Part 9

Example: Pumauwat of Raay was irrigating his fields at night. Some of his companions told him that there were some head-hunters from an enemy village near. In the darkness. Pumauwat encountered another man. Likyayu, the betrothed of his daughter. He asked him who was there. On account of the noise of water falling from the rice fields, Likyayu did not hear the inquiry, and said nothing. Pumauwat speared him. Likyayu cried out. Pumauwat recognized his voice, and carried him home. He furnished animals for sacrifice to secure Likyayu's recovery. Likyayu recovered. Had he died, Pumauwat would have been called on for the full amount of the fine: but had Likyayu been firmly engaged to Pumauwat's daughter, that is, had the bango ceremony been performed the full amount of the labod fine would not have been demanded, since the relationship would have been an extenuating circumstance.

(d) The taking of life by persons in a brawl or by an intoxicated or insane person. In case the slain died before his slayer could agree to provide animals for sacrifice, the latter would probably be killed by the kin of the slain if he were of a foreign district. He might be killed if a non-related co-villager. He would be fined the labod if a kinsman. He would probably go scot free if a brother or uncle.

Example: A of Longa became insanely drunk at a feast at the house of his brother Gimbungan. He attempted to embrace the comely daughter of Gimbungan, his niece. Gimbungan tried to quiet him, and in so doing aroused his ire. He drew back his spear menacingly, and in so doing pierced the girl--who was at his back--with the shod point at the end. She died. A was properly penitent when he sobered, and furnished animals for sacrifice. The fine labod was not, however, demanded of him. This was about thirty five or forty years ago. Considerable feeling exists between the two branches of the family to this day, owing to this occurrence.

The burden rests upon the slayer in the above cases to show that the killing was accidental or that he was so drunk as to have utterly lost his reason. The absence of a motive is a great help to him in this. If he has ever had a serious altercation with the slain, in the absence of controverting evidence, the presumption is likely to be that the killing was intentional, and that he has been "feigning friendship in order to kill by ugâ (treachery)."

103. Attempts to murder.--An attempt on the part of an enemy of another district on the life of a person is punishable by death. An attempt by one of the same district may or may not be punished by death; in most cases peace would be arranged by mutual friends and kinsmen. In such a case, he who made the attempt would be required to furnish animals for a peace feast.

104. Wounding.--Wounds inflicted accidentally and without intent or carelessness are not punished. In case the element of intent or carelessness be present, he who inflicts the wounds must furnish animals for sacrifice, pay the wounded man and his kin a fine, and stand the expense of a feast to make peace. The following is a typical list, for the kadangyang (wealthy)class, of the expenses of animals for sacrifice and fine:

(a) First feast for the recovery of the wounded man, sacrifices to the war deities: 3 pigs at 15 pesos; 10 chickens at 1 peso; total 55 pesos.

(b) Second feast for recovery, the pinochla, or feast to cure wounds and infections: 1 pig at 10 pesos; 2 chickens at 1 peso; 8 spear heads as fees of priests at 25c; total 14 pesos.

In case the wounded man lives, the following fine is paid him and his kin:

(c) Fine of two bakid (two tens) amounting to 72 pesos; fee of the monkalan, 10 pesos; total 82 pesos.

(d) Peace making ceremony: 1 pig at 15 pesos; other appurtenances of feast, 2 pesos; total 17 pesos.

105. Special liability of the givers of certain feasts.--The givers of uyauwe or hagabi feasts (glorified general welfare feasts to which great numbers of people come) are responsible for wounds or deaths that occur at these feasts. When a man decides to initiate himself and his wife into the ranks of the kadangyang by giving one of these feasts, he appoints one of the old priests of his family to perform the tikman ceremonies. These ceremonies are sacrifices to the various classes of deities whose special function is the "tying up" of men's stomachs and passions. Prayers are addressed to these deities that a little food satisfy the guest that attends the feast, to the end that the giver be not eaten out of house and home; that a little rice wine suffice to intoxicate the people; that the passions of men be tied up to the end that no quarrels or frays occur; that no rice-wine jars or gongs be broken; that no accidents occur--in short, that the whole feast pass off smoothly. The duties of the manikam (the priest who performs these ceremonies) are rather arduous. To say nothing of the ceremonies he conducts, he must fast for a number of days and must observe a number of taboos. He receives rather a large fee for these services. And, indeed, their importance, in the eyes of the Ifugaos, and the legal responsibility he incurs, certainly justify a large fee.

