Chapter 27 of 28 · 3910 words · ~20 min read

Part 27

Three hunters spend the night in the open. One covers himself with a red and yellow striped blanket. In the night two spirits come and think he is a little wild pig, and decide to eat him. The hunter hears them and exchanges blankets with one of his companions. The companion is eaten, and hence the _kambaya_, or striped blanket, is no longer used on the trail.

The spirit Bayon steals a beautiful girl and carries her to the sky, where he changes her breasts into one and marries her. She drops her rice pounder to the earth, and thus her people learn of her fate. Both she and her husband still attend certain ceremonies.

A hunter is carried away by a great bird. He is placed in the nest with its young and aids in feeding them. When they are large, he holds on to them, and jumps safely to the ground. He goes to fight against his enemies. While he is gone his wife dies. Upon his return he sees her spirit driving a cow and two pigs. He follows her to the spirit's town and is hidden in a rice bin. When spirits try to get him during the night, he repels them by throwing feathers. Feathers become exhausted, and he is forced to return home.

A man encounters a large being, which, from its odor, he recognizes as the spirit of a dead man. He runs to get his friends, and they find the spot trampled like a carabao wallow.

The dead wife of Baluga harvests his rice during the nighttime. He hides and captures her. They go together to the spirit town, in the ground, and secure her spirit which is kept in a green bamboo cup. As they are returning to the ground they are pursued, but Baluga cuts the vine on which their pursuers are climbing. When they reach home, they hold a great celebration.

An _alan_ takes the afterbirth and causes it to become a real child named Sayen. Afterbirth child marries a servant, thinking he has married her mistress. Learns he is deceived, and causes death of his wife; then kills many people in the town of the girl who has deceived him. She gets him to desist, and after he revives some of the slain marries him. People of neighboring town are troubled by the _komau_, an evil spirit, who always causes the death of as many people as the hunters have secured deer. Sayen kills the _komau_. He fights with the great spirit Kaboniyan. Neither is able to overcome the other, so they become friends. They fight together against their enemies. Sayen often changes himself into a fish or chicken, and hides after a fight. This is observed by people who set a trap and capture him. He is killed.

A man while in the woods hears the _alan_ near him. He feigns death and the spirits weep for him. They put gold and beads on the body. He springs up and seizes the offerings. They demand the return of one bead; he refuses, and the spirits burn his house.

Two men who have killed a wild pig desire fire. One goes to house of an _alan_ and tries to secure it while the spirit sleeps. She awakes and goes with the man to the pig. Man carries liver of the animal back to the baby _alan_. He eats the liver and then throws the child into a caldron of hot water. He tells his companion what he has done, and they climb a tree near the water. The _alan_ discovers their hiding place by seeing their reflection in the water. She climbs up, feet first, but they cut the vine on which she is ascending, and she is killed. They go to her house and secure a jar of beads and a jar of gold.

The flat earth is made by the spirit Kadaklan. He also makes the moon and sun, which chase each other through the sky. The moon sometimes nearly catches the sun, but becomes weary too soon. The stars are stones, the lightning a dog.

A flood covers the land. Fire has no place to go, so enters bamboo, stones and iron. It still lives there and can be driven out by those who know how.

A man finds his rice field disturbed even though well fenced in. He hides and in middle of night sees some big animals fly into it. He seizes one and cuts off its wings. The animal turns out to be a mare which is pregnant and soon has male offspring. The place where the wings once grew are still to be seen on the legs of all horses.

A lazy man, who is planting corn, constantly leans on his planting stick. It becomes a tail and he turns into a monkey.

A boy is too lazy to strip sugar cane for himself. His mother in anger tells him to stick it up his anus. He does so and becomes a monkey.

A lazy girl pretends she does not know how to spin. Her companions, in disgust, tell her to stick the spinning stick up her anus. She does so and at once changes into a monkey.

