. . .agbanuas to advance any theories as to the nature or origin of the sun, moon, and stars. Clouds they called “the breath of the wind.” [88]

They accounted for the tide by saying that in a far-distant sea there lived a gigantic crab: when he went into his hole the water was forced out, and the tide rose; when he came out the water rushed in, and the tide fell. The thing was simplicity itself.

I asked them why the monkey looked so much like a man. They said because he was once a man, who was very lazy when he should have been planting rice. Vexed at his indolence, a companion threw a stick at him which stuck into him; whereupon he assumed his present form, the stick forming his tail.

From the foregoing, it is evident that the Tagbanwa beliefs are not highly developed. However, several items are of interest for comparison with the beliefs of the more cultured tribes to be later described. Of these items, those most to be kept in mind are th. . . Read More