RELIGION. 33 
become the most efficient balian; they may visit the sky to attend the 
great assemblies (bichara) of the diuata, and upon earth they have 
power to raise the dead. 
Observances of a religious character, either informal or with the 
assistance of the balzan, are frequent in all the affairs of life, the clearing 
of a new plantation, the building of a house, the hunting of the wild hog, 
the search for wild honey, the snaring of feathered game, the beginning 
of a journey by sea or by land, the harvesting of the crops. Such 
ceremonies are accompanied by offerings proportionate to the wealth 
of the worshiper. In general, all spirits (even such as are popularly 
considered benevolent) must be propitiated by food-offerings. These 
sacrifices comprise betel-nuts, tobacco and cigarettes and cigars, boiled 
eggs, cooked rice, young fowl, the meat of a young pig, and the burning 
of incense in the form of the resin of the nibung tree. 
Festivals (buklug) are held to propitiate the diuata or to celebrate 
some event in which an entire settlement is interested. The principal 
features of a buklug are religious ceremonies, feasting, drinking, dancing, 
and singing. ‘The religious ceremonies are performed exclusively by 
the medicine men and the medicine woman, called balian or belian. The 
men rise to greater prominence and power in this profession than the 
women. Occasionally some strong-minded woman attains great power 
in a settlement. At a buklug the balian conduct their ceremonies 
independently of the other people, who never interfere with these 
professional duties and go about their feasting, drinking, and dancing 
as if their very lives depended upon getting the most out of all these 
enjoyments. The balan are entitled to receive fees for their services 
at buklugs and are usually paid in cotton cloth, tobacco, rice, or palay. 
The functions of a balian may be classified as those of a medium, 
direct intercourse with spirits, the conduct of sacrifices, and the healing 
of the sick. 
Prayers to the spirits or diuata are offered in the posture most 
convenient to the occasion, standing, sitting, or kneeling. ‘The prayers 
may be chanted in a monotone, delivered by a silent motion of the lips 
or indicated by the bowed head. 
Adjoining the house of a balian is sometimes placed a small struc- 
ture resembling a dove-cote, erected on a pole or stand, in which the 
spirits with which the balian is accustomed to commune are believed to 
reside temporarily during such communion. In these spirit houses are 
placed articles of food for the refreshment of the spirits. ‘Sometimes 
spirits are represented by rough wooden images and they may have 
attached to them, by wooden pegs or strands of split bejuco, representa- 
tions in carved wood of various weapons, such as barong and kampilan. 
It is supposed that the spirits may require weapons for self-protection. 
Wooden altars (small, rough tables or stands) are erected at various 
places, on the banks of streams and occasionally on the sea beach, 
