Chapter XXVII.

Chapter XXVII.Igorrotes (7).This is an important, and to me, the most interesting of the independent or partly subdued races of the Philippines. They are a fine, hardy, industrious, and warlike race, well worth a great and patient effort to bring them within the pale of Christianity, and to advance the civilisation they have already attained. They are of a dark bronze colour, with straight black and abundant hair, large dark eyes set rather obliquely as amongst Chinese. Their faces are broad with high cheek-bones, the nose aquiline and the head large. The features in general have a Mongolian cast, and a certain nasal twang in their speech resembles that of the Southern Chinese. The men have capacious chests, showing good lung-power, their muscles well developed indicating great strength and ability to resist fatigue. The women have also well-marked figures and rounded limbs. The fashions vary with different tribes, but it is common to find both sexes wearing their hair cut in a fringe over the forehead, but reaching down to the eyebrows, long enough at the sides to cover the ears, left long at the back of the head, where it is gathered up into a knot.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.[To face p. 254.The Igorrotes of Lepanto wear beards, some of them are as thick as a Spaniard’s, but the tribes farther South pull out, not only their beards, but all the hair on their bodies, except that of the head. Their dress varies from a mere apron (Bahaque) when at work in the fields, to an ornamental jacket very smartly cut and elaborate sword-belt when at war or on any full-dress occasion. These jackets are very handsome and have stripes of blue, crimson and white. They wear a variety of head-dresses, turban, Salacot or a kind of cocked-hat and feathers. Both men and women wear cloaks or plaids of bright colours made of cotton. Although the word Igorrote has come to bealmost a generic name for the heathen Highlanders of North Luzon, it is here limited to those who dwell on the Western part of the Cordillera Central, comprising the whole of the districts of Benguet and Lepanto, part of Bontoc and parts of the Provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. The sub-tribes Buriks and Busaos are included.Tattooing is very general amongst them. In some districts you can hardly find a man or woman who has not a figure of the sun tattooed in blue on the back of the hand, for in Central Benguet they worship the sun. Someofthem tattoo the breast and arms in patterns of straight and curved lines pricked in with a needle in indigo blue. The Busao Igorrotes, who live in the North of Lepanto, tattoo flowers on their arms, and in war-dress wear acylindricalshako made of wood or plaited rattan, and large copper pendants in their ears. These people do not use the Talibon, and prefer the spear. The Burik Igorrotes tattoo the body in a curious manner, giving them the appearance of wearing a coat of mail. But this custom is probably now becoming obsolete, for at least those of the Igorrotes who live near the Christian natives are gradually adopting their dress and customs.White is the colour of mourning, as amongst the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu. Both sexes are fond of personal ornaments, such as ear-rings, collars, arm-rings, bangles, leg-rings and belts. Collars of crocodiles’ teeth are highly esteemed. In the long list of their manufactures I shall enumerate their ornaments. Their arms are thetalibon, a short double-edged sword; thegayang, a javelin or assegai; and thealigua, a light axe, having a spike at the back opposite to the cutting edge. After throwing their javelins, they rush on with their drawn swords, holding their shield, called acalata, on the left arm. This is made of light wood and is long and narrow. With the exception of the shape of the shield their equipment is much like that of the Roman Legionaries twenty centuries since. Thealiguaappears to be used, not as a fighting weapon, but to decapitate their fallen enemies and as a means of carrying the head home on a spike. Great rejoicings, with feasts and dances, were held after a successful skirmish, and large quantities of liquor consumed. But the constant pressure of the Spanish authority has in a great measure stopped these petty wars. They make a kind of beer calledBasiby fermenting cane-juice, and another liquor, something likethe chicha of the Peruvian Coast Indians, from rice. This latter is calledbundang. They are great smokers, and make their own pipes of various materials. They appear not to have universally adopted the Malay custom of chewing buyo. There is a settlement of Christian Igorrotes on the coast of Ilocos Sur, close to the boundary of La Union, which has been established many years. But in general the Igorrotes have steadily refused to embrace Christianity, and evidently do not want to go to the same heaven as the Spaniards. The behaviour of the troops led against them in 1881 by General Primo de Rivera doubtless confirmed them in this repugnance. The expedition did not do much in the way of fighting, Remingtons and mountain-guns failed to subdue the bold mountaineers armed only with javelin and sword. The Spanish officers and men, however, are reported to have abominably mishandled the Igorrote women. For this ravishing foray the late King Alfonso XII. bestowed the title of Vizconde de la Union upon Primo de Rivera, and showered promotions and crosses upon his staff.The Igorrotes live in villages with a population of three or four hundred souls. There is a chief to each, but the villages are not organised into states, each being independent. The chief is supposed to be chosen from the families calledMainguel, who have distinguished themselves in war. As a matter of fact, the richest man usually becomes chief. The wealthy families vie with each other in the grand feasts which they give to all comers. The noble and the illustrious guests are personally invited to these feasts, but the common people assemble at beat of drum. The chief presides at the meeting of theBacuanesor nobles in whom are vested the village lands, and who direct its affairs.The common people are in a kind of bondage to the nobles, and cultivate their lands for them. In Lepanto they are calledcailianesas in Ilocos. Their houses are square, and similar to those of the other natives in the outlying districts, being raised on posts above the ground-level. A framework of bamboos is supported on four trunks of trees, the roof is thatched withcogon(elephant grass) and the sides are closed in by canes, bamboos or pine planks. Each house stands in an enclosure of its own, strongly fenced with rough stones or posts. They are far inferior to the Christian natives in the arrangementof their houses. Instead of having a separate kitchen on apantalanor raised platform, the fire is made in the centre of the house, and the smoke finds its way out through a hole in the roof. The rafters and inside of the thatch is blackened by the soot. They make no windows to their houses and only a small door, the ladder to which is drawn up when they retire to rest. They are not clean in their persons, and neglect to wash their clothes, or clean the interiors of their houses. They thus compare very unfavourably with the Tagals as regards cleanliness, although, as we shall see, in some other respects they are greatly above them. Each village has its Town Hall, which they call theBalta-oa. This is where the Town Council assembles to settle the affairs of the community, to hear requests for divorces, and to administer the law to offenders. Public festivities also take place here.They are monogamous, and have the highest respect for the holiness of the marriage tie. It is not absolutely indissoluble, but can be dissolved by the village council on serious grounds; but apparently divorce is systematically discouraged, and the sacredness of marriage is upheld. In former times adulteresses were punished by beheading, but more lenient views now prevail, and a good whipping is considered sufficient to meet the case. Generally death only dissolves the tie, and even then only partially, as re-marriage is difficult; for it is not proper for the widow to marry again without the consent of her late husband’s family, which may not easily be obtained, and if she contracts new ties, the children of her first marriage are removed from her control. On the other hand, Igorrote respectability requires that a widower should entirely neglect his toilet and commune silently with his grief for several years before taking to himself a new wife. Like most heathen, they show the greatest respect and affection for their parents, and cherish them to their life’s end.In sharp contrast with the license accorded to young girls by the Tagals and Visayas, the Igorrotes carefully guard the chastity of their daughters, and do not allow them to go about without a chaperon. The father even often accompanies them on their excursions. When they arrive at the age of puberty, the boys and girls are separated.In each village there are two special buildings not too near each other. In one of these the girls sleep under the watchful guard of a duenna, who looks after their morals,and in the other the youths under the care of an elder. The youth caught violating the sanctity of the damsels’ dormitory, or the maiden who is detected in an intrigue, or shows signs of maternity, may expect a severe correction. They do not seem to raise as many difficulties about the marriage of their daughters as the Tagals do, and they do not make it a matter of a mercenary bargain. When a youth takes a fancy to a marriageable maiden of his own degree, he applies through his parents to the father of the girl, and if he and his daughter look with favour on the proposal, the young man is admitted to cohabit with the damsel. But if within a certain period the girl does not show signs of succession, the would-be bridegroom is sent about his business. On the other hand, if pregnancy is announced, the wedding takes place with all possible ceremony, including an invocation of theAnitosor ancestral gods, feasts and dances, which last eight or nine days, but the young couple are excused from attendance. The Igorrotes, in fact, openly recognise a custom which is practised to a great extent in the agricultural districts of England and Scotland, with this difference, that the Christian youth in the latter countries often evades the marriage, while the heathen Igorrote carries out his engagement. I think, on the whole, the heathen comes out best.Although so desirous of offspring, they like to have them come one at a time, and they consider it to be an evil omen when one of their women brings forth twins. In such a case the last born is handed over to whoever desires to adopt it. This is held to avert the omen and straighten things out again.Of late years the establishment of forts with the Tagal or Visayas garrisons in the Igorrote territory, and closer contact with Christians generally, have tended to demoralise the heathen, and, above all, to lower somewhat their lofty ideal of chastity.Anitos of Northern Tribes.Anitos of Northern Tribes.[To face p. 258.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.[To face p. 259.Amongst the Igorrotes of Lepanto, and those farthest removed from Spanish influence, when a man of position dies, a notification is sent to all his blood-relations, even though they reside at a great distance, and the corpse is not buried until they have all arrived and have each taken the dead man’s hand in theirs, inquiring of him tenderly why he has abandoned his family. All this time a great feast is going on outside the house, vast quantities of rice and meat are provided and consumed, and an unlimitedallowance of beer drunk by the guests. The expense is often out of all proportion to the means of the family and perhaps involves them in debt for years.In the Igorrote territory under Spanish influence this extravagance and delay of burial is discouraged. Some of the Igorrotes dry their dead over a fire in a similar way to the Tinguianes. The dead are buried in a sitting posture, after the manner of the Peruvian Indians, but enclosed in coffins, which are placed in any small cave or cleft in the rocks, enlarged by hand if necessary. The Igorrotes believe in a Supreme Being, the creator and preserver; he is calledApoin Benguet, andLu-ma-oigin Lepanto. The wife ofApois calledBangan, the daughterBuganand the sonUbban. There are two inferior gods,CabigatandSuyan, these deities hold intercourse with mankind through theAnitosor ancestral spirits, some good, some evil, who reward or chastise mankind in this life. They represent these spirits by roughly-carved idols of wood. Some of these idols are male and others female. Occasionally the carving is of an obscene nature, and similar to some clay images I have seen taken from tombs in Peru. They practise family prayer, and the object of it is to solicit the favour of the Anitos. Sometimes the will of the Anitos is declared through an old priestess called anAsitera, who receives a fee for her pains. The ancestral spirits are more worshipped than the gods. Poultry, swine, and dogs, may not be slaughtered except in a sacrificial manner. There is a priest in every village called theManbunungwho first consecrates the animal to the Anitos, and then kills it and returns it to the owner, reserving, however, the best piece for himself. In company with his first-born son he takes the lead at prayer-meetings, or on special occasions, such as illness, marriage, the commencing some important work, or averting some evil omen. This man makes some pretence at healing the sick, but rather with charms and incantations than by administering medicine. There is a sacred tree near each village, which is regarded as the seat of the Anitos. In the shade of this is a sacrificial stone. Sometimes near a house may been seen a small bench for the Anitos to repose on, and a dish of rice or other food for their refreshment. The Igorrotes believe that there are two places where the souls of the dead travel to. One is an agreeable residence provided with everything necessary to happiness, and is for the spirits of those who have dieda natural death. But if they have been evil-doers, such as robbers or murderers, and have escaped due punishment on earth, they are punished here by the other souls before being allowed to enjoy the advantages of the place. But the souls of brave warriors killed in battle, and of women who have died in child-birth, arrive at a much more desirable place, a real heaven, and reside amongst the gods.