The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

RELIGION BEFORE 1000 A. D.

on the left goes to a lower region, since all evil inclinations
come from the left side.7
These religious beliefs have great power in holding the
Bagobos up to their ethical ideals. The chastity of the
Bagobos is no more remarkable than their freedom from
theft.8 They believe that a thief can be discovered easily by
means of a bongat. This is a double joint of bamboo containing a mysterious powder. He who has been robbed takes
a hen's egg, makes a hole in it, puts a pinch of the potent
powder in the hole and puts the egg in the fire. If the
robber does not cry out, "I am a thief; I am a thief," he
will surely die. A little dust gathered from the footprint of
an enemy will immediately cause him to fall ill. To cause
any person to become insane, secure a piece of his hair or
clothing, and stir it in a dish of water in one direction for
several hours. Magic of this nature, the reader will recall,
is very general among pagan peoples.
While each of the tribes of Mindanao differs in its characteristics from every other, they all have the following
marked similarities in their religious beliefs:
(i) In each tribe warriors have the protection of certain spirits, and have the privilege of wearing red garments
after they have killed a certain number of persons.
(2) Mediums, like the mabaleeans of the Bagobos, are
found in every tribe excepting the Kulamans (this tribe was
the last to arrive in Mindanao).
(3) Spirits are believed to have placed certain constellations in the skies which tell the people when to plant.
(4) The limokod (dove) warns and encourages the
traveler.
T Altogether Cole found the Bagobos accepting twenty different kinds of
spirits, some of which (anito, for example) are known in almost all parts of the
islands. Some of the more interesting, in addition to those already named, are:
Taragomi, a male spirit who owns all food. He is the guardian of the
crops and it is for him that a shrine is erected in the middle of the rice field.
Anito, a great body of spirits, some of whom were formerly people. They
know all medicines and cures for illness, and it is with them that the mabaleean
deals.
Buso, a group of mean evil spirits who eat dead people and can injure the
living. A buso "has a long body, long feet and neck, curly hair, a black
face, flat nose, and one big red or yellow eye."
8Unhappily that is not true of those who have come into contact with
civilization and lost the superstition which kept them honest.