C. R. Moss

“ The Kankanay pay even more attention to omens in connection with rituals or in their ordinary occupations than do the Nabaloi. Snakes, lizards, or certain birds crossing the roads are omens of bad luck. If anything falls, if a rock becomes detached and rolls down the hill, or a person stumbles, some calamity is sure to follow unless it can be averted by means of ceremonies. ”

“ The order of inheritance is the same, and the general principle that property must go to the next generation and that parents, brothers, and uncles can hold it in trust only, applies to the southern Kankanay as well as to the Nabaloi. Another principle of common application by the two tribes is that all relatives of the same degree, whether male or female, inherit equally. ”

“ Each household must furnish a hog or chicken and a jar of tapuy. The mambunong holds a separate ceremony at each house, and prays to the gods and spirits asking that the yield may be sufficient for the people and that there may be enough surplus with which to celebrate many ceremonies.
After the ceremony has been held at each house, the meat and tapuy are taken to one place. The men proceed to drink the tapuy, [376] but the meat is divided among the people according to the number in each family. The part which can not be eaten is hung above the fire and dried. ”

“ The kiad is a ceremony celebrated by the Kankanay of Kapangan and Kibungan to cure sickness inflicted upon the wealthy by the souls of their dead relatives.
A carabao, a cow, or a horse may be killed when the kiad is celebrated.
The people first take a jar of tapuy to the grave of that dead relative of the sick person who is indicated by the anap as having caused the sickness. ”

“ What we feed increase, so that there will be celebrations of ceremonies again. Cause our chickens also to live to be for keeping us alive. Make what we plant also to live; beans to live; camotes to live; to be for keeping us alive. Make what we plant, also, pineapples and coffee, to have much fruit, so that we may have it to sell, that we may have something with which to buy blankets.
The hogs were then killed, and after the meat was cooked the same prayer was repeated. ”

“ Sacred songs form a part of the worship in connection with the Kankanay mandit, palis, tamo, and bindian. The badio, which is an extemporaneous chant similar to the badio of the Nabaloi, is always sung in connection with all ceremonies if there is sufficient tapuy on which to become intoxicated, but it is not regarded as a part of the worship. ”

“ In personal appearance the majority of the Kankanay are very similar to the Nabaloi except for the fact that they have hardly benefited as much through contact with the outside world. Except in the case of those who live near the sub-province of Bontoc, it is rather difficult to distinguish a Kankanay man from a Nabaloi. ”

“ Long ago the gods came to the earth, but there were no people. They said, “It is good if there are people. We will make a man and a woman.” They took some earth and made two people and stood them up. They plucked the feathers from a chicken and made it jump, saying, “We shall make them laugh so that they will be alive.” Then one of the people laughed. He became a man. The other heard the first and laughed also, and became a woman.
1 The first and fourth myths were recorded in Kibungan, the second in Kapangan, the third in Legleg. ”

“ Soul of the dead relative, come and eat with us.
After the people have eaten, the mambunong shakes the two blankets to be used by the dancers, in order that he may shake out the spirits of the blankets for the dead relative. While doing this he says the following:
Bomaknangkami, onmandokami, ta waday kadayyawanmo.
May we be rich, may we live long, so that there is your remembrance.
The people then spend the rest of the day dancing and drinking tapuy.
The ceremony is entirely different from the kiad of the Nabaloi. It corresponds in purpose and occasion to the Nabaloi tabwak. ”

“ As soon as the prayer has been finished, the people present sing the angba, a song in which the deities are called by name and asked to witness the palis.
One man then dances and waves a spear as if he were attacking an enemy, while some of the people keep time by beating together wooden sticks.
The palis is celebrated by the Nabaloi and the Lepanto Kankanay. The ceremony, or its equivalent, is probably celebrated by all Igorot tribes, since a belief in witchcraft is prevalent throughout their territory. ”