The manikam priests are jointly responsible with the giver of the feast for accidents or violence that may occur. This liability of the giver of the feast for wounds or loss of life is based on the supposition that if he had not given the feast the wound would not have occurred; and possibly that he gave the feast with the motive of bringing about such an occurrence. The liability of the manikam is based on the supposition that there must have been a remissness on his part in his religious duties, else the accident or loss would never have occurred. The following is an actual instance that would indicate that this provision of the law is an incipient employer's liability provision.

Malingan of Pindungan, many years ago, gathered together his kin and friends, performed the preliminary feasts, and went to Payauan to make a hagabi (lounging bench, the insignium of the kadangyang class). They made a very large hagabi that weighed nearly a ton. In helping to carry it across the river two men were carried downstream by the current and drowned. Demand was made on Malingan and the manikam of the feast for the labod fine (see sec. 106). It was paid, and that is the reason Malingan's descendants are not wealthier today, for formerly Malingan was one of the wealthiest men of the district.

It should be stated that brawls and accidents are much more common in feasts of this character given in parts of Ifugao other than the Kiangan-Nagakaran-Maggok area. This is due to the fact that in the area named above only relatives and persons invited by relatives attend, while in other regions the event is not so exclusive. There is the further consideration that in this area, on the night before the general drink-fest begins, an old man makes a speech in which he tries to put the crowd assembled in a good humor, and in which he warns each and every one to seize and hold any person who begins to disgrace hospitality by unseemly brawling.

106. The labod, fine assessed for homicide.--This fine is paid to the family of the slain. For the kadangyang, or wealthy class, the full fine consists of ten portions or divisions, totaling 975 pesos in the case tabulated below. These divisions may be briefly described as follows:

THE LABOD FINE

1. Outlay for a honga (general The honga is performed by the man's welfare feast): kin as a means of preventing the recurrence of such misfortunes in (1) carabao P80.00 the family. The animals are (2) 3 pigs 60.00 sacrificed to all the deities. ======= Total P140.00

2. Dangale (sacrifices at funeral The animals of this part of the feast): fine are killed at the funeral feast of the slain. (1) 2 carabaos P160.00 (2) 5 pigs 80.00 ======= Total P240.00

3. Gagaom (funeral shrouds): The clouts are to tie the dead man in the death chair: one about the (1) 8 death blankets P64.00 chest; one about the head; one (2) 4 clouts 4.00 about the shoulders; and one to (3) 1 ceremonial clout 1.00 tie on the head and beak of the ====== hornbill worn as a mark of rank. Total P69.00 The ceremonial clout is worn on the breech of the corpse.

The corpse is wrapped and entombed in the eight death blankets.

4. Habalag (hangings at funeral The nine cheap blankets are feast): distributed among the man's kin.

(1) 2 death blankets as fee of the monkalun P16.00 (2) 9 maginlotan (cheap death blankets) 36.00 ====== Total P52.00

5. Mata-na (his eyes):

(1) 1 gold neck-ornament for left eye P80.00 (2) 1 gold neck-ornament for right eye 80.00 ======= Total P160.00

6. Putu-na (his belly): Articles listed under numbers 5 to 9 inclusive, go to the dead man's (1) 1 pango (string of heirs and kin. beads) P120.00

7. Puhu-na (his heart):

(1) 1 guling (rice-wine jar, small) P80.00

8. Ubuna-na (his seat):

(1) 1 gong P80.00

9. Nunlidludagan (his place to lie):

(1) 2 death blankets P16.00

10. Hidit (peace-making): For making peace with the family of the slain. (1) 1 pig and other essentials of feast P18.00 ======= Total P314.00

The rank of the slain has something to do with the amount of the labod. The amounts given above are those that would be collected in the case of the killing of a Kiangan man of the kadangyang class. If the slain were a middle class or poor man the amounts would not be so great. [18] If the slayer were a middle class, or poor man, the amounts above might be lessened somewhat, but not very much. If the slayer be unable to pay, he is saddled with the rest as a debt. If he cannot pay the debt during his lifetime, his children must pay it.

107. Accidental killing of animals.--The accidental killing of an animal is not a crime. Sometimes even the value of the animal is not demanded or accepted if tendered.

If a dog runs out threatening to bite a passer-by, and the latter kills it, he is required to pay the value of the dog. If a dog bites a passer-by, the latter may kill the dog and need not pay a fine. If the dog bites him, and he does not kill it, he may demand a payment from the owner. It was a provision of primitive Roman law that "If an injury were done by a slave, the person injured had the right to exact vengeance against the slave personally, thus injuring the master's property; and the master or owner was consequently allowed to prevent this vengeance by making compensation for the injury done." [19]

Should a pig, at that period of the year when rice is stacked below the granary to dry out, enter through the fence and eat of the rice, it may be killed by the owner of the granary; but he must give the owner another pig in place of it. Such a killing is not considered malicious, for the pig was spoiling the "miraculous increase" of the year's harvest.

