When the victors had crossed the river they removed the palm fronds20 with which they had adorned their lances and put them on the necks and heads of their wives and friends. Later on a banquet was prepared and the reader is left to conceive for himself the revels that followed. It is said that not infrequently at this time some of the captives are given to the unsuccessful warriors for immediate slaughter. That this has occurred I have absolutely no reason to doubt, and every reason to believe. I have heard many describe among themselves how it was done, and what joy it gave them to be able to take revenge upon one of their hereditary enemies.
20Called Ma-yún-hau. It is said that these are frequently stained with the blood of the slain.
AMBUSHES AND OTHER METHODS OF WARFARE
Ambush21 is a legitimate method of warfare, according to Manóbo customs. It consists in locating one's self with one or more companions at a place which the enemy is expected to pass. A favorite place for the ambush is on the trail between the enemy's house and his rice or camote field, but a spot on a river bank or at any suitable point may be selected. Great precautions are taken by putting up screens of leaves to prevent the enemy from discovering the ambush. This is always made on the right hand22 and very frequently there is a supply of sticks and stones in readiness. The position on the right hand is chosen because it gives those in wait an opportunity to deal a blow on the weaker side of the enemy, all of whom carry the shield in the left hand.
21Báñg-an.
22Right hand refers to the right hand of the party to be attacked.
It is customary to take an ear or the right forearm of one slain in ambush as a proof of his death if the conditions of the ambush require such a proof. An instance occurred during my first visit to the upper Agúsan in 1907. Three Mañgguáñgans were ambushed by a mixed group of Manóbos and Debabáons, and the above-mentioned parts of their bodies were taken by the victors to their clans as a proof of the killing.
After a rupture between two parties, one or both of them go into a state which is expressed by the word láma. This signifies that one or both of them abandons his homestead and transfers himself and the members of his household (usually a few brothers-in-law with their families) to some place difficult of access. If the house can be built on a bluff, or a hill that is approachable from only one or two sides, so much the better. On such a site a house23 is built varying from 5 meters to 8 meters in height, sometimes, though rarely nowadays, being built upon a tree trunk. The felled timber at the edge of the forest is left unburned. Bamboo or palma brava caltrops are placed in the encircling forest. In addition to these, spring traps24 for human beings may be set out if it is suspected that an attack is imminent. In certain localities I have seen a stockade25 erected around the house. Sometimes a wall of old bamboo may be built from the ground up to the floor, inclined inward at the bottom at an angle of about 70° to the ground. The ladder is invariably a log with a number of notches in it. Strips of bark or even bamboo shingles may form the roof but as a rule the Manóbo takes his chances with a roof of rattan leaf.
23I-li-hán.