“ However, there is a difference in the purpose for which the Nabaloi and the Kankanay of Kibungan and surrounding towns celebrate this ceremony. In Kibungan it is given neither to cure nor to prevent sickness, but only to cause the person celebrating it to become rich and to be honored by the people. In the Kankanay town of Buguias it is celebrated to cure or prevent sickness as well as to enhance the prestige and to increase the wealth of the giver. ”

“ Growing fat are your pigs, increasing in number are your chickens.
Admit you will mourn the death of the giver of this ritual.
If you live, do it again in the future
That we may increase.
Came down Angtan; his blankets were those of a rich man.
The greatest of all the rich men brought down your hogs,
Singing the bayog.
After singing the bayog, the people danced and drank tapuy until noon, when twelve hogs which were to be killed were tied and put in a row in front of the house. Just before the first hog was killed the mambunong prayed the prayer which is called batbat in Kibungan. ”

“ The interval between the death and the burial varies according to the wealth of the deceased, sometimes lasting for months in the case of the very wealthy. Even when the health authorities force immediate burial on account of danger from infectious diseases, the siling continues just the same with a dummy corpse in the death chair. ”

“ An animal, generally a cow, is killed and tapuy is furnished, but there is no spoken ritual.
The Nabaloi custom of betrothal is the same, and the same ceremony is celebrated.
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Galon
The betrothal ceremony celebrated by the young people themselves without the intervention of their parents is called galon. It is held only in the instances where there has been no gaysing, or where the parties for whom the gaysing has been celebrated refuse to marry. Except in the case of the rich, refusal to marry is rare, since the one who refuses must pay all expenses incurred for the gaysing. ”

“ An egg is stood on end on the ground, the rituals are named, and the one to be given is determined by the falling of the egg. This corresponds to the buyon of the Nabaloi, except that the latter use a stick instead of an egg.
The examination of the gall of a chicken is used to determine whether or not one will be lucky in doing a certain thing, or whether a sick person will recover. This divination is called manman. ”

“ They came to have the divination ceremony held, because their wives do not have children and they get sick when they have their menses.” Then the Sun asked Apinan and Bintauan, “Why did you come?” “We came to have the divination ceremony celebrated.” Then the Sun said, “Go home and celebrate the pasang, and you will have children.”
They went home and did so and had children, and their wives were not sick when they had their menses.
There is no dancing in connection with this ceremony in the western Benguet Kankanay towns, but in Buguias the wife and husband dance. ”

“ One of the primary objects of the gaysing is to cement friendship between the parents, and it is frequently held after they have quarreled and pressure has been brought to bear to cause them to become friendly again. ”

“ The typical dances of the Nabaloi and the Kankanay are very similar, but this can not be stated of the dances of any of the other Igorot tribes. The Bontoc, Ifugao, Apayao, and Kalinga dances all differ considerably, and even the most common dances in various towns of the same tribe differ to such an extent that an inhabitant of one town can not take part in a dance of another. ”

“ The dance is the same as the tayau of the Nabaloi except that the Kankanay dance to faster time. The time is faster among the northern than among the southern Kankanay.
While the dance is in progress the mambunong shouts the following at intervals of about ten minutes to the man who is dancing:
Baliwatak sika; matagoga, maganakka; bomaknangka; bomaknang abū tomoi mansīda; bamaknang abū babayī manadong tauwadi, kasinsinopantaka si oaoay.
I give you this blessing: may you live long, may you have children; may you be rich; may the giver of this ceremony also be rich ”

“ Cause me to live also until my hair is white.
While this ceremony corresponds in general to the Nabaloi pachit, the song and prayer are entirely different. In the pachit the prayer is addressed principally to the souls of dead relatives, while in the mandit the hero deities are addressed. The prayer and song resemble more closely those for the Nabaloi bindayan than those for the pachit. It is not improbable that when the bindayan or its equivalent became obsolete among the Kibungan Kankanay, a part of it was incorporated in other rituals. ”

