Tales of the Mythical Period

Reconstruction of the Culture.—In the first division certain actors occur with great frequency, while others always take the leading parts. These latter appear under a variety of names, two or more titles often being used for the same individual in a single tale. To avoid confusion a list of the fourteen principal actors and their relationships are given in the accompanying table. It will appear that there are some conflicts in the use of names, but when it is realized that the first twenty-six myths which make up the cycle proper were secured from six story tellers coming from four different towns, the agreement rather than the disagreement is surprising. As a matter of fact there is quite as much variation between the accounts of the same narrator as between those gathered from different towns.

II. Aponīgawanī. Sister of Aponītolau and wife of Aponībalagen.

Appears as (a) Ayo, (b) Dolimáman(?).

IV. Aponībalagen. Brother of Aponībolinayen, and husband of Aponīgawanī; also appears as Awig.

V. Kanag. Son of Aponītolau and Aponībolinayen. Appears as (a) Kanag kabagbagōwan, (b) Balokanag, (c) Dumanau, (d) Ilwīsan, (e) also at times is identified with Dumalawī, his brother.

VI. Dapilī́san, wife of Kanag.

VII. Dagoláyan. Son of Aponībalagen and Aponīgawanī. Also appears as Dondonyán of Bagonan—the blood clot child.

VIII. Alokotán. An old woman who acts as a medium. Her home is at Nagbotobotán, where the rivers empty their waters into the hole at the edge of the world.

IX. Gawīgawen ♂. A giant who owns the orange trees of Adasin.

X. Gīambōlan ♂. A ten-headed giant.

XI. Gaygayóma. A star maiden who marries Aponītolau. The daughter of Bagbagak ♂, a big star,—and Sīnag ♀, the moon—.

XII. Tabyayen. Son of Aponītolau and Gaygayóma. Half brother of Kanag.

XIII. Kabkabaga-an. A powerful female spirit who falls in love with Aponītolau.

XIV. Asībowan. The maiden of Gᴇgᴇnáwan, who is related to the spirit Kabonīyan. The mistress of Aponītolau.

In consequence of modern rationalism there is a tendency on the part of a considerable number of the Tinguian to consider these tales purely as stories and the characters as fictitious, but the mass of the people hold them to be true and speak of the actors as “the people who lived in the first times.” For the present we shall take their point of view and shall try to reconstruct the life in “the first times” as it appears in the tales.

We learn that each village is situated near to a river or waterway by the banks of which shallow wells are dug, and there we find the women gathering under the shade of the trees, dipping up water to be carried to their homes, washing and combing their hair, and taking their baths (p. 48). They seldom go singly, for enemies are apt to be near, and unless several are in the company it will be impossible to spread the alarm and secure help in case of attack (p. 43).

Leading up from the spring to the village are bamboo poles on which the heads of enemies are displayed (p. 43). In cases where the warriors have been especially successful these trophies may surround the whole settlement (p. 76). About the town is a defensive wall, generally of bamboo, but in some cases made up entirely of gigantic snakes (p. 43). Within this inclosure are many houses. The bamboo floors are raised high above the ground, while the thatching is of grass. Ladders lead up to little porches, from which doors open into the dwellings. At least part of the houses have a cooking room in addition to that used by the family, while structures containing a ninth room are several times mentioned (pp. 43, 52, 85).

In one corner of the living room is a box containing blankets, above which are pillows and mats used by members of the household and guests; an iron caldron lies on the floor, while numerous Chinese jars stand about. A hearth, made up of a bed of ashes in which stones are sunk, is used for cooking. Above it is a bamboo food hanger, while near by stand jars of water and various cooking pots. Food baskets, coconut shell cups, and dishes, and a quantity of Chinese plates appear when the meal is served, while the use of glass is not unknown. Cups of gold, wonderful jars, and plates appear at times, but seem to be so rare as to excite comment (pp. 33, 98, 102, 105). Page 9

Scattered through the village are numerous small buildings known as balaua (p. 43), which are erected for the spirits during the greatest of the ceremonies, and still inside the enclosure are the rice drying plots and granaries, the latter raised high above the ground so as to protect their contents from moisture (p. 150).

Clothing is scanty but nevertheless receives much attention. The poorest of the men wear clouts of banana leaf, and the women, when in danger of capture, don skirts of bark; but on most occasions we find the man wearing a colored cotton clout, above which is a bright belt of the same material, while for ceremonies he may add a short coat or jacket. A headband, sometimes of gold, keeps his long hair in place, and for very special events he may adorn each hair with a golden bead (pp. 74, 76, 81).