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.[To face p. 261.The Igorrotes of Cabugalan in Lepanto regard eels as the embodiment of their ancestors; they will not catch them or do them any harm, but feed them when opportunity offers. TheAsiterasassist at feasts and make invocations and propose toasts which are drunk by the men present. The private or family feasts are calledBumaguil, being held in the giver’s house or courtyard, but public entertainments or feasts of the whole village are calledRegnas, and are held in or in front of theBalta-oaor Town Hall. They are preceded and followed by songs and dances. The songs are inharmonious and monotonous. The dances vary with the localities. In one dance bowing to the beer-mugs is a feature. As amongst other Malay races, ordeals are in fashion to decide disputes. One consists in a priest or chief scratching the scalps of the disputants with a small iron fork. Whoever loses most blood during this operation has lost his case. TheIgorroteswork hard at their agriculture, and their rice-farming is excellent. They plough the valleys with the aid of buffaloes and terrace the hillsides, which they cultivate by hand. They burn down the pine-forests to clear the hills. They irrigate where possible, carrying the canals over any ravine by means of rude aqueducts. They grow considerable quantities of tobacco,1which is, however, of inferior quality. This they sell to the civilised natives, and it is exported. I suppose it goes to Hamburg to make German Havana cigars, just as conger eels go to Paris to make fillets of soles. They cultivate sweet potatoes, also the ordinary potatoes, which grow well, and although small, are much prized in Manila, and meet with a ready sale. TheIgorrotesof Lepanto eagerly seek new seeds to plant. It is strange that an agricultural people like this should have little or no idea of breeding cattle, but instead of doing so, they purchase from the Ilocanos and others cattle, horses, and pigs for consumption, paying good prices for them.They even buy dogs to eat. I have been assured by Mr. Ernest Heald, formerly British Vice-Consul at Sual, that he has often seen Igorrotes returning to the hills from Dagupan, leading strings of dogs, which they had purchased for food at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty cents, and that the dogs seemed to have an instinctive idea what they were being taken away for. The cooking of the Igorrotes is abominable, especially their way of cooking meat. It would not obtain the approval of Brillat Savarin. They seem to have no objection to eating it putrid, and their robust constitutions apparently prevent their suffering from ptomaine poisoning. The most remarkable characteristic of the Igorrotes is their skill as smiths, miners, and metallurgists. Their forges are not usually in their villages, but are hidden away in the forest; they use piston-blowers instead of bellows, and charcoal as fuel. Their lance-heads, swords, and other weapons are well shaped and of excellent quality. They worked the copper ores of Mancayen in Lepanto very successfully. From official documents it appears that from 1840 to 1855 they sold on an average each year about nineteen tons of copper, either in ingots or manufactured. Then a Spanish Company took up the work and ignominiously failed. Gold mining and washing was formerly a monopoly of the nobles, and the washing is so still to some extent. For centuries, and long before the Spanish conquest, the Igorrotes have brought down gold to trade with the coast natives. Such particulars as are known to me about Igorrote mining, smelting, and gold-washing, will be found under the headings Gold, Copper, Iron, inChapter XVI.I have added to this account of them a list of such of their manufactures as I have seen or could learn of, and in most instances I have given the Igorrote name. The Igorrotes have several dialects, so that the names of the various articles may vary according to the locality. Herewith a list of the dialects and the places where each is spoken, taken from Spanish official sources.Dialect.Locality.Benguetano.The greater part of Benguet.Igorrote.Lepanto.Igorrote del Abra.Five villages of Bontoc.Igorrote de la Gran Cordillera.By the reduced Igorrotes and the independent tribes of the Caraballo.Igorrote Suflin.In fifteen villages of that Cordillera.Many of the Principales or head-men and others under Spanish influence speak and write Ilocano, which they find necessary for their trade with that people. More than twenty years ago there were seven schools in Lepanto regularly attended by five hundred and sixty-two children, of whom one hundred and ten could then read and write Spanish. No doubt by this time these schools have considerably increased.I am much impressed by the great industry of these people and with the great skill they show in everything they undertake. It is therefore disappointing to read in Foreman’s book ‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 213: “Like all the races of the Philippines, they are indolent to the greatest degree.” Foreman goes on to say, Polygamy seems to be permitted, murders are common, their huts are built bee-hive fashion, they keep a Dr. and Cr. account of heads with the Negritos. All this is probably in consequence of accepting idle stories as facts, and is nothing less than a libel on the Igorrotes. A people who believe in a Supreme Being, Creator of heaven and earth, in the immortality of the soul, in an upper and lower heaven, in punishment after death, if it has been evaded in life, who are strict monogamists, and who have a high belief in the sacredness of the marriage tie; a people who guard the chastity of their daughters as carefully as the British or the Americans; a people physically strong, brave, skilful, and industrious, have nothing in common with the wretches Foreman described under their name. These people live in the fairest and healthiest parts of Luzon, no fevers lurk amongst those pine-clad mountains, no sultry heats sap the vital powers. What an opportunity for a grand missionary enterprise! What a noble material to work on, every condition seems favourable. The very fact of their rejection of the form of Christianity presented to them, and their distrust of the Spaniards, may influence them in favour of some simpler doctrine. I shall feel well repaid for my labour in describing these people, if the truthful picture I have attempted to present of them should interest those who have the means and the will to inaugurate a new era, to help them along the Path. A perusal of what the old chroniclers say about them convinces me that they have done much themselves to improve their moral condition, and that many detestable customs, at all events attributed to them, have long since been relegated to oblivion.I now give a list of the Missions in the Igorrote and Tinguian territory that existed in 1892.Missions in Tinguian and Igorrote Territory.1892.Province.Town.Population.Missionaries.Rev. Father—AbraPidigan.2,418P. Ornia.Bucay.3,688J. Lopez.La Paz y San Gregorio.2,802P. Fernandez.Villavieja.1,912M. Fonturbel.Bangued.8,702A. Perez.Tayum.3,064L. Vega.Dolores.2,522F. Franco.LepantoCervantes y Cayan.2,200A. Oyanguren.BenguetLa Trinidad y Galiano.849J. Garcia.R. Rivera.28,157All the inhabitants of these towns and villages are Christians, and either they or their ancestors were baptised by missionaries of the Augustinian order.Some Manufactures of the Igorrotes.Weapons.Native Name.Say-angLance, for war or for killing deer.TalibonShort double-edged sword.Ligua, or AliguaAxe used for decapitating the fallen enemy.Calaság or CalátaLong narrow wooden shields.BunnengWood knife.Sayac or DayacSharp bamboo spikes to be set in the paths.Bows and arrows (the Igorrotes possess these, but are not skilful archers).Clubs.Gay-angJavelins (favourite weapons of Igorrotes).Accoutrements.Alpilan or SacupitKnapsacks.Lagpi.Haversacks.Saddles.Bridles.RangánSaddle-bags.BaotWhips.UpitPouch for medicine and antidote for snake bite.Sac-deyUniform or war jackets.BariquesChief’s sword belt.BalquesAncient sword belts used by their ancestors are preserved as heirlooms in the family.Clothing.TacocoHat made of rattan for head-men.Hat for married men.SuebongHat for bachelors, woven from cane.Hat for women.SachongHat for chiefs.Calogón or catlocónHat made of rattan and cane used by Christian Igorrotes.Sarquet or BarguetHeadcloth used by head-men.Loc-boCaps.Olei or UlásCloaks or plaids.CobalLoin-cloth of bark or cotton.Baag or BahaqueAprons.PalingayAprons for women.AttenSkirts used by head-men’s wives or daughters.TachunWaterproof hoods to cover the head and the load carried on the back,e.g., to keep tobacco dry in transit.An-nangaWaterproof capes of Anajas leaves.Sandals.Clogs.Ampaya, SamitTapis, cloth worn by women round the hips.Barique or canesSashes.BaquetWoman’s belt to hold up the tapis.BadoWoman’s shirt.Shirts made of the bark of the pacag.Ornaments.ChacangA gold plate used by head-men or chiefs to cover their teeth at feasts or when they present themselves to Europeans of distinction.BalangatA coronet of rattan.AponqueCollar or necklace.ApongontA coronet of scented wood (candaroma).OnóNecklace of reeds and coloured seeds.BariquesNecklace of vertebræ of snakes.SiquelNecklace made of seed of climbing plant called Bugayon.Necklace made of white stones.Necklace made of crocodiles’ teeth.Necklace made of boars’ tusks.Necklace made of mother-of-pearl.Al-taqueCoronet of polished mother-of-pearl.GarinBangles or bracelets of copper.BaliArm-rings, often of copper and gilt.BaneyLeg rings of nito and fibre, or of copper, used by men.ArisudEar-rings.TabinEar-rings of copper, used by men.Bit-jal or Bit-halBracelets of boars’ tusks.Galaong or GalangBracelets of mother-of-pearl.Onon-ipitNecklace or collar of metal, having three pendants, the centre one being tweezers for pulling out hairs, the other two instruments for cleaning out the ears.Household Goods.Gui-panSmall knife for peeling roots and splitting cane.LodóLadle of cocoa-nut shell for water.IdasWooden spoons.LatocLarge wooden dish, with receptacles for sauce and salt.DalelaRice dish of copper.SagatanStrainer of cane and rattan.Sarangos-ánFunnel made of a cocoa-nut shell.LabbaBasket used for carrying provisions.PidasenBaskets for domestic use.Tinac-dagAlat or MinuiniataSmall basket for collecting eggs.BabacoProvision basket.BigaoBasket for cleaning rice.Opit-daguilProvision basket.Opigán or Acuba-quiganBasket for keeping clothes in.Cal-culvenCane basket blackened by smoke.TapilSmall basket of cane.HugonesGreat baskets to hold rice.AgabinCreels for carrying fish.Apisang or SacupifLarge basket used for carrying tobacco on the back.SulpacLarge bamboos for carrying water.Tang-tangCalabashes for measuring or holdingbasi.Ting-galonGoblet of plaited cane used at feasts for drinkingbasi.PambiánSpinning wheels.Paga-blangLooms.La-labayánApparatus for holding skeins of cotton.Qui-tan-gangWooden drainer for the spoons or paddles used for stirring up thebasiwhen brewing it.Balai-ti-adoRack to hold spoons.Quil-litEarthen cooking-pot.OngotDrinking-cup for water.SoledDish of plaited rattan for boiled camote (sweet potatoes).DapilagDish of plaited rattan for boiled rice.Personal Effects.PaltingPouches for tobacco and gold.UpitTobacco pouch plaited of rattan.SuputPurse made of cotton ornamented with copper wire.CuacoPipes of wood, stone, clay, or metal.NupitTobacco boxes.SacopitCarved walking sticks.TadUmbrellas.PamiguinPneumatic tinder-box, or fire squirt.ApitPocket book of cane and rattan.DubongDeer-skin pouch used when travelling.QuidatangCase with fittings for striking a light.Sagay sayCombs.Tooth-brushes.Miscellaneous.TaliRopes of Alinao bark.Sinal-lapidRopes of Labtang bark.RaténNets for taking deer and pigs.Chi-ayTraps for taking jungle-fowl.AnitosImages of the household gods.SipasFoot-balls of rattan.DisigHumming tops.CasabangBranch of a tree used to frighten away snakes.Hammocks for sleeping or travelling.TugasThrone for a chief and his favourite.Harrows.Ploughs.Cradles.Coffins.Musical Instruments.Sulibao or CulibaoLarge drum, played with one stick.QuinibalSmall drum held between the knees and played with two sticks.Calalen or Bab-balasanFlutes played by single women.Cong-gala orFlutes (nose flutes) played by men.Tong-galaGanzaLarge flat gong held in right hand, and played with left, vibrations stopped with right elbow. If a human jaw-bone, taken from a dead enemy, is fitted as a handle, the value is enhanced.PinsacA small gong.Bating-ting orTriangles made of iron.Palas-bating-tingCingo-cingcoViolin played by single men.Guitar, the body made from cocoa-nut shell.Palgong-bocancangCane instrument played by the women going to and coming from their work. Holding it in the right hand, they cover the orifice with the index-finger, and strike the other end on the left hand.Mining Tools, etc.Native names unknownCrow-bars.Hammers.Wedges.Outfit for gold washing.Blowers for smiths’ forges.Furnaces for smelting copper.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.[To face p. 264.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anito of the Igorrotes.Anito of the Igorrotes.Igorrote Drums.Igorrote Drums.[To face p. 266.1They sell about 25,000 bales per annum.

