Chapter 57

CEREMONIAL ACCESSORIES AND RELIGIOUS RITES

GENERAL REMARKS

The differences which I observed in the performance of ceremonies in different localities appear to be due to the vagaries and idiosyncrasies of the individual performers and not to any established system. But in the main these variations are not essential. For example, in certain localities the blood of the pig as it issues forth from the lance wound is sucked from the wound, while in others it is caught in convenient receptacles and then drank. In the following pages I will attempt to give a description of the accessories, the sacrifices, and their associated ceremonies which may be considered general for the Manóbos of the middle and upper Agúsan.

THE PARAPHERNALIA OF THE PRIEST

THE RELIGIOUS SHED[1] AND THE BAILÁN'S HOUSE

[1] _Ka-má-lig_.

The priest has no special residence nor any special religious structure except a little wooden shed and a few ceremonial trays that will be described later. His house is not more capacious nor pretentious than that of anyone else, in fact it is often less so, but it may be recognized always by the presence of the drum and gong, by the little religious shed near by, and by the presence of a few lances, bolos, daggers, and various other objects that are considered heritages,[2] handed down from his predecessors in the priestly office. It is not unusual for the priest, especially among the Christianized Manóbos, to have two houses, one for the residence of his family and another which, by its seclusion, is better adapted for the celebration of religious rites. Hither he may repair, after assisting perhaps at the Catholic services in the settlement, to perform the pagan ceremonies that for him have more truth and efficacy than the Christian rites. While in the settlement and in contact with Christians, he is to all appearances a Christian, but in the moment of trial or tribulation he hies him to the seclusion of his other house and, in the presence of his fellow believers, performs the primitive rites in honor of beings who, to his mind, are more potent to help or to hurt than the hierarchy of Catholic belief.

[2] _Án-ka_.

In this second house, then, will be found, without fail, not only the priestly heirlooms, but all such objects as have been consecrated[3] either by himself or by one of the settlement to the friendly deities. It may be remarked here that these consecrated objects can not be disposed of except by performing a sacrifice, or by making a substitution, usually in the form of pigs and fowl which ipso facto become consecrated, and are eventually sacrificed to the proper deity.

[3] _Sin-ug-bá-han_.

EQUIPMENT FOR CEREMONIES

The altar house is a rude bamboo structure consisting of four posts, averaging 1.8 meters high, upon which is a roof of palm thatch. About 45 centimeters beneath this are set one or two shelves for the reception of the oblation bowls and dishes. The whole fabric is decorated with a few fronds of palm trees,[4] and covers a space of approximately 2.4 square meters.

[4] The fronds used are one or more of the following palms: Betel nut, _anibung_, _kagyas_, and coconut.

The ceremonial salver[5] is a rectangular wooden tray, generally of _iláñg-iláñg_ wood, usually decorated with incised, traced, or carved designs, and having pendants of palm fronds. It is the ceremonial salver on which are set out the offerings of pig, fowl, rice, betel nut, and other things for the deities.

[5] _Ban-ká-so_.

The sacrificial stand[6] also is made out of _iláñg-iláñg_ wood. It consists of a disk of wood set upon a leg, and is used for making the offerings of betel nut and other things.

[6] _Ta-lí-dung_.

When it is decided to make an offering of a pig, a sacrificial table[7] of bamboo is set up close to the house that has been selected as the place of sacrifice. Upon this is bound the victim, lying on its side. Over it are arched fronds of betel-nut and other palms. This stand is used exclusively for the sacrifice of a pig. It is a rude, unpretentious structure.

[7] _Áñg-ka_.

CEREMONIAL DECORATIONS

Fronds of the coconut, betel nut and other palms are the only decorations used at ceremonies. The betel-nut fronds, however,[8] enjoy a special preference, being used in every important ceremony when they are obtainable. No other leaves and no flowers, unless the bloom of the betel nut be considered such, are used as decorations.

[8] Known as _ba-gaí-bai_.

