30 THE SUBANU. 
services if the groom is able to make a gift. The dowry is generally 
paid in the form of cloth, Chinese jars, and brass gongs. The payment 
may be made in any article of value agreed upon between the father 
of the bride and the groom. Actual money is rarely used for this 
purpose, as it is possessed in very limited amount, if at all, by these 
people; those of the far interior never handle money, but gain a few 
manufactured articles through the process of bartering raw products 
for them, and always thereby suffer loss in dealing with the wandering 
traders. 
The Subanu possess a rich folk-lore which they are not altogether 
averse to make known to the stranger, especially if he comes equipped 
with the sanction and interposition of the tamuat. ‘Their short tales 
generally seem vulgar to the Christian and are indulged in as stories 
to create a laugh and make the narrator appear as a “‘good fellow.” 
Their legends are prolonged and serious accounts of the alleged experi- 
ences of imaginary persons, gods, and mythical headmen. ‘The details 
of these experiences are given in a natural and easy manner and by 
the use of terms and relations that are common to the daily life of the 
people. The narration is given usually in an ordinary tone of voice, 
but may be recited in a sort of singing tone that produces a weird effect 
at night in the forest when the face of the chanter is lighted by the 
glare of the torches. 
In the course of such narratives mention has been made of the 
following characters of pure myth or of dim history, in the present 
stage of our knowledge it being quite impossible to reach a definite 
determination: 
Datu nong Mitom Gawasa nong Medendum, Timuai Dogbuluan Getunan, 
Timuai Datu Lumugun, Timuai Datu Magutanga, these being men- 
tioned as chiefs in the myths. 
Bai Binubung and Bai Punbenua, mythical princesses. 
Datu Magujabang Pungobii Megligat Dali Ondao, characterized as the chief 
of the land of the setting sun. 
Timuai Datu Magbayaja, spoken of as a great balian and one of the most 
potent of the dzuaia. 
Timuai Datu Pogowanen, whose residence is in the sky. 
Timuai Datu Menelenga, a battle spirit in command of the sea depths. 
Timuai Datu Menelengman, also in the sea. 
Timuai Datu Gunlu or Munlu or Makaayaga, the chief of the manamat or 
evil spirits of the body. 
Timuai Datu Magaboligan, chief of the evil spirits of the rivers. 
According to the Subanu cult all dreams are under the control of 
the spirits who thereby express their will; all the Subanu dream, there- 
fore each person is considered to have a sentient soul within his body 
and a corresponding spirit somewhere external. Dreams are the com- 
munion of soul and spirit, but they are not of private interpretation. 
It is the province to the balian to read the visions of the night and to 
explain their purport with the assistance of the lines in the palm of 