Chapter XXVII.Igorrotes (7).This is an important, and to me, the most interesting of the independent or partly subdued races of the Philippines. They are a fine, hardy, industrious, and warlike race, well worth a great and patient effort to bring them within the pale of Christianity, and to advance the civilisation they have already attained. They are of a dark bronze colour, with straight black and abundant hair, large dark eyes set rather obliquely as amongst Chinese. Their faces are broad with high cheek-bones, the nose aquiline and the head large. The features in general have a Mongolian cast, and a certain nasal twang in their speech resembles that of the Southern Chinese. The men have capacious chests, showing good lung-power, their muscles well developed indicating great strength and ability to resist fatigue. The women have also well-marked figures and rounded limbs. The fashions vary with different tribes, but it is common to find both sexes wearing their hair cut in a fringe over the forehead, but reaching down to the eyebrows, long enough at the sides to cover the ears, left long at the back of the head, where it is gathered up into a knot.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.[To face p. 254.The Igorrotes of Lepanto wear beards, some of them are as thick as a Spaniard’s, but the tribes farther South pull out, not only their beards, but all the hair on their bodies, except that of the head. Their dress varies from a mere apron (Bahaque) when at work in the fields, to an ornamental jacket very smartly cut and elaborate sword-belt when at war or on any full-dress occasion. These jackets are very handsome and have stripes of blue, crimson and white. They wear a variety of head-dresses, turban, Salacot or a kind of cocked-hat and feathers. Both men and women wear cloaks or plaids of bright colours made of cotton. Although the word Igorrote has come to bealmost a generic name for the heathen Highlanders of North Luzon, it is here limited to those who dwell on the Western part of the Cordillera Central, comprising the whole of the districts of Benguet and Lepanto, part of Bontoc and parts of the Provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. The sub-tribes Buriks and Busaos are included.Tattooing is very general amongst them. In some districts you can hardly find a man or woman who has not a figure of the sun tattooed in blue on the back of the hand, for in Central Benguet they worship the sun. Someofthem tattoo the breast and arms in patterns of straight and curved lines pricked in with a needle in indigo blue. The Busao Igorrotes, who live in the North of Lepanto, tattoo flowers on their arms, and in war-dress wear acylindricalshako made of wood or plaited rattan, and large copper pendants in their ears. These people do not use the Talibon, and prefer the spear. The Burik Igorrotes tattoo the body in a curious manner, giving them the appearance of wearing a coat of mail. But this custom is probably now becoming obsolete, for at least those of the Igorrotes who live near the Christian natives are gradually adopting their dress and customs.White is the colour of mourning, as amongst the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu. Both sexes are fond of personal ornaments, such as ear-rings, collars, arm-rings, bangles, leg-rings and belts. Collars of crocodiles’ teeth are highly esteemed. In the long list of their manufactures I shall enumerate their ornaments. Their arms are thetalibon, a short double-edged sword; thegayang, a javelin or assegai; and thealigua, a light axe, having a spike at the back opposite to the cutting edge. After throwing their javelins, they rush on with their drawn swords, holding their shield, called acalata, on the left arm. This is made of light wood and is long and narrow. With the exception of the shape of the shield their equipment is much like that of the Roman Legionaries twenty centuries since. Thealiguaappears to be used, not as a fighting weapon, but to decapitate their fallen enemies and as a means of carrying the head home on a spike. Great rejoicings, with feasts and dances, were held after a successful skirmish, and large quantities of liquor consumed. But the constant pressure of the Spanish authority has in a great measure stopped these petty wars. They make a kind of beer calledBasiby fermenting cane-juice, and another liquor, something likethe chicha of the Peruvian Coast Indians, from rice. This latter is calledbundang. They are great smokers, and make their own pipes of various materials. They appear not to have universally adopted the Malay custom of chewing buyo. There is a settlement of Christian Igorrotes on the coast of Ilocos Sur, close to the boundary of La Union, which has been established many years. But in general the Igorrotes have steadily refused to embrace Christianity, and evidently do not want to go to the same heaven as the Spaniards. The behaviour of the troops led against them in 1881 by General Primo de Rivera doubtless confirmed them in this repugnance. The expedition did not do much in the way of fighting, Remingtons and mountain-guns failed to subdue the bold mountaineers armed only with javelin and sword. The Spanish officers and men, however, are reported to have abominably mishandled the Igorrote women. For this ravishing foray the late King Alfonso XII. bestowed the title of Vizconde de la Union upon Primo de Rivera, and showered promotions and crosses upon his staff.The Igorrotes live in villages with a population of three or four hundred souls. There is a chief to each, but the villages are not organised into states, each being independent. The chief is supposed to be chosen from the families calledMainguel, who have distinguished themselves in war. As a matter of fact, the richest man usually becomes chief. The wealthy families vie with each other in the grand feasts which they give to all comers. The noble and the illustrious guests are personally invited to these feasts, but the common people assemble at beat of drum. The chief presides at the meeting of theBacuanesor nobles in whom are vested the village lands, and who direct its affairs.The common people are in a kind of bondage to the nobles, and cultivate their lands for them. In Lepanto they are calledcailianesas in Ilocos. Their houses are square, and similar to those of the other natives in the outlying districts, being raised on posts above the ground-level. A framework of bamboos is supported on four trunks of trees, the roof is thatched withcogon(elephant grass) and the sides are closed in by canes, bamboos or pine planks. Each house stands in an enclosure of its own, strongly fenced with rough stones or posts. They are far inferior to the Christian natives in the arrangementof their houses. Instead of having a separate kitchen on apantalanor raised platform, the fire is made in the centre of the house, and the smoke finds its way out through a hole in the roof. The rafters and inside of the thatch is blackened by the soot. They make no windows to their houses and only a small door, the ladder to which is drawn up when they retire to rest. They are not clean in their persons, and neglect to wash their clothes, or clean the interiors of their houses. They thus compare very unfavourably with the Tagals as regards cleanliness, although, as we shall see, in some other respects they are greatly above them. Each village has its Town Hall, which they call theBalta-oa. This is where the Town Council assembles to settle the affairs of the community, to hear requests for divorces, and to administer the law to offenders. Public festivities also take place here.They are monogamous, and have the highest respect for the holiness of the marriage tie. It is not absolutely indissoluble, but can be dissolved by the village council on serious grounds; but apparently divorce is systematically discouraged, and the sacredness of marriage is upheld. In former times adulteresses were punished by beheading, but more lenient views now prevail, and a good whipping is considered sufficient to meet the case. Generally death only dissolves the tie, and even then only partially, as re-marriage is difficult; for it is not proper for the widow to marry again without the consent of her late husband’s family, which may not easily be obtained, and if she contracts new ties, the children of her first marriage are removed from her control. On the other hand, Igorrote respectability requires that a widower should entirely neglect his toilet and commune silently with his grief for several years before taking to himself a new wife. Like most heathen, they show the greatest respect and affection for their parents, and cherish them to their life’s end.In sharp contrast with the license accorded to young girls by the Tagals and Visayas, the Igorrotes carefully guard the chastity of their daughters, and do not allow them to go about without a chaperon. The father even often accompanies them on their excursions. When they arrive at the age of puberty, the boys and girls are separated.In each village there are two special buildings not too near each other. In one of these the girls sleep under the watchful guard of a duenna, who looks after their morals,and in the other the youths under the care of an elder. The youth caught violating the sanctity of the damsels’ dormitory, or the maiden who is detected in an intrigue, or shows signs of maternity, may expect a severe correction. They do not seem to raise as many difficulties about the marriage of their daughters as the Tagals do, and they do not make it a matter of a mercenary bargain. When a youth takes a fancy to a marriageable maiden of his own degree, he applies through his parents to the father of the girl, and if he and his daughter look with favour on the proposal, the young man is admitted to cohabit with the damsel. But if within a certain period the girl does not show signs of succession, the would-be bridegroom is sent about his business. On the other hand, if pregnancy is announced, the wedding takes place with all possible ceremony, including an invocation of theAnitosor ancestral gods, feasts and dances, which last eight or nine days, but the young couple are excused from attendance. The Igorrotes, in fact, openly recognise a custom which is practised to a great extent in the agricultural districts of England and Scotland, with this difference, that the Christian youth in the latter countries often evades the marriage, while the heathen Igorrote carries out his engagement. I think, on the whole, the heathen comes out best.Although so desirous of offspring, they like to have them come one at a time, and they consider it to be an evil omen when one of their women brings forth twins. In such a case the last born is handed over to whoever desires to adopt it. This is held to avert the omen and straighten things out again.Of late years the establishment of forts with the Tagal or Visayas garrisons in the Igorrote territory, and closer contact with Christians generally, have tended to demoralise the heathen, and, above all, to lower somewhat their lofty ideal of chastity.Anitos of Northern Tribes.Anitos of Northern Tribes.[To face p. 258.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.[To face p. 259.Amongst the Igorrotes of Lepanto, and those farthest removed from Spanish influence, when a man of position dies, a notification is sent to all his blood-relations, even though they reside at a great distance, and the corpse is not buried until they have all arrived and have each taken the dead man’s hand in theirs, inquiring of him tenderly why he has abandoned his family. All this time a great feast is going on outside the house, vast quantities of rice and meat are provided and consumed, and an unlimitedallowance of beer drunk by the guests. The expense is often out of all proportion to the means of the family and perhaps involves them in debt for years.In the Igorrote territory under Spanish influence this extravagance and delay of burial is discouraged. Some of the Igorrotes dry their dead over a fire in a similar way to the Tinguianes. The dead are buried in a sitting posture, after the manner of the Peruvian Indians, but enclosed in coffins, which are placed in any small cave or cleft in the rocks, enlarged by hand if necessary. The Igorrotes believe in a Supreme Being, the creator and preserver; he is calledApoin Benguet, andLu-ma-oigin Lepanto. The wife ofApois calledBangan, the daughterBuganand the sonUbban. There are two inferior gods,CabigatandSuyan, these deities hold intercourse with mankind through theAnitosor ancestral spirits, some good, some evil, who reward or chastise mankind in this life. They represent these spirits by roughly-carved idols of wood. Some of these idols are male and others female. Occasionally the carving is of an obscene nature, and similar to some clay images I have seen taken from tombs in Peru. They practise family prayer, and the object of it is to solicit the favour of the Anitos. Sometimes the will of the Anitos is declared through an old priestess called anAsitera, who receives a fee for her pains. The ancestral spirits are more worshipped than the gods. Poultry, swine, and dogs, may not be slaughtered except in a sacrificial manner. There is a priest in every village called theManbunungwho first consecrates the animal to the Anitos, and then kills it and returns it to the owner, reserving, however, the best piece for himself. In company with his first-born son he takes the lead at prayer-meetings, or on special occasions, such as illness, marriage, the commencing some important work, or averting some evil omen. This man makes some pretence at healing the sick, but rather with charms and incantations than by administering medicine. There is a sacred tree near each village, which is regarded as the seat of the Anitos. In the shade of this is a sacrificial stone. Sometimes near a house may been seen a small bench for the Anitos to repose on, and a dish of rice or other food for their refreshment. The Igorrotes believe that there are two places where the souls of the dead travel to. One is an agreeable residence provided with everything necessary to happiness, and is for the spirits of those who have dieda natural death. But if they have been evil-doers, such as robbers or murderers, and have escaped due punishment on earth, they are punished here by the other souls before being allowed to enjoy the advantages of the place. But the souls of brave warriors killed in battle, and of women who have died in child-birth, arrive at a much more desirable place, a real heaven, and reside amongst the gods.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.[To face p. 261.The Igorrotes of Cabugalan in Lepanto regard eels as the embodiment of their ancestors; they will not catch them or do them any harm, but feed them when opportunity offers. TheAsiterasassist at feasts and make invocations and propose toasts which are drunk by the men present. The private or family feasts are calledBumaguil, being held in the giver’s house or courtyard, but public entertainments or feasts of the whole village are calledRegnas, and are held in or in front of theBalta-oaor Town Hall. They are preceded and followed by songs and dances. The songs are inharmonious and monotonous. The dances vary with the localities. In one dance bowing to the beer-mugs is a feature. As amongst other Malay races, ordeals are in fashion to decide disputes. One consists in a priest or chief scratching the scalps of the disputants with a small iron fork. Whoever loses most blood during this operation has lost his case. TheIgorroteswork hard at their agriculture, and their rice-farming is excellent. They plough the valleys with the aid of buffaloes and terrace the hillsides, which they cultivate by hand. They burn down the pine-forests to clear the hills. They irrigate where possible, carrying the canals over any ravine by means of rude aqueducts. They grow considerable quantities of tobacco,1which is, however, of inferior quality. This they sell to the civilised natives, and it is exported. I suppose it goes to Hamburg to make German Havana cigars, just as conger eels go to Paris to make fillets of soles. They cultivate sweet potatoes, also the ordinary potatoes, which grow well, and although small, are much prized in Manila, and meet with a ready sale. TheIgorrotesof Lepanto eagerly seek new seeds to plant. It is strange that an agricultural people like this should have little or no idea of breeding cattle, but instead of doing so, they purchase from the Ilocanos and others cattle, horses, and pigs for consumption, paying good prices for them.They even buy dogs to eat. I have been assured by Mr. Ernest Heald, formerly British Vice-Consul at Sual, that he has often seen Igorrotes returning to the hills from Dagupan, leading strings of dogs, which they had purchased for food at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty cents, and that the dogs seemed to have an instinctive idea what they were being taken away for. The cooking of the Igorrotes is abominable, especially their way of cooking meat. It would not obtain the approval of Brillat Savarin. They seem to have no objection to eating it putrid, and their robust constitutions apparently prevent their suffering from ptomaine poisoning. The most remarkable characteristic of the Igorrotes is their skill as smiths, miners, and metallurgists. Their forges are not usually in their villages, but are hidden away in the forest; they use piston-blowers instead of bellows, and charcoal as fuel. Their lance-heads, swords, and other weapons are well shaped and of excellent quality. They worked the copper ores of Mancayen in Lepanto very successfully. From official documents it appears that from 1840 to 1855 they sold on an average each year about nineteen tons of copper, either in ingots or manufactured. Then a Spanish Company took up the work and ignominiously failed. Gold mining and washing was formerly a monopoly of the nobles, and the washing is so still to some extent. For centuries, and long before the Spanish conquest, the Igorrotes have brought down gold to trade with the coast natives. Such particulars as are known to me about Igorrote mining, smelting, and gold-washing, will be found under the headings Gold, Copper, Iron, inChapter XVI.I have added to this account of them a list of such of their manufactures as I have seen or could learn of, and in most instances I have given the Igorrote name. The Igorrotes have several dialects, so that the names of the various articles may vary according to the locality. Herewith a list of the dialects and the places where each is spoken, taken from Spanish official sources.Dialect.Locality.Benguetano.The greater part of Benguet.Igorrote.Lepanto.Igorrote del Abra.Five villages of Bontoc.Igorrote de la Gran Cordillera.By the reduced Igorrotes and the independent tribes of the Caraballo.Igorrote Suflin.In fifteen villages of that Cordillera.Many of the Principales or head-men and others under Spanish influence speak and write Ilocano, which they find necessary for their trade with that people. More than twenty years ago there were seven schools in Lepanto regularly attended by five hundred and sixty-two children, of whom one hundred and ten could then read and write Spanish. No doubt by this time these schools have considerably increased.I am much impressed by the great industry of these people and with the great skill they show in everything they undertake. It is therefore disappointing to read in Foreman’s book ‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 213: “Like all the races of the Philippines, they are indolent to the greatest degree.” Foreman goes on to say, Polygamy seems to be permitted, murders are common, their huts are built bee-hive fashion, they keep a Dr. and Cr. account of heads with the Negritos. All this is probably in consequence of accepting idle stories as facts, and is nothing less than a libel on the Igorrotes. A people who believe in a Supreme Being, Creator of heaven and earth, in the immortality of the soul, in an upper and lower heaven, in punishment after death, if it has been evaded in life, who are strict monogamists, and who have a high belief in the sacredness of the marriage tie; a people who guard the chastity of their daughters as carefully as the British or the Americans; a people physically strong, brave, skilful, and industrious, have nothing in common with the wretches Foreman described under their name. These people live in the fairest and healthiest parts of Luzon, no fevers lurk amongst those pine-clad mountains, no sultry heats sap the vital powers. What an opportunity for a grand missionary enterprise! What a noble material to work on, every condition seems favourable. The very fact of their rejection of the form of Christianity presented to them, and their distrust of the Spaniards, may influence them in favour of some simpler doctrine. I shall feel well repaid for my labour in describing these people, if the truthful picture I have attempted to present of them should interest those who have the means and the will to inaugurate a new era, to help them along the Path. A perusal of what the old chroniclers say about them convinces me that they have done much themselves to improve their moral condition, and that many detestable customs, at all events attributed to them, have long since been relegated to oblivion.I now give a list of the Missions in the Igorrote and Tinguian territory that existed in 1892.Missions in Tinguian and Igorrote Territory.1892.Province.Town.Population.Missionaries.Rev. Father—AbraPidigan.2,418P. Ornia.Bucay.3,688J. Lopez.La Paz y San Gregorio.2,802P. Fernandez.Villavieja.1,912M. Fonturbel.Bangued.8,702A. Perez.Tayum.3,064L. Vega.Dolores.2,522F. Franco.LepantoCervantes y Cayan.2,200A. Oyanguren.BenguetLa Trinidad y Galiano.849J. Garcia.R. Rivera.28,157All the inhabitants of these towns and villages are Christians, and either they or their ancestors were baptised by missionaries of the Augustinian order.Some Manufactures of the Igorrotes.Weapons.Native Name.Say-angLance, for war or for killing deer.TalibonShort double-edged sword.Ligua, or AliguaAxe used for decapitating the fallen enemy.Calaság or CalátaLong narrow wooden shields.BunnengWood knife.Sayac or DayacSharp bamboo spikes to be set in the paths.Bows and arrows (the Igorrotes possess these, but are not skilful archers).Clubs.Gay-angJavelins (favourite weapons of Igorrotes).Accoutrements.Alpilan or SacupitKnapsacks.Lagpi.Haversacks.Saddles.Bridles.RangánSaddle-bags.BaotWhips.UpitPouch for medicine and antidote for snake bite.Sac-deyUniform or war jackets.BariquesChief’s sword belt.BalquesAncient sword belts used by their ancestors are preserved as heirlooms in the family.Clothing.TacocoHat made of rattan for head-men.Hat for married men.SuebongHat for bachelors, woven from cane.Hat for women.SachongHat for chiefs.Calogón or catlocónHat made of rattan and cane used by Christian Igorrotes.Sarquet or BarguetHeadcloth used by head-men.Loc-boCaps.Olei or UlásCloaks or plaids.CobalLoin-cloth of bark or cotton.Baag or BahaqueAprons.PalingayAprons for women.AttenSkirts used by head-men’s wives or daughters.TachunWaterproof hoods to cover the head and the load carried on the back,e.g., to keep tobacco dry in transit.An-nangaWaterproof capes of Anajas leaves.Sandals.Clogs.Ampaya, SamitTapis, cloth worn by women round the hips.Barique or canesSashes.BaquetWoman’s belt to hold up the tapis.BadoWoman’s shirt.Shirts made of the bark of the pacag.Ornaments.ChacangA gold plate used by head-men or chiefs to cover their teeth at feasts or when they present themselves to Europeans of distinction.BalangatA coronet of rattan.AponqueCollar or necklace.ApongontA coronet of scented wood (candaroma).OnóNecklace of reeds and coloured seeds.BariquesNecklace of vertebræ of snakes.SiquelNecklace made of seed of climbing plant called Bugayon.Necklace made of white stones.Necklace made of crocodiles’ teeth.Necklace made of boars’ tusks.Necklace made of mother-of-pearl.Al-taqueCoronet of polished mother-of-pearl.GarinBangles or bracelets of copper.BaliArm-rings, often of copper and gilt.BaneyLeg rings of nito and fibre, or of copper, used by men.ArisudEar-rings.TabinEar-rings of copper, used by men.Bit-jal or Bit-halBracelets of boars’ tusks.Galaong or GalangBracelets of mother-of-pearl.Onon-ipitNecklace or collar of metal, having three pendants, the centre one being tweezers for pulling out hairs, the other two instruments for cleaning out the ears.Household Goods.Gui-panSmall knife for peeling roots and splitting cane.LodóLadle of cocoa-nut shell for water.IdasWooden spoons.LatocLarge wooden dish, with receptacles for sauce and salt.DalelaRice dish of copper.SagatanStrainer of cane and rattan.Sarangos-ánFunnel made of a cocoa-nut shell.LabbaBasket used for carrying provisions.PidasenBaskets for domestic use.Tinac-dagAlat or MinuiniataSmall basket for collecting eggs.BabacoProvision basket.BigaoBasket for cleaning rice.Opit-daguilProvision basket.Opigán or Acuba-quiganBasket for keeping clothes in.Cal-culvenCane basket blackened by smoke.TapilSmall basket of cane.HugonesGreat baskets to hold rice.AgabinCreels for carrying fish.Apisang or SacupifLarge basket used for carrying tobacco on the back.SulpacLarge bamboos for carrying water.Tang-tangCalabashes for measuring or holdingbasi.Ting-galonGoblet of plaited cane used at feasts for drinkingbasi.PambiánSpinning wheels.Paga-blangLooms.La-labayánApparatus for holding skeins of cotton.Qui-tan-gangWooden drainer for the spoons or paddles used for stirring up thebasiwhen brewing it.Balai-ti-adoRack to hold spoons.Quil-litEarthen cooking-pot.OngotDrinking-cup for water.SoledDish of plaited rattan for boiled camote (sweet potatoes).DapilagDish of plaited rattan for boiled rice.Personal Effects.PaltingPouches for tobacco and gold.UpitTobacco pouch plaited of rattan.SuputPurse made of cotton ornamented with copper wire.CuacoPipes of wood, stone, clay, or metal.NupitTobacco boxes.SacopitCarved walking sticks.TadUmbrellas.PamiguinPneumatic tinder-box, or fire squirt.ApitPocket book of cane and rattan.DubongDeer-skin pouch used when travelling.QuidatangCase with fittings for striking a light.Sagay sayCombs.Tooth-brushes.Miscellaneous.TaliRopes of Alinao bark.Sinal-lapidRopes of Labtang bark.RaténNets for taking deer and pigs.Chi-ayTraps for taking jungle-fowl.AnitosImages of the household gods.SipasFoot-balls of rattan.DisigHumming tops.CasabangBranch of a tree used to frighten away snakes.Hammocks for sleeping or travelling.TugasThrone for a chief and his favourite.Harrows.Ploughs.Cradles.Coffins.Musical Instruments.Sulibao or CulibaoLarge drum, played with one stick.QuinibalSmall drum held between the knees and played with two sticks.Calalen or Bab-balasanFlutes played by single women.Cong-gala orFlutes (nose flutes) played by men.Tong-galaGanzaLarge flat gong held in right hand, and played with left, vibrations stopped with right elbow. If a human jaw-bone, taken from a dead enemy, is fitted as a handle, the value is enhanced.PinsacA small gong.Bating-ting orTriangles made of iron.Palas-bating-tingCingo-cingcoViolin played by single men.Guitar, the body made from cocoa-nut shell.Palgong-bocancangCane instrument played by the women going to and coming from their work. Holding it in the right hand, they cover the orifice with the index-finger, and strike the other end on the left hand.Mining Tools, etc.Native names unknownCrow-bars.Hammers.Wedges.Outfit for gold washing.Blowers for smiths’ forges.Furnaces for smelting copper.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.[To face p. 264.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anito of the Igorrotes.Anito of the Igorrotes.Igorrote Drums.Igorrote Drums.[To face p. 266.1They sell about 25,000 bales per annum.

