THE CLEARING OF THE LAND
The omens being favorable, the farmer, assisted by his relatives and friends, begins the clearing without delay. It is essential that at least a little work be done in order to clinch the bargain with the powers above, for should a delay occur the omens might go awry and necessitate a repetition of the ceremonies and even an abandonment of the farm. I heard of several cases where prospective farms were abandoned under these circumstances.
The clearing, like all other agricultural operations, is done on the mutual-help system,8 that is, the farmer's relatives and friends unite to help him clear the land, which favor he and his family is expected to return in kind.
8Pag-a-bai-yús-an.
The average clearing does not comprise more than a few acres, and is completed ordinarily in from two to five days. The first step 9 in the clearing process consists in cutting down the underbrush and small trees. In this the men are assisted by the women and children who gather these into heaps for burning. This may take only a few days, if no inauspicious omens occur, but, according to my observation, it is seldom that some omen or other does not interfere with the work. Thus a dead animal, such as a wild boar, or snake, found on the farm makes blood lustrations necessary. The rumbling of thunder means a temporary discontinuance of the work, and often a purificatory ceremony, of which I can give no details, becomes necessary and delays the work.
9Called gás or gái-as.
The next operation consists in the felling of trees.10 For this purpose, scaffolds, usually of bamboo, are erected around the tree at a height several feet above the buttresses of the tree or at such a point as is considered expedient. Trees are cut down high above the base because the wood at the bottom of the tree is usually exceedingly tough. Standing on his perch at a distance of about 8 feet from the ground, the feller plies his native axe11 until the tree yields and crashes down in its fall such of its fellows as may stand in its way. It may be observed here that the Manóbo as a rule is an expert at tree felling and takes great pleasure in it. Practically all the felling and clearing of Bisáya land in the Agúsan Valley is done by Manóbos of Christian or of pagan persuasion and at a merely nominal cost.
10Gú-ba.
11Hu-wá-siu.
After the trees have been cut down, all branches and parts of the tree that would be too much of an obstruction in the farm are cut12 and mounted into heaps for future burning.13 This burning, of course, can not take place till after the hot weather,14 which comes at this period and lasts about a month. Unless the clearing was exceptionally free from heavy timber, the ground remains encumbered with the larger trunks and branches, even after the burning, but this is no impediment, for the rice and camotes can be planted between the stumps.