28Pan-ii-gón-on.
29Si-bad-ón-on to bu-a-ja (budáa).
The ordinary Manóbo house has at least a few dogs, and these are allowed the liberty of the house. They share the family mats, and sometimes have a special ladder provided for their ascent and descent. Their food at the best is somewhat scanty. They have names such as "Diguim,"30 "Sápas,"31 and are addressed by their masters with the greatest familiarity. A dog, however, that howls in its sleep, is thought to forebode the death of its master or of some inmate of the house. It must be sold, else the owner or one of his family might die. Dogs are supposed to be messengers of the blood spirits 32 and to be under the protection of the god of hunting,33 for whom the following ceremony must be made by the hunter if he desires continued success in the chase and the safety of his dogs from the perils thereof.
30"Black."
31"Cotton."
32Tagbú-sau.
33Sugúdun.
OFFERING TO SUGÚDUN, THE SPIRIT OF HUNTERS
A triangular tray of bayug or of ilang-ilang wood decorated with palm fronds is made and suspended from the rafters of the house. The owner of the dogs then calls upon Sugúdun, offers him a quid of betel nut, and promises to kill a fowl if only he will be so kind as to assist in getting a wild boar or a deer the following day. The fowl must be a male and of a red color. This invocation occupies the better part of an hour, and, when the hunter is satisfied that he has convinced Sugúdun of the necessity and expediency of being propitious, he slays the red fowl in his honor. The blood is caught in a sacred saucer 34 and placed upon the oblation tray35 for the special entertainment of the hunting deity. In one case I saw the blood anointment36 made on the principal dog in order to remove from him some evil influence that he was thought to possess. After the fowl is cooked, a piece of the meat, a little cooked rice, and a few eggs are put upon the sacrificial tray and left there.