Chapter XXVII.Igorrotes (7).This is an important, and to me, the most interesting of the independent or partly subdued races of the Philippines. They are a fine, hardy, industrious, and warlike race, well worth a great and patient effort to bring them within the pale of Christianity, and to advance the civilisation they have already attained. They are of a dark bronze colour, with straight black and abundant hair, large dark eyes set rather obliquely as amongst Chinese. Their faces are broad with high cheek-bones, the nose aquiline and the head large. The features in general have a Mongolian cast, and a certain nasal twang in their speech resembles that of the Southern Chinese. The men have capacious chests, showing good lung-power, their muscles well developed indicating great strength and ability to resist fatigue. The women have also well-marked figures and rounded limbs. The fashions vary with different tribes, but it is common to find both sexes wearing their hair cut in a fringe over the forehead, but reaching down to the eyebrows, long enough at the sides to cover the ears, left long at the back of the head, where it is gathered up into a knot.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.[To face p. 254.The Igorrotes of Lepanto wear beards, some of them are as thick as a Spaniard’s, but the tribes farther South pull out, not only their beards, but all the hair on their bodies, except that of the head. Their dress varies from a mere apron (Bahaque) when at work in the fields, to an ornamental jacket very smartly cut and elaborate sword-belt when at war or on any full-dress occasion. These jackets are very handsome and have stripes of blue, crimson and white. They wear a variety of head-dresses, turban, Salacot or a kind of cocked-hat and feathers. Both men and women wear cloaks or plaids of bright colours made of cotton. Although the word Igorrote has come to bealmost a generic name for the heathen Highlanders of North Luzon, it is here limited to those who dwell on the Western part of the Cordillera Central, comprising the whole of the districts of Benguet and Lepanto, part of Bontoc and parts of the Provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. The sub-tribes Buriks and Busaos are included.Tattooing is very general amongst them. In some districts you can hardly find a man or woman who has not a figure of the sun tattooed in blue on the back of the hand, for in Central Benguet they worship the sun. Someofthem tattoo the breast and arms in patterns of straight and curved lines pricked in with a needle in indigo blue. The Busao Igorrotes, who live in the North of Lepanto, tattoo flowers on their arms, and in war-dress wear acylindricalshako made of wood or plaited rattan, and large copper pendants in their ears. These people do not use the Talibon, and prefer the spear. The Burik Igorrotes tattoo the body in a curious manner, giving them the appearance of wearing a coat of mail. But this custom is probably now becoming obsolete, for at least those of the Igorrotes who live near the Christian natives are gradually adopting their dress and customs.White is the colour of mourning, as amongst the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu. Both sexes are fond of personal ornaments, such as ear-rings, collars, arm-rings, bangles, leg-rings and belts. Collars of crocodiles’ teeth are highly esteemed. In the long list of their manufactures I shall enumerate their ornaments. Their arms are thetalibon, a short double-edged sword; thegayang, a javelin or assegai; and thealigua, a light axe, having a spike at the back opposite to the cutting edge. After throwing their javelins, they rush on with their drawn swords, holding their shield, called acalata, on the left arm. This is made of light wood and is long and narrow. With the exception of the shape of the shield their equipment is much like that of the Roman Legionaries twenty centuries since. Thealiguaappears to be used, not as a fighting weapon, but to decapitate their fallen enemies and as a means of carrying the head home on a spike. Great rejoicings, with feasts and dances, were held after a successful skirmish, and large quantities of liquor consumed. But the constant pressure of the Spanish authority has in a great measure stopped these petty wars. They make a kind of beer calledBasiby fermenting cane-juice, and another liquor, something likethe chicha of the Peruvian Coast Indians, from rice. This latter is calledbundang. They are great smokers, and make their own pipes of various materials. They appear not to have universally adopted the Malay custom of chewing buyo. There is a settlement of Christian Igorrotes on the coast of Ilocos Sur, close to the boundary of La Union, which has been established many years. But in general the Igorrotes have steadily refused to embrace Christianity, and evidently do not want to go to the same heaven as the Spaniards. The behaviour of the troops led against them in 1881 by General Primo de Rivera doubtless confirmed them in this repugnance. The expedition did not do much in the way of fighting, Remingtons and mountain-guns failed to subdue the bold mountaineers armed only with javelin and sword. The Spanish officers and men, however, are reported to have abominably mishandled the Igorrote women. For this ravishing foray the late King Alfonso XII. bestowed the title of Vizconde de la Union upon Primo de Rivera, and showered promotions and crosses upon his staff.The Igorrotes live in villages with a population of three or four hundred souls. There is a chief to each, but the villages are not organised into states, each being independent. The chief is supposed to be chosen from the families calledMainguel, who have distinguished themselves in war. As a matter of fact, the richest man usually becomes chief. The wealthy families vie with each other in the grand feasts which they give to all comers. The noble and the illustrious guests are personally invited to these feasts, but the common people assemble at beat of drum. The chief presides at the meeting of theBacuanesor nobles in whom are vested the village lands, and who direct its affairs.The common people are in a kind of bondage to the nobles, and cultivate their lands for them. In Lepanto they are calledcailianesas in Ilocos. Their houses are square, and similar to those of the other natives in the outlying districts, being raised on posts above the ground-level. A framework of bamboos is supported on four trunks of trees, the roof is thatched withcogon(elephant grass) and the sides are closed in by canes, bamboos or pine planks. Each house stands in an enclosure of its own, strongly fenced with rough stones or posts. They are far inferior to the Christian natives in the arrangementof their houses. Instead of having a separate kitchen on apantalanor raised platform, the fire is made in the centre of the house, and the smoke finds its way out through a hole in the roof. The rafters and inside of the thatch is blackened by the soot. They make no windows to their houses and only a small door, the ladder to which is drawn up when they retire to rest. They are not clean in their persons, and neglect to wash their clothes, or clean the interiors of their houses. They thus compare very unfavourably with the Tagals as regards cleanliness, although, as we shall see, in some other respects they are greatly above them. Each village has its Town Hall, which they call theBalta-oa. This is where the Town Council assembles to settle the affairs of the community, to hear requests for divorces, and to administer the law to offenders. Public festivities also take place here.They are monogamous, and have the highest respect for the holiness of the marriage tie. It is not absolutely indissoluble, but can be dissolved by the village council on serious grounds; but apparently divorce is systematically discouraged, and the sacredness of marriage is upheld. In former times adulteresses were punished by beheading, but more lenient views now prevail, and a good whipping is considered sufficient to meet the case. Generally death only dissolves the tie, and even then only partially, as re-marriage is difficult; for it is not proper for the widow to marry again without the consent of her late husband’s family, which may not easily be obtained, and if she contracts new ties, the children of her first marriage are removed from her control. On the other hand, Igorrote respectability requires that a widower should entirely neglect his toilet and commune silently with his grief for several years before taking to himself a new wife. Like most heathen, they show the greatest respect and affection for their parents, and cherish them to their life’s end.In sharp contrast with the license accorded to young girls by the Tagals and Visayas, the Igorrotes carefully guard the chastity of their daughters, and do not allow them to go about without a chaperon. The father even often accompanies them on their excursions. When they arrive at the age of puberty, the boys and girls are separated.In each village there are two special buildings not too near each other. In one of these the girls sleep under the watchful guard of a duenna, who looks after their morals,and in the other the youths under the care of an elder. The youth caught violating the sanctity of the damsels’ dormitory, or the maiden who is detected in an intrigue, or shows signs of maternity, may expect a severe correction. They do not seem to raise as many difficulties about the marriage of their daughters as the Tagals do, and they do not make it a matter of a mercenary bargain. When a youth takes a fancy to a marriageable maiden of his own degree, he applies through his parents to the father of the girl, and if he and his daughter look with favour on the proposal, the young man is admitted to cohabit with the damsel. But if within a certain period the girl does not show signs of succession, the would-be bridegroom is sent about his business. On the other hand, if pregnancy is announced, the wedding takes place with all possible ceremony, including an invocation of theAnitosor ancestral gods, feasts and dances, which last eight or nine days, but the young couple are excused from attendance. The Igorrotes, in fact, openly recognise a custom which is practised to a great extent in the agricultural districts of England and Scotland, with this difference, that the Christian youth in the latter countries often evades the marriage, while the heathen Igorrote carries out his engagement. I think, on the whole, the heathen comes out best.Although so desirous of offspring, they like to have them come one at a time, and they consider it to be an evil omen when one of their women brings forth twins. In such a case the last born is handed over to whoever desires to adopt it. This is held to avert the omen and straighten things out again.Of late years the establishment of forts with the Tagal or Visayas garrisons in the Igorrote territory, and closer contact with Christians generally, have tended to demoralise the heathen, and, above all, to lower somewhat their lofty ideal of chastity.Anitos of Northern Tribes.Anitos of Northern Tribes.[To face p. 258.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.[To face p. 259.Amongst the Igorrotes of Lepanto, and those farthest removed from Spanish influence, when a man of position dies, a notification is sent to all his blood-relations, even though they reside at a great distance, and the corpse is not buried until they have all arrived and have each taken the dead man’s hand in theirs, inquiring of him tenderly why he has abandoned his family. All this time a great feast is going on outside the house, vast quantities of rice and meat are provided and consumed, and an unlimitedallowance of beer drunk by the guests. The expense is often out of all proportion to the means of the family and perhaps involves them in debt for years.In the Igorrote territory under Spanish influence this extravagance and delay of burial is discouraged. Some of the Igorrotes dry their dead over a fire in a similar way to the Tinguianes. The dead are buried in a sitting posture, after the manner of the Peruvian Indians, but enclosed in coffins, which are placed in any small cave or cleft in the rocks, enlarged by hand if necessary. The Igorrotes believe in a Supreme Being, the creator and preserver; he is calledApoin Benguet, andLu-ma-oigin Lepanto. The wife ofApois calledBangan, the daughterBuganand the sonUbban. There are two inferior gods,CabigatandSuyan, these deities hold intercourse with mankind through theAnitosor ancestral spirits, some good, some evil, who reward or chastise mankind in this life. They represent these spirits by roughly-carved idols of wood. Some of these idols are male and others female. Occasionally the carving is of an obscene nature, and similar to some clay images I have seen taken from tombs in Peru. They practise family prayer, and the object of it is to solicit the favour of the Anitos. Sometimes the will of the Anitos is declared through an old priestess called anAsitera, who receives a fee for her pains. The ancestral spirits are more worshipped than the gods. Poultry, swine, and dogs, may not be slaughtered except in a sacrificial manner. There is a priest in every village called theManbunungwho first consecrates the animal to the Anitos, and then kills it and returns it to the owner, reserving, however, the best piece for himself. In company with his first-born son he takes the lead at prayer-meetings, or on special occasions, such as illness, marriage, the commencing some important work, or averting some evil omen. This man makes some pretence at healing the sick, but rather with charms and incantations than by administering medicine. There is a sacred tree near each village, which is regarded as the seat of the Anitos. In the shade of this is a sacrificial stone. Sometimes near a house may been seen a small bench for the Anitos to repose on, and a dish of rice or other food for their refreshment. The Igorrotes believe that there are two places where the souls of the dead travel to. One is an agreeable residence provided with everything necessary to happiness, and is for the spirits of those who have dieda natural death. But if they have been evil-doers, such as robbers or murderers, and have escaped due punishment on earth, they are punished here by the other souls before being allowed to enjoy the advantages of the place. But the souls of brave warriors killed in battle, and of women who have died in child-birth, arrive at a much more desirable place, a real heaven, and reside amongst the gods.