A pig that enters a rice field and eats of the unharvested rice is usually returned to the owner with the request that he tie the pig up. Should it again enter the field, the damage it does must be paid for. Should the owner refuse to pay this indemnity, and should the pig again enter the field, the owner of the field would be likely to kill the animal. The owner of the pig might consider such a killing malicious and improper. Public opinion would sustain the owner of the field.

108. Malicious killing of animals.--This is a serious crime. Its seriousness is due partly to the fact that domestic animals are to a great extent considered members of the household and as such loved and protected, and further to the fact that the intentional and malicious killing of such a member of a household would have a tendency to bring a like fate on the human members thereof, owing to the mystic power and force of analogy.

A labod fine is demanded for the malicious killing of a pig. The fine, in case a wealthy family is concerned, is as follows:

LABOD FINE FOR MALICIOUS KILLING OF A PIG

1. The corpse of the dead pig is surrounded by living pigs, one on each side, i.e., four pigs are exacted in return. 2. Dangale (see sec. 106): 1 carabao. This animal is simply handed over, not killed for a funeral as is the case when a human being is concerned. 3. Gagaom (see sec. 106): 6 death blankets; 1 bayaó (fancy blanket); 1 tin-unwe (ceremonial clout); 4 clouts. 4. Habalag (see sec. 106): precisely as in the case of a homicide. 5. Liwa, fee of the monkalun, or go-between: 1 death blanket.

PUTTING ANOTHER IN THE POSITION OF AN ACCOMPLICE

109. The tokom, or fine for compromising another.--He who, voluntarily or involuntarily, puts another in the position of an accomplice, or in such a light that he might be regarded as being an accomplice in the commission of a crime, and so be liable to punishment as such, must pay the person so injured a fine, called tokom. It may almost be said that he who causes another person's name to be prominently mentioned or bandied in connection with a crime must pay this fine.

The following are instances in which a tokom would be demanded:

A of another district comes to the house of B, and is received by B as a guest. While he is going home and while he is in the outskirts of the district he is speared by C, a neighbor of B's or a resident of the same district. B must force C to pay a tokom.

B steals or illegally confiscates property belonging to A. C sees B in the act. He demands a tokom--in this case it may be the bolo or spear that B is carrying--and so puts himself "on record" as not having been an accomplice. But he says nothing about the crime unless it come to light that he was a witness of it. In this case he proves by the tokom that he received that he had no connection with it. As a matter of practice it would seem that a gift received from the thief would tend to lead the witness to conceal the crime.

A gives an uyauwe feast. At the attendant drink feast B in a drunken brawl kills C. A and the manikam D must demand a tokom from B in order to clear their reputations.

The following is the amount of the tokom usually demanded in the case of murder, head-hunting, or slaughter:

In case of the death In case of the death In case of the death of a kadangyang Honga of a middle-class man of a poor man Honga Honga

1 carabao P80.00 8 pigs P80.00 4 pigs P40.00 2 pigs 30.00 1 bakid 25.00 1 bakid 15.00 1 bakid 44.00 ======= ======= ====== Total P154.00 Total P105.00 Total P55.00

One who is put in a position in which a tokom is due him must collect the tokom. It is not sufficient that he demand the payment of it--he must enforce the payment. Otherwise he will be considered by the kin of the injured as having been an accomplice, and liable to punishment accordingly.

Should the culprit refuse to pay the tokom, the obligation rests on those to whom the tokom is due to take the leading part in the punishment of the crime. Thus, in the first example given above, if C does not pay the tokom to B, the obligation rests on B more heavily even than it rests on A's relatives to kill C, and so avenge A's death. Should he not do this, he would be held liable to punishment by A's relatives along with C.

Visitors came to the house of Timbuluy of Ambabag from the district of Maggok. It was suggested that a contract of friendship and alliance be accomplished between Timbuluy and his Maggok visitors by means of the feast called monbiyao. A day was appointed for this feast, and Binwag of Bolog was named as the go-between in matters pertaining to the feast. These preliminaries having been finished, the Maggok people started home. On the road they were killed by some people from Wingian.

The following persons were under obligation to demand a tokom: Timbuluy, whose guests they had been, and Binwag, the go-between. But the murderers were poor people, while the murdered were wealthy. It would have been impossible for the murderers to have paid the tokom proper for having killed a kadangyang. Consequently without any ado, Binwag killed one of the murderers, and Timbuluy kidnapped one of the women folk of another.

