Part 2

Ultimately reason and logic tend to triumph and eliminate the illogical, impertinent and immaterial taboos, remove the prohibitions contained in the useful taboos from their pedestal of magic, and set them upon a firmer base of intelligence, or at least practical empiricism.

A small part of Ifugao law consists even yet of taboos that are arbitrary and, except in essence, unreasonable. But the greater part has advanced far beyond this stage and is on a firm and reasonable basis of justice. Much of it originated from taboo--even yet the taboos are remembered and frequently applied to acts that constitute crimes among ourselves--but the immaterial and arbitrary taboos have been eliminated. Although the Ifugaos say that adultery and theft and arson are tabooed, nevertheless their attitude of mind is not the same as that toward things that are merely tabooed. It is the attitude of the human mind toward things that are prohibited by law and by conscience.

2. Scope of customary law.--The customary law embraces that which pertains to property, inheritance, water rights, and to a great extent, family law and procedure. There is a certain amount of variation in customs and taboos throughout Ifugao land. This accounts to a certain extent, perhaps, for the reserved behavior of visitors to a district distant from their own. Visitors are afraid of unwittingly breaking some taboo. In general, however, it may be said that laws are very nearly uniform throughout the Ifugao country.

3. Connection of law and religion.--Religion and law appear conjointly in (a) transferals of family property; (b) ordeals; (c) certain taboos; (d) payments of the larger fines; (e) peace-making. The Ifugaos state that a large part of their customary law and procedure was given them by Lidum, their great teacher, a deity of the Skyworld, and an uncle of their hero-ancestor, Balitok.

4. General principles of the Ifugao legal system.--Its personal character. Society does not punish injuries to itself except as the censure of public opinion is a punishment. This follows naturally from the fact that there is no organized society. It is only when an injury committed by a person or family falls on another person or family that the injury is punished formally.

Collective responsibility. Not only the individual who commits an act but his kin, in proportion to the nearness of their kinship, are responsible for the act. Their responsibility is slightly less than his. This applies not only to crimes but to debts and civil injuries.

Collective procedure. Legal procedure is by and between families; therefore a family should be "strong to demand and strong to resist demands." A member of an Ifugao family assists in the punishment of offenders against any other member of his family, and resists the punishment of members of his family by other families. A number of circumstances affect the ardor with which he enters into procedures in which a relative is concerned and the extent to which he will go into them. Among these are: (a) the nearness or remoteness of his relationship to the relative concerned in the action; (b) relationship to the other principal in the action; (c) the loyalty to the family group of the relative principally concerned in the procedure and the extent to which this relative discharges his duty to it; (d) evidence in the case bearing on the correctness of the relative's position in the controversy.

A corollary of the above principle. Since legal procedure is between families, and never between individuals, nor between a family and an individual, crimes of brother or sister against brother or sister go unpunished. The family of the two individuals is identical. A family cannot proceed against itself. But in the case of incest between a father and a daughter the father might be punished by the girl's mother's family on the ground that he had committed a crime against a member of that family. It is true that just as great an injury would have been committed against the family of the father, since the relationship of the daughter to that family is the same as to her mother's family. But the father, the perpetrator of the crime, being a nearer relative of his own family than his daughter, his family certainly would not take active steps against him. Were the crime a less disgraceful one, the father's kin would probably contest his penalty.

The family unity must at all hazards be preserved. Clemency is shown the remoter kin in order to secure their loyalty to the family group. A large unified family group is in the ideal position of being "strong to demand and strong to resist demands." The family is the only thing of the nature of an organization that the Ifugao has, and he cherishes it accordingly.

Collective recipiency of punishment. Just as the family group is collectively responsible for the delinquencies of its members, but in less degree than the delinquent himself, so may punishment be meted out to individuals of the group other than the actual culprit, although naturally it is preferred to punish the actual culprit; and so may debts or indemnities be collected from them. But only those individuals that are of the nearest degree of kinship may be held responsible; cousins may not legally be punished if there be brothers or sisters.

Ifugao law is very personal in its character. For the different classes of society there are in the Mampolia-Kababuyan area five grades of fines in punishment of a given crime, four in the Hapao-Hunduan area, and three in the Kiangan area.

Might is right to a very great extent in the administration of justice. For a given crime, one family, on account of superior war footing, or superior diplomacy, or on account of being better bluffers, will be able to exact much more severe penalties than another. Especially is Ifugao administration of justice likely to be unfair when persons of different classes are parties to a controversy. I doubt very much, however, whether this characteristic of Ifugao administration of justice be more pronounced than it is in our own.

