Tinguian people

“ We believe that we are justified when we take the viewpoint of the Tinguian and consider "the stories of the first times" as essentially very old. How old it is impossible to state definitely, but a careful analysis of our material justifies us in believing that they reflect a time before the people possessed terraced rice fields, when domestic work animals were still unknown, and the horse had not yet been introduced into their land. ”

“ If the foregoing sketch is correct, as I believe the data which follow prove it to be, we find in the Tinguian of to-day a people living much the same sort of life as did the members of the more advanced groups at the time of the Spanish invasion, and we can study in them early Philippine society stripped of its European veneer. ”

“ They may possess property, and their children may become leaders in Tinguian society.
The only group which is sharply separated from the mass is composed of the mediums, and they are distinctive only during the ceremonial periods. At other times they are treated in all respects as other members of the community.
On three occasions the writer has found men dressing like women, doing women's work, and spending their time with members of that sex. Information concerning these individuals has always come by accident, the people seeming to be exceedingly reticent to talk about them. ”

“ At all ages the people will discard their clothing without any sense of shame, whenever the occasion demands; as, for instance, the fording of a stream, or when a number of both sexes happen to be bathing at the same time in the village pool. This does not lead to immodesty or lewdness, and a person who is careless about the acts, which are not considered proper in Tinguian society, is an object of scorn quite as much as he would be in a more advanced community.
The first toys generally consist of pigs, carabao, or horses made by sticking bamboo legs into a sweet potato or mango. ”

“ In the second wave series we find the Apayo, the western division at least of the people known as Kalinga, the Tinguian, and Ilocano.2 In none of these groups do we find the institutions just mentioned. Trial unions are unknown, and marriage restrictions are based solely on blood relationship; government is through the headman aided by the elders of his village, or is a pure democracy. Considerable variation exists between the dwellings of these four peoples, yet they conform to a general type which is radically different from that of the Igorot. ”

“ When they arrived in Sinalang town, they left their raft in the river and went up in the town. When they reached the town, every person went to them to give their regards. Tagápen and his wife with her son stayed in a little house we call balaua; they lived there teaching many dalengs75 and bagayos75 of the Tinguian people. Page 195
1 This dīam is recited by the medium when the spirit house known as balaua is built. ”

“ We have in northern Luzon a situation similar to that found throughout the archipelago, namely, that the most flourishing smithies are usually those farthest removed from the coast traders. Where communication is easy and trade unrestricted, the native industry has vanished, or is on the wane. To-day the forges of the Bontoc Igorot, of the Tinguian-Kalinga border villages, and of Apayao, are turning out superior weapons, but elsewhere in the northwestern districts the pagan people have either lost the art, or make only very inferior articles. ”

“ In the very old times the Tinguian did not know how to plant and harvest as they now do. For food they had only the things that grew in the forests and fish from the streams. Neither did they know how to cure people who became ill or were injured by evil spirits, and many died who might otherwise have lived.75
Then Kadaklan, the Great Spirit who lives in the sky, saw that the people often were hungry and sick, and he sent one of his servants, Kaboniyan, to the earth to teach them many things. And it happened this way:
Dayapan, a woman who lived in Caalang, had been sick for seven years. ”

“ The Ceremonies A visitor, who enters the Tinguian territory in the period following the rice-harvest, quickly gains the impression that the ceremonial life of this people is dominant. In nearly every village, he finds one or more ceremonies in progress, while work is almost forgotten. This condition exists until the coming of the rains in May, when all is changed. Men and women go to the fields before daybreak, and return only when darkness forces them to cease their toil. ”

“ They cannot now bring a dead person to life, or create human beings out of bits of betel-nut; but they can and do cause sickness and death to their foes by performing certain rites or directing actions against garments or other objects recently in their possession. Even the name of an enemy can be applied to an animal or inanimate object and action against it be transferred to the owner.
Like the Tinguian, the people of Kadalayapan and Kaodanan are warned or encouraged by omens received through the medium of birds, thunder, lightning, or the condition of the gall and liver of a slaughtered pig ”

“ There seems to be no idea here of eating the brains of the slain as food. They are consumed solely to secure a part of their valor, an idea widespread among the tribes of Mindanao.5 The writer does not believe that any people of the Philippines indulges in cannibalism, if that term is used to signify the eating of human flesh as food. Several, like the Tinguian, have or still do eat a portion of the brain, the heart or liver of brave warriors, but always, it appears, with the idea of gaining the valor, or other desirable qualities of the victims. ”

“ The Christianized natives have less of the realistic, a greater variety of geometrical designs, and a greater fondness for bright colors, made possible by the use of analine dyes, than the mountaineers.
It seems probable that the Tinguian-Ilocano peoples brought the weaving industry with them into northern Luzon, that the Ilocano branch has borrowed improved methods of manufacture, as well as decorative motives from the people with whom they have been in contact through trade. ”

“ In many of them the chief incidents are identical with those found elsewhere, but the story-tellers, by introducing old customs and beliefs, have moulded and colored them until they reflect the common ideas of the Tinguian.
The third group includes stories from several wild tribes who dwell in the large island of Mindanao. [ix] Here are people who work in brass and steel, build good dwellings, and wear hemp clothing elaborately decorated with beads, shell disks, and embroidery, but who still practice many savage customs, including slavery and human sacrifice. ”

