Bisaya

ETHNONYMS: Besaya, Bisayah, Jilama Bawang, Jilama Sungai

Religion and Expressive Culture

The Bisaya religion is animistic; there are shamans and diviners. Illness is caused by soul loss, and a spirit medium is used for retrieval. The dead are revered, but there is no true ancestor worship. Spirits of the dead can be dangerous if not properly mourned. The wealthy give large amounts of food for the "crocodile" or harvest ceremony, the main agricultural ceremony.

Bibliography

Peranio, Roger D. (1972). "Bisaya." In Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, edited by Frank M. LeBar. Vol. 1, Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar, 163-166. New Haven: HRAF Press.

Punchak, Sylvester Sarnagi (1989). "Bisaya Ethnography: A Brief Report." Sarawak Museum Journal 40:37-48.

DANIEL STROUTHES