**In BLAIR and ROBERTSON, Vol. XLIII. pp. 244-51, will be found a very interesting letter from FATHER GISBERT, in which he describes the sacrifice of a Bagabo[sic] half-blood who had fallen in debt.
The official files in the Governor's office at Davao contain an account, written by Gov. Bolton, of the sacrifice at Cataloonan, July 1, 1904. This was held to secure the return to health of Chief Obo, who later died.
[Transcriber's note: The two paragraphs immediately above both comprise a single footnote.]
By the side of the trail, or in the forests, little shrines or platforms about 3 ft. high and a foot square at the top, are frequently seen. These are known as buis and are erected for the buso, in order to avert their displeasure and to keep them at a distance from the dwellings. When the family has been subjected to petty annoyances, or when for any other reason, the mabalian thinks an offering should be made, she orders the family to provide her with betel nut, a piece of iron, and bits of broken dishes, or castoff clothing. These are placed on the platform and the buso are exhorted to come and accept them. Good offerings are never made to this class of spirits, for "they do not expect to be treated like the more powerful." A shrub known as dalingding is planted by the side of the shrine so that its location may be known even after the platform has fallen, and all passersby will make some small offering, hoping thus to keep these evil beings in good humor.
Rain can be stopped by placing an offering of a leg ring, or prepared betel nut beside the trail and presenting them to the Gimokod, at the same time asking them to stop the downpour.
DECORATIVE ART.
To a stranger entering a Bagobo house, in the absence of its owners, it appears that the people have little artistic development. He sees no paintings, no drawings, and few, if any, attempts to beautify the house with carvings. The pots sitting by the fire, show no decoration nor do the other household utensils exhibit embellishment of any kind. A closer study of the field baskets, however, shows a slight attempt to produce ornamentation by changing the weave of the central band from that at the top and bottom, or by adding a few rude lines in pitch. The moment the people enter, however, all is changed. The clothing they wear is covered with intricate patterns, some realistic, others highly conventionalized (Plate XXXI). Wonderful designs in beads or shell disks appear on coats, jackets, and carrying bags, while at neck, waist, shoulder, and at the bottom of sleeves and trousers are other figures in fine embroidery or applique. Strands of beads and seeds exhibiting a great variety of designs surround the necks of both men and women, while rings, armlets, leglets, and anklets of beads, plaited material or metal, are common. Combs are covered with pitch and inlaid with beads, or patterns are incised in the wood and filled with lime. Ear plugs exhibit beautiful delicate patterns inlaid with brass or silver.
A glance at the weapons carried by the man shows that his knife has been ornamented with caps of brass (Plate XXXII), the metal guard has cut or cast patterns in its surface, while sheath and carrying belt are covered with thin brass plates, painted lines, or a beaded cloth (Plate XXXIII) with bells attached. Fronts and backs of shields are covered with incised designs, while the metal ferrule next to the spear head seldom lacks in conventionalized figures. So the list might be extended to cover the women's knives and their pocket and carrying baskets, as well as the betel boxes and lime holders used by both sexes. In short, there seems to be no end to the list of personal ornaments and equipment which may be improved by carvings, arrangements of beads or metal castings and inlays. Even the horses are decorated with artificial forelocks of hair and beads. Strings of bells surround their necks, while saddles and whips display the aesthetic taste of their owners.
A part of this decoration is apparently realistic and will readily be identified by any member of the tribe; another part is suggestive and with a widely known meaning, but by far the greater number of designs have no generally accepted signification. The writer spent many hours securing the names of the designs on textiles, ornaments, or on lime boxes, only to receive the reply "done to make pretty," or to find that no two of five or a dozen informants could agree on many patterns, while frequently it was found that some obliging individual had volunteered names at one time which he could not remember on the day following. It is possible that a long residence with the people and diligent inquiry along this line might yield more definite results, but for the present the writer must content himself by showing some typical examples of the decorative art, and adding a few notes to the same.
The great majority of baskets lack in decoration, other than that which can be obtained by a slight change in the weave. In these a central band can be distinguished from those at top and bottom, although the same material is used and there is only a minor variation in the technique.