73

Once then sun and moon fought. The sun said, “You are moon, not so good; if I give you no light, you are no good.” The moon answered, “You are sun and very hot. I am moon and am better. The women like me very much, and when I shine they go out doors to spin.” Then the sun was very angry and took some sand and threw it on the moon, and that is why there are dark places on the moon now.

In the old time, a man went with others to get heads. They were gone very, very long, and the man's daughter, who was little when he went away, was grown up and beautiful when he returned. When he got to the gate of the town, his daughter went to hold the ladder for him to come in.73The man did not recognize his daughter, and when he saw her holding the ladder for him, he threw his arms around the ladder and seized and kissed her. The girl was very sorrowful because her father had not recognized her and had misunderstood her intentions; soPage 193she went home and said to her mother, “It is better now that I become a coconut tree, to stand close by our house.” In the morning the man and his wife missed the girl, and when they looked out doors, there stood a fine coconut tree close to the house; so they knew that she had changed to the tree.

In the old times there were two flying snakes in the gap of the Abra river.74Many men had been killed by them. So the head man of Abra invited Malona and Biwag, two very brave men from Cagayan, to come and help him kill the snakes. They came at once with big bolos, shields, and the trunk of the banana tree, which they used to fight with. When they arrived, they were taken to the gap, and the snakes attacked them. The men fought with the trunk of the banana tree, and the wings of the snakes stuck to the trunk; so they killed them easily. When they had killed them, they came back to the leader and showed him, and he asked what should be their pay. They did not ask any reward, but the leader gave them gold in the form of deer and horses. Then they went home, and after that the people of Abra could pass through the gap.

Hundreds of years ago there were two people who were husband and wife. Their names were Tagápen and Gīáben, and they had only one son whose name was Soliben. Those people came from Ilocos Norte; they came down to Vigan to pass a while, then came into the Abra river. When they were in Banoáng, they sailed on a raft in the Abra river to come up to Langiden. When they reached that town, they stopped there to stay a short time, because Tagápen went to the town to give thoughts to the people there and to give a nice face to the girls. When Tagápen was in the town, in Langiden, his son Soliben was weeping on the raft by his mother. “Sleep, sleep, sleep, my dear son, because your father is not here yet; it-to-tes, it-to-tes, so sleep my son, do not weep,” said his mother, whose name is Gīáben. When Tagápen came back from the town of Langiden, they began to sail again until they came to Pidigan. When they reached the town of Pidigan, they stopped there because Tagápen went to the town to give a nice face to the ladies and girls. Then his son wept again, “Oh, dear son, sleep, sleep, sleep; oh, dear son, sleep, sleep, sleep, for your father is not here yet. When he comes back, he will get bananas for you to eat. It-to-tes, it-to-tes, it-to-tes, sleep, Soliben, sleep, my son; do not weep; your father will give you to eat,” said the mother. In a short time TagápenPage 194came back from the town and they sailed to come up. When they reached the mouth of the Sinalang river, they came up in the river; they sailed up here; this is the river of Sinalang town (Patok). “We go there to give the people some nice face and good thoughts, so they will be very wise.” When they arrived in Sinalang town, they left their raft in the river and went up in the town. When they reached the town, every person went to them to give their regards. Tagápen and his wife with her son stayed in a little house we callbalaua; they lived there teaching manydalengs75andbagayos75of the Tinguian people.Page 195

1Thisdīamis recited by the medium when the spirit house known asbalauais built. See alsopage 12.

2Spirit name for Tinguian.

3The greatest of Tinguian ceremonies.

4A large house built for the spirits during theSayangceremony.

5Spirits.

6Kadaklan is the most powerful of the spirits. Agᴇmᴇm is his wife.

7The names of small buildings or shrines elected for various spirits.

8Chanted by the medium while making offerings in theDawakceremony which is made for the cure of minor illnesses, such as fever, etc.

9A powerful spirit.

10Thedīamrecited during thePala-anceremony.

11The east.

12Feathers attached to a stick, which serve as hair ornaments in theSayangceremony.

13Spirit name for Tinguian.