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.[To face p. 261.The Igorrotes of Cabugalan in Lepanto regard eels as the embodiment of their ancestors; they will not catch them or do them any harm, but feed them when opportunity offers. TheAsiterasassist at feasts and make invocations and propose toasts which are drunk by the men present. The private or family feasts are calledBumaguil, being held in the giver’s house or courtyard, but public entertainments or feasts of the whole village are calledRegnas, and are held in or in front of theBalta-oaor Town Hall. They are preceded and followed by songs and dances. The songs are inharmonious and monotonous. The dances vary with the localities. In one dance bowing to the beer-mugs is a feature. As amongst other Malay races, ordeals are in fashion to decide disputes. One consists in a priest or chief scratching the scalps of the disputants with a small iron fork. Whoever loses most blood during this operation has lost his case. TheIgorroteswork hard at their agriculture, and their rice-farming is excellent. They plough the valleys with the aid of buffaloes and terrace the hillsides, which they cultivate by hand. They burn down the pine-forests to clear the hills. They irrigate where possible, carrying the canals over any ravine by means of rude aqueducts. They grow considerable quantities of tobacco,1which is, however, of inferior quality. This they sell to the civilised natives, and it is exported. I suppose it goes to Hamburg to make German Havana cigars, just as conger eels go to Paris to make fillets of soles. They cultivate sweet potatoes, also the ordinary potatoes, which grow well, and although small, are much prized in Manila, and meet with a ready sale. TheIgorrotesof Lepanto eagerly seek new seeds to plant. It is strange that an agricultural people like this should have little or no idea of breeding cattle, but instead of doing so, they purchase from the Ilocanos and others cattle, horses, and pigs for consumption, paying good prices for them.They even buy dogs to eat. I have been assured by Mr. Ernest Heald, formerly British Vice-Consul at Sual, that he has often seen Igorrotes returning to the hills from Dagupan, leading strings of dogs, which they had purchased for food at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty cents, and that the dogs seemed to have an instinctive idea what they were being taken away for. The cooking of the Igorrotes is abominable, especially their way of cooking meat. It would not obtain the approval of Brillat Savarin. They seem to have no objection to eating it putrid, and their robust constitutions apparently prevent their suffering from ptomaine poisoning. The most remarkable characteristic of the Igorrotes is their skill as smiths, miners, and metallurgists. Their forges are not usually in their villages, but are hidden away in the forest; they use piston-blowers instead of bellows, and charcoal as fuel. Their lance-heads, swords, and other weapons are well shaped and of excellent quality. They worked the copper ores of Mancayen in Lepanto very successfully. From official documents it appears that from 1840 to 1855 they sold on an average each year about nineteen tons of copper, either in ingots or manufactured. Then a Spanish Company took up the work and ignominiously failed. Gold mining and washing was formerly a monopoly of the nobles, and the washing is so still to some extent. For centuries, and long before the Spanish conquest, the Igorrotes have brought down gold to trade with the coast natives. Such particulars as are known to me about Igorrote mining, smelting, and gold-washing, will be found under the headings Gold, Copper, Iron, inChapter XVI.I have added to this account of them a list of such of their manufactures as I have seen or could learn of, and in most instances I have given the Igorrote name. The Igorrotes have several dialects, so that the names of the various articles may vary according to the locality. Herewith a list of the dialects and the places where each is spoken, taken from Spanish official sources.Dialect.Locality.Benguetano.The greater part of Benguet.Igorrote.Lepanto.Igorrote del Abra.Five villages of Bontoc.Igorrote de la Gran Cordillera.By the reduced Igorrotes and the independent tribes of the Caraballo.Igorrote Suflin.In fifteen villages of that Cordillera.Many of the Principales or head-men and others under Spanish influence speak and write Ilocano, which they find necessary for their trade with that people. More than twenty years ago there were seven schools in Lepanto regularly attended by five hundred and sixty-two children, of whom one hundred and ten could then read and write Spanish. No doubt by this time these schools have considerably increased.I am much impressed by the great industry of these people and with the great skill they show in everything they undertake. It is therefore disappointing to read in Foreman’s book ‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 213: “Like all the races of the Philippines, they are indolent to the greatest degree.” Foreman goes on to say, Polygamy seems to be permitted, murders are common, their huts are built bee-hive fashion, they keep a Dr. and Cr. account of heads with the Negritos. All this is probably in consequence of accepting idle stories as facts, and is nothing less than a libel on the Igorrotes. A people who believe in a Supreme Being, Creator of heaven and earth, in the immortality of the soul, in an upper and lower heaven, in punishment after death, if it has been evaded in life, who are strict monogamists, and who have a high belief in the sacredness of the marriage tie; a people who guard the chastity of their daughters as carefully as the British or the Americans; a people physically strong, brave, skilful, and industrious, have nothing in common with the wretches Foreman described under their name. These people live in the fairest and healthiest parts of Luzon, no fevers lurk amongst those pine-clad mountains, no sultry heats sap the vital powers. What an opportunity for a grand missionary enterprise! What a noble material to work on, every condition seems favourable. The very fact of their rejection of the form of Christianity presented to them, and their distrust of the Spaniards, may influence them in favour of some simpler doctrine. I shall feel well repaid for my labour in describing these people, if the truthful picture I have attempted to present of them should interest those who have the means and the will to inaugurate a new era, to help them along the Path. A perusal of what the old chroniclers say about them convinces me that they have done much themselves to improve their moral condition, and that many detestable customs, at all events attributed to them, have long since been relegated to oblivion.I now give a list of the Missions in the Igorrote and Tinguian territory that existed in 1892.Missions in Tinguian and Igorrote Territory.1892.Province.Town.Population.Missionaries.Rev. Father—AbraPidigan.2,418P. Ornia.Bucay.3,688J. Lopez.La Paz y San Gregorio.2,802P. Fernandez.Villavieja.1,912M. Fonturbel.Bangued.8,702A. Perez.Tayum.3,064L. Vega.Dolores.2,522F. Franco.LepantoCervantes y Cayan.2,200A. Oyanguren.BenguetLa Trinidad y Galiano.849J. Garcia.R. Rivera.28,157All the inhabitants of these towns and villages are Christians, and either they or their ancestors were baptised by missionaries of the Augustinian order.Some Manufactures of the Igorrotes.Weapons.Native Name.Say-angLance, for war or for killing deer.TalibonShort double-edged sword.Ligua, or AliguaAxe used for decapitating the fallen enemy.Calaság or CalátaLong narrow wooden shields.BunnengWood knife.Sayac or DayacSharp bamboo spikes to be set in the paths.Bows and arrows (the Igorrotes possess these, but are not skilful archers).Clubs.Gay-angJavelins (favourite weapons of Igorrotes).Accoutrements.Alpilan or SacupitKnapsacks.Lagpi.Haversacks.Saddles.Bridles.RangánSaddle-bags.BaotWhips.UpitPouch for medicine and antidote for snake bite.Sac-deyUniform or war jackets.BariquesChief’s sword belt.BalquesAncient sword belts used by their ancestors are preserved as heirlooms in the family.Clothing.TacocoHat made of rattan for head-men.Hat for married men.SuebongHat for bachelors, woven from cane.Hat for women.SachongHat for chiefs.Calogón or catlocónHat made of rattan and cane used by Christian Igorrotes.Sarquet or BarguetHeadcloth used by head-men.Loc-boCaps.Olei or UlásCloaks or plaids.CobalLoin-cloth of bark or cotton.Baag or BahaqueAprons.PalingayAprons for women.AttenSkirts used by head-men’s wives or daughters.TachunWaterproof hoods to cover the head and the load carried on the back,e.g., to keep tobacco dry in transit.An-nangaWaterproof capes of Anajas leaves.Sandals.Clogs.Ampaya, SamitTapis, cloth worn by women round the hips.Barique or canesSashes.BaquetWoman’s belt to hold up the tapis.BadoWoman’s shirt.Shirts made of the bark of the pacag.Ornaments.ChacangA gold plate used by head-men or chiefs to cover their teeth at feasts or when they present themselves to Europeans of distinction.BalangatA coronet of rattan.AponqueCollar or necklace.ApongontA coronet of scented wood (candaroma).OnóNecklace of reeds and coloured seeds.BariquesNecklace of vertebræ of snakes.SiquelNecklace made of seed of climbing plant called Bugayon.Necklace made of white stones.Necklace made of crocodiles’ teeth.Necklace made of boars’ tusks.Necklace made of mother-of-pearl.Al-taqueCoronet of polished mother-of-pearl.GarinBangles or bracelets of copper.BaliArm-rings, often of copper and gilt.BaneyLeg rings of nito and fibre, or of copper, used by men.ArisudEar-rings.TabinEar-rings of copper, used by men.Bit-jal or Bit-halBracelets of boars’ tusks.Galaong or GalangBracelets of mother-of-pearl.Onon-ipitNecklace or collar of metal, having three pendants, the centre one being tweezers for pulling out hairs, the other two instruments for cleaning out the ears.Household Goods.Gui-panSmall knife for peeling roots and splitting cane.LodóLadle of cocoa-nut shell for water.IdasWooden spoons.LatocLarge wooden dish, with receptacles for sauce and salt.DalelaRice dish of copper.SagatanStrainer of cane and rattan.Sarangos-ánFunnel made of a cocoa-nut shell.LabbaBasket used for carrying provisions.PidasenBaskets for domestic use.Tinac-dagAlat or MinuiniataSmall basket for collecting eggs.BabacoProvision basket.BigaoBasket for cleaning rice.Opit-daguilProvision basket.Opigán or Acuba-quiganBasket for keeping clothes in.Cal-culvenCane basket blackened by smoke.TapilSmall basket of cane.HugonesGreat baskets to hold rice.AgabinCreels for carrying fish.Apisang or SacupifLarge basket used for carrying tobacco on the back.SulpacLarge bamboos for carrying water.Tang-tangCalabashes for measuring or holdingbasi.Ting-galonGoblet of plaited cane used at feasts for drinkingbasi.PambiánSpinning wheels.Paga-blangLooms.La-labayánApparatus for holding skeins of cotton.Qui-tan-gangWooden drainer for the spoons or paddles used for stirring up thebasiwhen brewing it.Balai-ti-adoRack to hold spoons.Quil-litEarthen cooking-pot.OngotDrinking-cup for water.SoledDish of plaited rattan for boiled camote (sweet potatoes).DapilagDish of plaited rattan for boiled rice.Personal Effects.PaltingPouches for tobacco and gold.UpitTobacco pouch plaited of rattan.SuputPurse made of cotton ornamented with copper wire.CuacoPipes of wood, stone, clay, or metal.NupitTobacco boxes.SacopitCarved walking sticks.TadUmbrellas.PamiguinPneumatic tinder-box, or fire squirt.ApitPocket book of cane and rattan.DubongDeer-skin pouch used when travelling.QuidatangCase with fittings for striking a light.Sagay sayCombs.Tooth-brushes.Miscellaneous.TaliRopes of Alinao bark.Sinal-lapidRopes of Labtang bark.RaténNets for taking deer and pigs.Chi-ayTraps for taking jungle-fowl.AnitosImages of the household gods.SipasFoot-balls of rattan.DisigHumming tops.CasabangBranch of a tree used to frighten away snakes.Hammocks for sleeping or travelling.TugasThrone for a chief and his favourite.Harrows.Ploughs.Cradles.Coffins.Musical Instruments.Sulibao or CulibaoLarge drum, played with one stick.QuinibalSmall drum held between the knees and played with two sticks.Calalen or Bab-balasanFlutes played by single women.Cong-gala orFlutes (nose flutes) played by men.Tong-galaGanzaLarge flat gong held in right hand, and played with left, vibrations stopped with right elbow. If a human jaw-bone, taken from a dead enemy, is fitted as a handle, the value is enhanced.PinsacA small gong.Bating-ting orTriangles made of iron.Palas-bating-tingCingo-cingcoViolin played by single men.Guitar, the body made from cocoa-nut shell.Palgong-bocancangCane instrument played by the women going to and coming from their work. Holding it in the right hand, they cover the orifice with the index-finger, and strike the other end on the left hand.Mining Tools, etc.Native names unknownCrow-bars.Hammers.Wedges.Outfit for gold washing.Blowers for smiths’ forges.Furnaces for smelting copper.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.[To face p. 264.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anito of the Igorrotes.Anito of the Igorrotes.Igorrote Drums.Igorrote Drums.[To face p. 266.1They sell about 25,000 bales per annum.

