I never witnessed the death of a warrior chief, but I made numerous inquiries from which I gleaned the following particulars: The death and burial of a warrior chief seems not to differ from that of an ordinary person except in the greater pomp displayed and in the absence of fear. The tutelary war deities, either one or several, of the warrior chief are present and the evil spirits are said to maintain a respectful distance. The war chief's spirit companions or souls, which it is maintained are susceptible to injury at the hands of demons, are present and accompany him to the home of his tutelar deities, as do also Mandaláñgan or Mandayáñgan, the great ancestral hero of Manóboland.
The war chief has no special burial ground, nor any special mode of sepulture, though I heard on the upper part of the Tágo River, in the eastern part on Mindanáo, that a certain Ónkui, an acquaintance of mine, had been buried in a dugout placed on the summit of a mountain. This report appears from further investigation to be true. I have heard of a similar practice at the headwaters of the Ihawán River.
There is no material difference between the mortuary customs at the death of a priest and those practiced at that of a warrior chief. The tutelar deities of the priest are all present, together with all their relatives and friends of the unseen world. His seven spirit companions or souls are also present, so that little or no fear of the uncanny demons is exhibited by the mourners.
THE AFTER WORLD
The land of Ibú is described as being somewhere down below the pillars of the earth. It is said to resemble, in all particulars, this world of ours. Lofty mountains, lakes, rivers, and plains, such as are seen in the Agúsan Valley, exist there. About halfway between this world and the big country of Ibú, mistress of the lower world, is a large river described to me as being as big as the Agúsan, but with red water. Here lives Manduyápit, the ferryman. From Manduyápit's to Ibú's is said to be a journey of seven days along a good broad trail. Americans, Spaniards, and peoples of other nations do not pass on the Manóbo's trail because each is said to have its own, and the country of Ibú is said to be divided into districts, one for each nation.
Hence, when the soul or spirit companion of the deceased finds that it is all alone, its fellow spirit having been ruthlessly seized and devoured, it begins its long journey to Ibú's. One week's travel brings it to the great red river. Here it is ferried across gratuitously by Manduyápit, and begins the second half of its journey. On arriving at Ibú's it naturally seeks the spirits of its relatives, preferably its nearest relative, and takes up its abode with them. If Manduyápit, for one reason or another, should refuse to ferry it across, it returns to its starting place and plagues its former friends for aid. The priest is made aware of this and interprets to the relatives of the returning one the reason for its failure to pass the great red river.
If the souls of the deceased should desire to pay a visit to their living relatives, they invoke the family deities and are borne back to the world on the wings of the wind, without having to undergo the fatigues of the 14 days' journey.
Ibú's great settlement is no gloomy Hades, nor, on the other hand, is it a paradise of celestial joy. It is simply a continuation of the present life, except that all care and worry and trouble are ended. The spirits of deceased earthly relatives take up their abode in one house and pass a quiet existence under the mild sway of Ibú. There they eat, work, and even marry. Occasionally, with the aid of the family deities with whom they can commune, they pay a brief visit to the home of their living relatives and then return to the tranquil realms of Ibú as fleetly as they came.