H. Otley Beyer

“ Beliefs as to the origin of the earth, and of the men, animals, plants, and various topographical features found in it, seem to survive with greater persistence than any other trait of primitive culture. These beliefs lie at the base of nearly all religions, and the myths in which the beliefs are preserved are the foundation of literature. The preservation and study of origin myths is, therefore, of much importance in the reconstruction of the history of mankind which is the chief aim of anthropology. ”

“ Therefore, all beneficent female deities are called Búgan, which is also the most common name among Ifugao women. When a man wishes to praise his wife, he speaks of her as Búgan-ko (my Búgan) , and when a young man goes courting he often speaks of it as mum-Búgan (searching for a Búgan) . Light, fleecy clouds, high in the sky, are often called “the wavy hair of Búgan.” Such poetic usages are almost innumerable. It is an interesting conception, and is one of the proofs of Ifugao æsthetic development. ”

“ The peoples of the Philippines have a rich and varied mythology as yet but little explored, but which will one day command much attention. Among the Christianized peoples of the plains the myths are preserved chiefly as folk tales, but in the mountains their recitation and preservation is a real and living part of the daily religious life of the people. ”

“ Another version of the creation, prevalent among the Manóbos of the Argauan and Híbun͠g Rivers, gives the control of the world to Dágau, who lives at the four fundamental pillars in the company of a python. Being a woman, Dágau dislikes the sight of human blood, and when it is spilled upon the face of the earth she incites the huge serpent to wreathe itself around the pillars and shake the world to its foundations. Should she become exceedingly angry, she diminishes the supply of rice either by removing it from the granary or by making the soil unproductive. ”

“ The interior of Mindanao is occupied by some ten pagan tribes, the most important being the Manóbos, Mandayas, Atás, Bagóbos, Biláns, Tirurais, and Subánuns. These tribes are all remarkably alike in culture; much more so, in fact, than any other similar group of peoples in the Philippines; and this culture shows a close resemblance to that of the tribes in the interior of Borneo. In the development of their myths and of their religious beliefs, these peoples occupy a middle position between the more primitive and the highest developed types of the Philippines. ”

“ They dance and call out thus for a little space, saying many things between themselves to the sun. She with the kerchief takes the other standard, and lets the kerchief drop, and both blowing on their trumpets for a long time, dance about the bound hog. She with the horns always speaks covertly to the sun, and the other answers her. A cup of wine is presented to her of the horns, and she dancing and repeating certain words, while the other answers her, and making pretense four or five times of drinking the wine, sprinkles it upon the heart of the hog. ”

“ It is therefore the largest layer, and the layers of the Sky World and Under World grow successively smaller as they approach the zenith and nadir of the celestial globe, the boundary of the universe.34
The inhabitants of the universe consist chiefly of an incalculable number of greater and lesser deities and spirits.35 In addition to these, there are the souls of men, animals, and plants. [100] They have always existed in the various regions of the universe, and were brought to the Earth World by the gods. Men are descended from the gods of the Sky World, as we shall see in the myths. ”

“ They are divided into a large number of hereditary clans, each of which has its own social and political organization. They are an agricultural people, and have developed their great stone-faced terraced rice fields to an extent probably not equaled elsewhere in the world. I do not believe that the physical type, language, or culture of these people is wholly a native development. The evidence seems to indicate that the present-day Ifugaos are the result of mixture, perhaps one or more thousand years ago, of several widely different native types with an incoming people of high culture. ”

“ Then Wígan said: “The sacrifice is not great enough, for the gods do not hear! Take your brother Igon, who has no wife, and sacrifice him!” So they bound Igon, and sacrificed him, and called upon the gods. And Maknón͠gan came, and all the other great gods, to the feast. And they took away the sickness, and filled the granaries with rice, and increased the chickens, the pigs, and the children. Then Maknón͠gan said to the people: “It is well, but you have committed an evil in spilling human blood and have thereby brought war and fighting into the world. ”

“ The great nature deities are mostly of malevolent character, and are much feared. Ancestral souls and the souls of sacred animals are looked upon as mediators between gods and men. Pigs and chickens are sacrificed to the deities, and other articles of food and drink are provided for them. Many elaborate religious feasts and ceremonies are held at which priests officiate. The priests form a well-defined class, and in some districts there are also priestesses. A religious ceremony is required for every important act of life, and the priests and priestesses are usually busy people. ”

“ One more type of Ifugao origin myth merits our attention before we come to the conclusion. This type consists of the myths invented to explain the origin of the ancient Chinese jars, bronze gongs, amber-agate beads, and other rare articles of foreign manufacture on which the Ifugaos place a high value, and the origin of which they do not know. Many of these objects have been in the possession of the people for at least several hundred years. ”

“ The Igorots have both priests and priestesses, and they perform many public and private ceremonies, both for the benefit of the great deities and for the countless minor spirits which inhabit the sacred mountains, cliffs, groves, trees, and bushes that are scattered throughout the Igorot country. Sacrifices of pigs or chickens are made at every ceremony. The ceremonies of the common people are more or less of a private nature, but those of the aristocracy and of wealthy men are nearly always public and general. ”

“ The Bontoks have hundreds of myths and stories about Lumáwig, who corresponds to the Ifugao Líddum, who is the good god who gave men fire, animals, plants, and all the useful and necessary articles of daily life. ”

“ Upon seeing him Búgan exclaimed: “Oh! the poor man! and how unfortunate!” And, hiding the occurrence from Habiátan, she determined to return to her sky region of Luktág in order to manifest to her father, Hinumbían, that it was her desire to descend to the Earth World in order to get married with that poor Ifugao.
The paternal permission having been obtained, she made ready the necessary provisions—consisting of a vessel of cooked rice and a clout (or bahág) . In this fashion she proceeded to Kin͠ggáuan’s hut and entered it, saying: “Who is the owner of this hut?” ”

