rough
his body. When he is discovered, he may be cured by putting powder from
the other joint into the water and bathing his body with it. This
practice is very common here among the heathens and Moros. A Bagobo,
named Anas, who was converted, gave me the _bongat_ with which he had
frightened many people when a heathen."

In Bansalan crab shells are hung over the doors of houses, for these
shells are distasteful to the _buso_ who will thus be kept at a
distance.

I was frequently told of persons who could foretell the future by means
of palmistry, but was never able to see a palmist at work, or to verify
the information.

MUSIC, DANCES AND CEREMONIES.

The music for the dances is generally furnished by one or more persons
beating on several _agongs_ of different sizes and notes, which are
suspended in regular order from the house rafters (Plate XXXa). The
player stands in front of the line and begins to beat the instruments
with a padded stick. Oftentimes he is accompanied by a man who strikes a
wooden drum with the palm of one hand and a stick held in the other. The
music grows faster, emphasizing certain beats, until it becomes a
compelling rhythm that starts the feet of the onlookers, and suddenly a
man or woman begins to dance. At first she keeps time to the music by
raising on her toes and heels, bending the knees and twisting the body
from side to side, but soon she becomes more animated, the feet are
raised high above the floor and brought down with a sort of shuffle
which reminds one of the sound made by the feet of a clog dancer. Still
swaying her body, she begins to circle, contra-clockwise, around the
gongs, and soon she is joined by others until all the dancing space is
filled. The scene is most picturesque, for these dances usually occur at
night, in rooms illuminated only by the flickering light of torches. The
rich clothing of the participants loses nothing of its beauty in this
dim light, while the bells and rattles with which each dancer surrounds
arms, legs and ankles, add to the din and weirdness of the occasion.
Before the dance has progressed far the musicians begin to keep time
with their feet and frequently dance away from their instruments,
circle, and then return to continue the music.

With slight variation, this is the dance used on all occasions. At
certain ceremonies small gongs, or the _bolang bolang_,[45] replace the
_agongs_, and at times also a single dancer will accompany himself