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Updated: May 8, 2025
The almo-os takes a chicken in his hands and, while five or six assistants dance, he chants, appealing to the spirit to see the good things that are being prepared, and to be pleased to return to the sick man. Occasionally, the music stops and one of the dancers cries "almogol, here is food for you; you must not go away."
There it spends most of its time, but upon occasion returns to its former haunts where it aids or injures the living. The almo-os, already mentioned, have considerable influence with all the spirits, but they are particularly close to the almogol. Nearby are two decorated bamboo sticks, behind which the spirit of the sick man stands while he watches the proceeding.
A class known as almo-os is composed mostly of middle-aged women who are in close communication with the spirits and who, like the mabalian of the Bagobo, conduct ceremonies to aid in the cure of the sick, to secure good crops, or to thank the higher beings for their help and watchfulness. Unlike the mabalian, these women are seldom midwives, such duties being performed by a group called fandita.
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