A war party are unable to cross a swollen river. They wish to become birds. Their wish is granted and they are changed to _kalau_, but they are not able to resume the human forms. Those who wore the white mourning bands, now have white heads.

A mother puts a basket over her lazy son. When she raises it a bird flies away crying "sigakók" (lazy).

A young man who owns a rice field gets a new wife. He leaves her to harvest the crop. She is discouraged over the prospect and wishes to become a bird. Her wish is fulfilled, and she becomes a _kakok_.

The dog of Ganoway chases a deer into a cave. The hunter follows and in the darkness brushes against shrubs which tinkle. He breaks off some branches. Cave opens again on the river bank, and he finds his dog and the dead deer at the entrance. He sees that fruits on the branches he carries are agate beads. Returns, but fails to find more. His townspeople go with him to seek the wonderful tree, but part of the cave is closed by the spirit Kaboniyan who owns it.

The jar Magsawi formerly talked softly, but now is cracked and cannot be understood. In the first times the dogs of some hunters chased the jar and the men followed, thinking it to be a deer. The jar eluded them until a voice from the sky informed the pursuers how it might be caught. The blood of a pig was offered, as the voice directed, and the jar was captured.

The sun and moon fight. Sun throws sand in moon's face and makes the dark spots which are still visible.

A man who went with a war party is away so long that he does not recognize his daughter when he returns. He embraces her when she meets him at the town gate. In shame she changes herself into a coconut tree.

Two flying snakes once guarded the gap in the mountains by which the Abra river reaches the sea. Two brave men attack them with banana trunks. Their wings stick in the banana trees and they are easily killed. The men are rewarded with gold made in the shape of deer and horses.

A man named Tagápen, of Ilocos Norte, with his wife and child goes up the Abra river on a raft. They stop at various towns and Tagápen goes up to each while his wife comforts the child. They finally reached Patok where they go to live in the _balaua_. They remain there teaching the people many songs.

III

A turtle and a monkey go to plant bananas. The turtle places his in the ground, but the monkey hangs his in a tree. Soon the tree of the turtle has ripe fruit, but the monkey has none. Turtle asks monkey to climb and secure the fruit. Monkey eats all but one banana, then sleeps in the tree. Turtle plants sharp shells around the tree and then frightens monkey which falls and is killed. Turtle sells his flesh to other monkey and then chides them because they eat their kind. Monkeys catch turtle and threaten first to cut and then to burn him. He deceives them by showing them marks on his body. They tie weight to him and throw him into the water. He reappears with a fish. Monkeys try to imitate him and are drowned.

A turtle and lizard go to steal ginger. The lizard talks so loudly he attracts the attention of the owner. The turtle hides, but the lizard runs and is pursued by the man. The turtle enters the house and hides under a coconut shell. When the man sits on the shell the turtle calls. He cannot discover source of noise and thinks it comes from his testicles. He strikes these with a stone and dies. The turtle and the lizard see a bees' nest. The lizard hastens to get it and is stung. They see a bird snare and turtle claims it as the necklace of his father. Lizard runs to get it but is caught and killed.

A little bird calls many times for a boy to catch it. He snares it and places it in a jar. Lad's grandmother eats the bird. He discovers the theft, leaves home and gets a big stone to swallow him. The grandmother gets horses to kick the stone, carabao to hook it, and chickens to peck it, but without result. When thunder and her friends also fail, she goes home without her grandson.

A frog, which is attached to a hook, lures a fish so that it is caught.

The five fingers are brothers. The thumb goes to get bamboo. He tries to kiss the bamboo and his nose sticks. One by one the others go in search of the missing but are captured in the same manner. The little finger, which alone remains free, releases the others.

A carabao and a shell agree to race along the river. The carabao runs swiftly, then pauses to call "shell." Another shell replies and the carabao continues running. This is repeated many times until at last the carabao falls dead.