5. Stage of development of Ifugao law.--Reasons have already been given for believing the Ifugao's culture to be very old. His legal system must also be old. Yet it is in the first stage of the development of law. It is, however, an example of a very well developed first-stage legal system. It ranks fairly with Hebrew law, or even with the Mohammedan law of a century ago. R. R. Cherry in his lectures on the Growth of Criminal Law in Ancient Communities demonstrates these stages of legal development: First, a stage of simple retaliation--"an eve for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life." Second, a stage in which vengeance may be bought off "either by the individual who has inflicted the injury or by his tribe." Third, a stage in which the tribe or its chiefs or elders intervene to fix penalty-payments and to pronounce sentence of outlawry on those who refuse to pay proper fines. Fourth, a stage in which offenses come to be clearly recognized as crimes against the peace and welfare of the king or the state.

No Ifugao would dream of taking a payment for the deliberate or intentional murder of a kinsman. He would be universally condemned if he did so. However, he would usually accept a payment for an accidental taking of life. There is still, however, an element of doubt as to whether even in such a case payment would be accepted. For nearly all other offenses payments are accepted in extenuation. Ifugao law, then, may be said to be in the latter part of the first stage of legal development.

THE FAMILY LAW

MARRIAGE

6. Polygamy.--The extent to which personality affects what an Ifugao may or may not do without being considered an offender is illustrated in the matter of polygamy. Any Ifugao, except one of the most powerful, who might try to take a plural wife would only bring upon himself heavy punishment--punishment that would be administered by the kin of the first wife. But men who are very wealthy and who are also gifted with a considerable amount of force of character sometimes take a second or even a third wife, and compel the kin of the first wife to recognize her and her children. In other words, they make polygamy legal for themselves. The first wife is of higher class than succeeding wives. Her children have inheritance rights to all the property their father had at the time of the taking of the plural wife. The following is a typical instance of the taking of a plural wife:

Guade of Maggok, an extremely wealthy man, after marrying and having a number of children by his first wife, began habitually to have illicit intercourse with another woman. The kin of the first wife demanded a heavy indemnity. Such was their bungot (ferocity) that they succeeded in making Guade think that he was in imminent peril of losing his life, and in collecting double the amount usual in such cases. But having paid the fine, Guade rallied to his support all his kin and kept up the relations with the woman, taking her as a second wife. Nor did the kin of the first wife attempt to prohibit this, well knowing that they had gone far enough. The second wife is recognized, and her children are recognized, as legitimate. Guade informed me recently that he was thinking seriously of taking a third. Guade is admired and envied by every one in the community apparently; whereas a man of less force would be condemned by public opinion.

When a plural wife is taken a heavy payment must be made the first wife and her kin. This may amount to about 500 pesos.

7. Nature of marriage.--Marriage among the Ifugaos is a civil contract of undefined duration. It may last a month, a year, a decade, or until the death of one of the parties to it. It has no essential connection with the tribal religion. True, at almost every step in its consummation the family ancestral spirits and the other deities are besought to bless the union in a material way in the matter of children and wealth and by giving the two parties long life. But this is a matter of self interest, and not of hallowing or consecrating the union. Should the omens be bad, the two people do not marry because they are afraid that in the shape of sickness or death or childlessness, ill fortune may overtake them if they do so. And even after the marriage has been fully consummated should it happen that at any one of three certain feasts performed by the parents of the couple during the year in connection with their rice crop, the omen of the bile sac [5] should promise ill, the marriage is dissolved. No promises are made by the contracting parties to each other or to anybody else. Nor do the contracting parties take any part in any religious ceremonials or in any marriage ceremonials of any kind. Marriage may be terminated at any time by mutual agreement. But that marriage is considered a contract is shown by the fact that if either party terminates the marriage against the will of the other the injured party has the right to assess and collect damages.

The theory that marriage should be permanent in order to provide the better for the training and rearing of children has no legal embodiment. [6] It is, however, established by custom that in case of divorce a property settlement according to the wealth of the family must be made on the children.

