Manobo

“ In a large house, with such a conglomeration of human beings, it is obvious that an impression of confusion is made upon the visitor. The performance of the various culinary operations by the women, the various employments in which the men are engaged, making arrows, fish traps, etc., the romping of the children, all these tend to heighten the impression. But the Manóbo goes on with his work, tranquil in the midst of it all, savoring his conversation with incessant quids of betel nut or tobacco. ”

“ It is very difficult to explain the prevailing fairness of this tribe except by presupposing an admixture of some other blood. The Manóbo lives in as dark forests and on as lofty mountains as those occupied by Mandáyas. His manner of life is practically the same, and yet the average tint of his skin is far darker, so much so that the Mandáya, in speaking not only of him but of Mañgguáñgan and even of Bisáya, spurns them all as being "black." ”

“ Hence footprints and other traces of a man's presence are carefully examined. In fact, as a gatherer of testimony, even of the most insignificant kind, the Manóbo is peerless; he is patient, ceaseless, and thorough. This is due, no doubt, to his cautious, suspicious nature and to that spirit of revenge that never smolders. He may wait for years until the suspicion seems to have died out, when one fine day he hears a rumor that confirms his suspicions and the flame of contention bursts forth. ”

“ The captor was a Manóbo-Mañgguáñgan of the upper Agúsan.
SELECTION OF THE BRIDE
In the selection of his future wife, the Manóbo consults his own tastes as far as he can, but he is influenced to a great extent by the opinion of his parents and near relatives, all of whom ordinarily look to the advantages to be derived from connection with powerful members of the tribe. Hence rank and birth are nearly always a determining factor, and where the wishes of the man's elders are in opposition to his own natural choice, he yields and is contented to take the helpmate chosen for him. ”

“ Noise, in fact, is a general characteristic of Manóbo life, so much so that at times one is inclined to be alarmed at the loud yelling and other demonstrations of apparent excitement, even though the occasion for it all may be nothing more than the arrival in the settlement of a visitor with a dead monkey.
Harmony and domestic happiness are characteristic of the Manóbo family. The Manóbo is devoted to his wife, fond of his children, and attached to his relatives, more so than the Mañgguáñgan, but much less so than the Bisáya or the Mandáya. ”

“ The life of a Manóbo is as deep an expression of his religious beliefs as that of any man I know. Belief in the supernatural seems to be instinctive with him. He undertakes no action out of the ordinary routine without consulting the powers above, and when he has assured himself of their disapprobation, he refrains most sacredly from his intended project, even if it should be one so cherished as vengeance on an enemy. ”

“ To one who hears Manóbo drum music for the first time, it sounds dull and monotonous, but as the ear grows accustomed to the roll the compass can be detected and the skill of the drummer becomes apparent. Now loud and then soft, now fast and then slow, the tune is rattled off in perfect measure and with inspiring verve. As one travels through the crocodile-infested lake region in the middle Agúsan on a calm night, the Manóbo drums may be heard tattooing from distant settlements. ”

“ Furthermore, such proceedings would be highly typical of Manóbo character and would probably occur among any people that valued human life so lightly and that cherished revenge so dearly. What could be more natural and more pleasing in the exultation of victory and in the wildness of its orgies than to deliver a captive, probably a mortal enemy, to an unsuccessful friend or relative that he too might glut his vengeance and fill his heart with the full joy of victory? ”

“ The conception which the Manóbo has of the supernatural world is very much like his idea of the world in which he lives. His gods, like his warrior chiefs, are great chiefs, no one of whom recognizes the sovereignty of the other. We find no idea of a supreme being as such. The priests of one settlement have their own special deities to whom they and their relatives have recourse, while the priests of another settlement have another set of deities for their tutelaries, with whom they intercede, either for themselves or for such of their friends as may need assistance. ”

“ The Manóbo character has been so maligned by missionaries, and by all the Bisáyas who have dealings with them, that it deserves a clearance from the aspersions that have been cast upon it. In dealing with the Manóbo, as with all primitive peoples, the personal equation brings out more than anything else the good qualities that underlie his character. Several of the missionaries seem not to have distinguished between the pagan and the man. To them the pagan was the incarnation of all that is vile, a creature whose every act was dictated by the devil. ”

“ These characteristics will explain also a host of anomalies that are noticeable throughout the Manóbo's life.
The first visit of a stranger to a primitive settlement may produce upon him a very unfavorable impression. He may find that the women and children have fled, so that he finds himself surrounded by men, all armed. This should not discourage him, as it happens in many cases that the men were unable to keep the women from flight. The wearing of arms is as much a custom with Manóbos as the wearing of a watch is with us. The bolo is his life and his livelihood. ”

“ Hence the strong and abiding belief of the Manóbo in dreams. These strange companions of man have no material wants yet they lead an insecure existence, exposed, as they are, to the insidious attacks of the common foes of mortals. ”

“ The Bagobo believes in a mighty company of superior beings who exercise great control over the lives of men. Above all is Eugpamolak Manobo, also called Manama, who was the first cause and creator of all. Serving him is a vast number of spirits not malevolently inclined but capable of exacting punishment unless proper offerings and other tokens of respect are accorded them. Below them is a horde of low, mean spirits who delight to annoy mankind with mischievous pranks, or even to bring sickness and disaster to them. ”

“ THE HIERARCHY OF MANÓBO DIVINITIES, BENEFICENT AND MALIGNANT
There is no supreme being in the Manóbo pantheon, though there are two principal classes of beneficent divinities. Little is known of one of these classes beyond its supposed existence. The other class is made up of humanlike deities called diwáta that retain a fondness for this world and the good things thereof. They select mortals for their favorites, and through them keep themselves provided with such earthly delicacies as they may desire, even though they may have to plague their mortal votaries in order to secure them. ”

