Songs and Gifts at the Frontier: Person and Exchange in the Agusan Manobo Possession Ritual, Philippines

445 Pages·2002·47.337 MB·English

by  Jose S. Buenconsejo

CURRENT RESEARCH IN
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
OUTSTANDING DISSERTATIONS
VOLUME 4
Edited by
Jennifer C. Post
Middlebury College
A ROUTLEDGE SERIES
CURRENT RESEARCH IN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
JENNIFER C POST, General Editor
1. NEWLY COMPOSED FOLK MUSIC OF
YUGOSLAVIA
Ljerka V. Rasmussen
2. OF MERMAIDS AND ROCK SINGERS
Placing the Self and Constructing
the Nation through Belarusan
Contemporary Music
Maria Paula Survilla
3. "MARACATU ATOMICO"
Tradition, Modernity, and
Postmodernity in the Mangue
Movement of Recife, Brazil
Philip Galinsky
SONGS AND GIFTS AT THE FRONTIER
Person and Exchange in the Agusan Manobo
Possession Ritual, Philippines
Jose S. Buenconsejo
Published in 2002 by
Routledge
711 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park
Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint o/the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2002 by Taylor & Francis Books, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or uti-
lized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any informa-
tion storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publish-
er.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Buenconsejo, Jose S. Oose Semblante)
Songs and gifts and the frontier : person and exchange in the Agusan
Manobo possession ritual, Philippines / by Jose S. Buenconsejo.
p. cm. - (Current research in ethnomusicology ; v. 4)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-415-94124-5
1. Manobos (Philippine people)-Rites and ceremonies. 2. Songs, Agusan
Manobo-History and criticism. 3. Manobos (Philippine people)-Music-
Social aspects. 4. Manobos (Philippine people)-Sociallife and customs.
I. Title. II. Series.
DS666 .M34 B84 2002
781.62'9921-dc21 2002004169
To my parents
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
A Note on Orthography xix
Chapter 1
The Rivers of Exchange 1
Chapter 2
The Manobo Cosmos (Kalibutan) 31
Chapter 3
The Diwata in the Pantheon of Manobo Supernatural Beings 85
Chapter 4
The Burning Panubad-tubad Speech 147
Chapter 5
Personal Songs 243
Chapter 6
Reluctance and Shame: Negotiating Visayanized Public Culture 279
Chapter 7
Song and Sacrificing 347
Notes 363
Bibliography 407
Index 417
vii
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List of Illustrations
Figures
1. Distribution of household types in the Poblacion 20
2. Flute (pendag) piece about the crocodile Dinageye-an 43
3. Schematic outline of the story about rice, pig, and betel nut 58
4. Diagram showing relationship between hunter and spirit 62
5. Distribution of ficus religiosa tree (balete) in the Poblacion 97
6. The Manobo cosmos 118
7. Categories of Manobo religious ritual 124
8. Dance rhythm (lisag) from the mountain (tinaga-untud) played on a 136
drum and gong pair
9. Lineages of two Manobo clans (kapu-un) in the Poblacion 157
10. Asuncion's ted-em, segment 1 207
11. Asuncion's ted-em, segment 2 208
12. Asuncion's ted-em, segment 3 208
13. Structure of ted-em music-text 273
14. A song excerpt showing the section where pity is expressed 277
15. Caricature of Manobo society within Visayan modernity 304
16. Visayan popular song 306
17. Guitar music invoking the Visayan spirit 324
18. War dance rhythm simulated on the guitar 326
19. Delia's ted-em, segment 1 335
20. Delia's ted-em, segment 2 336
21. Delia's ted-em, segment 3 336
22. Delia's ted-em, segment 4 336
23. Delia's ted-em, segment 5 336
ix