Chapter XXVII.Igorrotes (7).

This is an important, and to me, the most interesting of the independent or partly subdued races of the Philippines. They are a fine, hardy, industrious, and warlike race, well worth a great and patient effort to bring them within the pale of Christianity, and to advance the civilisation they have already attained. They are of a dark bronze colour, with straight black and abundant hair, large dark eyes set rather obliquely as amongst Chinese. Their faces are broad with high cheek-bones, the nose aquiline and the head large. The features in general have a Mongolian cast, and a certain nasal twang in their speech resembles that of the Southern Chinese. The men have capacious chests, showing good lung-power, their muscles well developed indicating great strength and ability to resist fatigue. The women have also well-marked figures and rounded limbs. The fashions vary with different tribes, but it is common to find both sexes wearing their hair cut in a fringe over the forehead, but reaching down to the eyebrows, long enough at the sides to cover the ears, left long at the back of the head, where it is gathered up into a knot.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.[To face p. 254.The Igorrotes of Lepanto wear beards, some of them are as thick as a Spaniard’s, but the tribes farther South pull out, not only their beards, but all the hair on their bodies, except that of the head. Their dress varies from a mere apron (Bahaque) when at work in the fields, to an ornamental jacket very smartly cut and elaborate sword-belt when at war or on any full-dress occasion. These jackets are very handsome and have stripes of blue, crimson and white. They wear a variety of head-dresses, turban, Salacot or a kind of cocked-hat and feathers. Both men and women wear cloaks or plaids of bright colours made of cotton. Although the word Igorrote has come to bealmost a generic name for the heathen Highlanders of North Luzon, it is here limited to those who dwell on the Western part of the Cordillera Central, comprising the whole of the districts of Benguet and Lepanto, part of Bontoc and parts of the Provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. The sub-tribes Buriks and Busaos are included.Tattooing is very general amongst them. In some districts you can hardly find a man or woman who has not a figure of the sun tattooed in blue on the back of the hand, for in Central Benguet they worship the sun. Someofthem tattoo the breast and arms in patterns of straight and curved lines pricked in with a needle in indigo blue. The Busao Igorrotes, who live in the North of Lepanto, tattoo flowers on their arms, and in war-dress wear acylindricalshako made of wood or plaited rattan, and large copper pendants in their ears. These people do not use the Talibon, and prefer the spear. The Burik Igorrotes tattoo the body in a curious manner, giving them the appearance of wearing a coat of mail. But this custom is probably now becoming obsolete, for at least those of the Igorrotes who live near the Christian natives are gradually adopting their dress and customs.White is the colour of mourning, as amongst the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu. Both sexes are fond of personal ornaments, such as ear-rings, collars, arm-rings, bangles, leg-rings and belts. Collars of crocodiles’ teeth are highly esteemed. In the long list of their manufactures I shall enumerate their ornaments. Their arms are thetalibon, a short double-edged sword; thegayang, a javelin or assegai; and thealigua, a light axe, having a spike at the back opposite to the cutting edge. After throwing their javelins, they rush on with their drawn swords, holding their shield, called acalata, on the left arm. This is made of light wood and is long and narrow. With the exception of the shape of the shield their equipment is much like that of the Roman Legionaries twenty centuries since. Thealiguaappears to be used, not as a fighting weapon, but to decapitate their fallen enemies and as a means of carrying the head home on a spike. Great rejoicings, with feasts and dances, were held after a successful skirmish, and large quantities of liquor consumed. But the constant pressure of the Spanish authority has in a great measure stopped these petty wars. They make a kind of beer calledBasiby fermenting cane-juice, and another liquor, something likethe chicha of the Peruvian Coast Indians, from rice. This latter is calledbundang. They are great smokers, and make their own pipes of various materials. They appear not to have universally adopted the Malay custom of chewing buyo. There is a settlement of Christian Igorrotes on the coast of Ilocos Sur, close to the boundary of La Union, which has been established many years. But in general the Igorrotes have steadily refused to embrace Christianity, and evidently do not want to go to the same heaven as the Spaniards. The behaviour of the troops led against them in 1881 by General Primo de Rivera doubtless confirmed them in this repugnance. The expedition did not do much in the way of fighting, Remingtons and mountain-guns failed to subdue the bold mountaineers armed only with javelin and sword. The Spanish officers and men, however, are reported to have abominably mishandled the Igorrote women. For this ravishing foray the late King Alfonso XII. bestowed the title of Vizconde de la Union upon Primo de Rivera, and showered promotions and crosses upon his staff.The Igorrotes live in villages with a population of three or four hundred souls. There is a chief to each, but the villages are not organised into states, each being independent. The chief is supposed to be chosen from the families calledMainguel, who have distinguished themselves in war. As a matter of fact, the richest man usually becomes chief. The wealthy families vie with each other in the grand feasts which they give to all comers. The noble and the illustrious guests are personally invited to these feasts, but the common people assemble at beat of drum. The chief presides at the meeting of theBacuanesor nobles in whom are vested the village lands, and who direct its affairs.The common people are in a kind of bondage to the nobles, and cultivate their lands for them. In Lepanto they are calledcailianesas in Ilocos. Their houses are square, and similar to those of the other natives in the outlying districts, being raised on posts above the ground-level. A framework of bamboos is supported on four trunks of trees, the roof is thatched withcogon(elephant grass) and the sides are closed in by canes, bamboos or pine planks. Each house stands in an enclosure of its own, strongly fenced with rough stones or posts. They are far inferior to the Christian natives in the arrangementof their houses. Instead of having a separate kitchen on apantalanor raised platform, the fire is made in the centre of the house, and the smoke finds its way out through a hole in the roof. The rafters and inside of the thatch is blackened by the soot. They make no windows to their houses and only a small door, the ladder to which is drawn up when they retire to rest. They are not clean in their persons, and neglect to wash their clothes, or clean the interiors of their houses. They thus compare very unfavourably with the Tagals as regards cleanliness, although, as we shall see, in some other respects they are greatly above them. Each village has its Town Hall, which they call theBalta-oa. This is where the Town Council assembles to settle the affairs of the community, to hear requests for divorces, and to administer the law to offenders. Public festivities also take place here.They are monogamous, and have the highest respect for the holiness of the marriage tie. It is not absolutely indissoluble, but can be dissolved by the village council on serious grounds; but apparently divorce is systematically discouraged, and the sacredness of marriage is upheld. In former times adulteresses were punished by beheading, but more lenient views now prevail, and a good whipping is considered sufficient to meet the case. Generally death only dissolves the tie, and even then only partially, as re-marriage is difficult; for it is not proper for the widow to marry again without the consent of her late husband’s family, which may not easily be obtained, and if she contracts new ties, the children of her first marriage are removed from her control. On the other hand, Igorrote respectability requires that a widower should entirely neglect his toilet and commune silently with his grief for several years before taking to himself a new wife. Like most heathen, they show the greatest respect and affection for their parents, and cherish them to their life’s end.In sharp contrast with the license accorded to young girls by the Tagals and Visayas, the Igorrotes carefully guard the chastity of their daughters, and do not allow them to go about without a chaperon. The father even often accompanies them on their excursions. When they arrive at the age of puberty, the boys and girls are separated.In each village there are two special buildings not too near each other. In one of these the girls sleep under the watchful guard of a duenna, who looks after their morals,and in the other the youths under the care of an elder. The youth caught violating the sanctity of the damsels’ dormitory, or the maiden who is detected in an intrigue, or shows signs of maternity, may expect a severe correction. They do not seem to raise as many difficulties about the marriage of their daughters as the Tagals do, and they do not make it a matter of a mercenary bargain. When a youth takes a fancy to a marriageable maiden of his own degree, he applies through his parents to the father of the girl, and if he and his daughter look with favour on the proposal, the young man is admitted to cohabit with the damsel. But if within a certain period the girl does not show signs of succession, the would-be bridegroom is sent about his business. On the other hand, if pregnancy is announced, the wedding takes place with all possible ceremony, including an invocation of theAnitosor ancestral gods, feasts and dances, which last eight or nine days, but the young couple are excused from attendance. The Igorrotes, in fact, openly recognise a custom which is practised to a great extent in the agricultural districts of England and Scotland, with this difference, that the Christian youth in the latter countries often evades the marriage, while the heathen Igorrote carries out his engagement. I think, on the whole, the heathen comes out best.Although so desirous of offspring, they like to have them come one at a time, and they consider it to be an evil omen when one of their women brings forth twins. In such a case the last born is handed over to whoever desires to adopt it. This is held to avert the omen and straighten things out again.Of late years the establishment of forts with the Tagal or Visayas garrisons in the Igorrote territory, and closer contact with Christians generally, have tended to demoralise the heathen, and, above all, to lower somewhat their lofty ideal of chastity.Anitos of Northern Tribes.Anitos of Northern Tribes.[To face p. 258.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Anitos of the Igorrotes.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.[To face p. 259.Amongst the Igorrotes of Lepanto, and those farthest removed from Spanish influence, when a man of position dies, a notification is sent to all his blood-relations, even though they reside at a great distance, and the corpse is not buried until they have all arrived and have each taken the dead man’s hand in theirs, inquiring of him tenderly why he has abandoned his family. All this time a great feast is going on outside the house, vast quantities of rice and meat are provided and consumed, and an unlimitedallowance of beer drunk by the guests. The expense is often out of all proportion to the means of the family and perhaps involves them in debt for years.In the Igorrote territory under Spanish influence this extravagance and delay of burial is discouraged. Some of the Igorrotes dry their dead over a fire in a similar way to the Tinguianes. The dead are buried in a sitting posture, after the manner of the Peruvian Indians, but enclosed in coffins, which are placed in any small cave or cleft in the rocks, enlarged by hand if necessary. The Igorrotes believe in a Supreme Being, the creator and preserver; he is calledApoin Benguet, andLu-ma-oigin Lepanto. The wife ofApois calledBangan, the daughterBuganand the sonUbban. There are two inferior gods,CabigatandSuyan, these deities hold intercourse with mankind through theAnitosor ancestral spirits, some good, some evil, who reward or chastise mankind in this life. They represent these spirits by roughly-carved idols of wood. Some of these idols are male and others female. Occasionally the carving is of an obscene nature, and similar to some clay images I have seen taken from tombs in Peru. They practise family prayer, and the object of it is to solicit the favour of the Anitos. Sometimes the will of the Anitos is declared through an old priestess called anAsitera, who receives a fee for her pains. The ancestral spirits are more worshipped than the gods. Poultry, swine, and dogs, may not be slaughtered except in a sacrificial manner. There is a priest in every village called theManbunungwho first consecrates the animal to the Anitos, and then kills it and returns it to the owner, reserving, however, the best piece for himself. In company with his first-born son he takes the lead at prayer-meetings, or on special occasions, such as illness, marriage, the commencing some important work, or averting some evil omen. This man makes some pretence at healing the sick, but rather with charms and incantations than by administering medicine. There is a sacred tree near each village, which is regarded as the seat of the Anitos. In the shade of this is a sacrificial stone. Sometimes near a house may been seen a small bench for the Anitos to repose on, and a dish of rice or other food for their refreshment. The Igorrotes believe that there are two places where the souls of the dead travel to. One is an agreeable residence provided with everything necessary to happiness, and is for the spirits of those who have dieda natural death. But if they have been evil-doers, such as robbers or murderers, and have escaped due punishment on earth, they are punished here by the other souls before being allowed to enjoy the advantages of the place. But the souls of brave warriors killed in battle, and of women who have died in child-birth, arrive at a much more desirable place, a real heaven, and reside amongst the gods.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.[To face p. 261.The Igorrotes of Cabugalan in Lepanto regard eels as the embodiment of their ancestors; they will not catch them or do them any harm, but feed them when opportunity offers. TheAsiterasassist at feasts and make invocations and propose toasts which are drunk by the men present. The private or family feasts are calledBumaguil, being held in the giver’s house or courtyard, but public entertainments or feasts of the whole village are calledRegnas, and are held in or in front of theBalta-oaor Town Hall. They are preceded and followed by songs and dances. The songs are inharmonious and monotonous. The dances vary with the localities. In one dance bowing to the beer-mugs is a feature. As amongst other Malay races, ordeals are in fashion to decide disputes. One consists in a priest or chief scratching the scalps of the disputants with a small iron fork. Whoever loses most blood during this operation has lost his case. TheIgorroteswork hard at their agriculture, and their rice-farming is excellent. They plough the valleys with the aid of buffaloes and terrace the hillsides, which they cultivate by hand. They burn down the pine-forests to clear the hills. They irrigate where possible, carrying the canals over any ravine by means of rude aqueducts. They grow considerable quantities of tobacco,1which is, however, of inferior quality. This they sell to the civilised natives, and it is exported. I suppose it goes to Hamburg to make German Havana cigars, just as conger eels go to Paris to make fillets of soles. They cultivate sweet potatoes, also the ordinary potatoes, which grow well, and although small, are much prized in Manila, and meet with a ready sale. TheIgorrotesof Lepanto eagerly seek new seeds to plant. It is strange that an agricultural people like this should have little or no idea of breeding cattle, but instead of doing so, they purchase from the Ilocanos and others cattle, horses, and pigs for consumption, paying good prices for them.They even buy dogs to eat. I have been assured by Mr. Ernest Heald, formerly British Vice-Consul at Sual, that he has often seen Igorrotes returning to the hills from Dagupan, leading strings of dogs, which they had purchased for food at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty cents, and that the dogs seemed to have an instinctive idea what they were being taken away for. The cooking of the Igorrotes is abominable, especially their way of cooking meat. It would not obtain the approval of Brillat Savarin. They seem to have no objection to eating it putrid, and their robust constitutions apparently prevent their suffering from ptomaine poisoning. The most remarkable characteristic of the Igorrotes is their skill as smiths, miners, and metallurgists. Their forges are not usually in their villages, but are hidden away in the forest; they use piston-blowers instead of bellows, and charcoal as fuel. Their lance-heads, swords, and other weapons are well shaped and of excellent quality. They worked the copper ores of Mancayen in Lepanto very successfully. From official documents it appears that from 1840 to 1855 they sold on an average each year about nineteen tons of copper, either in ingots or manufactured. Then a Spanish Company took up the work and ignominiously failed. Gold mining and washing was formerly a monopoly of the nobles, and the washing is so still to some extent. For centuries, and long before the Spanish conquest, the Igorrotes have brought down gold to trade with the coast natives. Such particulars as are known to me about Igorrote mining, smelting, and gold-washing, will be found under the headings Gold, Copper, Iron, inChapter XVI.I have added to this account of them a list of such of their manufactures as I have seen or could learn of, and in most instances I have given the Igorrote name. The Igorrotes have several dialects, so that the names of the various articles may vary according to the locality. Herewith a list of the dialects and the places where each is spoken, taken from Spanish official sources.Dialect.Locality.Benguetano.The greater part of Benguet.Igorrote.Lepanto.Igorrote del Abra.Five villages of Bontoc.Igorrote de la Gran Cordillera.By the reduced Igorrotes and the independent tribes of the Caraballo.Igorrote Suflin.In fifteen villages of that Cordillera.Many of the Principales or head-men and others under Spanish influence speak and write Ilocano, which they find necessary for their trade with that people. More than twenty years ago there were seven schools in Lepanto regularly attended by five hundred and sixty-two children, of whom one hundred and ten could then read and write Spanish. No doubt by this time these schools have considerably increased.I am much impressed by the great industry of these people and with the great skill they show in everything they undertake. It is therefore disappointing to read in Foreman’s book ‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 213: “Like all the races of the Philippines, they are indolent to the greatest degree.” Foreman goes on to say, Polygamy seems to be permitted, murders are common, their huts are built bee-hive fashion, they keep a Dr. and Cr. account of heads with the Negritos. All this is probably in consequence of accepting idle stories as facts, and is nothing less than a libel on the Igorrotes. A people who believe in a Supreme Being, Creator of heaven and earth, in the immortality of the soul, in an upper and lower heaven, in punishment after death, if it has been evaded in life, who are strict monogamists, and who have a high belief in the sacredness of the marriage tie; a people who guard the chastity of their daughters as carefully as the British or the Americans; a people physically strong, brave, skilful, and industrious, have nothing in common with the wretches Foreman described under their name. These people live in the fairest and healthiest parts of Luzon, no fevers lurk amongst those pine-clad mountains, no sultry heats sap the vital powers. What an opportunity for a grand missionary enterprise! What a noble material to work on, every condition seems favourable. The very fact of their rejection of the form of Christianity presented to them, and their distrust of the Spaniards, may influence them in favour of some simpler doctrine. I shall feel well repaid for my labour in describing these people, if the truthful picture I have attempted to present of them should interest those who have the means and the will to inaugurate a new era, to help them along the Path. A perusal of what the old chroniclers say about them convinces me that they have done much themselves to improve their moral condition, and that many detestable customs, at all events attributed to them, have long since been relegated to oblivion.I now give a list of the Missions in the Igorrote and Tinguian territory that existed in 1892.Missions in Tinguian and Igorrote Territory.1892.Province.Town.Population.Missionaries.Rev. Father—AbraPidigan.2,418P. Ornia.Bucay.3,688J. Lopez.La Paz y San Gregorio.2,802P. Fernandez.Villavieja.1,912M. Fonturbel.Bangued.8,702A. Perez.Tayum.3,064L. Vega.Dolores.2,522F. Franco.LepantoCervantes y Cayan.2,200A. Oyanguren.BenguetLa Trinidad y Galiano.849J. Garcia.R. Rivera.28,157All the inhabitants of these towns and villages are Christians, and either they or their ancestors were baptised by missionaries of the Augustinian order.Some Manufactures of the Igorrotes.Weapons.Native Name.Say-angLance, for war or for killing deer.TalibonShort double-edged sword.Ligua, or AliguaAxe used for decapitating the fallen enemy.Calaság or CalátaLong narrow wooden shields.BunnengWood knife.Sayac or DayacSharp bamboo spikes to be set in the paths.Bows and arrows (the Igorrotes possess these, but are not skilful archers).Clubs.Gay-angJavelins (favourite weapons of Igorrotes).Accoutrements.Alpilan or SacupitKnapsacks.Lagpi.Haversacks.Saddles.Bridles.RangánSaddle-bags.BaotWhips.UpitPouch for medicine and antidote for snake bite.Sac-deyUniform or war jackets.BariquesChief’s sword belt.BalquesAncient sword belts used by their ancestors are preserved as heirlooms in the family.Clothing.TacocoHat made of rattan for head-men.Hat for married men.SuebongHat for bachelors, woven from cane.Hat for women.SachongHat for chiefs.Calogón or catlocónHat made of rattan and cane used by Christian Igorrotes.Sarquet or BarguetHeadcloth used by head-men.Loc-boCaps.Olei or UlásCloaks or plaids.CobalLoin-cloth of bark or cotton.Baag or BahaqueAprons.PalingayAprons for women.AttenSkirts used by head-men’s wives or daughters.TachunWaterproof hoods to cover the head and the load carried on the back,e.g., to keep tobacco dry in transit.An-nangaWaterproof capes of Anajas leaves.Sandals.Clogs.Ampaya, SamitTapis, cloth worn by women round the hips.Barique or canesSashes.BaquetWoman’s belt to hold up the tapis.BadoWoman’s shirt.Shirts made of the bark of the pacag.Ornaments.ChacangA gold plate used by head-men or chiefs to cover their teeth at feasts or when they present themselves to Europeans of distinction.BalangatA coronet of rattan.AponqueCollar or necklace.ApongontA coronet of scented wood (candaroma).OnóNecklace of reeds and coloured seeds.BariquesNecklace of vertebræ of snakes.SiquelNecklace made of seed of climbing plant called Bugayon.Necklace made of white stones.Necklace made of crocodiles’ teeth.Necklace made of boars’ tusks.Necklace made of mother-of-pearl.Al-taqueCoronet of polished mother-of-pearl.GarinBangles or bracelets of copper.BaliArm-rings, often of copper and gilt.BaneyLeg rings of nito and fibre, or of copper, used by men.ArisudEar-rings.TabinEar-rings of copper, used by men.Bit-jal or Bit-halBracelets of boars’ tusks.Galaong or GalangBracelets of mother-of-pearl.Onon-ipitNecklace or collar of metal, having three pendants, the centre one being tweezers for pulling out hairs, the other two instruments for cleaning out the ears.Household Goods.Gui-panSmall knife for peeling roots and splitting cane.LodóLadle of cocoa-nut shell for water.IdasWooden spoons.LatocLarge wooden dish, with receptacles for sauce and salt.DalelaRice dish of copper.SagatanStrainer of cane and rattan.Sarangos-ánFunnel made of a cocoa-nut shell.LabbaBasket used for carrying provisions.PidasenBaskets for domestic use.Tinac-dagAlat or MinuiniataSmall basket for collecting eggs.BabacoProvision basket.BigaoBasket for cleaning rice.Opit-daguilProvision basket.Opigán or Acuba-quiganBasket for keeping clothes in.Cal-culvenCane basket blackened by smoke.TapilSmall basket of cane.HugonesGreat baskets to hold rice.AgabinCreels for carrying fish.Apisang or SacupifLarge basket used for carrying tobacco on the back.SulpacLarge bamboos for carrying water.Tang-tangCalabashes for measuring or holdingbasi.Ting-galonGoblet of plaited cane used at feasts for drinkingbasi.PambiánSpinning wheels.Paga-blangLooms.La-labayánApparatus for holding skeins of cotton.Qui-tan-gangWooden drainer for the spoons or paddles used for stirring up thebasiwhen brewing it.Balai-ti-adoRack to hold spoons.Quil-litEarthen cooking-pot.OngotDrinking-cup for water.SoledDish of plaited rattan for boiled camote (sweet potatoes).DapilagDish of plaited rattan for boiled rice.Personal Effects.PaltingPouches for tobacco and gold.UpitTobacco pouch plaited of rattan.SuputPurse made of cotton ornamented with copper wire.CuacoPipes of wood, stone, clay, or metal.NupitTobacco boxes.SacopitCarved walking sticks.TadUmbrellas.PamiguinPneumatic tinder-box, or fire squirt.ApitPocket book of cane and rattan.DubongDeer-skin pouch used when travelling.QuidatangCase with fittings for striking a light.Sagay sayCombs.Tooth-brushes.Miscellaneous.TaliRopes of Alinao bark.Sinal-lapidRopes of Labtang bark.RaténNets for taking deer and pigs.Chi-ayTraps for taking jungle-fowl.AnitosImages of the household gods.SipasFoot-balls of rattan.DisigHumming tops.CasabangBranch of a tree used to frighten away snakes.Hammocks for sleeping or travelling.TugasThrone for a chief and his favourite.Harrows.Ploughs.Cradles.Coffins.Musical Instruments.Sulibao or CulibaoLarge drum, played with one stick.QuinibalSmall drum held between the knees and played with two sticks.Calalen or Bab-balasanFlutes played by single women.Cong-gala orFlutes (nose flutes) played by men.Tong-galaGanzaLarge flat gong held in right hand, and played with left, vibrations stopped with right elbow. If a human jaw-bone, taken from a dead enemy, is fitted as a handle, the value is enhanced.PinsacA small gong.Bating-ting orTriangles made of iron.Palas-bating-tingCingo-cingcoViolin played by single men.Guitar, the body made from cocoa-nut shell.Palgong-bocancangCane instrument played by the women going to and coming from their work. Holding it in the right hand, they cover the orifice with the index-finger, and strike the other end on the left hand.Mining Tools, etc.Native names unknownCrow-bars.Hammers.Wedges.Outfit for gold washing.Blowers for smiths’ forges.Furnaces for smelting copper.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.[To face p. 264.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anito of the Igorrotes.Anito of the Igorrotes.Igorrote Drums.Igorrote Drums.[To face p. 266.