“ As has been set forth before in this monograph, the ridiculously low prices at which rice is sold in harvest time is a case in point.
The extreme cautiousness and suspiciousness that is such a dominant feature of Manóbo character tends also to maintain the customary law. The Manóbo prefers to jog along in the same old way rather than to do anything unusual, thereby laying himself open to the displeasure of his fellowmen and to that of the gods. ”

“ The women have a more pleasing expression, but the timid furtive look, the ungainly gait, and the ungraceful contour of their abaká skirts, detract from the moderate beauty that they possess in their youth. After marriage their beauty wanes incredibly fast.
Comparing the Manóbo's physical and general appearance with that of neighboring peoples, we may say that he stands fifth, the Mandáya, Mansáka, Debabáon, and Banuáon leading, while below him stand without any question the Mañgguáñgan and the Mamánua. ”

“ These interdictions are necessary among the Manóbos in order that in their social dealings with one another proper deference may be shown toward their person and property. For were a mere "pardon me" a sufficient reparation for an act, however unintentional, advantage might be taken of it to inflict a thousand and one little incivilities that would serve to arouse the relentless spirit of revenge that centuries of feuds have instilled into the Manóbo character. ”

“ In physical appearance these deities are human and Manóbo-like but they are described as being "as fair as the moon." Warriors they are, to a certainty, for they are said to carry their shield and all the insignia of a Manóbo warrior chief and to fare forth at times to punish some bold demon for his evil machinations against the tribe. ”

“ The darkness is peopled with hosts of spirits. On the desolate rocks, in the untrodden jungle, on the dark mountain tops, in gloomy caves, by mad torrents, in deep pools, dwell invisible powers whose enmity he must avoid or whose good will he must court, or whose anger he must placate.
Fear then seems to be the foundation of the Manóbo's religious beliefs and observances. Untutored as he is, he fails to understand occurrences which the average trained mind can easily explain. On one occasion I was at the headwaters of the Abagá River, a tributary of the Tágo River. ”

“ The Manóbo, as a rule builds a house of no great pretensions, because he always remembers that an evil combination of omens or a death in the house or an attack by his enemies, may deprive him in the near future of his home. His best structure is better than the low wall-less Mañgguáñgan home but can not compare with the comparatively solid structure of the Mandáyas of Kati'il and the Debabáons of the Sálug country. ”

“ Innovations of any kind may displease the deities, may disturb the present course of events, may produce future disturbances. "Let the river flow as it ever flowed--to the sea," is a refrain that I heard quoted on this subject by Manóbos. "Fish that live in the sea do not live in the mountains," is another, and there are many others, all illustrating that conservatism that tends to keep the Manóbo a Manóbo and nothing else. He is Christianized but, after going through the Christian ritual, he will probably invoke his pagan divinities. He takes on something new but does not relinquish the old. ”

“ The Manóbo not only consults his priest in order to determine the will of the deities but he himself questions nature at every step of life and discovers, by what he considers definite and unerring indications, the course that he may pursue with personal security and success. ”

“ They abandon their houses as soon as anyone dies in them, and if the deceased is an outsider, they demand the worth of the abandoned house from his relatives. Their system of life is the patriarchal, under the protection of their respective bagani. The Manobo, according to Dr. Montano,35 presents two extreme types: one athletic, and of much slighter build than the other. Those two types combined in the majority of the individuals constitute another medium type whose characters are more plainly marked in the Manobos of Dávao, than in those of the Agúsan. ”

“ It is true that each priest has amongst his familiars a major divinity from whom he may have experienced more help, but in the spirit world there does not exist, according to Manóbo belief, one supreme universal being.7 Each priest declares the supremacy of his major deity over those of other priests, and Manóbos declare Manóbo deities to be superior to those of other tribes. ”

“ Upon first acquaintance the Manóbo is timid and suspicious. This is due to the extreme cautiousness that teaches him to guard a life that among his own people has only a nominal value. When in the presence of strangers for the first time, he remembers that reprisals have been bandied from time immemorial between his people on the one hand, and Bisáyas, on the other, and he realizes that without proper care, reprisals might be made on him. ”

“ The bolo and, in some districts, the dagger, is the inseparable companion of the Manóbo. On the trails he always carries a lance and frequently a shield. For war he has an abaká coat of mail and a bow and arrow. In time of alarm he sets out bamboo caltrops, makes an abatis of fallen trees, and places human spring traps around his lofty house. ”

“ The religious belief of the Manóbo is an essential part of his life. On his person he often carries religious objects. The site for his home is not selected till omens and oracles are consulted. In his method of cooking there are religious rules. He can not procure his meat from the forest nor his fish from the streams without making an appropriate offering. He sows and harvests his rice under the auspices of certain deities. His hunting dogs are under the protection of a special divinity. His bolo and his spear must answer a special magic test. ”

“ Hence, visits to others than relatives and trips to distant points are not frequent. This is particularly true of the womenfolk. Here and there one finds a Manóbo man who travels fearlessly to distant settlements for the purpose of securing some object that he needs, but he never fails to carry his lance, and frequently, his shield; he is never off his guard, either on the trail or in the house he may be visiting. ”

“ Of the Manóbo, as of the other people of Mindanáo, too much can not be said of his hospitality. If he has once overcome his suspicions as to a stranger's motives, he takes him into his house and puts himself to infinite pains to feast him as best he knows how. In Manóboland one who travels carries no provisions. He drops into the first house and when the meal hour arrives he sits down upon the floor and helps himself without any invitation. ”