enges his wrongs should be left
in the body of one of the victims, as a sign that the murder was
provoked by the fault. When this is done the husband cannot be held
accountable either to the _datu_ or to the dead person's relatives. If,
however, he withdraws the weapon, the brothers or other male relatives
of the deceased have a right and a duty to avenge the deaths. A man who
has killed his wife and her lover is allowed to count both on his score
towards becoming a _magani_--a further incentive for him to avenge his
wrongs. Cases are known where the husband accepted payment for his
wife's affections, but it was considered a sign of weakness, or
cowardice, and the man lost caste. Unprovoked murder of one from the
same or a friendly village is punished by death.
A man having illicit relations with a slave woman, not his own, is
subjected to a heavy fine or a term of servitude. Incest should be
punished by the death of the culprits for should such a crime go
unpunished the spirits would cause the sea to rise and cover the land.
Datu Tongkaling claims that on two occasions, since he became ruler, he
has put such offenders to death. In the first case he had the couple
bound and thrown into the sea, while in the second instance, they were
tied to trees in the forest and sacrificed in the presence of all the
people of the village.
Prohibitions exist against the wearing of the clothing which
distinguishes warriors and priestesses, and there are rules governing
the conduct of individuals while near shrines or during ceremonies, but
punishment for the breaking of these rules is meted out by the spirits
rather than by the _datu_.
Each settlement is recognized as having property rights to all adjacent
lands. Within these recognized limits, its members may take up as much
land as they need, provided it is not already in use, but when a field
is, for any reason, abandoned it again becomes the property of the
community. Individual ownership extends to houses, furnishings, and all
articles of clothing, as well as to weapons, traps, animals, and slaves.
Although bought with a price the wife is still very independent and has
undisputed rights to her baskets, cooking utensils, looms, and to the
finery with which she adorns her person.
Since all the people assist in the support of the _datu_ they consider
his home to be, to a certain extent, their own and make use of it and
its furnishings without question.
Probably at no place
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