Note 30 — The Origin of the Stars and the Explanation of Sunset and Sunrise

The Ifugao conception of the universe differs considerably in the different religious districts.30 The Western Ifugao and Central Ifugao beliefs are closely associated, but stand quite apart from those of Kián͠gan Ifugao. The people of the latter area think of the universe as being composed of a large number of horizontal layers which are very similar one to the other. The upper face of each of these layers is of earth, while the lower face of each of them is of a smooth blue stone called múlin͠g.31 The layer on which we live is called the Earth World (Lúta). The four layers above us constitute the Sky World (Dáya), and are called, in order from the top down, Húdog, Luktág, Hubulán, and Kabúnian. The last is the layer immediately above the Earth World, and it is the blue-stone underfacing of this layer that we call the “sky.” The Under World (Dálom) consists of an unknown number of layers beneath the one on which we live. All of the layers meet in the farthest horizon,32 where lie the mythical regions of the East (Lágud) and other places.