12 Traditions of the Tinguian 



(P> 73)- Should the house or anything in it break at this time, it fore- 

 tells 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 pro- 

 test; 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, 1 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, with- 

 out 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 up- 

 per 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 Aponltolau, as their husband, they under- 

 go 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. 1 20). 

 Gawigawen, we are told, is accompanied to a pakdlon 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 



1 The Tinguian do not have a classificatory system of relationship terms. The 

 term kasinsin is applied alike to the children of mother's and father's brothers and 

 sisters. 