A crab and a shell go to get wood. The crab pulls the rope on his load so tightly that he breaks his big legs and dies. The shell finds his friend dead and cries until he belches his own body out of the shell and he dies.

A mosquito tells a man he would eat him were it not for his ears.

A messenger goes to negotiate a marriage. When he arrives he sees the people nodding their heads as they suck meat out of shells. He returns home without stating his mission, but reports an acceptance. Girl's people are surprised when people come for _pakálon_.

A man sees people eating bamboo shoots, and is told they are eating _pagaldanen_. He understands them to say _aldan_--"ladder," so he goes home and cooks his bamboo ladder. Is ridiculed by his friends.

A man with heavily laden horse asks the length of a certain trip. Boy replies, "If you go slowly, very soon; if you go fast, all day." The man hurries so that coconuts keep falling off the load and have to be replaced. It is dark when he arrives.

A woman eats the fruit belonging to crocodile and throws away the rind. Crocodile sees her tooth marks and recognizes the offender. He demands that she be given him to eat. Her people agree, but first feed him a hot iron. He swallows it and dies.

A lazy man goes to cut bamboo, and a cat steals his cooked rice. He catches the cat in a trap and takes it home. It becomes a fighting cock. The man starts for a cock fight, and on the way is joined by a crocodile, a deer, a mound of earth and a monkey. The rooster kills all the other birds at the fight, then the crocodile wins a diving contest, the deer a race, the mound of earth a wrestling match, and the monkey excels all in climbing. The man wins much money in wagers and buys a good house.

A spirit lets a man take his _poncho_ which makes him invisible. He goes to his wife who recognizes his voice and thinks him dead. He takes off _poncho_ and appears before her.

A fisherman is seized by a big bird which carries him to its nest. The small birds try to eat him, but he seizes one in each hand and jumps from the tree. He reaches the ground unhurt and returns home.

NOTES

[1] Men or women through whom the superior beings talk to mortals. During ceremonies the spirits possess their bodies and govern their language and actions. When not engaged in their calling, the mediums take part in the daily activities of the village.

[2] See page 29.

[3] The initial portion of some of these names is derived from the respectful term _apo_--"sir," and the attributive copulate _ni_; thus the original form of Aponitolau probably was Apo ni Tolau, literally "Sir, who is Tolau." However, the story-tellers do not now appear to divide the names into their component parts, and they frequently corrected the writer when he did so; for this reason such names appear in the text as single words. Following this explanation it is possible that the name Aponibolinayen may be derived from Apo ni bolan yan, literally "Sir (mistress) who is place where the moon"; but _bolan_ generally refers to the space of time between the phases of the moon rather than to the moon itself. The proper term for moon is _sinag_, which we have seen is the mother of Gaygayóma--a star,--and is clearly differentiated from Aponibolinayen.

[4] [male]--male. [female]--female.

[5] Occasionally the storytellers become confused and give Pagbokásan as the father of Aponitolau.

[6] The town of Natpangán is several times mentioned as though it was the same as Kaodanan.

[7] Only the most important references found in the texts are given here. For a fuller list see the index.

[8] The only possible exception to this statement is the mention of a carabao sled on p. 150, and of Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen riding on a carabao p. 51.

[9] A term applied to any of the wilder head-hunting tribes.

[10] Ladders are placed on each side of the town gate and are inclined toward one another until they meet at the top. Returning warriors enter the village by climbing up the one and descending the other, never through the gate.

[11] Copper gongs.

[12] Sharpened bamboo poles which pass through the foramen magnum.

[13] This poison is placed in the food or drink. The use of poisoned darts or arrows seems never to have been known to this people.

[14] A similar custom is found among the Kayan of Borneo. See _Hose_ and _McDougall_, Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Vol. II, p. 171 (London, 1912).

