
40 PEOPLES OF THE PHILIPPINES 
of beaten bark fiber, when they cannot obtain cloth in 
trade. , 
The bow has sometimes been spoken of as the most 
prized possession of the Negrito and the weapon which 
is distinctive of him. ‘This is only relatively true. The 
bow was in common use throughout the Philippines at 
the time of discovery, as the Spanish conquerors testi- 
fied from many wounds received. It has more and more 
gone out of use, but is still known in Luzon as well as 
Mindanao. It is true that the Negrito employs the 
weapon more than any Filipino people, but this is prob- 
ably only the result of his being in the same condition 
in which they lived centuries ago when they could ob- 
tain but little iron for other weapons. 
The Batak of Palawan are skilful in the use of a blow- 
gun with poisoned darts, but this instrument is also 
known to a number of non-Negrito groups in the Philip- 
pines. 
Baskets are made in much the same style and patterns 
as by the Filipinos, but pottery is rarely or never manu- 
factured. It would be of little service to a people of 
such unsteady habits and flimsy habitations. Food is 
cooked either directly on the coals or in joints of bamboo 
whenever iron or earthenware vessels are not obtained 
in trade. 
The musical instruments of the Negrito are more 
developed than might be expected from a people leading 
so rude a life. At least some of them are imitations of © 
Filipino instruments. There is a simple flute, a little 
jew’s harp of a sliver of slit bamboo, occasionally a 
traded bronze gong, a guitar, and even a rude violin of 
bamboo. 
Negrito society and religion are very little known, but 
the available data again present the phenomenon of a 
simplified replica of Filipino institutions. For instance, 
