The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao: The R. F. Cummings Philippine ExpeditionCole, Fay-Cooper
History
The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao: The R. F. Cummings Philippine Expedition
Cole, Fay-Cooper
Ethnology -- Philippines -- Mindanao Island
"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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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