Evening star., 1936-09-05

Curious customs of the Isneg, primi-
tive Malayan head hunters" OF the
Philippines. are recounted in a report
lust made to the Catholic Anthropologi-
cal Conference here by Rev. Morice
Vanoverbergh, missionary, who mas
been stationed among them for the
past ten years.
Extreme significance is attached to
an individuals name. To the Isneg,
name and personality are inextricable.
and probably identical. This is illus
trated by Dr. Vanoverbergh by the Gus
tom of changing a childs name when
ever it is sick. Illness means only one
thing-that the child is being attacked
by malevolent spirits. The best cure is
to replace the name, thus giving the
victim a new personality and identity.
Then the spirits will amuSe themselves
with the old name-the child as it was
formerly-and leave the new personality
in peace. They will poster an old per-
sonality, The new child-that is. the
child with the new name-wil escape
unscathed.
An important reason for changing a
child's name, Father Vanoverbergh says.
is the death of one of its parents. The
Isneg are afraid of the dead. They
want them to stay where they are and
not interfere with the affairs OF the
living. They think it probable that the
dead parent will continue to be fond
of his child and perhaps try to approach
and fondle it, as he was accustomed to
do before death. This is considered
always to be exceedingly detrimental to
the welfare of the child. The best way
to prevent all such dangerous trifiing
is to change the name OF the infant In
question, in order to force the soul OF
the dead parent to forget all about his
offspring. He will be looking for the
babe under its old name. He will not
be able to recognize the new personality
created by the remaining.
Says Father Vanoverbergh: THE
names of the fatherin-law and the
mother-in-law may never be pronounced
under any pretext. Very few 1sneg,
even among those who have been In
contact with civilization for long time,
are bold enough to discard all fear on
this subject and pronounce them This
Is especially apparent at the baptism OF
child, when we have to record the
names Of its parents and grandparents
"The Isneg do not know, nor pretend
to know, the reason. Sometimes they
say that II they pronounce either OF
these names their children will die. The
whole question is probably shrouded In
mystery, even to the Isneg themselves.
An almost unsurmountable fear must
have been instilled into them from time
immemorial, while the real reason, the
death penalty inflicted on the offspring
of the offender, may have been forgot
ten entirely"
A child is given its name Immediately
after birth. The reason, the Isneg ex-
plain, is lest some spirit should take it
upon itself to give a name. If a child
were given its name by spirit it would
be given its personality at the same
time. In such a case the spirit would
have all power over such an individual,
and all spirits are looked upon as evil.
Head-hunting among these people has
practically disappeared because of the
vigilance Of the constabulary. But it
remains fundamental in the religion
and II watchfulness were relaxed the
Isneg soon would return to it. There
are still sporadic incidents Of this sort.
The explanation, he points out, lies
In the animistic concept Of Nature.
The Isneg's every step Is haunted by
demons. Their good will is essential to
his success In life. The most acceptable
Offering to these demons Is . human
head. The man who c1n offer them one