[15] In this dance a man and a woman enter the circle, each holding a cloth. Keeping time to the music, they approach each other with almost imperceptible movements of feet and toes, and a bending at the knees, meanwhile changing the position of the cloths. This is varied from time to time by a few quick, high steps. For fuller description see article by author in _Philippine Journal of Science_, Vol. III, No. 4, 1908, p. 208.

[16] The custom was formerly practised by the Ilocano. See _Reyes_, Folklore Filipino, p. 126 (Manila, 1899).

[17] See _Philippine Journal of Science_, Vol. III, No. 4, 1908, pp. 206, ff.

[18] The Tinguian do not have a classificatory system of relationship terms. The term _kasinsin_ is applied alike to the children of mother's and father's brothers and sisters.

[19] A sacred dance in which a number of men and women take part. It takes place only at night and is accompanied by the singing of the

## participants.

[20] The night preceding the greatest day of the _Sayang_ ceremony.

[21] Runo, a reed.

[22] See p. 11, note 3.

[23] A short ceremony held for the cure of fever and minor ills. It also forms a part of the more extensive rites.

[24] A sugar-cane rum.

[25] See p. 10, note 1.

[26] Lesser spirits.

[27] Like ideas occur in the folktales of British North Borneo. See _Evans_, _Journal Royal Anthro. Inst_., Vol. XLIII, 1913, p. 444.

[28] In various guises the same conception is found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Malaysia. See Cox, An Introduction to Folklore, p. 121 (London, 1904).--In an Igorot tale the owner captures and marries the star maiden, who is stealing his rice. _Seidenadel_, The Language of the Bontoc Igorot, p. 491 ff. (Chicago, 1909).

[29] The Dusun of Borneo have tales of talking jars. _Evans_, _Journal Royal Anthro. Inst_., Vol. XLIII, 1913, pp. 426-427. See also _Cole_ and _Laufer_, Chinese Pottery in the Philippines (_Pub. Field Museum of Nat. Hist_., Vol. XII, No. 1, p. 11 ff., 1912).

[30] _Piper sp_.

[31] Bagobo tales relate that in the beginning plants, animals, and rocks could talk with mortals. See _Benedict_, _Journal American Folklore_, Vol. XXVI, 1913, p. 21.

[32] Tales of animals who assist mortals are found in all lands; perhaps the best known to European readers is that of the ants which sorted the grain for Cinderella. See also _Evans_, _Jour. Royal Anthro. Inst.,_ Vol. XLIII, 1913, p. 467, for Borneo; _Tawney's_ Kathá Sarit Ságara, pp. 361 ff., Calcutta, 1880, for India.

[33] Fabulous birds of gigantic size, often known under the Indian term _garuda_, play an important part in the beliefs of the Peninsular Malays.

[34] A similiar incident is cited by _Bezemer_ (Volksdichtung aus Indonesien). See also the Bagobo tale of the Kingfisher (_Benedict_, _Jour. American Folklore_, Vol. XXVI, 1913, p. 53).

[35] The magic flight has been encountered in the most widely separated parts of the globe, as, for instance, India and America. See _Tawney_, Kathá Sarit Ságara, pp. 361, 367 ff. and notes, (Calcutta, 1880); _Waterman_, _Jour. American Folklore,_ Vol. XXVII, 1914, p. 46; _Reinhold Köhler_, Kleinere Schriften, Vol. I, pp. 171, 388.

[36] In the Dayak legend of Limbang, a tree springs from the head of a dead giant; its flowers turn to beads; its leaves to cloth; the ripe fruit to jars. See _H. Ling Roth_, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 372.

[37] Similar incidents are to be found among the Ilocano and Igorot; in Borneo; in Java and India. See _Reyes_, Folklore Filipino, p. 34, (Manila, 1889); _Jenks_, The Bontoc Igorot, p. 202, (Manila, 1905); _Seidenadel_, The Language of the Bontoc Igorot, p. 491, 541, ff, (Chicago, 1909); _Evans_, _Journal Royal Anthro. Inst_., Vol. XLIII, 1913, p. 462; _Ling Roth_, Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 319; _Tawney_, Kathá Sarit Ságara, Vol. II, p. 3, (Calcutta, 1880); _Bezemer_, Volksdichtung aus Indonesien, p. 49, (Haag, 1904).