“ They are as large as people, but have wings and can fly. Their toes are at the back of their feet, and their fingers point backward from their wrists.
83 The name by which spirits call human beings.
84 This treatment of the Alan is typical of that accorded to the less powerful of the spirits by the Tinguian today. At the ceremonies they often make fun of them and cheat them in the sacrifices.
85 Known to the Tinguian as Banog. This bird occupies much the same place with the Tinguian as does the garuda in East Indian folk-lore. ”

“ In some towns the spirits are summoned at different times during the ceremony, as in Tangpap.
40 See under Idasan, p. 309.
Social Organization. Government. The Village The village is the social unit within which there are no clans, no political, or other divisions. The Tinguian are familiar with the Igorot town, made up of several ato1 but there is no indication that they have ever had such an institution.
The head of the village is known as lakay. He is usually a man past middle age whose wealth and superior knowledge have given him the confidence of his people. ”

“ Lingīwan and Aponībolinayen had their golden house, which the alan had given them. The people agreed on how much they should pay for the pakálon, and Pagatipánan and Langa-an said, “Pay just the same as we paid for Aponībolinayen when Lingīwan married her.” “If that is what you say, it is all right,” they said. And Ebang used magic so that the balaua was five times full of jars which are malayo, tadogan, and ginlasan. So the balaua was filled five times, and each of the relatives who went to attend the pakálon took some jars. ”

“ They cut and chewed the betel-nut. As soon as they chewed they found that they were relatives. “My name is Lingīwan of Nagtangpan.” “My name is Dangdangáyan of Naglitnan. Let us go together when we go to fight.” After that they went. When they truly arrived they looked into the town, they saw the two women who looked like flames of fire, because of their beauty. “How terrible that those ladies who always stay in the house have gone to war,” they said. After that they went to them, and the people whom they killed were so many that the pig troughs floated in their blood. ”

“ She is the owner of a magic pool, the waters of which revive the dead and renew youth. Page 20
Comparison of the Reconstructed Culture with Present Day Conditions.—Before passing to a consideration of the tales in the last two divisions of our material, it may be well to compare the life and beliefs of these “people of the first times” with those of the living Tinguian. Kadalayapan and Kaodanan appear, in a vague way, to have been located in Abra, for we learn that the Ilocano, Don Carlos, went up the river from Baygan (Vigan) 43 to Kadalayapan ”

“ Soon custom gathers him into its net, and unless he is the exceptional individual, or comes in intimate contact with outsiders, he never escapes.
It has already been seen that he begins very early to take an active part in the village life, but it is many years before he assumes a position of importance in the group. It is only when age and experience have gained for him the respect of his fellows that he begins to have a voice in the more weighty affairs of Tinguian life. ”

“ They believe that Sayen lived not so very long ago, yet the stories woven around him are very similar to the ancient ones.
70 See “The Alan and the Hunters.”
71 The Tinguian now use flint and steel for making a flame, but it is not at all uncommon for them to go to a neighbor’s house to borrow a burning ember to start their own fire.
72 The neighboring Ilocano, a Christianized tribe, know the Komow as a fabulous bird which is invisible, yet steals people and their possessions. ”

“ As already noted, one of the chief qualifications for marriage, among the people of the tales, was relationship, and even cousins became husband and wife. Such a thing is unthinkable among the Tinguian of to-day; first cousins are absolutely barred from marrying, while even the union of second cousins would cause a scandal, and it is very doubtful if such a wife would be allowed to share in her deceased husband's property.57
It appears that only one real58 wife is recognized as legitimate, but that from “the first times” to the present a man might have as many concubines as he could secure. ”

“ A survey of the tales brings out boldly the fact that a headhunt was one of the most important events in Tinguian life. To-day stress of circumstances has caused the custom to suffer a rapid decline, but even now heads are occasionally taken, while most of the old men have vivid recollections of the days when they fought “in the towns of their enemies.” ”

“ The fact that these mythical happenings and magical practices do not agree with his actual knowledge in no way disturbs the Tinguian. It is doubtful if he is conscious of a conflict; and should it be brought to his attention, he would explain it by reference to the tales of former times, or to the activities of superior beings. Like man in civilized society, he seldom rationalizes about the well-known facts—religious or otherwise—generally held by his group to be true. ”

“ Religion and Magic The Tinguian has been taught by his elders that he is surrounded by a great body of spirits, some good, some malevolent. The folk-tales handed down from ancient times add their authority to the teachings of older generations, while the individual himself has seen the bodies of the mediums possessed by the superior beings; he has communicated with them direct, has seen them cure the sick and predict coming events. At many a funeral, he has seen the medium squat before the corpse, chanting a weird song, and then suddenly become possessed by the spirit of the deceased ”

“ Custom and religion have become so closely interwoven in this society that it is well-nigh impossible to separate them. The building of a house, the planting, harvesting and care of the rice, the procedure at a birth, wedding, or funeral, in short, all the events of the social and economic life, are so governed by custom and religious beliefs, that it is safe to say that nearly every act in the life of the Tinguian is directed or affected by these forces. ”

“ These, which accompany all the important happenings in their daily life, are conducted by mediums who are fitted for office by long training, and each one of whom is a check on the others if they wilfully or through carelessness deviate from the old forms. The ritual of these ceremonies is very complex and the reason for doing many acts now seems to be entirely lost, yet the one explanation "kadaúyan"—custom—is sufficient to satisfy any Tinguian. Other acts, as well as the possession of certain things, are explained by myths, such as we are considering. ”