Traditions of the Tinguian: A Study in Philippine Folk Lore by Fay Cooper Cole

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By
Fay-Cooper Cole
Assistant Curator of Malayan Ethnology

1915

Contents

Preface 3
Introduction 5
Tales of the Mythical Period 33
Ritualistic and Explanatory Tales 171
Fables 195
Abstracts 202

Preface

The following myths were collected by the writer in 1907-8 during a
stay of sixteen months with the Tinguian, a pagan tribe of northwestern
Luzon in the Philippines. The material, for the most part gathered
in texts, was partially translated in the Islands, while the balance
was worked over during a brief visit to America in 1909. In this task
I was assisted by Dumagat, a full blood Tinguian, who accompanied me.

While not, in all cases, giving a literal rendering, I have endeavored
to follow closely the language of the story-tellers rather than to
offer a polished translation. In some cases, where it was impossible
to record the tales when heard, only the substance was noted, a fact
which will account for the meagerness of detail evident in a few of
the stories.

The Tinguian tribe numbers about twenty thousand individuals,
most of whom are found in the sub-province of Abra, and in the
mountains of Ilocos Sur and Norte. Their material culture, beliefs,
and ceremonials are quite uniform and exceedingly complex. It is my
intention to publish a study of this people in the near future, but
realizing that it will be quite impossible for readers unacquainted
with Tinguian life to understand many references in the tales, I
have added such foot notes as will enable them to grasp the meaning
of certain obscure passages.

In the introduction, an attempt has been made to bring together the
culture of the people as it appears in the myths, and to contrast it
with present day conditions and beliefs. In this way we may hope to
gain a clearer insight into their mental life, and to secure a better
idea of the values they attach to certain of their activities than
is afforded us by actual observation or by direct inquiry. It is also
possible that the tales may give us a glimpse of the early conditions
under which this people developed, of their life and culture before
the advent of the European.

It should be noted at the outset that no attempt is here made to
reconstruct an actual historical period. As will appear later, a
part of the material is evidently very old; later introductions--to
which approximate dates may be assigned--have assumed places of great
importance; while the stories doubtless owe much to the creative
imaginations of successive story-tellers.

A comparison of these tales with the folk-lore of neighboring tribes
would be of greatest value, but unfortunately very little material
for such a study is available. Under the circumstances it has seemed
best to defer the attempt and to call attention in the footnotes to
striking similarities with other fields.

In the main these tales are so closely associated with the religious
beliefs of the present day that it is unlikely they will be found,
in anything approaching their present form, outside the districts
dominated by this tribe. Nevertheless, isolated incidents corresponding
to those of neighboring peoples or even of distant lands occur
several times.

Observation has led me to the belief that the religious organization
and ceremonies of the Tinguian have reached a higher development
than is found among the neighboring tribes, and that this complexity
decreases as we penetrate toward the interior or to the south. If
this be true, it seems evident that the tales based on or associated
with them must likewise grow weaker as we go from Abra.

I wish here to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Franz Boas and
Dr. Berthold Laufer, whose interest and suggestions have been of
greatest value in the preparation of the material for publication;
also to express my gratitude to the late Robert F. Cummings, under
whose liberal endowment the field work was carried on. His constant
interest made possible the gathering of the extensive Philippine
collections now in the Museum, and it is a matter of deep regret
that he did not live to see all the results of his generosity made
available to the reading public.

Fay-Cooper Cole,

Assistant Curator of Malayan Ethnology.

Chicago, January, 1915.

Traditions of the Tinguian: A Study in Philippine Folk-Lore

Introduction

For the purposes of our study, the tales have been roughly divided
into three parts. The first, which deals with the mythical period,
contains thirty-one tales of similar type in which the characters
are for the most part the same, although the last five tales do not
properly fit into the cycle, and the concluding story of Indayo is
evidently a recent account told in the form of the older relations.