[38] This peculiar expression while frequently used is not fully understood by the story tellers who in place of the word "whip" occasionally use "make." In one text which describes the _Sayang_ ceremony, I find the following sentence, which may help us to understand the foregoing: "We go to make perfume at the edge of the town, and the things which we take, which are our perfume, are the leaves of trees and some others; it is the perfume for the people, which we give to them, which we go to break off the trees at the edge of the town." Again in tale 20, Kanag breaks the perfume of Baliwán off a tree.--The use of sweetly scented oil, in raising the dead, is found in Dayak legends. See _Ling Roth_, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 314.

[39] According to a Jakun legend, the first children were produced out of the calves of their mothers' legs. _Skeat_ and _Blagden_, Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, Vol. II, p. 185.--A creation tale from Mangaia relates that the boy Rongo came from a boil on his mother's arm when it was pressed. _Gill_, Myths and Songs of the South Pacific, p. 10 (London, 1876).

[40] This power of transforming themselves into animals and the like is a common possession among the heroes of Dayak and Malay tales. See _Ling Roth_, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 312; _Perham_, _Journal Straits Branch R., Asiatic Society_, No. 16, 1886; _Wilkinson_, Malay Beliefs, pp. 32, 59 (London, 1906).

[41] The present day Tinguian attach much importance to these omens. The gall and liver of the slaughtered animal are carefully examined. If the fluid in the gall sack is exceedingly bitter, the inquirer is certain to be successful; if it is mild he had best defer his project. Certain lines and spots found on the liver foretell disaster, while a normal organ assures success. See also _Hose_ and _McDougall_, Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Vol. II, p. 60 ff.

[42] See p. 24, note 1.

[43] The present capital of Ilocos Sur.

[44] See p. 10, note 1.

[45] _Barrows_, Census of the Philippine Islands, Vol. I, pp. 456 ff., 1903.

[46] Paul P. de La Gironiere, who visited the Tinguian in the early part of the nineteenth century, describes these ornaments as follows: "Their heads were ornamented with pearls, coral beads, and pieces of gold twisted among their hair; the upper parts of the hands were painted blue; wrists adorned with interwoven bracelets, spangled with glass beads; these bracelets reached the elbow and formed a kind of half-plaited sleeve." _La Gironiere_, Twenty Years in the Philippines, pp. 108 ff.

[47] See _Cole_ and _Laufer_, Chinese Pottery in the Philippines (_Pub. Field Museum of Natural History_, Vol. XII, No. 1).

[48] This is entirely in agreement with Chinese records. The Islands always appeared to the Chinese as an Eldorado desirable for its gold and pearls.

[49] See p. 21, note 1.

[50] See p. 10, note 1.

[51] A bamboo pole, about ten feet long, one end of which is slit into several strips; these are forced apart and are interwoven with other strips, thus forming a sort of basket.

[52] See _Cole_, Distribution of the Non-Christian Tribes of Northwestern Luzon (_American Anthropologist_, Vol. II, No. 3, 1909, pp. 340, 341).

[53] See p. 12.

[54] See p. 13, note 5.

[55] Among the Ifugao, the lowest of the four layers or strata which overhang the earth is known as Kabuniyan. See _Beyer_, _Philippine Journal of Science_, Vol. VIII, 1913, No. 2, p. 98.

[56] See p. 11.

[57] An Ifugao myth gives sanction to the marriage of brother and sister under certain circumstances, although it is prohibited in every day life. _Beyer_, _Philippine Journal of Science_, Vol. VIII, 1913, No. 2, pp. 100 ff.

[58] As opposed to the spirit mate of Aponitolau.