8. Eligibility to marriage.--Any person of any age may marry. The consent of the parents is not necessary. But there is taboo on the marriage of cousins within the third degree. This taboo may be rendered inoperative, except in the case of full cousins, by an exchange of animals ranging from two pigs in the case of the nearer relationships to one small pig or a chicken in the case of the remoter. The girl's kin in all cases receive the more valuable animals in this exchange. But the marriage of first cousins is absolutely tabooed and never occurs. It is said that children are sometimes coerced into marriage against their will; but I have heard of only one case in which physical force was used, and even in this case the attempt ended in failure.

9. The two ways in which marriage may be brought about.--Those children that will inherit a great deal of property are married usually, but by no means always, by a contract [7] marriage; those who will inherit no property, or but a small amount, and those who, married by the preceding method, have lost their spouses, or who on reaching a maturer age, do not find themselves compatible with their spouses, and consequently remarry, are married by a trial marriage. However, it should be said that even a contract marriage is a trial marriage to a great degree. In fact, one inclined to be prudent in his speech would never pronounce an Ifugao marriage a permanent one until the death of one of the parties to it.

The trial marriage is merely a primitive sexual mating in the dormitories of the unmarried. It might be called a courtship, it being understood that, except in its very incipiency, Ifugao courtship postulates an accompaniment of sexual intercourse. It is very reprehensible, but not punishable, for a girl to enter into two such unions contemporaneously. The moral code is hardly so strict with respect to the male.

In case the two individuals are satisfied with each other, that is, in case they find themselves compatible, and nearly always in case the girl becomes pregnant and the youth has no reason for misgivings as to the parentage of the child, the youth, after consultation with his parents, sends a distant relative or friend, who is not related to the girl, with betels for a ceremonial conference in which the hand of the girl is asked in marriage. Generally it requires two or more trial marriages to select for a person his more permanent mate.

10. Contract marriage.--The contract marriage is usually arranged for, and its first ceremonies at least performed while the children are quite small. Its purpose is to guard against the commission of such a folly on the part of the child who will be wealthy as marriage to a less wealthy spouse. The danger is that such a child, sleeping in the common dormitory, will give way to the ardor of youth and temporarily mate with one below him in station, and that the union so begun prove permanent.

As a rule the couple married by a contract marriage while yet children are elevated by the uyauwe feast to the category of the kadangyang (upper class). The uyauwe feast is not an essential part of the marriage ceremonials, but is an addition to them.

The following is the history of a typical marriage of this kind:

Dulinayan of Ambabag, when his son was about two years old, sent a go-between to Likyayu, also of Ambabag, whose daughter was somewhat younger than Dulinayan's son, with betels for a ceremonial conference looking toward a marriage between the two children. He stated that he would contract to give his son his fields at Takadang, and wished to know what fields Likyayu would give his daughter. The go-between returned, stating that Likyayu's people did not consider Dulinayan's fields at Takadang seriously, and asked that he assign the boy his fields at Banggo and Dayukong in order that they might consider the union of their daughter with his son. The go-between stated that Likyayu was considering bestowing on his daughter his field at Takadang.

Dulinayan returned the go-between to state that he did not take as being very serious Likyayu's statement that he intended to give his daughter only the field at Takadang. He made the proposal that Likyayu add to the field at Takadang the one at Danok, and stated that if Likyayu would do so he would give his son the fields at Banggo and Dayukong, as Likyayu suggested. Likyayu accepted this proposal.

After two or three more conferences, it was agreed that Dulinayan was to assign his son the following movable family property: 1 rice-wine jar, 1 gansa, 1 gold ornament. Likyayu was to assign his daughter 1 rice-wine jar, 1 gold ornament, and 1 pango (string of ancient beads). Besides the above, Likyayu would give, at the proper time, a house for the young couple. Each of the two men would present his child a granary.

The above agreement made, Dulinayan sent a pig called tokop di mommon and a pig called imbango. These pigs were sacrificed by Likyayu and his kin. The omens of the bile sacs promised well. Likyayu returned 1 natauwinan (4 spears), as the mangdad of the imbango.

About three years elapsed before anything further was done toward the completion of the marriage. During this period Dulinayan on behalf of his son furnished Likyayu's household with what firewood was needed and kept his granaries in repair. Whenever his son's betrothed fell ill, or whenever her parents or grandparents fell ill, Dulinayan furnished a pig for sacrifice. And whenever Dulinayan's son or his son's parents or grandparents fell ill Likyayu furnished a pig. Likewise when one of the direct ascendants of either of the young couple died the other family furnished a pig for the funeral and a death blanket as one of the burial robes.