“ The mambunong puts a basket full of blankets on his head, holds a chicken in one hand, and while squatting beside the tapuy and rice says the following:
Usay agou ud nabaon, din dagum ya din kimat nanbatbatda isan mabilig. Kinwanin kanon, dagum un, “Wawadaak mo si sīka.” Tūmba pay, kano, si kimat, “Wawadaak mo si sīka, tan mo kanuk sikayi, pantaoliuk ut matagua loman. Mo si sīka payut mo waday kanun yan matui.” Asī abun kanon dugum un, “Mo sakun kanuk yan matagua loman.” ”

“ Binmali ut, kano, abū san ūsay ipūgau ay mandada di matana mayatag kaduna. “Sinoi gapona si inmalianyo?” “Inkami manpaanap tan mo manowas san asauwami ya mansakīt ya adīkami mananak.” “Adī pay, amok di anap, ut amui kayo ūnda agou un Boan tan daeda dimangamo si anap.”
Amuida ut, kano, ingilada di mantumtumog san dūa ay kaman būui ay bato ay kalimlimosan si danom. Amugyapda, kano, ay amui ut impaononada san asoda. Ilanda ut, kano, nabasil. Ungayan omonodda si asoda. Mabas ilda ut diay nayapapa ut tagui, yan wada san adado ay buui ay nanataatang. ”

“ The women of the two tribes are easily distinguished by a difference in dress, since the Kankanay women wear a waist instead of a jacket, and a plain skirt instead of the kind with the folded effect worn by the Nabaloi. ”

“ The southern Kankanay and the Nabaloi also have similar customs in regard to marriage, and children are betrothed by their parents in the same way. Among the northern Kankanay the young people choose their own spouses as they do in Bontoc. ”

“ The Origin of Man
Id nabaon ginmosad si kabūnian sinan lota, mo’n iwud di ifūgau. Sīa kinwanida, “Maptung mo waday ifūgau. Takosamopoa si lalaki īga babayī.” Eda inoma si lota ut sinmapo si dūa ay sinan ifūgau ut pimatakdugna. Dinkingpas manok asīna panglagtoan kinwanida, “Pansiakak eda ta matagoda.” Ut īsa sinan ifūgau naysiak. Sīa nanbalin si lalaki. ”

“ The owner holds the chicken or dried meat in one hand and prays that the rice to be harvested may increase to an amount sufficient to last until the next harvest, and promises that a large part of it will be used for ceremonies. ”

“ You, the stick, are swung so that we shall live long and become rich, so that we shall live long, so that our legs shall be as horn, so that we shall have many children, much money, and many cattle grazing.
The prayer recorded above is used in Legleg and all the other Kankanay barrios of Kapangan, but in Kibungan the prayer recorded under the mandit is also used for batbat. ”

“ Except in the case of infants or very small children the dead are not buried immediately, but are put into a death chair around which funeral rites are held. In the meantime animals belonging to the dead person or his relatives are killed and eaten, while the burial is delayed. ”

“ Mo mansamakmi, abu, si pina, ya kapi adadoi bagasna, ta waday ilaukami, ta waday iami sigalimi.
Lumawig and Kabigat, Pati, Soyaan, Amdoyan, Wigan, Bintauan, Bangan, Bogan, Obongan, Obung, Laongan, Singan, Maodi, Kolan, Moan, Angtan, Gatan, Angban, Mantalau, Balitok; we are giving this to you that we may live long. Work for us to become rich so that while we live there will be the giving of meat [357] to us by our companions; so that you the gods will have things given to you; so that our children will have life ”

“ In the Kankanay towns from one to twelve hogs may be used for this ceremony. The number varies according to the wealth of the giver. Unlike the Nabaloi they do not pretend to deceive the spirits by tying hogs which are not to be killed. The following story regarding this difference was related in Legleg,2 a barrio of Kapangan:
Ud nabaon si Lūmawig winatwatun ifūgau gūdū ta siay adūūm si okana. Gomosad pay sin kayilokoan, ay mankadū si gūdū adīda donongun. Isakayatna pay sin Nabaloi; inamtada di nangia si esa ay yatdaum adadū di indawatna. Sin nangi bagaana sin Kankanay pay yaanda si adadū. ”