16The following are the native names of the roots and plants seen by the writer: ta-bó, the seed of a plant which looks like a sweet potato; sá-i, a helmet-shaped seed of a tree of the same name; kú-su, the root of a leguminous plant; ma-gu-baí, the bright red seed of a tree of the same name. It is interesting to note that this same seed is used for the eyes of sacred images. Ka-bis-da' and ko-múd-la are also made use of.
The purpose of these various objects is, to all appearances, to ornament the person and to impart a fragrance to the wearer. In this last respect the redolent herbs and seeds admirably fulfill their purpose. But many of these objects serve other ends, medicinal and religious. I took no little pains in investigating this point, but the replies to my inquiries were at times so indeterminate, at others so varied, and so contradictory that I can not make any definite statement; but I am strongly inclined to believe, for sundry reasons, that both medicinal and magic powers are attributed to many of the innocent-looking objects that go to make up the girdle pendants.
THE SKIRT
The Manóbo woman is not encumbered with all the wearing apparel of more cultured tribes. She vests herself with the simple sacklike skirt of good strong abaká cloth, durable, and admirably suited to her manner of life.
As the cloth comes from the loom it is in one long rectangular piece (3.6 meters by 90 centimeters more or less). It is cut in two and the ends of each of the two pieces are sewed together, so that two bottomless sacks are made. These two sacks are then joined together, thus forming one long rectangular garment, which by night serves for blanket, sheet, and frequently mosquito bar, and by day for a skirt. When used as a skirt, it is folded over in such a way that it resembles two sacks, one inside the other. As it is considerably larger than the person of the wearer it must be drawn to one side, always the left, and tucked in. The lower part of the garment on the left side bulges out so far that it makes the woman's figure ungraceful in appearance.
From the dimensions given above it follows that the dress does not reach much below the knees, a salutary arrangement, indeed, for one whose occupations lead her through the slush of forest trails and the grime of farming life.
There are two types of skirt in common use; first, the type that is of purely Manóbo manufacture, and, second, the type that is imported from the Mandáyas of southeastern Mindanáo.
The purely Manóbo type is distinguished by its simplicity and absence of elaborate design. Alternating bands of red and black, with dividing lines of white, all running longitudinally along the warp, and inwoven, are the only effort at beauty of design.
The second form of skirt is that imported from the Mandáyas or purchased, whenever obtainable, from Bisáya traders or, on the upper Agúsan, from trafficking intermediaries. It is striking with what appreciation the Manóbo regards this article. A Manóbo from the Argáwan and Umaíam will travel over to Hinatuán, a journey of three or four days, to procure a piece of Mandáya skirt cloth. He values it above the costliest pieces of European fabric that he has seen. The Manóbo woman upon seeing a fine specimen dances with joy, and is long and loud in her praise of it. No value is too high for such a specimen and no sacrifice too great to purchase it.