f God. The individuals, even the children, must follow the
general [custom]. There were other laws also. For the determination
of their suits, both civil and criminal, there was no other judge
than the said chief, with the assistance of some old men of the
same barangay. With them the suit was determined in the following
form. They had the opponents summoned, and endeavored to have them
come to an agreement. But if they would not agree, then an oath was
administered to each one, to the effect that he would abide by what
was determined and done. Then they called for witnesses, and examined
summarily. If the proof was equal [on both sides], the difference was
split; but, if it were unequal, the sentence was given in favor of the
one who conquered. If the one who was defeated resisted, the judge
made himself a party to the cause, and all of them at once attacked
with the armed hand the one defeated, and execution to the required
amount was levied upon him. The judge received the larger share of
this amount, and some was paid to the witnesses of the one who won
the suit, while the poor litigant received the least.

In criminal causes there were wide distinctions made because of the
rank of the murderer and the slain; and if the latter were a chief
all his kinsmen went to hunt for the murderer and his relatives,
and both sides engaged in war, until mediators undertook to declare
the quantity of gold due for that murder, in accordance with the
appraisals which the old men said ought to be paid according to
their custom. One half of that amount belonged to the chiefs, and the
other half was divided among the wife, children, and relatives of the
deceased. The penalty of death was never imposed by process of law,
except when the murderer and his victim were common men and had no gold
to satisfy the murder. In such a case, if the man's dato or maginoo
(for these are one and the same) did not kill him, the other chiefs
did, spearing him after lashing him to a stake.

117. In a matter of theft, if the crime were proved, but not the
criminal, and more than one person was suspected, a canonical
clearance from guilt had to be made in the following form. First
they obliged each person to put in a heap a bundle of cloth, leaves,
or anything else that they wished, in which they might discover
the article stolen. If the article stolen was found in the heap,
at the end of this effort, then the suit ceased; if not, one of
three methods wa