Bagobo people

“ Baloey, a Kagan living at Padada, claims to have seen a Bila-an sacrifice at Ma-al, about ten years ago, while Bagobo Datu Ansig of Talun, and Tongkaling of Cibolan claim to have witnessed several of these events. As their accounts agree in most particulars with the two just recorded, it seems probable that we have here a fairly accurate account of a rite which no white man has seen or can hope to see.
In studying the decorative art of this people a person encounters the same difficulties as with the Bagobo. ”

“ Of these the most influential are the Bagobo who dwell on the lower slopes of Mt. Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines. They are very industrious, forging excellent knives, casting fine articles in brass, and weaving beautiful hemp cloth which they make into elaborate garments decorated with beads and shell disks.
The men are great warriors, each gaining distinction among his people according to the number of human lives he has taken. A number of them dress in dark red suits and peculiar headbands which they are permitted to wear only after they have taken six lives. ”

“ Semi-divine some of them were, or men possessing magical power. The old Mona people; the Malaki, who portrayed the Bagobo's ideal of manhood; and the noble lady called Bia,—these and other well-marked characters figure in the ulit.
Another class of stories deals with the demons known as Buso, who haunt graveyards, forests, and rocks. These tales have been built up by numerous accretions from the folk-lore of many generations. The fear of Buso is an ever-present element in the mental associations of the Bagobo, and a definite factor in shaping ritual forms and magical usages. ”

“ He looks after the welfare of the bagani, or warriors, and is in many respects similar to Mandarangan of the Bagobo. [117] He is described as a gigantic man who always shows his teeth and is otherwise of ferocious aspect. A warrior seeing him is at once filled with a desire to kill. By making occasional offerings of pigs and rice it is usually possible to keep him from doing injury to a settlement, but at times these gifts fail of their purpose and many people are slain by those who serve him. ”

“ The greatest of all Bagobo ceremonies—the GinEm—may be given by the datu within three or four months after the appearance of the constellation Balatik, when the moon is new or full. Its object is to thank the spirits for success in war or domestic affairs, to ward off sickness and other dangers, to drive away the buso, and finally to so gratify the spirits that they will be pleased to increase the wealth of all the people. Datu Tongkaling expressed a belief that this ceremony is in a way related to the rice harvest, "for it is always made when there is plenty of rice in the granaries." ”

“ Bamboo Jew's-harps and mouth flutes are played by the men, but the nose flute, so common in most parts of the Philippines, was not seen in use here.
The ceremonies and dances are so closely associated with every day affairs that in the description of the life of the people up to this point we have left only a few still to be discussed. These are, in the main, very similar throughout the Bagobo belt, but to avoid confusion the description here given of the two greatest events of the year—the GinEm ceremony and the human sacrifice—deals with Cibolan, unless expressly stated to the contrary. ”

“ At times the skull is opened and the brain eaten.
The events just preceding and following the birth of a child are very similar to those of the Bagobo, except that there are no restrictions of any kind placed on the father and mother, neither are there any ceremonies connected with the birth or naming of a child unless unusual events have convinced the people that the spirits are in some way displeased. ”

“ The Bagobo, also in the Gulf of Davao, claim they came to their present home in a few boats generations ago. They purposely left their former land to flee from head-hunting, a practice in Page 19their earlier home, but one they do not follow in Mindanao. What per cent of the people coming originally to the Archipelago was castaway, nomadic, or immigrant it is impossible to judge, but there have doubtless also been many systematic and prolonged migrations from nearby lands, as from Borneo, Celebes, Sangir, etc. ”

“ At death these gimokod part, four from the right side of the body, going up to a place called palakalángit, and four descending to a region known as karonaronawan.These places differ in no respects from the present home of the Bagobo, except that in the region above it is always day, and all useful plants grow in abundance. In these places the gimokod are met by the spirits, Toglái and Tigyama, and by them are assigned to their future homes. If a man has been a datu on earth, his spirits have like rank in the other life, but go to the same place as those of common people. ”

“ Mean, evil spirits who eat dead people and have some power to injure the living. A young Bagobo described his idea of a buso as follows: "He has a long body, long feet and neck, curly hair, and black face, flat nose, and one big red or yellow eye. He has big feet and fingers, but small arms, and his two big teeth are long and pointed. Like a dog he goes about eating anything, even dead persons." As already noted, the people of Malilla are inclined to identify the gimokod of the left side with this evil class. ”

“ Visayan word for rice growing in the field; Bagobo, 'ume.
[69] The long sword of the Moro, with a wavy, two-edged blade.
[70] The Babogo say, that, before the invention of weaving hemp, all the people clothed themselves in the soft, inflammable layers of the sheath that envelops the trunk of cocoanut-palms.
[71] The semi-divine being who dwells at the mythical source of the mountain-streams (malaki, "good man;" t' [to] , "the;" oluk, "source;" waig, "water") , Traditionally there are many of these malaki, devotionally there is but one. ”

“ The workers in the various crafts are under the guidance and protection of special spirits, but there is no bar against other members of the tribe entering those professions.
Apparently then, Bagobo society is divided into several classes or divisions, but with the exception of a few individuals in the slave class, there is a possibility or an opportunity for each member of the tribe to enter any class open to his or her sex. Even a slave woman may become the wife of a datu, and her son may assume the leadership of the tribe. ”

