism and convergence in his "The 

 Principle of Limited Possibilities in the Development of Culture." Jour. Am. Folk-Lore; 

 vol. 26, pp. 259—290. 1918. 