This is an important, and to me, the most interesting of the independent or partly subdued races of the Philippines. They are a fine, hardy, industrious, and warlike race, well worth a great and patient effort to bring them within the pale of Christianity, and to advance the civilisation they have already attained. They are of a dark bronze colour, with straight black and abundant hair, large dark eyes set rather obliquely as amongst Chinese. Their faces are broad with high cheek-bones, the nose aquiline and the head large. The features in general have a Mongolian cast, and a certain nasal twang in their speech resembles that of the Southern Chinese. The men have capacious chests, showing good lung-power, their muscles well developed indicating great strength and ability to resist fatigue. The women have also well-marked figures and rounded limbs. The fashions vary with different tribes, but it is common to find both sexes wearing their hair cut in a fringe over the forehead, but reaching down to the eyebrows, long enough at the sides to cover the ears, left long at the back of the head, where it is gathered up into a knot.

Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.[To face p. 254.

Igorrote Spearmen and Negrito Archer.

[To face p. 254.

The Igorrotes of Lepanto wear beards, some of them are as thick as a Spaniard’s, but the tribes farther South pull out, not only their beards, but all the hair on their bodies, except that of the head. Their dress varies from a mere apron (Bahaque) when at work in the fields, to an ornamental jacket very smartly cut and elaborate sword-belt when at war or on any full-dress occasion. These jackets are very handsome and have stripes of blue, crimson and white. They wear a variety of head-dresses, turban, Salacot or a kind of cocked-hat and feathers. Both men and women wear cloaks or plaids of bright colours made of cotton. Although the word Igorrote has come to bealmost a generic name for the heathen Highlanders of North Luzon, it is here limited to those who dwell on the Western part of the Cordillera Central, comprising the whole of the districts of Benguet and Lepanto, part of Bontoc and parts of the Provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur. The sub-tribes Buriks and Busaos are included.

Tattooing is very general amongst them. In some districts you can hardly find a man or woman who has not a figure of the sun tattooed in blue on the back of the hand, for in Central Benguet they worship the sun. Someofthem tattoo the breast and arms in patterns of straight and curved lines pricked in with a needle in indigo blue. The Busao Igorrotes, who live in the North of Lepanto, tattoo flowers on their arms, and in war-dress wear acylindricalshako made of wood or plaited rattan, and large copper pendants in their ears. These people do not use the Talibon, and prefer the spear. The Burik Igorrotes tattoo the body in a curious manner, giving them the appearance of wearing a coat of mail. But this custom is probably now becoming obsolete, for at least those of the Igorrotes who live near the Christian natives are gradually adopting their dress and customs.

White is the colour of mourning, as amongst the Moros of Mindanao and Sulu. Both sexes are fond of personal ornaments, such as ear-rings, collars, arm-rings, bangles, leg-rings and belts. Collars of crocodiles’ teeth are highly esteemed. In the long list of their manufactures I shall enumerate their ornaments. Their arms are thetalibon, a short double-edged sword; thegayang, a javelin or assegai; and thealigua, a light axe, having a spike at the back opposite to the cutting edge. After throwing their javelins, they rush on with their drawn swords, holding their shield, called acalata, on the left arm. This is made of light wood and is long and narrow. With the exception of the shape of the shield their equipment is much like that of the Roman Legionaries twenty centuries since. Thealiguaappears to be used, not as a fighting weapon, but to decapitate their fallen enemies and as a means of carrying the head home on a spike. Great rejoicings, with feasts and dances, were held after a successful skirmish, and large quantities of liquor consumed. But the constant pressure of the Spanish authority has in a great measure stopped these petty wars. They make a kind of beer calledBasiby fermenting cane-juice, and another liquor, something likethe chicha of the Peruvian Coast Indians, from rice. This latter is calledbundang. They are great smokers, and make their own pipes of various materials. They appear not to have universally adopted the Malay custom of chewing buyo. There is a settlement of Christian Igorrotes on the coast of Ilocos Sur, close to the boundary of La Union, which has been established many years. But in general the Igorrotes have steadily refused to embrace Christianity, and evidently do not want to go to the same heaven as the Spaniards. The behaviour of the troops led against them in 1881 by General Primo de Rivera doubtless confirmed them in this repugnance. The expedition did not do much in the way of fighting, Remingtons and mountain-guns failed to subdue the bold mountaineers armed only with javelin and sword. The Spanish officers and men, however, are reported to have abominably mishandled the Igorrote women. For this ravishing foray the late King Alfonso XII. bestowed the title of Vizconde de la Union upon Primo de Rivera, and showered promotions and crosses upon his staff.

The Igorrotes live in villages with a population of three or four hundred souls. There is a chief to each, but the villages are not organised into states, each being independent. The chief is supposed to be chosen from the families calledMainguel, who have distinguished themselves in war. As a matter of fact, the richest man usually becomes chief. The wealthy families vie with each other in the grand feasts which they give to all comers. The noble and the illustrious guests are personally invited to these feasts, but the common people assemble at beat of drum. The chief presides at the meeting of theBacuanesor nobles in whom are vested the village lands, and who direct its affairs.

The common people are in a kind of bondage to the nobles, and cultivate their lands for them. In Lepanto they are calledcailianesas in Ilocos. Their houses are square, and similar to those of the other natives in the outlying districts, being raised on posts above the ground-level. A framework of bamboos is supported on four trunks of trees, the roof is thatched withcogon(elephant grass) and the sides are closed in by canes, bamboos or pine planks. Each house stands in an enclosure of its own, strongly fenced with rough stones or posts. They are far inferior to the Christian natives in the arrangementof their houses. Instead of having a separate kitchen on apantalanor raised platform, the fire is made in the centre of the house, and the smoke finds its way out through a hole in the roof. The rafters and inside of the thatch is blackened by the soot. They make no windows to their houses and only a small door, the ladder to which is drawn up when they retire to rest. They are not clean in their persons, and neglect to wash their clothes, or clean the interiors of their houses. They thus compare very unfavourably with the Tagals as regards cleanliness, although, as we shall see, in some other respects they are greatly above them. Each village has its Town Hall, which they call theBalta-oa. This is where the Town Council assembles to settle the affairs of the community, to hear requests for divorces, and to administer the law to offenders. Public festivities also take place here.

They are monogamous, and have the highest respect for the holiness of the marriage tie. It is not absolutely indissoluble, but can be dissolved by the village council on serious grounds; but apparently divorce is systematically discouraged, and the sacredness of marriage is upheld. In former times adulteresses were punished by beheading, but more lenient views now prevail, and a good whipping is considered sufficient to meet the case. Generally death only dissolves the tie, and even then only partially, as re-marriage is difficult; for it is not proper for the widow to marry again without the consent of her late husband’s family, which may not easily be obtained, and if she contracts new ties, the children of her first marriage are removed from her control. On the other hand, Igorrote respectability requires that a widower should entirely neglect his toilet and commune silently with his grief for several years before taking to himself a new wife. Like most heathen, they show the greatest respect and affection for their parents, and cherish them to their life’s end.

In sharp contrast with the license accorded to young girls by the Tagals and Visayas, the Igorrotes carefully guard the chastity of their daughters, and do not allow them to go about without a chaperon. The father even often accompanies them on their excursions. When they arrive at the age of puberty, the boys and girls are separated.

In each village there are two special buildings not too near each other. In one of these the girls sleep under the watchful guard of a duenna, who looks after their morals,and in the other the youths under the care of an elder. The youth caught violating the sanctity of the damsels’ dormitory, or the maiden who is detected in an intrigue, or shows signs of maternity, may expect a severe correction. They do not seem to raise as many difficulties about the marriage of their daughters as the Tagals do, and they do not make it a matter of a mercenary bargain. When a youth takes a fancy to a marriageable maiden of his own degree, he applies through his parents to the father of the girl, and if he and his daughter look with favour on the proposal, the young man is admitted to cohabit with the damsel. But if within a certain period the girl does not show signs of succession, the would-be bridegroom is sent about his business. On the other hand, if pregnancy is announced, the wedding takes place with all possible ceremony, including an invocation of theAnitosor ancestral gods, feasts and dances, which last eight or nine days, but the young couple are excused from attendance. The Igorrotes, in fact, openly recognise a custom which is practised to a great extent in the agricultural districts of England and Scotland, with this difference, that the Christian youth in the latter countries often evades the marriage, while the heathen Igorrote carries out his engagement. I think, on the whole, the heathen comes out best.

Although so desirous of offspring, they like to have them come one at a time, and they consider it to be an evil omen when one of their women brings forth twins. In such a case the last born is handed over to whoever desires to adopt it. This is held to avert the omen and straighten things out again.

Of late years the establishment of forts with the Tagal or Visayas garrisons in the Igorrote territory, and closer contact with Christians generally, have tended to demoralise the heathen, and, above all, to lower somewhat their lofty ideal of chastity.

Anitos of Northern Tribes.Anitos of Northern Tribes.[To face p. 258.

Anitos of Northern Tribes.

[To face p. 258.

Anitos of the Igorrotes.Anitos of the Igorrotes.

Anitos of the Igorrotes.

Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.[To face p. 259.

Coffin of an Igorrote Noble, with his Coronets and other Ornaments.

[To face p. 259.

Amongst the Igorrotes of Lepanto, and those farthest removed from Spanish influence, when a man of position dies, a notification is sent to all his blood-relations, even though they reside at a great distance, and the corpse is not buried until they have all arrived and have each taken the dead man’s hand in theirs, inquiring of him tenderly why he has abandoned his family. All this time a great feast is going on outside the house, vast quantities of rice and meat are provided and consumed, and an unlimitedallowance of beer drunk by the guests. The expense is often out of all proportion to the means of the family and perhaps involves them in debt for years.