14Seep. 171, note 2.

15Chanted by the medium, over the offerings given to aid in the cure of a sick child, or to stop a child from incessant crying.

16The ceremony.

17Dīamrecited during theSangásangceremony in the town of Lumaba.

18Chanted when theSangásangceremony is made for sickness, or to take away a bad omen.

19Spirit name for the earth.

20Seep. 172, note 4.

21Seep. 22, note 3.

22Chanted when the ceremony is made to remove a bad sign.

23An omen bird.

24The true omen bird.

25Dīamrecited during theSangásangceremony held to remove continued misfortunes.

26Several native names which have no exact English equivalents are used here.

27Woven bamboo used on ceilings.

28Thisdīamwas chanted during theUbayaceremony in Villaviciosa, an Igorot town much influenced by Tinguian. TheUbayais also held in Lumaba, a Tinguian settlement.

29No one is allowed to enter the town after the ceremony begins.

30The most powerful of all spirits.

31Seep. 13.

32Seep. 13, note 1.

33Seep. 12.

34A somewhat similar tale, current among the Dayak, will be found inRoth, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 309 ff.

35A small spirit house built during thebawīceremony.

36A kind of grass.

37Account concerning the guardian stones at Patok.

38Peculiarly shaped stones in which Apdel, the guardian spirit of the village is supposed to reside.

39A Tinguian town several miles south of Patok.

40Told by the people of Lumaba, to account for a peculiar knifelike cut in one of the guardian stones outside the village.

41Large knife.

42Account of the securing of the guardian stones at Lagayan, Abra.

43Compare with account ofLa Gironière, Twenty Years in the Philippines, pp. 120 ff; also withCole,Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. III, No. 4, 1908, pp. 210–11.

44A ceremony held while the body is still in the house.

45A grass which is eaten.

46Taboo. A fire is kept burning at the grave and at the foot of the house ladder for ten nights following the burial. During this time the members of the family and near relatives must remain close to home.

47A barrio of Patok.

48A rope lasso.

49An evil spirit.

50People in the house with the dead and the relatives must observe thekanyau(taboo) for ten days or they will meet the spirit of the dead person and it will harm them.

51Smilax vicariaKunth.

52The name by which the Tinguian designate themselves.

53Blumea balsamiferaD.C.

54A blanket with red or yellow stripes which resemble the markings on a young wild pig.

55Seep. 54, note 2.

56A mountain town in eastern Abra.

57A ceremony held about a year after a funeral.

58Seep. 10, note 1.

59Spirit name for Tinguian.

60The three persons mentioned were still living when this story was recorded.

61The name of the spirit of a dead man which still remains near its old haunts.

62Seep. 28, note 2.

63Seep. 14.

64Head man.

65Near Namarabar in Ilocos Sur.

66The Ilocano consider thekomaua fabulous, invisible bird which steals people and their possessions. SeeReyes, El Folklore Filipino, p. 40. Manila, 1899.

67A powerful spirit.

68Seep. 14.

69In the Bagobo version of this tale, a ladle becomes the monkey's tail. SeeBenedict,Journal American Folklore, Vol. XXVI, 1913, p. 21.

70A story accounting for the origin of thekálau, a bird.

71See page 10, note 1.

72The cave is situated in the mountains, midway between Patok and Santa Rosa.

73The old custom was that when a party returned from a head hunt the women went to the gate and held ladders in a Λ so the men did not pass through the gate; or they laid them on the ground and the men jumped over them.

74The river emerges from Abra through a narrow pass in the mountains.

75Songs.

