Part 8
"Datto[sic] Ansig replied that it was true that a sacrifice had been held as stated and that both he and his people were ready to tell all about it as to the best of their belief they had committed no crime, but only followed out a religious custom practiced by themselves and their ancestors from time immemorial.
"From the statements made by Ansig and his followers, it appears as follows:
"That the Bagobos have several gods, 'Bacalad,' God of the spirits, Agpanmole[sic] Monobo[sic], God of good and his wife the goddess Dewata; 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. In order that these sacrifices be not made too often, it is customary for the old men of the town to gather together once each year during a time when a collection of seven stars, three at right angle to the other four, are seen in the heavens at seven o'clock in the evening, which is said to occur once each year during the first part of the month of December.
"This collection of stars is called by the Bagobos 'Balatic,' and is the sign of the sacrifice, that is, if a sacrifice is to occur, it must take place during the time that the stars are in this position.
"The old men meet and decide if enough misfortune has overtaken the tribe or village during the period since the last sacrifice to render necessary another tribute to the god of evil. It is not necessary to offer a sacrifice for each evil, but when the misfortunes amount to a considerable, a sacrifice is held to cover the entire lot.
"In this case it appears that two widows, Addy and Obby, went to Datto[sic] Ansig and requested that he arrange a sacrifice to appease the spirits of their departed husbands which were bothering them. Ansig called a meeting of the old men at which were present besides himself Bagobos Oling, Pandaya, and Ansig, and these four decided that as they had not had a sacrifice since the great drought (about three years ago) and that since that time many evils had befallen them, it would be well to offer a sacrifice. These four men sent out to find a slave for sacrifice, the finder becoming the chief of the sacrifice.
"Ongon, a henchman of Datto Ansig, purchased from Bagobo Ido, a Bilan slave boy named Sacum about eight years old and who was deaf and cross-eyed, and had other defects of vision, making him of little or no value as a laborer. Ido originally received this slave from Duon, a Bilan, as a wedding present when he married Duon's daughter about a year ago.
"Ongon agreed to pay Ido five agongs for the boy and took him to the house of Ansig where arrangements were made for the sacrifice by calling on all who for any reason had need to appease the evil spirits to come and take part. Three days after the slave was brought to the house of Ansig, the people met at Talun near the river Inolia, a short distance from Ansig's house, this being the regular place of sacrifice.
"Leaving the house of Ansig the boy Sacum was seated upon the ground near the place of sacrifice. He was naked but no other preparation was made with regard to the person. Upon a platform or bench of bamboo about two feet high and a foot or two square was placed a small basket or receptacle made of the bark of the bunga tree; in this each person present and taking part in the sacrifice placed a piece of betel-nut, over this the men placed their head handkerchiefs and the women strips of the bark of the palma tree. Upon this the men laid their bolos, and spears were then stuck in the ground in a circle around the platform. Next Datto Ansig as chief of the sacrifice made an oration which was about as follows: 'Oh, Mandarangan, chief of evil spirits and all the other spirits, come to our feast and accept our sacrifice. Let this sacrifice appease your wrath and take from us our misfortunes, granting us better times.'
"After this, the boy Sacum was brought forward by Ongon, placed against a small tree about six feet high, his hands tied above his head, and his body tied to the tree with bejuco strips at the waist and knees. Ansig then placed a spear at the child's right side at a point below the right arm and above the margin of the ribs. This lance was grasped by the widows Addy and Obby, who at a signal from Ansig forced it through the child's body, it coming out at the other side. It was immediately withdrawn and the body cut in two at the waist by bolos in the hands of Moesta Barraro and Ola, after which the body was cut down and chopped into bits by the people present, each of whom was allowed to take a small portion as a momento[sic] of the occasion, the remainder of the body being buried in a hole prepared for it.
"It is said the child was deaf and almost blind and that it did not realize what was to happen to it until the moment it was tied up when it began to cry; further, that death was almost instantaneous, the only cry being one uttered when the spear first entered the child's body.
"Datto Ansig, a man about sixty years of age, says that in his life he has attended or officiated at fifty human sacrifices, more or less, both among the Bagobos and the Bilanes, and that human sacrifice is also practiced among the Tagacolos, although he has never been present at one held by that tribe.
"The Bagobos do not sacrifice any but old and decrepit or useless slaves captured from other tribes, but the Bilanes sacrifice even their own people.