In the year 1912--that is, three years after the contract was made--Dulinayan sent a man to propose an uyauwe. Each family performed a granary feast to determine whether the time was propitious. The omens being good, each family notified the other of the fact. Dulinayan then sent a large pig as the hingot. Likyayu's people returned a small pig as hulul di hingot. Then Dulinayan furnished a large pig for the bubun, and the two families met for the first time during the period of the negotiations and sacrificed and prayed together.

A short time afterward the children were made kadangyang by the giving of an uyauwe feast. At this feast Dulinayan gave hakba (marriage presents) to Likyayu and his kin.

In a contract marriage there is always an assignment to the children of the property that they will inherit. The amount of property settled upon either of them is equal or very nearly equal to that settled on the other. Nor may the parent of one of the children sell any of this property except for the purpose of providing animals for sacrifice in case of the illness or death of the child or one of his direct ascendants, or in case of the illness or death of the child's betrothed, or one of his direct ascendants (see sec. 13).

11. Marriage ceremonials.--The following are the steps taken to consummate a typical marriage in the Kiangan-Maggok area:

(a) The boy's kin send the girl's kin a pig. This pig is sacrificed by the girl's kin. The omen of the bile sac is consulted. The pig is eaten. This feast is called mommon.

(b) The boy's kin send another pig to the girl's kin. The girl's kin sacrifice this pig. The omen of the bile sac is consulted. This feast is called imbango.

A non-essential part of the ceremonials, but an important matter in some contingencies, is the return by the girl's kin of a gift to the boy's kin in exchange of the pig sent for this feast. This return gift is called mangdad. Its effect is to nullify any right on the part of the boy's kin to demand a repayment of the pig sent for this ceremony in case the marriage should for any reason whatever fail to be effected. Even though the failure to complete or effect the marriage be the girl's fault, if the mangdad has been sent, the boy's kin have no right to ask a return of the imbango. The return gift is of much less value than that made by the boy's parents.

(c) The boy's kin send the girl's kin a pig, which pig is sacrificed by the girl's kin. The omen of the bile sac is consulted. This feast is called hingot.

A non-essential part of the ceremonials, but one important in the same way as in the preceding ceremony, is the return by the girl's kin of a small pig, called the hulul di hingot (exchange of the hingot).

(d) The kin of both the contracting principals meet at the girl's house and sacrifice a large pig furnished by the boy's kin. This feast is called bubun, and has for its especial purpose to obtain from the gods of animal fertility long life, health, and many children for the young couple. It is attended by a giving of gifts by the kin of the boy to the kin of the girl, except that in the case of a contract marriage between kadangyang (the upper class) the giving of these gifts is often deferred till the uyauwe ceremony, which, while not part of the marriage ceremonials, often follows immediately after them.

The programme of marriage ceremonials among the northern Ifugao is somewhat different.

(a) Same as (a) above. This ceremonial is omitted except in marriages between the wealthy.

(b) The boy's kin sacrifice a pig at his home, sending half of it, if the omen of the bile sac promises well, to the kin of the girl in a back basket, called bango, whence originates the term imbango, meaning "carried in a bango."

(c) The boy's kin take a pig to the girl's home. The girl's kin furnish another and smaller pig. Both families participate in a religious feast. This feast is called tanig, and seems to include both the bubun and the hingot of the Kiangan people.

(d) Ceremonial idleness for the boy and the girl is required during a period of five days. On the third day the couple go to one of their fields, it being taboo for either of them to stumble on the way. The trip is in one respect somewhat like the time-honored cutting of the cakes in one of our own marriage feasts to secure a prognostication as to which of the two spouses will die first. Stumbling on the part of one of the couple, however, would indicate that that one would die not only first but soon, and would probably lead to a refusal on his or her part to go ahead with the marriage. [8] Arrived at the field, the girl weeds a part of it, and the boy gathers some wood from a near-by forest. Then they go home, the boy carrying the bundle of wood.

In case a bad omen of the bile sac is encountered in any of these ceremonies, the marriage is not proceeded with, since the belief is that misfortune would surely attend it.

In the case of the poor, some of the above ceremonies may be omitted; or chickens or smaller pigs may be substituted for any or all the pigs. The above programme is simply that which is to be followed out if the groom be financially able to do the "right thing."

In case the spouses are related, two pigs--a male and a female--are sacrificed, and the ceremony called ponga is performed. The larger pig is furnished by the boy. The nearer the kinship the larger the pigs necessary for this ceremony.