In the Igorrote territory under Spanish influence this extravagance and delay of burial is discouraged. Some of the Igorrotes dry their dead over a fire in a similar way to the Tinguianes. The dead are buried in a sitting posture, after the manner of the Peruvian Indians, but enclosed in coffins, which are placed in any small cave or cleft in the rocks, enlarged by hand if necessary. The Igorrotes believe in a Supreme Being, the creator and preserver; he is calledApoin Benguet, andLu-ma-oigin Lepanto. The wife ofApois calledBangan, the daughterBuganand the sonUbban. There are two inferior gods,CabigatandSuyan, these deities hold intercourse with mankind through theAnitosor ancestral spirits, some good, some evil, who reward or chastise mankind in this life. They represent these spirits by roughly-carved idols of wood. Some of these idols are male and others female. Occasionally the carving is of an obscene nature, and similar to some clay images I have seen taken from tombs in Peru. They practise family prayer, and the object of it is to solicit the favour of the Anitos. Sometimes the will of the Anitos is declared through an old priestess called anAsitera, who receives a fee for her pains. The ancestral spirits are more worshipped than the gods. Poultry, swine, and dogs, may not be slaughtered except in a sacrificial manner. There is a priest in every village called theManbunungwho first consecrates the animal to the Anitos, and then kills it and returns it to the owner, reserving, however, the best piece for himself. In company with his first-born son he takes the lead at prayer-meetings, or on special occasions, such as illness, marriage, the commencing some important work, or averting some evil omen. This man makes some pretence at healing the sick, but rather with charms and incantations than by administering medicine. There is a sacred tree near each village, which is regarded as the seat of the Anitos. In the shade of this is a sacrificial stone. Sometimes near a house may been seen a small bench for the Anitos to repose on, and a dish of rice or other food for their refreshment. The Igorrotes believe that there are two places where the souls of the dead travel to. One is an agreeable residence provided with everything necessary to happiness, and is for the spirits of those who have dieda natural death. But if they have been evil-doers, such as robbers or murderers, and have escaped due punishment on earth, they are punished here by the other souls before being allowed to enjoy the advantages of the place. But the souls of brave warriors killed in battle, and of women who have died in child-birth, arrive at a much more desirable place, a real heaven, and reside amongst the gods.

Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.[To face p. 261.

Weapons of the Highlanders of Luzon.

[To face p. 261.

The Igorrotes of Cabugalan in Lepanto regard eels as the embodiment of their ancestors; they will not catch them or do them any harm, but feed them when opportunity offers. TheAsiterasassist at feasts and make invocations and propose toasts which are drunk by the men present. The private or family feasts are calledBumaguil, being held in the giver’s house or courtyard, but public entertainments or feasts of the whole village are calledRegnas, and are held in or in front of theBalta-oaor Town Hall. They are preceded and followed by songs and dances. The songs are inharmonious and monotonous. The dances vary with the localities. In one dance bowing to the beer-mugs is a feature. As amongst other Malay races, ordeals are in fashion to decide disputes. One consists in a priest or chief scratching the scalps of the disputants with a small iron fork. Whoever loses most blood during this operation has lost his case. TheIgorroteswork hard at their agriculture, and their rice-farming is excellent. They plough the valleys with the aid of buffaloes and terrace the hillsides, which they cultivate by hand. They burn down the pine-forests to clear the hills. They irrigate where possible, carrying the canals over any ravine by means of rude aqueducts. They grow considerable quantities of tobacco,1which is, however, of inferior quality. This they sell to the civilised natives, and it is exported. I suppose it goes to Hamburg to make German Havana cigars, just as conger eels go to Paris to make fillets of soles. They cultivate sweet potatoes, also the ordinary potatoes, which grow well, and although small, are much prized in Manila, and meet with a ready sale. TheIgorrotesof Lepanto eagerly seek new seeds to plant. It is strange that an agricultural people like this should have little or no idea of breeding cattle, but instead of doing so, they purchase from the Ilocanos and others cattle, horses, and pigs for consumption, paying good prices for them.They even buy dogs to eat. I have been assured by Mr. Ernest Heald, formerly British Vice-Consul at Sual, that he has often seen Igorrotes returning to the hills from Dagupan, leading strings of dogs, which they had purchased for food at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty cents, and that the dogs seemed to have an instinctive idea what they were being taken away for. The cooking of the Igorrotes is abominable, especially their way of cooking meat. It would not obtain the approval of Brillat Savarin. They seem to have no objection to eating it putrid, and their robust constitutions apparently prevent their suffering from ptomaine poisoning. The most remarkable characteristic of the Igorrotes is their skill as smiths, miners, and metallurgists. Their forges are not usually in their villages, but are hidden away in the forest; they use piston-blowers instead of bellows, and charcoal as fuel. Their lance-heads, swords, and other weapons are well shaped and of excellent quality. They worked the copper ores of Mancayen in Lepanto very successfully. From official documents it appears that from 1840 to 1855 they sold on an average each year about nineteen tons of copper, either in ingots or manufactured. Then a Spanish Company took up the work and ignominiously failed. Gold mining and washing was formerly a monopoly of the nobles, and the washing is so still to some extent. For centuries, and long before the Spanish conquest, the Igorrotes have brought down gold to trade with the coast natives. Such particulars as are known to me about Igorrote mining, smelting, and gold-washing, will be found under the headings Gold, Copper, Iron, inChapter XVI.

I have added to this account of them a list of such of their manufactures as I have seen or could learn of, and in most instances I have given the Igorrote name. The Igorrotes have several dialects, so that the names of the various articles may vary according to the locality. Herewith a list of the dialects and the places where each is spoken, taken from Spanish official sources.

Dialect.Locality.Benguetano.The greater part of Benguet.Igorrote.Lepanto.Igorrote del Abra.Five villages of Bontoc.Igorrote de la Gran Cordillera.By the reduced Igorrotes and the independent tribes of the Caraballo.Igorrote Suflin.In fifteen villages of that Cordillera.

Many of the Principales or head-men and others under Spanish influence speak and write Ilocano, which they find necessary for their trade with that people. More than twenty years ago there were seven schools in Lepanto regularly attended by five hundred and sixty-two children, of whom one hundred and ten could then read and write Spanish. No doubt by this time these schools have considerably increased.

I am much impressed by the great industry of these people and with the great skill they show in everything they undertake. It is therefore disappointing to read in Foreman’s book ‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 213: “Like all the races of the Philippines, they are indolent to the greatest degree.” Foreman goes on to say, Polygamy seems to be permitted, murders are common, their huts are built bee-hive fashion, they keep a Dr. and Cr. account of heads with the Negritos. All this is probably in consequence of accepting idle stories as facts, and is nothing less than a libel on the Igorrotes. A people who believe in a Supreme Being, Creator of heaven and earth, in the immortality of the soul, in an upper and lower heaven, in punishment after death, if it has been evaded in life, who are strict monogamists, and who have a high belief in the sacredness of the marriage tie; a people who guard the chastity of their daughters as carefully as the British or the Americans; a people physically strong, brave, skilful, and industrious, have nothing in common with the wretches Foreman described under their name. These people live in the fairest and healthiest parts of Luzon, no fevers lurk amongst those pine-clad mountains, no sultry heats sap the vital powers. What an opportunity for a grand missionary enterprise! What a noble material to work on, every condition seems favourable. The very fact of their rejection of the form of Christianity presented to them, and their distrust of the Spaniards, may influence them in favour of some simpler doctrine. I shall feel well repaid for my labour in describing these people, if the truthful picture I have attempted to present of them should interest those who have the means and the will to inaugurate a new era, to help them along the Path. A perusal of what the old chroniclers say about them convinces me that they have done much themselves to improve their moral condition, and that many detestable customs, at all events attributed to them, have long since been relegated to oblivion.

I now give a list of the Missions in the Igorrote and Tinguian territory that existed in 1892.

Missions in Tinguian and Igorrote Territory.1892.Province.Town.Population.Missionaries.Rev. Father—AbraPidigan.2,418P. Ornia.Bucay.3,688J. Lopez.La Paz y San Gregorio.2,802P. Fernandez.Villavieja.1,912M. Fonturbel.Bangued.8,702A. Perez.Tayum.3,064L. Vega.Dolores.2,522F. Franco.LepantoCervantes y Cayan.2,200A. Oyanguren.BenguetLa Trinidad y Galiano.849J. Garcia.R. Rivera.28,157

All the inhabitants of these towns and villages are Christians, and either they or their ancestors were baptised by missionaries of the Augustinian order.

Some Manufactures of the Igorrotes.Weapons.Native Name.Say-angLance, for war or for killing deer.TalibonShort double-edged sword.Ligua, or AliguaAxe used for decapitating the fallen enemy.Calaság or CalátaLong narrow wooden shields.BunnengWood knife.Sayac or DayacSharp bamboo spikes to be set in the paths.Bows and arrows (the Igorrotes possess these, but are not skilful archers).Clubs.Gay-angJavelins (favourite weapons of Igorrotes).Accoutrements.Alpilan or SacupitKnapsacks.Lagpi.Haversacks.Saddles.Bridles.RangánSaddle-bags.BaotWhips.UpitPouch for medicine and antidote for snake bite.Sac-deyUniform or war jackets.BariquesChief’s sword belt.BalquesAncient sword belts used by their ancestors are preserved as heirlooms in the family.Clothing.TacocoHat made of rattan for head-men.Hat for married men.SuebongHat for bachelors, woven from cane.Hat for women.SachongHat for chiefs.Calogón or catlocónHat made of rattan and cane used by Christian Igorrotes.Sarquet or BarguetHeadcloth used by head-men.Loc-boCaps.Olei or UlásCloaks or plaids.CobalLoin-cloth of bark or cotton.Baag or BahaqueAprons.PalingayAprons for women.AttenSkirts used by head-men’s wives or daughters.TachunWaterproof hoods to cover the head and the load carried on the back,e.g., to keep tobacco dry in transit.An-nangaWaterproof capes of Anajas leaves.Sandals.Clogs.Ampaya, SamitTapis, cloth worn by women round the hips.Barique or canesSashes.BaquetWoman’s belt to hold up the tapis.BadoWoman’s shirt.Shirts made of the bark of the pacag.Ornaments.ChacangA gold plate used by head-men or chiefs to cover their teeth at feasts or when they present themselves to Europeans of distinction.BalangatA coronet of rattan.AponqueCollar or necklace.ApongontA coronet of scented wood (candaroma).OnóNecklace of reeds and coloured seeds.BariquesNecklace of vertebræ of snakes.SiquelNecklace made of seed of climbing plant called Bugayon.Necklace made of white stones.Necklace made of crocodiles’ teeth.Necklace made of boars’ tusks.Necklace made of mother-of-pearl.Al-taqueCoronet of polished mother-of-pearl.GarinBangles or bracelets of copper.BaliArm-rings, often of copper and gilt.BaneyLeg rings of nito and fibre, or of copper, used by men.ArisudEar-rings.TabinEar-rings of copper, used by men.Bit-jal or Bit-halBracelets of boars’ tusks.Galaong or GalangBracelets of mother-of-pearl.Onon-ipitNecklace or collar of metal, having three pendants, the centre one being tweezers for pulling out hairs, the other two instruments for cleaning out the ears.Household Goods.Gui-panSmall knife for peeling roots and splitting cane.LodóLadle of cocoa-nut shell for water.IdasWooden spoons.LatocLarge wooden dish, with receptacles for sauce and salt.DalelaRice dish of copper.SagatanStrainer of cane and rattan.Sarangos-ánFunnel made of a cocoa-nut shell.LabbaBasket used for carrying provisions.PidasenBaskets for domestic use.Tinac-dagAlat or MinuiniataSmall basket for collecting eggs.BabacoProvision basket.BigaoBasket for cleaning rice.Opit-daguilProvision basket.Opigán or Acuba-quiganBasket for keeping clothes in.Cal-culvenCane basket blackened by smoke.TapilSmall basket of cane.HugonesGreat baskets to hold rice.AgabinCreels for carrying fish.Apisang or SacupifLarge basket used for carrying tobacco on the back.SulpacLarge bamboos for carrying water.Tang-tangCalabashes for measuring or holdingbasi.Ting-galonGoblet of plaited cane used at feasts for drinkingbasi.PambiánSpinning wheels.Paga-blangLooms.La-labayánApparatus for holding skeins of cotton.Qui-tan-gangWooden drainer for the spoons or paddles used for stirring up thebasiwhen brewing it.Balai-ti-adoRack to hold spoons.Quil-litEarthen cooking-pot.OngotDrinking-cup for water.SoledDish of plaited rattan for boiled camote (sweet potatoes).DapilagDish of plaited rattan for boiled rice.Personal Effects.PaltingPouches for tobacco and gold.UpitTobacco pouch plaited of rattan.SuputPurse made of cotton ornamented with copper wire.CuacoPipes of wood, stone, clay, or metal.NupitTobacco boxes.SacopitCarved walking sticks.TadUmbrellas.PamiguinPneumatic tinder-box, or fire squirt.ApitPocket book of cane and rattan.DubongDeer-skin pouch used when travelling.QuidatangCase with fittings for striking a light.Sagay sayCombs.Tooth-brushes.Miscellaneous.TaliRopes of Alinao bark.Sinal-lapidRopes of Labtang bark.RaténNets for taking deer and pigs.Chi-ayTraps for taking jungle-fowl.AnitosImages of the household gods.SipasFoot-balls of rattan.DisigHumming tops.CasabangBranch of a tree used to frighten away snakes.Hammocks for sleeping or travelling.TugasThrone for a chief and his favourite.Harrows.Ploughs.Cradles.Coffins.Musical Instruments.Sulibao or CulibaoLarge drum, played with one stick.QuinibalSmall drum held between the knees and played with two sticks.Calalen or Bab-balasanFlutes played by single women.Cong-gala orFlutes (nose flutes) played by men.Tong-galaGanzaLarge flat gong held in right hand, and played with left, vibrations stopped with right elbow. If a human jaw-bone, taken from a dead enemy, is fitted as a handle, the value is enhanced.PinsacA small gong.Bating-ting orTriangles made of iron.Palas-bating-tingCingo-cingcoViolin played by single men.Guitar, the body made from cocoa-nut shell.Palgong-bocancangCane instrument played by the women going to and coming from their work. Holding it in the right hand, they cover the orifice with the index-finger, and strike the other end on the left hand.Mining Tools, etc.Native names unknownCrow-bars.Hammers.Wedges.Outfit for gold washing.Blowers for smiths’ forges.Furnaces for smelting copper.

Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.[To face p. 264.

Igorrote Dresses and Ornaments, Water-Jar, Dripstones, Pipes, and Baskets.

[To face p. 264.

Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.

Anitos, Highlands of Luzon.

Anito of the Igorrotes.Anito of the Igorrotes.

Anito of the Igorrotes.

Igorrote Drums.Igorrote Drums.[To face p. 266.

Igorrote Drums.

[To face p. 266.

1They sell about 25,000 bales per annum.

1They sell about 25,000 bales per annum.

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