nd (Plate LXVII). No head coverings are worn, but quite
elaborate combs (Fig. 48) are thrust into the knots of hair at the back
of the head. Wooden ear plugs (Fig. 49) ornamented with incised silver
plates and with bead and silver pendants fit into openings in the lobes
of the ears. Like the men they wear necklaces of beads, sweet smelling
herbs, and seeds. Many of the latter are considered to have medicinal
value and are eaten to cure pains in the stomach. One or more silver
disks are worn on the chest or over the breasts, while anklets, such as
are used by the women of the other tribes, are frequently seen. Both
sexes are fond of bracelets of brass, shell, or vines, as well as of
finger rings of tortoise shell and silver (Plate LXXI).
FIG. 48. WOMAN'S COMB.
FIG. 49. FAR PLUGS WITH BELL PENDANTS.
None of the garments contain pockets, and in order to make up for this
deficiency the men carry bags (Plate LXX) suspended on their backs by
means of bands which pass over the shoulders. In these they carry their
betel-nut outfits, tobacco, and the like. Small covered waterproof
baskets (Plate LXVIII) serve the same purpose for the women and are
carried at the back or at the side.
HISTORY.
Probably no wild tribe in Mindanao has received so much mention in
histories, reports, and books of travel as have the Mandaya, but these
references have been, in the main, so vague and often so misleading that
they are of little value for our purposes. Quite in contrast with this
mass of material are the excellent reports of the late Governor Bolton,
and Mr. Melbourne A. Maxey,[103] who for a number of years has been
closely associated with the members of the tribe residing in the
vicinity of Cateel. In the preparation of this paper frequent use has
been made of the notes gathered by these two gentlemen.
[103] Published in the Mindanao Herald.
When the first white men visited the tribe they found that the
neighboring Moro were making frequent raids on their villages and were
carrying away women and children whom they sold to the Bagobo and other
tribes of the Gulf.[104] At the same time it was learned that they, in
turn, were slave holders and were eager to purchase captives from the
Mohammedan raiders. The great distances traveled by the Moro in their
raids make it possible that slaves from distant islands may thus have
been introduced into the tribe. Later we shall see that it was difficult
for a slave or a descendant of a
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