In the second division are the ritualistic and explanatory myths,
the object of which seems to be to account for the origin of or way
of conducting various ceremonies; for the belief in certain spirits
and sacred objects; for the existence of the sun, moon, and other
natural phenomena; for the attainment of fire, food plants, birds
and domestic animals, as well as of magical jars and beads. Here it
should be noted that some of the most common and important beliefs
and ceremonies are, so far as is known, unaccompanied by any tales,
yet are known to all the population, and are preserved almost without
change from generation to generation.

Division three contains the ordinary stories with which parents amuse
their children or with which men and women while away the midday
hours as they lounge in the field houses, or when they stop on the
trail to rest and smoke.

None of the folk-tales are considered as the property of the tellers,
but only those of the third division are well known to the people in
general. Those of the first section are seldom heard except during the
dry season when the people gather around bonfires in various parts of
the village. To these go the men and women, the latter to spin cotton,
the former to make fish nets or to repair their tools and weapons. In
such a gathering there are generally one or more persons who entertain
their fellows with these tales. Such a person is not paid for his
services, but the fact that he knows "the stories of the first times"
makes him a welcome addition to the company and gives him an enviable
position in the estimation of his fellows.

The purely ritualistic tales, called _diams_, are learned word
by word by the mediums, [1] as a part of their training for their
positions, and are only recited while an animal is being stroked with
oil preparatory to its being sacrificed, or when some other gift is
about to be presented to the superior beings. The writer has recorded
these _diams_ from various mediums in widely separated towns and has
found them quite uniform in text and content. The explanatory tales
were likewise secured from the mediums, or from old men and women who
"know the customs." The stories of the last division are the most
frequently heard and, as already indicated, are told by all. It is
evident even to the casual reader that these show much more evidence
of outside influence than do the others; some, indeed, appear to have
been recently borrowed from the neighboring christianized Ilocano. [2]

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.

_Table of Leading Characters_ [3]

I. Aponitolau. Son of Pagatipanan [male] [4] and Langa-an [female]
of Kadalayapan; is the husband of Aponibolinayen. Appears under the
following names: (a) Ligi, (b) Albaga of Dalaga, (c) Dagdagalisit, (d)
Ingiwan or Kagkagakag, (e) Ini-init, (f) Ling-giwan, (g) Kadayadawan,
(h) Wadagan, (i) Awig (?)

II. Aponigawani. Sister of Aponitolau and wife of Aponibalagen.

III. Aponibolinayen. Daughter of Pagbokasan [5] [male] and Ebang
[female] of Kaodanan. Wife of Aponitolau.

Appears as (a) Ayo, (b) Dolimaman(?).

IV. Aponibalagen. Brother of Aponibolinayen, and husband of
Aponigawani; also appears as Awig.

V. Kanag. Son of Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen. Appears as (a)
Kanag kabagbagowan, (b) Balokanag, (c) Dumanau, (d) Ilwisan, (e)
also at times is identified with Dumalawi, his brother.

VI. Dapilisan, wife of Kanag.

VII. Dagolayan. Son of Aponibalagen and Aponigawani. Also appears as
Dondonyan of Bagonan--the blood clot child.

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

IX. Gawigawen [male]. A giant who owns the orange trees of Adasin.

X. Giambolan [male]. A ten-headed giant.

XI. Gaygayoma. A star maiden who marries Aponitolau. The daughter of
Bagbagak [male], a big star,--and Sinag [female], the moon--.

XII. Tabyayen. Son of Aponitolau and Gaygayoma. Half brother of Kanag.

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

XIV. Asibowan. The maiden of Gegenawan, who is related to the spirit
Kaboniyan. The mistress of Aponitolau.

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.

The principal actors live in Kadalayapan and Kaodanan, [6] towns
which our chief story teller--when trying to explain the desire of
Kanag to go down and get fruit--assures us were somewhere in the air,
above the earth (p. 141). [7] At other times these places are referred
to as Sudipan--the term by which spirits are supposed to call the
present earth--while the actors are referred to as Ipogau--the spirit
name for Tinguian. Whatever its location it was a place much like the
present home of this people. The sky, the chief abode of spirits and
celestial bodies, was above the land, and the heroes of the tales
are pictured as ascending to visit the upper realms. The trees,
plants, and animals were for the most part those known to-day. The
ocean appears to have been well known, while mention is made of some
places in Luzon, such as Dagopan and San Fernando in Pangasinan with
which the people of to-day are not at all familiar (p. 89, 168).