“ These myths are of great value, and it is to be hoped that a full collection of them will some day be made.
The Bontok religion is, on the whole, somewhat less developed than that of the Igorots and Ifugaos. The same general beliefs are held, however, and the ceremonial life is similar. Priests are the rule, rather than priestesses; and the same sacred animals are used, as in the other areas. In the social organization, the clan system is in a more perfect state of development than among any other people in the Philippines. ”

“ Some of the myths are sung or chanted only, while others are repeated in the form of stories. In nearly every case, the repeating of the myths forms an important part of the religious ceremonies of the people. Many different grades of culture are represented among these mountain peoples, and we find a correspondingly unequal development of their mythologies. All classes are represented: primitive, such as the beliefs of the Man͠gyans of Mindoro, the Tagbanwas of Palawan, and the Ilongots of northern Luzon; mediocre, as the beliefs of the pagan tribes of Mindanao ”

“ John M. Garvan has recently completed a very extensive study of the Manóbo peoples of the Agúsan Valley, in eastern Mindanao, and the following beliefs and myths are quoted from his unpublished notes.
Origin of the Earth and its Inhabitants
The story of the creation of the world is variable throughout the whole Agúsan Valley. In the district surrounding Talakógon, the creation is attributed to Makalídun͠g, the first great Manóbo. The details of his great work are very meager. ”

“ If he had died before his wife, he married again, selecting a partner from among the wives who had preceded their husbands; but if husband and wife chanced to die at the same time, they remarried in the world below. ”

“ The eels are fed every day with rice and sweet potatoes by the children of the village, who, as they approach the lakelet, sing a peculiarly sweet and mournful song, upon hearing which the eels all rise to the surface of the water and approach the shore to receive their food. ”

“ The people of the latter area think of the universe as being composed of a large number of horizontal layers which are very similar one to the other. The upper face of each of these layers is of earth, while the [99] lower face of each of them is of a smooth blue stone called múlin͠g.31 The layer on which we live is called the Earth World (Lúta) . The four layers above us constitute the Sky World (Dáya) , and are called, in order from the top down, Húdog, Luktág, Hubulán, and Kabúnian. ”

“ The said Dologdógan had gone to Hubulán to marry another Búgan. The first Búgan, daughter of Hinumbían, had been advised to marry in Luktág, but she did not wish to do so, and so they told her to go off and divert herself in Hubulán. Having settled down in this sky region, her uncles advised her to get married there, but neither did she wish this. In view of her attitude on this question, Dologdógan exhorted her to descend to Kabúnian, and go to take her abode in the house of Líddum her relative and the son of Amgalín͠gan. ”

“ The sun, moon, and stars are great deities, or the dwelling place of such deities, in nearly all Philippine religions. The following Manóbo myth is interesting because of its resemblance to others from northern Luzon. ”

“ Then they divest themselves and go to eat the contents of those dishes, and they invite only women (to eat with them) . The hair is removed from the hog by means of fire. Thus no one but old women consecrate the flesh of the hog, and they do not eat it unless it is killed in this way.
This ceremony, almost the same as described by Pigafetta, is in use among the Ifugaos to-day, although it is performed by men instead of by women and differs in a few minor details.
I shall next discuss the religion and mythology of the Igorots, Bontoks, and Ifugaos, treated separately and in more detail. ”

“ Kián͠gan myths are nearly always told from the standpoint of the gods, and have to do with the dealings of the gods with one another and with men. On the other hand, Central Ifugao myths are told from the standpoint of men in their relations and dealings with the gods. ”

“ The surprised man expressed to her his astonishment, saying: “Why dost thou approach here, knowing that the appearance of a woman, when men are engaged in such an occupation, is of evil omen for the hunt?”56 And she replied to him: “By no means shall it come to pass as thou thinkest, but, on the contrary, thou shalt be extremely lucky in it. ”

“ But if they do not approach them, it is a sign that it will go well with them in that place; that the soil will be productive, and that they will be happy.”
IV
The journey to Ifugao land from the East.—Upon the return of Muntálog, at the termination of the fourth day, he said to Búgan and Kabigát: “Now ye can go but let N͠gílîn and Ambúmabbákal accompany [103] you as far as the house of Lin͠gan,42 in order that there they may make the cloth or clothes necessary for wrapping the child according to the usage of the Earth World.” ”

“ Water is found at the base of the mountains but not at their summits!” But Ihîk kept on importuning them. At last, when they were in the middle of their ascent, they came to an enormous rock. Balitúk struck the rock with his spear, and instantly there burst forth a large jet of water.
Ihîk desired to drink first but they deterred him, saying: “It is not just that thou shouldst drink first, being the last born of us brothers!” Then Kabigát drank, and afterwards Balitúk. Just as Ihîk was about to do so, Balitúk seized him and shoved the whole of his head under the rock, adding: “Drink! ”

“ To their minds it has always existed and will always continue to exist. ↑
35 In the three previously mentioned manuscripts on the Ifugao religion, between two and three thousand deities are spoken of by name, and this is only a fraction of the number known to the Ifugaos. Of course, only a few of them are really great deities, but even such may be counted by hundreds. Of the very diverse and all-inclusive character of these deities, no accurate idea can be given within the brief limits of this paper. Suffice it to say there are gods of war, of industry (such as weaving, metal-working, etc.) ”

“ The above myth may well have been invented by some man who, unknown to his relatives and friends, wandered across [116] the mountains into Lepanto or Benguet and returned after four years with the jars in question. Hundreds of myths and legends of this type are current among the Ifugaos.
No representative collection of Philippine myths has yet been made, and the present paper can only be considered a beginning. I hope to be able to continue the work. [117] ”