ONE DOCTRINE TOO FEW
No question, it seems, could be more straightforward than this: What
is your religion? Many people will readily answer that they have a
particular religion, indeed they belongto a religion with a particular
doctrine.People identify themselves as Jains or Protestants or Bud-
dhists and can usually describe these differences as a matter of doctri-
nal assumptions—for instance, that dead people can come back and
show us the true path of salvation, that a unique god is watching our
every action, that it is abhorrent to destroy any living thing however
[266] humble, that the gods can protect you against illness or misfortune,
etc. So far, so simple.
But the question is not that "natural," as many people in the world
would not even understand what it means. Here is an illustration. For
the Buid people of Mondoro in the Philippines most religious activity
consists in communicating and interacting with friendly spirits, and
enlisting their help to combat other, dangerous spirits. This is
achieved by mediumship. Several times a week, people gather together
and start singing to attract their laior personal spirit. At some point
they sense that the laiare coming over, leaping across mountain tops
to come over and visit them. Each singer climbs on the back of his or
her supernatural friend. Together, they hover above the mountains
and watch the evil spirits swarming around the village. The laiare spe-
cially helpful in driving away these unwanted visitors. For the Buid
most people can master these songs, there is nothing exceedingly diffi-
cult about riding a spirit, it is all a matter of practice. However, in this
as in other domains, some individuals are better at it than others. This
becomes important in cases of illness or death, when people feel that a
great number of evil spirits must be lurking around and a larger seance
is required. In such cases reputed singers are called from neighboring
settlements and asked to help in driving away the intruders.
Contrary to what we would find in Christianity, Islam or Bud-
dhism, the Buid have no systematic doctrine of supernatural agents.
Everyone assumes that the laihave supernatural qualities—they fly
over mountains and remain invisible—but there is no received theory
of what these agents are like, what they do, where they reside, etc. The
Buid have a notion of mediumship but not a concept of "religion"
encompassing all the notions, norms and activities connected to
supernatural agency. There is no official school or group of religious
specialists. Anyone can sing and attract friendly spirits. Finally, the
RELIGION EXPLAINED