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).

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).

About the town pigs and chickens roam at will, while half-starved
hunting dogs prowl about below the kitchens and fight for morsels
which drop from above (p. 99). Carabao are kept and used as food
(p. 101), but in the cycle proper no mention is made of using them as
work animals. [8] Game, especially deer and wild chickens, and fish
are added to the domestic supply of food (p. 80), but the staple
appears to be mountain rice. Beans, coconuts, oranges, sugar cane,
betel-nuts, and tobacco are also cultivated (pp. 33, 107, 121, 138).

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).

The tales afford us a glimpse of the daily life. In the early
morning the chilly mountain air drives the people from their mats to
the yard, where they squat about the fires (p. 132). As it becomes
light, part of the women begin pounding out the rice from its straw
and husks (p. 144), while others depart for the springs to secure
water (p. 101). In planting time husband and wife trudge together
to the fields, where the man plants the seeds or cuttings, and his
wife assists by pouring on water (p. 107). In midday, unless it is
the busy season, the village activities are practically suspended,
and we see the _balaua_ filled with men, asleep or lounging, while
children may be playing about with tops or disk-like _lipi_ seeds
(p. 139). As it becomes cooler, the town again takes on life; in the
houses the women weave blankets or prepare food, the older women feed
the chickens and pigs (p. 93), while the workers from the fields,
or hunters with their dogs and game, add to the general din and
excitement (p. 80). When night comes on, if it be in the dry season,
bonfires spring up in different parts of the village, and about them
the girls and women gather to spin. Here also come the men and boys,
to lounge and talk (p. 117). A considerable portion of the man's time
is taken up in preparation for or actual participation in warfare
(p. 74). We have already seen that the constant danger of enemies
makes it advisable for the women to go in parties, even to the village
spring. One tale informs us of a girl who is left alone to guard the
rice field and is promptly killed by the _alzado;_ [9] another states
that "all the tattooed Igorot are enemies" (pp. 43, 155, 161).

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).

Upon the return of a successful war party, the relatives meet them
at the gate of the town and compel them to climb the _sangap;_
[10] then invitations are sent out to friends and relatives in
neighboring towns to come and aid in the celebration of the victory
(p. 140). When they arrive at the entrance of the village they are
met by the townspeople, who offer them liquor and then conduct them
to the houses where they feast and dance to the music of _gansas_
(p. 126). [11] Finally the captured heads are stuck on the _sagang_
[12] and are placed by the gate, the spring, and, if sufficient in
number, surround the town (p. 140). Taking the heads of one's neighbors
does not appear to be common, yet cases are mentioned where visitors
are treacherously killed at a dance (pp. 78, 83).

The use of poison [13] is twice mentioned. In one case the victims
are killed by drinking liquor furnished by the father of the girl
about whose head they are dancing (pp. 148, 156).

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).

Marriage appears generally to be negotiated by the mother of the youth
at his suggestion (p. 128). At times both his parents go to the girl's
home, and after many preliminaries broach the subject of their mission
(p. 128). The girl's people discuss the proposition, and if they are
favorable they set a day for the _pakalon_--a celebration at which the
price to be paid for the bride is decided upon (p. 49). The parents
of the groom then return home after having left some small present,
such as a jar or an agate bead, as a sign of engagement (p. 128)
[14]. The _pakalon_ is held a few days later at the girl's home,
and for this event her people prepare a quantity of food (p. 72). On
the agreed day the close friends and relatives of both families will
assemble. Those who accompany the groom carry jars and pigs, either
in part payment for the bride, or to serve as food for the company
(pp. 72, 128). The first hours are spent in bargaining over the price
the girl should bring, but when this is settled a feast is prepared,
and then all indulge in dancing the _tadek_ (p. 59) [15]. When the
payment is made a portion is distributed among the girl's relatives
(pp. 72, 74), but her parents retain the greater part for themselves
[16]. The groom cannot yet claim his bride, although in one case he
is allowed to take her immediately after the _pakalon_ by making a
special payment for the privilege (p. 74). A few nights later the
groom goes to the girl's home carrying with him an empty jar with
which he makes the final payment (p. 73). The customary rice ceremony
[17] follows and he is then entitled to his bride (p. 73). Should the
house or anything in it break at this time, it foretells misfortune
for the couple, hence precautions are taken lest such a sign should,
by accident, be given (p. 60).