The cotton skirts of the women reach from the waist to the knees; the arms are covered with strands above strands of beads, while strings of agate beads surround the neck or help to hold the hair in place. To the real hair is often added a switch which appears to be valued highly (p. 89). Ornaments of gold adorn the ears, and finger rings of the same metal are several times mentioned (pp. 39, 43, 124).

Revenge for the loss of relations or townspeople is a potent cause of hostile raids; old feuds may be revived by taunts; but the chief incentive appears to be the desire for renown, to be known as “a man who goes to fight in the enemies' towns” (pp. 90, 59).

Warriors sometimes go in parties, sometimes alone, but generally in couples (p. 67). At times they lie in ambush and kill young girls who go for water, or old men and women who pass their hiding place (p. 97). Again they go out boldly, armed with shield, spear, and headaxe; they strike their shields as they go and announce their presence to the enemy (p. 103). In five of the tales the heroes challenge their opponents and then refuse to be the first to use their weapons. It is only when their foes have tried in vain to injure them that they enter the conflict. In such cases whole towns are wiped out of existence and a great number of heads and a quantity of jars and other booty is sent back to the towns of the victors (p. 104). Peace is restored in one instance by the payment of a number of valuable jars (p. 91).

Bamboo spears appear to be used, but we are explicitly told that they fought with steel weapons, and there are frequent references to headaxes, spears, and knives (pp. 65, 76, 120).

In all but two cases mentioned the girl and her husband go to live with his people. In the first instance their failure to do so raises a protest; in the second, the girl's parents are of much more importance than those of the groom, and this may explain their ability to retain their daughter (pp. 138, 159).

When the bride reaches her future home, she sits on the bamboo floor with her legs stretched out in front of her. The slats which she covers are counted and a string of agate beads, equal in length to the combined width of the slats, is given to her. She now becomes a full member of the family and seems to be under the orders of her mother-in-law (p. 60).

Divorce is twice mentioned, but it seems to call out protest only from the cast off wife (pp. 63, 149).

Closely associated with the celebration of a marriage seems to be a ceremony known as Sayang, during the progress of which a number of small structures—the largest known as balaua—are built. Judging by their names and descriptions, we are justified in considering them “spirit houses” as they are to-day.

One tale tells us that the Sayang was held immediately following a head hunt; and another, that Aponītolau went out to get the head of an old man before he started this ceremony (pp. 69, 76); however, the evidence is by no means conclusive that it is related to warfare.

Certain other rules of etiquette or restrictions on conduct come out in the tales. We learn that it is not considered proper for a man to eat with the wife of another during his absence, nor should they start the meal before he comes in (p. 52). The master of a dance is deeply chagrined and chides his wife severely, because she insists on dancing before he has invited all the others to take their turns (p. 70). Greediness is reproved in children and Aponītolau causes the death of his concubines whose false tales had led him to maltreat his wife (p. 116). Unfaithfulness seems to be sufficient justification for a man to abandon his wife and kill her admirer (p. 78); but Kanag appears as a hero when he refuses to attack his father who has sought his life (p. 121).

Of the ceremonies connected with death we learn very little except that the women discard their arm beads, the mourners don old clothing, and all wail for the dead (pp. 44, 90). Three times we are told that the deceased is placed on a tabalang, or raft, on which a live rooster is fastened before it is set adrift on the river. In the tales the raft and fowl are of gold, but this is surprising even to the old woman Alokotán, past whose home in Nagbotobotán all these rafts must go (p. 131).

Up to this time in our reconstruction of the life of “the first times” we have mentioned nothing impossible or improbable to the present day Tinguian, although, as we shall see later, there are some striking differences in customs and ideas. We have purposely left the description of the people and their practice of magic to the last, although their magical practices invade every activity of their lives, for it is here that the greatest variations from present conditions apparently occur.

In the first tale Aponītolau himself appears as “the sun,” “the man who makes the sun,” as “a round stone which rolls,” but when it is established that he is the son of a couple in Kadalayapan he apparently relinquishes his duties in the sky and goes to live in the village of his people. With him goes his wife Aponībolinayen, who had been carried above by a vine. While at his post in the heavens, Aponītolau is closely associated with the big star, whose duty it is to follow him in the sky. Again we are told that Aponītolau is taken up by the spirit Kabkabaga-an, whom he marries and by whom he has a son (p. 114). In some instances Page 16this hero and his son Kanag converse with thunder and lightning, which appear at times not unlike human beings (p. 100); but in the eighth relation the two kinds of lightning are pictured as dogs who guard the town of Dona.