"Being asked if it was customary to eat any portion of the body sacrificed, Ansig replied that it was not customary nor did he know of any case where such had occurred.
"The last sacrifice before this was held at Talun during the year of the drought (about 1905) when a Bilan slave, an old man who was paralyzed in one arm, was sacrificed by Datto Oling, his master.
"Asked if the sacrifice of an animal would not do as well as that of a human being, they said, 'No, better to have no sacrifice at all.'
"They appeared utterly unconscious of having committed any crime, told their story with frankness, said it was a matter not talked about among their own people but that if we wanted to know the facts they would give them to the authorities. They claimed the offering of human sacrifices by their tribe to be an old custom and, as far as they knew the only way to appease the wrath of the evil spirits, but said if they were ordered to give the custom up they would do so even if the devil got them all."
Then follows the statement of an eye-witness to the ceremony:
"My name is Modesta Barrera; I live in the town of Santa Cruz, my father being a Visayan, my mother a Bagobo. I cannot read or write, and I think that I am about twenty-three years old, although I am not certain on that point.
"On the 8th instant myself, Baon, Otoy, and Oton left Santa Cruz early in the morning to go to Talun, a day's march from Santa Cruz, for the purpose of trading with the natives of Talun, and also to collect some debts which they owed Baon. We remained that night at Saculampula, near Talun, where Ungon and Ido, two Bagobos, live with their families. There we found two children the only persons at the house who informed us that we should go to the house of Ambing, at Talun, where we could sell our merchandise. On the morning of the 9th we got up about 7 or 8 o'clock and started for Ambing's house. When within about an hour's walk of the house, we found a great many people congregated together. We were told that a human sacrifice had just taken place and on approaching to discover what had happened, we saw a little boy about eight or nine years old, the upper half of whose body was suspended by the wrists to a tree, the lower half lying on the ground. The child had been thus tied up while alive and had been cut into two parts at the waist; this was about the position of the body when we saw it.
"Immediately about twenty persons began to chop the body into small pieces; and Ansig, the datto of Talun, came over to us and gave Baon two pieces of the victim's hair attached to the scalp, which is a sign of the sacrifice. The victim was a slave owned and sacrificed by Datto Ansig. The first bolo cut which severs the body at the waist and which in this case we were told was done by Ansig is always performed by the person making the sacrifice. The people present were guests of Ansig and were not responsible for the killing, though it is the custom for the more favored ones to assist in chopping the victim into small pieces after death."
In the letters written by Father GISBERT in 1886, are many references to the religious practices of the Bagobo, from which the following are extracts:
"The feast which they hold before the sowing is a criminal and repugnant trago-comedy. The tragical part is the first thing that is done. When they have assembled in the middle of the woods * * * they tightly bind the slave whom they are going to sacrifice. All armed with sharp knives, leap and jump about their victim striking him, one after the other, or several at one time, amid infernal cries and shouts, until the body of the victim sacrificed has been cut to bits. From the place of the sacrifice they then go to the house of their chief or the master of the feast, holding branches in their hands which they place in a large bamboo, which is not only the chief adornment but the altar of the house in which they meet * * * The principal part is reserved for the old man or master of the feast, he standing near the bamboo which I have mentioned above, holding the vessel of wine in his hand, and, talking with his comrades, addresses the great demon called _Darago_, whose feast they are celebrating, in the following words: 'Darago, we are making you this feast, with great good will and gladness, offering you the blood of the sacrifice which we have made and this wine which we drink so that you may be our friend, accompany us, and be propitious in our wars.' * * * * * * * * * * *
"When they marry, if the lovers think that it will be of any use they make a human sacrifice so that they may have a good marriage, so that the weather may be good, so that they may have no storm, sickness, etc., all things which they attribute to the devil. In the same way also when they learn that there is any contagious disease, or fear death, several of them assemble and make a human sacrifice, asking the devil to let them live, since they generously offer him that victim. They also believe that the disease can be conjured. But the time that it is necessary to make a sacrifice, according to the law of the Bagobos, is at the death of anyone of the family, before they can remove the _lalaoan_ or mourning * * * At the point and on the day assigned, all the sacrificers assemble, or possibly one member of each of the families who are in mourning, at times fifty or more. The value of the slave sacrificed is paid among them all, and he who pays most has the right to sacrifice first."[**]
[**] In BLAIR and ROBERTSON, Vol. XLIII. pp. 244-51, will be found a very interesting letter from FATHER GISBERT, in which he describes the sacrifice of a Bagabo[sic] half-blood who had fallen in debt.