There was once a turtle and a monkey who went to make a clearing. The monkey did not work, but the turtle was the one which cleared the land. When one day passed, “Let us go to plant,” said the turtle. They went, and banana was what they went to plant. The turtle planted his in the clearing, but the monkey hung his in a tree when he went to climb. Five days passed. “Let us go to see our planting,” said the turtle. When they arrived where they had planted, the monkey saw that his banana was dry, but that which the turtle had planted bore ripe fruit. When the monkey reached the place where the turtle sat, “I am waiting for you, monkey, for I cannot climb my banana tree.” “Give me fruit, and I will go to climb. My banana which I hung in the tree did not bear fruit,” said the monkey. The turtle laughed and agreed, but when the monkey climbed in the tree he only ate and did not throw down any fruit. “Give me, monkey,” said the turtle. “The thumb still eats,” replied the monkey. Then he pushed a banana up his anus and after that threw it down. The turtle ate it and again asked for fruit. “The little finger still eats,” said the monkey. Then he finished eating the fruit and he slept on the banana tree. The turtle went to search for long sharp shells, and when he had secured them he planted them upright around the tree, and cried, “Bad in the east. Bad in the west.” Then the monkey jumped, and the shells pierced his side so that he died.

The turtle dried his meat and sold it to the other monkeys, and when he had finished selling he went under the house and hid beneath a coconut shell. When all the monkeys had eaten the turtle cried, “They eat their relative.” Then the monkeys heard, but could not see. The turtle called many times until at last they found him beneath the coconut shell. They agreed to kill him with the axe, but the turtle laughed and pointed to the marks on his back.1The monkeys believed him when he said he had often been cut by his father and grandfather; so they did not cut, but went to get fire. “You cannot kill me withPage 196that. Do you not see that my back is almost black from burning.” “Ay-ay,” said the monkeys, “let us tie a stone to his waist and drown him in the lake.” The turtle cried and begged them to spare him, but the monkeys did not know that the water was the cause of his living, for it was his home. They threw him in the lake and when they had watched a long time, they saw him float on the water and he was holding a large fish. Then all the monkeys tied stones to their waists and dived in the lake to catch fish. They did not float in the lake, but they died. Only a pregnant monkey was left, but the turtle came and drowned her also.2

A turtle and a big lizard went to the field of Gotgotapa to steal ginger. When they got there the turtle told the lizard he must be very still; but when the lizard tasted the ginger, he exclaimed, “The ginger of Gotgotapa is very good.” “Be still,” said the turtle; but again the lizard shouted louder than before. Then the man heard and came out of his house to catch the robbers. The turtle could not run fast, so he lay very still, and the man did not see him; but the lizard ran and the man chased him. When they were very far, the turtle went into the house. Now, the man had a coconut shell which he used to sit on, and the turtle hid under it.

The man could not catch the lizard, so in a while he came back to his house and sat on the shell. Bye and bye, the turtle called “Kook.” Then the man jumped up and looked all around to find where the noise came from, but he could not find. The turtle called “Kook” again and the man tried very hard to find what made the noise. The turtle called a third time more loudly and then the man thought it was his testicles which made the noise, so he took a stone and hit them; then he died and the turtle ran away.

When the turtle got a long way, he met the lizard again and they saw some honey on the branch of a tree. “I run first to get,” said the turtle; but the big lizard ran fast and seized the honey; then the bees stung him and he ran back to the turtle. On their road they saw a bird snare. The turtle said, “That is thepaliget3of my grandfather.” Then the lizard ran very fast to get it, but it caught his neck and held him until the man who owned it came and killed him. Then the turtle went away.Page 197

Thepolo4said to a boy named Ilonen, “Tik-tik-loden, come and catch me,” many times. Then the boy answered, “I am making a snare for you.” The bird called again, “Tik-tik-loden.” “I am almost finished,” said Ilonen. Then the bird called again and the boy came and put the snare over the bird and caught it. He took it home and put it in a jar and then went with the other boys to swim. While he was gone, his grandmother ate the bird. Ilonen came back and went to the jar to see the bird, but no bird. “Where is my bird?” he said. “I do not know,” said his grandmother. “Let me see your anus,” said the boy. Then he saw his grandmother's anus and he saw feathers there and was very angry. “It is better I get lost,” he said and went away. He came to a big stone calledbalintoganand said, “Stone, open your mouth and eat me.” Then the stone opened his mouth and swallowed the boy. His grandmother went to find him and looked very much. When she came to the stone, it said, “Here is.” She called the horses to come to the stone. They kicked it, but could not break. She called the carabao and they hooked it, but only broke their horns; then she called the chickens and they pecked it, but could not open. Then she called thunder, but it could not help. Then her friends came to open the stone, but could not, so she went home without the boy.