The consecrated objects, consisting of such things as lances, bolos, daggers, and necklaces, are frequently set out upon a ceremonial structure or put in the ceremonial shed in order to give more solemnity to the occasion, and it is not infrequent to find the structure draped with cloth, preferably red.

SACRED IMAGES[9]

[9] _Man-á-ug_.

Sacred images are of neither varied nor beautiful workmanship. At best they are but rudimentary suggestions of the human form, frequently without the lower extremities. Varying in length from 15 to 45 centimeters they are whittled with a bolo out of pieces of _báyud_ wood, or of any soft white wood when _báyud_ is not obtainable. More elaborate images are furnished with berries of a certain tree[10] for eyes and adorned with tracings of sap from the _kayúti_ or the _narra_ tree, but the ordinary idol has a smearing of charcoal for eyes and mouth and a few tracings of the same for body ornamentation.

[10] _Ma-gu-baí_.

Images are made in two forms, one representing the male and distinguished by the length of its headpiece and occasionally by the representation of the genital organ, the other representing the female, and distinguished most frequently by the representation of breasts, though in a good image there is often a fair representation of a comb.

Images are intended for the same use as statues in other religions. They are not adored nor worshiped in any sense of the word. They are looked upon as inanimate representations of a deity, and tributes of honor and respect are paid not to them, but to the spirits that they represent. I have seen rice actually put to the lips of these images and bead necklaces hung about their necks; but in answer to my inquiries the response was always the same that not the images, but the spirits, were thereby honored.

It is principally in time of sickness that these images are made. They are placed somewhere near the patient, generally just under the thatch of the roof.

The priest almost invariably has one, or a set of better made ones, which he sets out during the more important ritual celebrations and before which he places offerings for the spirits represented. In a sacrifice performed for the recovery of a sick man on the upper Agúsan, I saw two images, one male and one female, carried in the hand by the presiding priests and made to dance and perform some other suggestive movements.

Occasionally one finds very crude effigies of deities carved on a pole and left standing out on the trail or placed near the house. These are supposed to serve for a resting place for the deities that are expected to protect the settlement or the house. This practice is very common when fear of an attack is entertained, and also during an epidemic.

CEREMONIAL OFFERINGS

Offerings consist, in the main, of the blood[11] and meat of pig and fowl, betel-nut quids, rice, cooked or uncooked, and an exhilarating beverage. But occasionally a full meal, including every obtainable condiment, is set out, even an allowance of water, wherewith to cleanse[12] the hand, being provided for the visiting deities. Such offerings are set out upon consecrated plates[13] which are used for no other purpose and can not be disposed of.

[11] No reference is here made to human blood, a subject which will be found treated in Chapter XXVI.

[12] _Pañg-hú-gas_.

[13] _A-pú-gan_.

As a rule the offerings must be clean and of good quality. The priest is very careful in the selection of the rice, and picks out of it all dirty grains. Cooked rice given in offering is smoothed down, and, after the deity has concluded his mystic collation is examined for traces of his fingering.

The color of the victims is a matter of importance, too, for the divinities have their special tastes. Thus _Sugúdan_, the god of hunters, prefers a red fowl, while the _tagbánua_ display a preference for a white victim.

RELIGIOUS RITES

CLASSIFICATION

(1) The betel-nut offering.[14]

[14] _Pag-á-pug_.

(2) The burning of incense.[15]

[15] _Pag-pa-lí-na_.

(3) The address or invocation.[16]

[16] _Tawág-táwag_.

(4) The ceremonial omen taking.[17]

[17] _Pag-ti-ná-ya_.

(5) The prophylactic fowl waving.[18]

[18] _Kú-yab to mán-uk_.

(6) The blood unction.[19]

[19] _Pag-lím-pas_.

(7) The child ceremony.[20]

[20] _Tag-un-ún to bá-ta'_.

(8) The death feast.[21]

[21] _Ka-ta-pú-san_.

(9) The sacrifice of fowl or pig.[22]

[22] _Ka-hi-mó-nan_.

(10) The rice planting.[23]

[23] _Täp-hag_.

