194 EDITOEIAX,. 



Atas and the Calaganes. Moreover, tliey practice the barbarous customs of 

 human sacriflces, are bold, warlike and given to drunkenness; almost all of them 

 are of fine presence, for they immediately strangle deformed ones at birth. There 

 are more than 12,000 of them, of whom in 1887 some 800 had been baptized: 



Montano and Sehadenberg, and the Jesuit Fathers Gisbert and Doyle, 

 have made especial studies of the Bagobos. Since the j'ear 1886 only- 

 one report of a sacrifice has been recorded. It is referred to, but with 

 no details, by Sawyer. Every detail of the following story was thoroughly 

 investigated and is vouched for by Governor Walker and Captain Plattka, 

 senior Constabulary inspector of the district, and I have been furnished 

 signed copies of their reports by General Bliss, governor of the Moro 

 Province, with his permission to publish the facts. The event was the 

 offering of a human sacrifice to the god of evil. The place was Talon 

 and the date December 9, 1907. I give Governor Walker's report almost 

 in its entirety, omitting only the names of the jDarticipants : 



In addition to a pencil report made under date of December 20, 1907, regard- 

 ing a human sacrifice made by the Bagobos at Talon near Digos on December 9, 

 1907, I have the honor to submit herewith a full report of an investigation held 

 by myself and the senior inspector of Constabulary at Davao. 



We left Davao on the morning of the 27th of December and arrived at Digos 

 in the afternoon of the same day. An order was immediately sent to the Bago- 

 bos of Talon to come down to Digos to meet us. 



On the morning of the 30th the entire population of Talon, men, women and 

 children to the number of almost one hundred and fifty, arrived at Digos. They 

 were informed that it was reported that a human sacrifice had been made at 

 their town and that the authorities desired to know if it was so. 



Datu replied that it was true that a sacrifice had been held as stated 



and that both he and his people were ready to tell all about it, as to the best 

 of their belief they had committed no crime but had only followed a religious 

 custom practiced by themselves and their ancestors from time immemorial. 



From the statement made by Datu and his followers, it appears as 



follows : 



That the Bagobos have several gods,'^ "Bacalad," god of the spirits; "Aganmole 

 Manoio," god of good, and his wife, the goddess "Diuata," "Mandarangan," ° the 

 god of evil (corresponding perhaps to our devil), and to whom sacrifice is made in 

 order to appease his wrath, which is shown by misfortune, years of drought or 

 evil befalling the tribe or its members; it is at times necessary to offer him 

 human sacrifice so that he will allow the spirits of the deceased to rest. They 

 say that in case a Bagobo of rank or influence dies and his widow is unable to 

 secure another husband it is necessary for her to offer sacrifice to appease the 

 spirit of her departed husband in order that she may secure another. In order 

 that these sacrifices be not made too frequently it is customary for the old men 

 of the town to gather once each year during the time when a certain constellation 

 of seven stars, three at a right angle to the other four, are seen in the heavens 

 to the east at 7 o'clock in the evening; this is said to occur once a year during 



' The fact that the names of the Bagobo gods as here given difler from those 

 in quotations given above may be due to a misunderstanding of the interpreter or 

 it may be that Bagobos in different localities have different names for their gods. 



° Mandarangan is believed by the Tagakaolos to live in the crater of Apo. 