A frog was fastened to a fish hook in the water. A fish came and said, “What are you doing?” “I am swinging,” said the frog, “come and try if you wish.” But the fish was angry with the frog. “You can not catch me,” said the frog. Then the fish jumped up to catch him, but the frog pushed his anus upon the stick and left the hook so the fish was caught.

The five fingers were brothers. The other four sent the little thumb to getposel.5He went to get, but when he got there, theposelsaid, “Kiss me, for I have a good odor to you.” So the thumb kissed him, and his nose stuck to the bamboo. The others could not wait so long, so they sent the first finger to get. When he got there, he saw the thumb, and said, “What are you doing?” “I am smelling thisposel, for it has a good smell.” Then the first finger smelled and his nose was caught. The others could not wait, so they sent the secondPage 198finger and it happened the same. Also the third, and he also became fast. Then little finger went and when he saw the others, he said, “You are very crazy,” and he cut them loose.

Carabao metloson7in the river. “You are very slow,” said the carabao. “No, I can beat you in a race,” saidloson. “Let us try,” said the carabao. So they started to run. When the carabao reached a long distance, he called, “Shell,” and another shell lying by the river answered, “Yes.” He ran again and again, and every time he stopped to call, another shell answered. At least the carabao ran until he died.

A crab andkool8went to the forest to get wood for fuel. The crab cut his wood and the shell went to cut his. “Tie very good your wood which you get,” saidkoolto the crab. The crab pulled the ropes so tightly that he broke his big legs and died. When the shell went to see where the crab was, he found him dead, and he begun to cry until he belched; then his meat came out of his shell and he was dead also.

A mosquito came to bite a man. The man said, “You are very little and can do nothing to me.” The mosquito answered, “If you had no ears, I would eat you.”

A boy's parents sent a man to carry gifts to the girl's house, and see if they would agree to a marriage. When he got to the door of the house, the people were all eatingkool, and when they sucked the meat out of the shell, they nodded their heads. The man saw them nod, so did not state his errand, but returned and said that the people in the house all desired the union. Then the boy's people got ready the things forpakálon10and went to the girl's house. The girl's parents were very much surprised.

A man went to the other town. When he got there, the people were eatinglabon.11He asked them what they ate, and they saidpangaldanenPage 199(the bamboo ladder is called “aldan”.) He went home and had nothing to eat but rice, so he cut his ladder into small pieces and cooked all day, but the bamboo was still very hard. He could not wait longer, so called his friends and asked why he could not make it like the people had in the other town. Then his friends laughed and told him his mistake.

A man went to get coconuts and loaded his horse heavily. He met a boy and asked how long to his house. “If you go slowly, very soon; if you go fast, all day,” said the boy. The man did not believe, so hurried his horse and the coconuts fell off, so he had to stop and pick them up. He did this many times and it was night before he got home.

Two women went to getatimon12which belonged to the crocodile. “You must not throw the rind with your teeth marks where the crocodile can see it,” said the first woman. Then they ate; but the other woman threw a rind with her teeth marks in the river, and the crocodile saw it and knew who the woman was. He was very angry and went to her house and called the people to send out the woman so he could eat her, for she had eaten hisatimon. “Yes,” they said, “but sit down and wait a while.” Then they put the iron soil turner in the fire until it was red hot. “Eat this first,” they said to the crocodile, and when he opened his mouth, they threw it very far into his body and he died.

There was a man named Dogidog who was very lazy and very poor. His house was small and had no floor, only the boards to put the floor on. He went to the forest to cut bamboo with which to make a floor, and he carried cooked rice with him. When he got there he hung the rice in a tree and went to cut the bamboo. While he was gone, a cat came and ate the rice, so when the man got hungry and came to eat, he had no rice, so he went home. The next day he went to cut again, and when he had hung the rice in the tree, the cat came to eat it. The third day he went again and hung the rice in the tree, but fixed it in a trap; then he hid in some brush and did not cut bamboo. The cat came to eat the rice and was caught. Then the man said, “I will kill you.”Page 200“No,” said the cat, “do not kill me.” “Alright, then I take you home to watch my house,” said the man. Then he took the cat home, and tied it near the door of his house and went away. When he came back, the cat had become a cock.