(11) The hunting rite.[24]

[24] _Pañg-o-múd-an_.

(12) The harvest feast.

(13) The conciliation of evil spirits.

(14) The divinatory rites.

(15) The warrior priest's rites.

(16) Human sacrifice.[25]

[25] _Hu-á-ga_.

A description of the more important of these ceremonies will be found distributed throughout this monograph under the various headings to which such ceremonies belong. Thus the child ceremony is placed under the heading "birth," the death feast in the chapter on death, the warriors' sacrifice in that portion of this sketch which treats of the warrior. For the present only the minor and more general ceremonies that may be performed separately, or that may enter into the major ceremonies as subrites, will be described.

METHOD OF PERFORMANCE

_The betel-nut tribute_.--In all dealings with the unseen world, the offering of betel nut is the first and most essential act, just as it constitutes in the ordinary affairs of Manóbo life the essential preliminary to all overtures made by one man to another. The ceremony may be performed by anyone, but partakes of only a semireligious character when not performed by a _bailán_.

The ceremony consists in setting out on a consecrated plate,[26] or in lieu of it on any convenient receptacle, the ordinary betel-nut quid, consisting of a slice of betel nut placed upon a portion of _buyo_ leaf, and sprinkled with a little lime. The priest who has more than one divine protector, must give a tribute to each one of them. In certain ceremonies seven quids are invariably set out by him, always accompanied by an invocation, the strain of which is usually very monotonous and always couched in long periphrastic preambles. It is really an invitation to the spirit whose aid is to be implored to partake of the offering.

[26] _A-pú-gan_.

Out in the lonely forest the hunter may set his offering upon a log for the spirit owner of the game, or if in the region of a balete tree, he may think it prudent to show his deference to its invisible dwellers by offering them this humble tribute. Again, should a storm overtake him on his way, and should he dread the "stony tooth" of the thunder, he lays out his little offering, quite often with the thought that he has in some unknown way annoyed Anítan, the wielder of the thunderbolt, and must in this fashion appease the offended deity.

_The offering of incense_.--This ceremony appears to be confined to priestesses. I have never seen a Manóbo priest offer incense. The resin[27] of a certain tree is used for the purpose, as its fragrance is deemed to be especially pleasing to the deities. The priestess herself, or anyone else at her bidding, removes from the pod[28] at her side, where it is always carried depending from the waist, a little of the resin and lights it. It is then set on the altar or in any convenient spot. The direction of its smoke is thought to indicate the approach and position of the deity invoked. As the smoke often ascends in a slanting direction, it frequently directs itself toward the suspended oblation trays. This is taken as an indication that the deity is resting or sitting upon the _bankáso_ tray, in which case he is called _bankasúhan_, or on the _talíduñg_, when he is said to be _talidúñgan_. This ceremony is preliminary to the invocation.

[27] _Tú-gak to ma-gu-bái_.

[28] This is the pod of a tree called _ta-bí-ki_.

The deities are very partial to sweet fragrances like that of the betel nut frond and of the incense and seem to be averse to strange or evil smells. Hence fire and smoke are usually avoided during the celebration of regular sacrifices, as was stated before. On one occasion I wished to do a favor by lending my acetylene lamp during a ceremonial celebration, but it was returned to me with the information that the smell was not acceptable to the presiding deities.

_Invocation_.--The invocation is a formal address to the deities, and on special occasions even to the demons, when it is desired to make a truce with them. It is the prerogative of the priest in nearly all ceremonies. As a rule it begins in a long, roundabout discourse and extends itself throughout the whole performance, continuing at intervals for a whole night or longer in important ceremonies. It may be participated in by one priest after another, each one addressing himself to his particular set of divinities and beseeching them by every form of entreaty to be propitious.

The invocation to the good spirits is made at the discretion of the officiating priest, either in the house or outside, and in a moderate voice, but the invocation to the evil ones is shouted out in a loud voice usually from the opening around the walls of the house, as it is considered more prudent to keep the demons at a respectful distance.