“ While in Malilla the writer met with a party of thirty Bila-an traders who lived three days' march to the east. The influence of capture, intermarriage, and looting, in carrying the artifacts of one tribe into the territory of another has previously been mentioned.
WARFARE.
The offensive weapons used by the Bagobo are spears, knives (Fig. 15 and Plate XXXII) , and at times bows and arrows (Fig. 17) . For defense they carry shields, either round or oblong (Figs. 31-32) , and cover the body with so many strips of hemp cloth that a knife thrust is warded off. ”

“ INFLUENCE OF NEIGHBORS:—HISTORY.
The influence of the neighboring tribes and of the white man on the Bagobo has been considerable. The desire for women, slaves, and loot, as well as the eagerness of individual warriors for distinction, has caused many hostile raids to be made against neighboring tribes. Similar motives have led others to attack them and thus there has been, through a long period, a certain exchange of blood, customs, and artifacts. Peaceful exchange of commodities has also been carried on for many years along the borders of their territory. ”

“ The Tagacaolos belong to a numerous race of heathens, who inhabit the mountains of Culáman from Sarangani to Malálag. The whole mission contains approximately about twelve or fourteen thousand. Their language is easy to understand to him who knows Visayan. They are much divided among themselves and are continually at war, the weak being the slave of the stronger, and being frequently sold to the Moros. The Bagobos almost always supply themselves from this race for their human sacrifices. Do not believe, however, that they are a people inferior to those of other races. ”

“ After dinner, the Moros danced in the garden the spear and shield dance, and the [Pg 348] Bagobo women gave the scarf dance. The Bagobos still offer human sacrifices. Their caps, if tied in a certain way, show how many men they have killed. Their dress is made of cloth which they weave from carefully selected and dyed fibers of Manila hemp, and it is treated with wax in such a way as to make it very smooth and durable. In the glow of the red light from Chino Charlie's famous lanterns, their picturesque costumes, gleaming with bead work, added much to the brilliancy of the scene. ”

“ There seems to be no trace of clan or totemic grouping among the Bagobo. Blood relationship is traced as far as the second cousin and is a bar to marriage. The suggestion that a man might marry his mother-in-law was received with horror, but whether this was due to local mother-in-law stories or to an idea of relationship could not be ascertained. However, a man may marry the sister of his wife.
Each district has its head man, or petty datu who is supposed to be subject to the datu of Cibolan. ”

“ The most important thing in the life of the Bagobo is the care of the rice, for on this crop he depends for the greater part of his food supply, and by its condition he can ascertain with what favor he is looked upon by the spirits. ”

“ Hostile raids against the neighboring Bila-an, Tagakaolo, and Ata seem to have been common from the most ancient times. After the arrival of the Spaniards there were many minor conflicts with the Moro, and the tribal history takes note of several serious feuds between Bagobo villages. Single warriors, usually those desiring to become magani, sometimes enter hostile territory and there lie in wait for an opportunity to spear a passing foe. ”

“ The Buso-Child
Datu Ayo was a great man among the Bagobo, well known throughout the mountain-country for his bravery and his riches. He had gathered in his house many products of Bagobo workmanship in textiles and brass and fine weapons. At his death, human sacrifices of slaves were offered up for him. It was not many years ago that he went down to the great city of the dead, and many of his children and grandchildren are living now. His sons like to think about their father's renown ”

“ When the first white men visited the tribe they found that the neighboring Moro were making frequent raids on their villages and were carrying away women and children whom they sold to the Bagobo and other tribes of the Gulf. ”

“ A slight variation was noticed after the rice planting at Padada, when all the workers placed their planting sticks on an offering of rice and then poured water over them "so as to cause an abundance of rain." Another difference is noticed following the death of a warrior. His knife lies in its sheath beside the body for seven days and during that time can only be drawn if it is to be used in sacrificing a slave. If such an offering is made it is carried out in much the same way as the Bagobo sacrifice, except that the bereaved father, son, or brother cuts the body in halves. ”

“ The hardest work in the fields falls to the men; they also strip the hemp needed in weaving, while a few of them are skilled workers in brass and copper and turn out bells and other ornaments not at all inferior to those of the coast natives. Their methods of casting as well as their manufactures are identical with those of the Bagobo from whom they probably learned the art. So far as could be learned no iron work is done by members of this tribe, and the few spears and knives possessed by the warriors seem to be trade articles. ”

“ Aside from the gimokod the Bagobo believe that there exists a great company of powerful spirits who make their homes in the sky above, in the space beneath the world, or in the sea, in streams, cliffs, mountains, or trees. The following is the list related by Datu Tongkaling, a number of mabalian, and others supposed to have special knowledge concerning these superior beings.
I. Eugpamolak Manobo, also called Manama and Kalayágan. The first and greatest of the spirits, and the creator of all that is. His home is in the sky from whence he can observe the doings of men. ”

“ Mandarangan, the God of evil (corresponding perhaps to our devil) and to whom sacrifice is made to appease his wrath which is shown by misfortune, years of drought, or evil befalling the tribe or its members, also it is at times necessary to offer him human sacrifice so that he will allow the spirits of the deceased to rest, etc. They say that in case a Bagobo of rank or influence dies, and his widow be 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. ”

“ Taking the Bagobo as a starting point, we find a highly developed culture which, with a few minor changes, holds good for the tribes immediately surrounding. These in turn differ little from their neighbors, although from time to time some new forms appear. The Cibolan type of dwelling, with its raised platform at one end and box-like enclosures along the side walls, is met with until the Mandaya territory is approached, while, with little variation, the house furnishings and utensils in daily use are the same throughout the District. ”