A common occurrence during these combats is the use of an iron ball by the friendly deities. The sight of this is said to inspire terror in the demons and leaves them at the mercy of their opponents. Shut up in this ball as in an iron prison they are brought back in triumph to the domains of their conquerors and the rescued companion spirit of man hurries joyously back to its mortal counterpart. These evil demons are said to be held as captives in the houses of the good spirits and to serve them in the capacity of slaves, accompanying and aiding them in their warlike expeditions against other evil spirits.
BY VARIOUS MATERIAL MEANS
Besides having recourse to the diuáta the Manóbos make use of a reed,5 or vine,6 of the branches of a wild lemon tree7 and other plants,8 in order to counteract the evil influence of these fiends. It may be remarked that 11 of these cause a painful wound on an ordinary human being but that they are said to be particularly irritating to evil spirits; this is especially true of the wound made by the sá sá reed. Hence, on occasions when these demons are expected to be present, the priest secures the above-mentioned plants and sets them in places where it is thought the demons may be enticed to enter. It is mostly on the occasion of a death or of a birth that these precautions have to be taken for the smell of death and of human blood seems to have a great attraction for these monsters. On such occasions branches of lemon trees or of the other plants above mentioned are hung under the house or at any opening in the wall. The priest, also, frequently carries a sharpened sá sá reed in the hope of encountering some overbold demon. Although the wound inflicted by the reed does not kill the demon, yet it is very slow to heal and is said to be at times incurable.
5Sá-sá.
6U-ág.
7Su-á and Ka-ba-yan-á.
8Ka-míli and Húás.
Such is the fear which the evil spirits have of these reeds, vines, and branches that the mere mention of them is believed to be sufficient to frighten the demons. Fire and smoke, also, are said to keep them away and for that reason a fire is often kept burning under the house during times of sickness and death. Great care is used to keep alive the fire at night on nearly all occasions of apprehension.
Loud shouts, too, are resorted to in order to intimidate the evil spirits. During funerals the yelling is particularly noticeable; the loud yells which one hears while traveling through solitary places in the mountains and down the rivers are intended as a menace to the malevolent spirits.