Timbuluy sold this woman to slavery in Nueva Vizcaya, receiving four carabaos. He gave one carabao to each of the four villages Pindungan, Ambabag, Bango, and Baay--all in Kiangan valley--on the consideration that if the people of Wingian retaliated by capturing a Kiangan woman in the open territory surrounding or adjacent to one of these villages, the people of that village would collect the necessary sum and redeem the woman.

THEFT

110. Of theft in general.--There is a considerable degree of difference in the severity with which theft is punished in different parts of Ifugao. The following is the general law with respect to the theft of articles of medium or slight value:

Kadangyang class: It is a general principle that true kadangyang do not steal. However, it sometimes occurs, especially in the Kiangan-Maggok area, that persons who have the right to claim this rank become needy. The rule for the punishment of members of this class is: The kadangyang must return the stolen thing, or, if it shall have been consumed, its equivalent in value, and must entirely surround it with like things of equivalent value. This rule merely amounts to the paying of five times the value of the stolen thing. He must also pay a fee to the go-between.

Middle class: A thief of this class must return the stolen thing and ulpitan it, i.e., place a like thing, or an equivalent value, on either side of it. He must also pay a liwa fee to the go-between of the case.

Very poor: A thief of this class must repay the stolen article or its equivalent value, tokopna, and pay a fee to the go-between in the case.

In the case of the theft of heirlooms of great value, such as rice-wine jars, or gansas, the thief must repay, besides the stolen articles, their tokop, or equal, and in addition must furnish a certain number of pigs or other articles of medium value. The following shows how the Ifugao visualizes a payment of this sort.

* The stolen article. * Its equal or equivalent. * Honga, a full-grown pig. * Yubyub, a full-grown chicken.

Theft should not be confused with improper or illegal confiscation. This latter is commonly effected by members of the kadangyang class. It is punished in much the same way as theft, but is not so disgraceful.

A thief discovered in delicto is likely to be punished by death if the thief be of a different district. If not punished by death, the culprit is caught and tied and kept prisoner until his kin in the other district pay the fine demanded. This fine, needless to say, is somewhat larger than would ordinarily be assessed for the crime. If a member of the home district be caught in an unaccomplished theft, the case is not altered in any way from an ordinary, consummated theft.

111. Theft of rice from a granary.--The theft of rice is considerably more serious than would be theft of any other article of equal value, because it ruins the miraculous increase of the rice that the Ifugao as well as all other Malay tribes in these islands so thoroughly believe in. If the thief confesses and shows himself docile, he may wipe out his guilt with the following payment:

* Hulul-na, 1 large pig, payment of the stolen rice. * Honga, 1 large pig and 1 large chicken, for granary feast to secure return of the miraculous increase.

If, however, the accused persistently deny his guilt, he is challenged to an ordeal. If by this he is proven guilty, he is fined one bakid or one "ten"--in Kiangan about thirty pesos--in addition to the payment above. If he refuse to submit to the ordeal, he is adjudged guilty, and has to make the same payments as if he had submitted to the ordeal and had been adjudged guilty. The fee of the monkalun is included in, and is not additional to, the bakid in this case.

112. Theft of unharvested rice.--In a case of this sort, the amount of rice stolen can be determined by estimating it from the number of headless stalks. The punishment is:

* The return of the stolen rice or its equivalent value. * A full-grown pig for the owner's harvest feast. * The fee for the monkalun.

113. Illegal confiscation.--What the Ifugao recognizes as legal confiscation is treated below under Procedure, sections 134 to 138. The following is a case of illegal confiscation in the district of Banaue.

A owes B a debt, which he persistently refuses to pay. Both men are of the Kadangyang class. B is somewhat afraid of A, or for some reason cannot or does not dare collect the debt according to the ordinary mode of procedure. He accordingly runs away with a valuable rice-wine jar belonging to A, leaving nothing behind to show who took it.

B finds out who ran away with his jar. He pays the debt he owes B, if it be truly owed, and demands the following from him for his improper procedure:

* The return of the stolen jar. * Another one like it, or an equivalent of some sort. * A gong as a dalag (fine for illegal confiscation). * A large pig for a honga (general welfare feast). * A kettle worth five pesos called habale (pegs on which house charms are hung). * 4 yards of brass wire. This payment is called nundopa, referring to the jumping down of the culprit when he carried off the jar. * Death blanket with which to carry jar home.

If B, when he ran away with the jar, had left behind his scabbard or bolo or some other of his belongings to show his identity, the above would have been a case of legal confiscation, and not punishable.

Illegal confiscation lacks the elements of disgrace that theft carries with it, and, in the mind of the confiscator and his relatives at least, is justifiable. It may be that it is for this very reason that this crime is punished more severely than ordinary theft.

ARSON