BAGOBOS OF DAVAO GULF. 131 



the Ijody in two, across the chest, with their fighting knives, and then 

 having loosened the j^arts from the tree, tlirew them into a shallow grave 

 which had been dug near by. The people returned to the village and 

 continued the merrymaking during the night, after which they returned 

 to their homes and Tongkaling was fully established as ruler. 



The people have long been accustomed to obey some powerful headman 

 and, to a. certain extent, they become the servants of the new chief ; but 

 certain laws handed down by their ancestors are so well established by 

 custom that no one thinks of changing them. 



The datu is supreme judge in all cases, iDut he may, if he desires, call 

 in the older men to help liim decide the difficult ones. The levying of 

 a fine is the common method of pimishment. Should the culprit be 

 unwilling or unable to pay, he is placed in servitude until such time as 

 the debt is considered canceled. Should he refuse to seiwe, he is killed 

 without further ado. The datu appoints a man for this purpose and 

 he usually gets his victim by stealth, either by waylaying him in the 

 road or by driving a spear throiigh him as he sleeps on the floor of his 

 house. When a fine is levied the datu retains a portion as pay for his 

 services; if the more drastic punishment follows it serves to emphasize 

 his power and is more valuable to him than the pa3anent. Theft is 

 punished with a fine; murder by death, if the ^i-ctim is from the same 

 or a friendly town, and the murder unprovoked. Incest ^ must be 

 punished by the death of both parties, otherwise the spirits will cause 

 •the sea to rise and cover the land. The crime is uncommon, yet 

 Tongkaling claims to have exacted the death penalty in two cases. In 

 the first, he had the two offenders bound and thrown into the sea; in 

 the second the culprits were fastened to a tree, in the same manner 

 as already described, and two warriors cut the bodies in two with their 

 fighting knives, while all the people stood by and witnessed the punish- 

 ment. If a wife is unfaithful, her husband may kill both of the gnilty 

 parties without fear of punishment, provided that he leaves the spear 

 or knife with which he kills the pair in the body of one of them. A 

 weapon so left is a sign that the killing was because of the fault and the 

 avenger can not be held accountable either to the datu or the relatives 

 of the dead man. However, if he withdraws his weapon from the bodv. 

 the brothers or relatives of the deceased have a right and duty to avenge 

 the death. Cases are known where the husband accepted payment for 

 his wife's affections, . but it was considered a sign of wealmess or cowar- 

 dice, and the man lost caste. 



Slaven' is a recognized institution, and the need of slaves is one of 

 the chief incentives for hostile raids against neighboring tribes. A good 



' Intercourse between brother and sister, mother and son, father and daughter, 

 between first cousins, between mother-in-law and son-in-law, and father-in-law 

 and daughter-in-law comes under this head. 