One of the most peculiar yet constantly used powers of these people is their ability to send betel-nuts on various missions. Whenever an invitation to a ceremony or celebration is to be extended, nuts covered Page 19with gold are oiled and sent out. They go to the intended guest, state their errand, and, if refused, forthwith proceed to grow on his knee, forehead, or pet pig, until pain or pity compels him to accept (p. 146). In some cases it appears that the nuts themselves possess the magic properties, for we find Aponītolau demanding that his conquered foes give him their betel-nuts with magic power (p. 91).

Relationships can be readily ascertained by the chewing of these nuts, for when the quids are laid down they are transformed into agate and golden beads and lie in such a manner that the associations are fully established (pp. 35, 36, 41).

Enough has been mentioned to show how important a part magic and magical practices play in the life of this people, but one further reference should be made, since it is found in nearly every tale. When the marriage price is settled upon, the mother of the groom exercises her power and at once fills the spirit house with valuable jars and the like; this is repeated until enough are gathered to meet the demands of the girl's people (p. 133). Even when the agreed sum has been delivered we often find the girl's mother herself practicing magic, to secure additional payment, and by raising her elbows or eyebrows causing a part of the jars to vanish (pp. 133, 143).

The other structures, such as the spirit houses, rice drying frames, and granaries were similar to those seen to-day in all the villages. Likewise the house furnishings, the musical instruments, and even the games of the children were such as are to be found at present, while our picture of the village life given on page 9 still fits nearly any Tinguian settlement in Abra. The animals mentioned are all familiar to the present people, but it is worthy of note that in the first twenty-six tales, which make up the cycle proper, the horse is not mentioned, nor does the carabao appear to be used as a work animal. Still more important is the fact that the terraced fields and the rice culture accompanying them, which to-day occupy a predominant place in the economic life of the people, are nowhere mentioned. On the other hand, the langpádan, or mountain rice, assumes a place of great importance. References to the cultivation of the land all seem to indicate that the “hoe culture,” which is still practiced to a limited extent, took the place of agriculture.

The weapons of the warriors, which we are specifically told were of metal, are identical with those seen at the present time, while the methods of warfare agree with the accounts still told by the old men of their youthful exploits.

A prominent figure in these rites is the medium, through whom the ancient people generally conversed with the spirits, but in exceptional cases we found the heroes talking direct with the superior beings; however, this gift is not confined to the men of old, for in such tales as 55 and 59 people who are believed to have lived recently have conversed with the spirits and have even been joined to them in marriage.

So far as mythology and present day conditions can inform us the bride has always gone to the home of her husband and, for a time at least, has been subject to the dictations of her mother-in-law, although the couple are generally soon established in a home of their own, in the town of the groom. There is nothing in Tinguian life or tradition to indicate that they have ever had a clan system or a matriarchal form of government.

The festivals, the dances, the observances of the proprieties required by good breeding or custom of to-day, follow closely those given in the tales. The greatest divergence is in the offering of betel-nuts and the telling of names, which occupies such an important place in the narratives. The use of betel-nut for chewing is less common among the Tinguian people than with most other Philippine tribes, a fact which may be accounted for by their constant use of tobacco. However, betel-nuts still occupy a most important place in the various ceremonies, and many offerings intended for the spirits must be accompanied with the prepared nut. In nearly every instance when invitations were sent out, for a ceremony, the people of the tales intrusted an oiled betel-nut covered with gold with this duty. This has its counterpart to-day in the small gifts of gold which are often carried to some friend, in another town, whose presence is particularly desired. It seems not improbable that the golden colored husks of the ripe betel-nuts may have suggested the substitution.

Magic was practiced extensively in “the first time,” but it is by no means unknown to the people of the present day. They cannot now bring a dead person to life, or create human beings out of bits of betel-nut; Page 25but they can and do cause sickness and death to their foes by performing certain rites or directing actions against garments or other objects recently in their possession. Even the name of an enemy can be applied to an animal or inanimate object and action against it be transferred to the owner.

The myths of the first division make it plain that, to the people of those times, the sun, moon, and stars were animate—either spirits or human beings. In some cases a similar conception was held for thunder and lightning, while in others they appear as animals. It will appear that such ideas are not foreign to the second division of the tales, which represent present day beliefs. Thus, in the mountain village of Baay the sky is considered as a male spirit—the husband of the earth, and father of sun and moon. Again, in Lagangilang and Abang, the thunderbolt is identified as Kadaklan—the most powerful of all spirits—who “often eats the ground and releases his wife Agᴇmᴇm.”

While in the practice of magic, and in their communication with nature, celestial bodies, and spirits, these “people of the first times” far excelled the present Tinguian, they had a material culture and ceremonial life much like that still found in Abra.