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).

The tales give constant sanction for the marriage of near
relatives. Dumanau, we are told, marries his cousin [18], while we
frequently meet with such statements as, "We are relatives and it is
good for us to be married", or "They saw that they were related and
that both possessed magical power, so they were married (p. 35)". It
appears that a man may live with his sweetheart and have children
by her, yet leave her, and, without reproach, marry another better
fitted to be his wife (p. 54). He may also accept payment for a wife
who has deserted him, apparently without loss of prestige (p. 64). No
objection seems to be raised to a man having two wives so long as
one of these is an inhabitant of the upper world (p. 111), but we
find Kanag telling his former sweetheart that he cannot marry her
since he is now married to another (p. 138). Again, when two women
lay claim to Aponitolau, as their husband, they undergo a test and
the loser returns to her former home (p. 94). However, this rule does
not prevent a man from having several concubines (p. 120). Gawigawen,
we are told, is accompanied to a _pakalon_ by eighteen young girls
who are his concubines (p. 59).

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.

The details of the extended _Sayang_ ceremony are nowhere given,
but so much is made plain:--At its beginning many people pound rice,
for use in the offerings and for food, and _da-eng_ [19] is danced
(p. 40). After the _Libon_ [20] invitations are sent out, by means of
betel-nuts covered with gold, to those whose presence is especially
desired (p. 62). When the guests arrive at the village spring or
gate they are offered food or drink, and then while they dance they
are sprinkled with water or rice, after which all go up to the town
(p. 41 note 2). A medium who knows the customs and desires of the
spirits constructs a bamboo mat, which is known as _talapitap_, and
on it offers food. To call their attention she frequently strikes
the ground with the _dakidak_--split sticks of bamboo and _lono_
[21] (p. 40). The guests are not neglected, so far as regards food,
for feasting and dancing occupy a considerable portion of their
time. The ceremonial dance _da-eng_ is mentioned, but the _tadek_
[22] seems to be the one in special favor (pp. 41, 59).

One tale tells us that the _Sayang_ was held immediately following
a head hunt; and another, that Aponitolau 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.

On page 105 we are told that Kanag's half sister is a medium, and
the description of her method of summoning the spirits tallies with
that of to-day. At the _Sayang_ ceremony she is called to perform
the _Dawak_ [23], with the assistance of the old woman Alokotan
(p. 106). The _Dawak_ is also held in order to stop the flow of blood
from Aponitolau's finger (p. 113). The only other ceremony mentioned
is that made in order to find a lost switch (p. 91).

Certain well-known customs are strongly brought out in our
material. The first, and apparently most important, is the necessity
of offering liquor and food, both to strangers and to guests
(p. 58). Refusal is so keenly resented that in one instance a couple
decline to allow their daughter to marry a man whose emissaries reject
this gift (p. 73). Old quarrels are closed by the tender of food or
drink, and friendships are cemented by the drinking of _basi_ [24]
(p. 134). People meeting for the first time, and even friends who
have been separated for a while, chew betel-nut together and tell
their names and places of residence. We are repeatedly told that
it is necessary to chew the nut and make known their names, for
"we cannot tell our names unless we chew," and "it is bad for us if
we do not know each other's names when we talk." A certain etiquette
is followed at this time: old men precede the younger; people of the
home town, the visitors; and men always are before the women (pp. 45,
133). The conduct of Awig when he serves liquor to the _alzados_
[25] is that of to-day, i.e., the person who serves always drinks
before passing it to others (p. 156).

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