Songs and Gifts at the Frontier

This book investigates the particular history and social experience by a marginalized society in Mindanao Island, Philippines, through an analysis of the speech, song and dance in spirit possession ritual. Using the concepts of exchange and reciprocity, Buenconsejo connects the performativity of ritual song to the formation and maintenance of sociability, personhood and subjectivity. Also inlcludes maps.

Jose S. Buenconsejo

Contents List of Illustrations Preface A Note on Orthography 1. The Rivers of Exchange 2. The Manobo Cosmos (Kalibutan) 3. The Diwata in the Pantheon of Manobo Supernatural Beings 4. The Burning Panubad-tubad Speech 5. Personal Songs 6. Reluctance and Shame: Negotiating Visayanized Public Culture 7. Song and Sacrificing Notes References Index