“Now I go to the cock fight at Magsingal,”14said Dogidog, and he put his rooster under his arm and started for the place. He was crossing a river when he met a crocodile. “Where are you going, Dogidog?” said the crocodile. “To the cock fight at Magsingal,” said the man. “Wait, I go with you,” said the crocodile. Then they went. Soon they met a deer. “Where are you going, Dogidog?” said the deer. “To the cock fight at Magsingal,” said the man. “Wait, I go with you,” said the deer. Then they went again. In the way they met Bunton.15“Where are you going?” said it. “To Magsingal to the cock fight,” said the man. “Wait, I go with you,” said the mound. Then they went again and soon they met a monkey. “Where are you going, Dogidog?” said the monkey. “To the cock fight at Magsingal,” said the man. “Wait, I go with you,” said the monkey. Then they went until they reached the place where was the fight in Magsingal.

The crocodile said to Dogidog, “If any man wants to sink in the water, I can beat him.” The deer said, “If any man wants to run, I am very fast.” Then the earth said, “If any man wants to wrestle, I know very well how to do.” The monkey said, “If any man wants to climb, I can go higher.” Then they took the rooster to the place of the fighting, and Dogidog had him fight the other rooster. But the rooster had been a cat before, and he seized the other rooster in his claws, as a cat does, and killed it. Then the people brought many roosters and bet much money and the rooster of Dogidog, which was a cat before, killed them all, so there were no more roosters in Magsingal, and Dogidog won much money.

The people wanted some other sport, so they brought a man who could stay very long under water, and Dogidog had him try with the crocodile. After more than two hours, the man had to come up first. Then the people brought a man who runs very fast, and the deer raced with him, and the man could not beat the deer for he was very fast. Then they brought a very big man, but he could not throw the earth. Last, the people brought a man who climbs very well and the monkey climbed with him, and went much higher than the man.

Dogidog had very much money and he bought two horses to carry the sacks of silver to his house. When he got near to the town, he tiedPage 201his horses and went to tell his mother to go and ask to buy the good house from the rich man. “How can you buy?” said the rich man, “when you have no money?” Then his mother went home and the man went to get two sacks of money to send to the rich man. When the rich man saw so much money, he said, “Yes,” for the money was in sacks and was not counted. Then Dogidog went to live in the good house and the rich man still had no house, so he had no where to go when the rain came.

A wood-chopper went to the woods. When he passed where the brook ran, “Go away, go away,” he said to Banbantay, the spirit of the brook. He heard a voice in the thicket. The voice said, “I should think he would see me.” The man answered, “Yes, I see you.” The spirit said, “Where am I now?” The man answered, “You are in the thicket.” The spirit came down and said, “Put myponchoon you.” When he has it on, no one can see him.16“See if I really can see you in myponcho.” The man took theponchoand put it on, then the spirit could not see him any more, because the cloth made him invisible. Then the man went home. When he reached there, he said to his wife, “Wife, where am I now?” She cried because she thought him dead. He said, “Do not cry, for I am not dead, but I have received aponchowhich makes me invisible.” The man took off hisponchoand embraced his wife, which made his wife laugh at him, for she knew then that her husband was powerful.

A fisherman went to catch fish with his throw net. While he was fishing, a big bird, Banog, saw him. It seized the man, put him on its back and flew away. It lighted on a very big tree in the forest. In the thicket there was a nest with two small Banog in it.

After the bird had put the man near the nest, it flew away again, and the nestlings wished to eat the man, but he defended himself so they could not eat him. He took one in each hand and jumped from the tree, and the young birds broke his fall so that he was not hurt. The man was much frightened by the things which had happened to him, and he ran to his home. When he arrived home, he told with tears what had happened to him. His family were very happy over his return, and made him promise not to go alone again to fish.Page 202

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