3. Tagasoro. Beings who cause sudden anger which results in quarrels and death. They are the ones who furnish other spirits with human flesh.
4 and 5. Balinonok and his wife Balinsogo. This couple love blood and for this reason cause men and women to fight or to run amuck.
6. Siring. Mischievous spirits who inhabit caves, cliffs, and dangerous places. They have long nails and can be distinguished by that characteristic. They sometimes impersonate members of the family and thus succeed in stealing women and children, whom they carry to their mountain homes. The captives are not eaten but are fed on snakes and worms, and should they try to escape the siring will scratch them with their long nails.
Other spirits were named and described by individuals, but as they are not generally accepted by the people of the tribe they are not mentioned here.
The stars, thunder and lightning, and similar phenomena are generally considered as "lights or signs" belonging to the spirits, yet one frequently hears hazy tales such as that "the constellation Marara is a one-legged and one-armed man who sometimes causes cloudy weather at planting time so that people may not see his deformities," or we are told that "the sun was placed in the sky by the creator, and on it lives an evil spirit who sometimes kills people. The sun is moved about by the wind;" again, "the sun and moon were once married and all the stars are their children."
Despite repeated assertions by previous writers that the Bagobo are fire-worshippers no evidence was obtained during our visit to support the statement. The older people insisted that it was not a spirit and that no offerings were ever made to it. One mabalian stated that fire was injurious to a woman in her periods and hence it was best for her not to cook at such times; she was also of the opinion that fire was of two kinds, good and bad, and hence might belong to both good and bad spirits.
A common method used by the spirits to communicate with mortals is through the call of the limokon[44] All the people know the meaning of its calls and all respect its warnings. If a man is starting to buy or trade for an article and this bird gives its warning the sale is stopped. Should the limokon call when a person is on the trail he at ones doubles his fist and thrusts it in the direction from which the warning comes. If it becomes necessary to point backwards, it is a signal to return, or should the arm point directly in front it is certain that danger is there, and it is best to turn back and avoid it. When it is not clear from whence the note came, the traveler looks toward the right side. If he sees there strong, sturdy trees, he knows that all is well, but if they are cut or weaklings, he should use great care to avoid impending danger. When questioned as to why one should look only to the right, an old man quickly replied: "The right side belongs to you; the left side is bad and belongs to someone else."
[44] See p. 63, note. [Transcriber's note: footnote above beginning, "A dove.">[
Sneezing is a bad omen, and should a person sneeze when about to undertake a journey, he knows that it is a warning of danger, and will delay until another time.
Certain charms, or actions, are of value either in warding off evil spirits, in causing trouble or death to an enemy, or in gaining an advantage over another in trading and in games. One type of charm is a narrow cloth belt in which "medicines" are tied. These medicines may be peculiarly shaped stones, bits of fungus growth, a tooth, shell, or similar object. Such belts are known as pamadan, or lambos, and are worn soldier-fashion over one shoulder. They are supposed to protect their owners in battle or to make it easy for them to get the best of other parties in a trade, A little dust gathered from the footprint of an enemy and placed in one of these belts will immediately cause the foe to become ill.