In addressing his gods the Manóbo proceeds in about the same way as he does when dealing with his fellow men. He starts well back from the subject and by a series of circumlocutions slowly advances to the point. The beginning of the invocation is ordinarily in a laudatory strain; he reminds his divinities of his past offerings, descants on the size of the victims offered on previous occasions, and the general expenses of past sacrifices. He then probably recalls to their minds instances where these sacrifices had not been reciprocated by the deities. Having thus intimated to the invisible visitors, for they are thought to be present during these invocations, that he and his people are somewhat ill pleased, he goes on to express the hope that in the future and especially on this occasion they will show themselves more grateful. He next proceeds to enumerate the expenses which in their honor are about to be incurred. The fatness and price of the pig are set forth and every imaginable reason adduced why they should be well pleased with the offerings and make a bountiful return of good will and friendship. The spirits may be even bribed with the promise of a future sacrifice, or they may be threatened with desertion and the cessation of all worship of them.

After a long prologue the priest makes an offering of something, it may be a glass of brew, or a plate of rice, and confidentially imparts to his spirits the object of the ceremony. In this manner the invocation is continued, interrupted at intervals by the sacred dance or by periods of ecstatic possession of the priest himself.

_Prophylactic fowl waving_.--The fowl-weaving ceremony may be performed by one not of the priestly order. The performance is very simple. A fowl of no special color is taken in one hand and, its legs and wings being secured to prevent fluttering, it is waved over the person or persons in whom the evil influence is thought to dwell and at the same time a short address is made in an undertone to this same influence,[29] bidding it betake itself to other parts. The chicken may be then killed ceremonially and eaten, but if it is not killed it becomes consecrated and is given to the priest until it can be disposed of in a ceremonial way on a future occasion.

[29] _Ka-dú-ut_.

This ceremony is very common, especially after the occurrence of a very evil dream or a bad conjunction of omens or in case of severe sickness or on the erection of a new house or granary. On one occasion it was performed on me under the impression, it is presumed, that I was the bearer of some malign influence.

I have never been definitely informed as to the reason for the efficacy of this rite, nor of its origin. Tradition handed down by the old, old folks and everyday experience are sufficient foundation for the popular belief in its efficacy.

_Blood lustration_.--When a fowl or a pig has been killed sacrificially, it is customary to smear the blood on the person or object from whom it is desired to drive out the sickness, or in order to avert a threatened or suspected danger, or when it is desired to nullify an evil influence. The ceremony is performed only by a priest and in the following way: Taking blood in a receptacle to the person for whose benefit it is intended, the priest dips his hand in it and draws his bloody finger over the afflicted part, or on the back of the hand and along the fingers in the case of a sick person, or on the post of the house, thereby leaving bloody stripes. During the operation he addresses the indwelling evil and bids it begone. This ceremony usually follows the preceding one and is performed in all cases where the previous ceremony is applicable, if the circumstances are considered urgent enough to call for its performance.

I once saw a variation of this ceremony. Instead of killing the fowl the priest made a small wound in one leg and applied the blood that issued to a sick man. The fowl then became the property of the priest and could never be eaten, for the evil influence that had produced the sickness in the man was supposed to have passed into the fowl.

_Lustration by water_.--Lustration by water is somewhat similar in its purpose to the preceding ceremony. It is performed as a subrite among the Christianized Manóbos of the lake region. I am inclined to think that it is only an imitation of an institution of the Catholic Church because I never saw it performed by non-Christian Manóbos.

The following is the cermony[sic]: When the divinities are thought to have eaten the soul or redolence[30] of the viands set out for them, and to have cleansed their hands in the water provided for that purpose, the priest seizes a small branch, dips it in this water and sprinkles the assembly. Though, on the occasions on which I witnessed this rite, the recipients did not seem to relish the aspersion, as was evinced by their efforts to avoid it, yet it was believed to have great efficacy in removing ill luck and malign influences.[31]

[30] _Bá-ho_ and _um-a-gád_.

[31] _Paí-ad_.