The official files in the Governor's office at Davao contain an account, written by Gov. Bolton, of the sacrifice at Cataloonan, July 1, 1904. This was held to secure the return to health of Chief Obo, who later died.
[Transcriber's note: The two paragraphs immediately above both comprise a single footnote.]
By the side of the trail, or in the forests, little shrines or platforms about 3 ft. high and a foot square at the top, are frequently seen. These are known as _buis_ and are erected for the _buso_, in order to avert their displeasure and to keep them at a distance from the dwellings. When the family has been subjected to petty annoyances, or when for any other reason, the _mabalian_ thinks an offering should be made, she orders the family to provide her with betel nut, a piece of iron, and bits of broken dishes, or castoff clothing. These are placed on the platform and the _buso_ are exhorted to come and accept them. Good offerings are never made to this class of spirits, for "they do not expect to be treated like the more powerful." A shrub known as _dalingding_ is planted by the side of the shrine so that its location may be known even after the platform has fallen, and all passersby will make some small offering, hoping thus to keep these evil beings in good humor.
Rain can be stopped by placing an offering of a leg ring, or prepared betel nut beside the trail and presenting them to the _Gimokod_, at the same time asking them to stop the downpour.
DECORATIVE ART.
To a stranger entering a Bagobo house, in the absence of its owners, it appears that the people have little artistic development. He sees no paintings, no drawings, and few, if any, attempts to beautify the house with carvings. The pots sitting by the fire, show no decoration nor do the other household utensils exhibit embellishment of any kind. A closer study of the field baskets, however, shows a slight attempt to produce ornamentation by changing the weave of the central band from that at the top and bottom, or by adding a few rude lines in pitch. The moment the people enter, however, all is changed. The clothing they wear is covered with intricate patterns, some realistic, others highly conventionalized (Plate XXXI). Wonderful designs in beads or shell disks appear on coats, jackets, and carrying bags, while at neck, waist, shoulder, and at the bottom of sleeves and trousers are other figures in fine embroidery or applique. Strands of beads and seeds exhibiting a great variety of designs surround the necks of both men and women, while rings, armlets, leglets, and anklets of beads, plaited material or metal, are common. Combs are covered with pitch and inlaid with beads, or patterns are incised in the wood and filled with lime. Ear plugs exhibit beautiful delicate patterns inlaid with brass or silver.
A glance at the weapons carried by the man shows that his knife has been ornamented with caps of brass (Plate XXXII), the metal guard has cut or cast patterns in its surface, while sheath and carrying belt are covered with thin brass plates, painted lines, or a beaded cloth (Plate XXXIII) with bells attached. Fronts and backs of shields are covered with incised designs, while the metal ferrule next to the spear head seldom lacks in conventionalized figures. So the list might be extended to cover the women's knives and their pocket and carrying baskets, as well as the betel boxes and lime holders used by both sexes. In short, there seems to be no end to the list of personal ornaments and equipment which may be improved by carvings, arrangements of beads or metal castings and inlays. Even the horses are decorated with artificial forelocks of hair and beads. Strings of bells surround their necks, while saddles and whips display the aesthetic taste of their owners.
A part of this decoration is apparently realistic and will readily be identified by any member of the tribe; another part is suggestive and with a widely known meaning, but by far the greater number of designs have no generally accepted signification. The writer spent many hours securing the names of the designs on textiles, ornaments, or on lime boxes, only to receive the reply "done to make pretty," or to find that no two of five or a dozen informants could agree on many patterns, while frequently it was found that some obliging individual had volunteered names at one time which he could not remember on the day following. It is possible that a long residence with the people and diligent inquiry along this line might yield more definite results, but for the present the writer must content himself by showing some typical examples of the decorative art, and adding a few notes to the same.
The great majority of baskets lack in decoration, other than that which can be obtained by a slight change in the weave. In these a central band can be distinguished from those at top and bottom, although the same material is used and there is only a minor variation in the technique.
Small carrying receptacles, or trinket baskets, frequently have designs produced by plaiting the rattan or bamboo of natural color with that which has been blackened (Plate XXXIVa). No uniform meaning or pattern name seems to be attached to the designs shown in this specimen, but an incised design on the wooden rim was readily identified as a crocodile.
