The Florida star., 1902-08-29
MINDANAO ISLAND RACES
Strange Customs of Wild Tribes
In the Philippines.
ETHNOLOGISTs STUDY NATIVES.
BagObOs Offer Human Sacrifices to
"Mandarangan,' whom They BE-
Iieve TO BE a Demon M0nster-Cu-
rious Costumes of the FerOcious
Baganis-Moros Are warIiIe.


rious Costumes of the Ferocious
Baganis-Moros Are WarliISe.
Sixteen different tribes of very re-
markable savages, without counting
the pygmy negritOs, dwell in the inte-
rior of MindanaO, numbering probably
not less than 100000 in all, and gov
ernment enthnOlOgists have already
started in to make a study Of them,
says a Washington dispatch TO the
ST. Louis Republic. Inasmuch as moth
ing worth mentioning has been known
about them hitherto, there is plenty
to learn; but a good many facts have
been collected, and the race map" of
the great island has been drawn, TO
accompany u report on the subject
which will be submitted to congress
next December.
One of the most notable of the tribes
is that of the BagobOs, who dwell,
according TO their own belief, at the
gates of hell. They offer human sac
rifices TO the devil, who they think,
lives with his wives at the top of an
active volcano in their neighbOrhood.
The monsters name is Mandarangan,
and it is necessary TO appease him
with regular supplies of blood, which
is his only drink. Inasmuch as each
Bagobo has two souls, one of which
goes TO heaven and the other to the
Internal regions, he feels particularly
anxious To placate the archfiend.
The origin of these tribes is uncer
tain. Presumably they came origi-
| nally from the mainland of Asia,
| though some authorities are of the
opinion that they vOyagcd all the way
| from Madagascar. api tEcy certainly
arrived later than the EcgritoS. They
settled in MindanaO. however. long be
| fore the MOroS WHO i'll recent times
| have prpyed upon them. carrying OF
| their women and cnslaVing the men.
| They are tall. well developed. intelli-
gent and rather light of skin, with
| auuiIinp noses Some of them are
fierce and warlike.
| The BHgObOs are very strong ana
| fierce, and one OF their peculiarities is
that the girls are as powerful muscu-
| larlv as the boys of this tribe. and it
| is hard TO tell the sexes apart. They
keep slaves chiefly for the purpose OF
| sacrificing them 10 the devil. Equally
fcruciouS are the MandayaS. who offer
| human sacrifices with extraordinary
| cruelty, cannibaliSm being sometimes
incidental. They believe in two good
divinities. Il father and son, and two
| evil ones, q husband and wife. Earth
| qualloS they suppose TO be caused by
| the restless movements of all immense
crocodile in the center of the earth.
They bury their dead in holes in the
faces of cliffs.
The Manobos are ferOciOuS and
| treachcrouS. They build their houses
in treetops near the rivers, so as To
be safe from their enemies. 1t is the
same way with the BaganiS, though
sometimes the latter place their dwell
in@S Or inaccessible craSS. Among the
| RaganiS the costume varies with the
number of murders Il man has com
mitted When man has committed
from five TO ten murders, he Indicates
the fact by wearing flesh colOreC
handkerchief on his head. y scarlet
handkerchief and shirt decorate the
person of the warrior who has muir
dcrcd from ten tO twenty persons
while for more than twenty murders
scarlet pantaloons may lac added.
When Baguni has murdered some
body, he cuts off Il lock of the victim
hair ana attaches it Ia the edge of hi
shield being thus enabled 1o Keel
count Of the persons hc has Killed. liz
wears armor OF split rattan. and one
of his methods of diScoura@im" f"'
j. tu drive Il sharp piece of hamh"'
into the ground whcr" the enemy j.
likely To step ON it and mHim him
self. Spring bows also are set in th'
jungle. ~ - To shoot anybody wh'
may happen to come along.
Among the savage tribes both wOmeI
urd men chew tobacco AMI pierre" taei
I ears. di>Gpudiug the lohos Of The latl,.
enormously 10y means of plugs of bone
Ii i customary to t"lto" IL" "AiI
,rru. chiefly for the sake of id"nriti
cation in case they happen tu he stolen
| KIDNAPPING being very cumm"u.
man pays for his wife in advance L.
working for her parents from fou
to ~iX years. and one of the moth
"dS OF SOlemniZin@ marriage c"I
! Si>ts in the giving Of 4 handful q
boiled rice 10y III" husband I" The wife
ami vice VERSA, in token that they al
mutually TO sustain each other.
Concerning the MoroS. Whose NJ
cc~;or~ Droba' y came from Borne
'ni aud, .iotelsS. ramp:,::r.o ,"ood deal G
ltT L e !hP PoST s1TSpsiry asry Nj: : ne is sad adm nj
9O2, aided by enJ&S Is a I,n rnoI@ n"ttl 1T - ~