The small baskets in the coiled weave sometimes have the fronts entirely covered with beads which are woven into the basket in parallel lines. The tobacco box shown in Plate XXXV has been covered with cloth and pitch, in which an artistic design made from the yellow cuticle of an orchid has been inlaid. Plate XXXVb shows the wooden tops of three tobacco boxes. Nos. 1 and 2 are carved and inlaid with beads and buttons in designs which "look pretty," but number 3 depicts a hunting scene in which two men and a dog are hunting the alligator. Several beads are missing so that it requires quite a stretch of the imagination to secure the impression the native artist meant to impart.
The prized trinket baskets of the women generally have the fronts covered with cloth, to which hundreds of colored beads are sewed, in elaborate designs (Plate XXXVI).
The patterns brought out in the weaving are as beautiful and intricate as they are confusing. Five typical specimens of cloth used in women's skirts are shown in Plate XXXVII. In them can be found several apparently different designs to some of which names were assigned, but as there was no agreement among my informers I refrain from giving them here. The pattern marked X in (c) was generally identified as "alligator," yet the weavers were by no means agreed.
The strip of cloth (Plate XXXVIII) was intended for the center breadth in a woman's skirt and shows the typical designs employed in the best garments.
The extensive use of beads is shown in Plates XXXIX-XL. Carrying bags, clothing, combs, necklaces, armlets, belts and sheath covers are
## partially covered with or made up of colored beads, always in designs,
yet very few of these patterns have generally accepted meanings or names. The same holds true of the designs in shell disks, which, on the finer garments, take the place of beads. A few exceptions to this are found in which realistic patterns appear in (Plate XXXIb and Fig. 34).
FIG. 34. REALISTIC PATTERNS IN BEADS AND SHELL DISKS.
Like the bead work, the embroidery and applique found on many garments are added "to make pretty." Some of this work is quite fine, but in general that of recent years is either inferior to that found on old garments or is borrowed from, or made by, the Bila-an women. Some garments, with designs produced by oversewing before dyeing, are seen here, but they are recent importations from the Kulaman or Tagakaolo tribes.
Necklaces and leglets are made of rattan and are decorated with burned lines or by being overlaid with platted strips of orchid and fern cuticle (Fig. 2).
A few rare specimens, such as personal ornaments or basket rims, have sewed in designs in which the sewing has been done with fern cuticle (Plate XXXIVb).
Incised patterns appear on nearly all the bamboo lime and tobacco holders, but here individual fancy plays such an important part that a hundred specimens might be examined without finding duplicate patterns. Fig. 14. shows nine of these tubes covered with cut-in designs, yet only one figure, that marked X in _b_ could be identified. This was said to be the familiar crocodile.
Coming to the work in brass and copper we encounter an entirely new type of design. In some cases straight inlaid or overlaid strips and twisted wires are used to ornament the specimen; while in the raised and cut-in lines on the bells we find simple patterns. In the main, however, the ornamentation on this class of material consists of complicated scrolls (Plate XLI), designs suggesting flower or tree patterns, or conventionalized figures. One only needs to compare these objects with similar specimens from Borneo and the Malayan Islands of the South, to find the source of this type of ornamentation.[53] In fact the imitation of Moro wares is practiced today. In Plate XLIa and b are shown two betel nut boxes--No. 1 the work of the Samal Moro, No. 2 the imitation of the inlaid work on the top of the first specimen. This last was made in my presence, and with the expressed intention of duplicating the Moro box. However, in this case, as in all others, the Bagobo caster did not attempt to exactly reproduce the work of another, but simply borrowed a broad idea, and thus he often creates new forms.
[53] See LING ROTH, Oriental Silver Work.
Not once did the writer receive a name for any pattern or design shown in metal work. A careful study of the method of work, of the articles produced, and of the folk-lore and religious observances connected with the work in brass and copper brings one to the conclusion that this class of work is of comparatively recent introduction and that the instructors in the art were the Samal Moro.
Mention has already been made of the designs incised on combs and other objects which are afterwards filled with lime. Just here it is interesting to note that, so far as is known, the southern end of Mindanao and adjacent small islands, are the only parts of the Philippines in which this decoration, so typical of Melanesia, is to be found.