24 Traditions of the Tinguian 



in one case the afterbirth was treated in the same manner. Nothing of 

 the sort is done to-day, nor does it seem at all likely that such has been 

 the case in recent generations. The body is now buried beneath the 

 house, and certain set rules govern the movements of all persons related 

 to the deceased, as well as the disposal of the corpse. This procedure is 

 so complex and so uniform throughout the whole Tinguian belt that it 

 seems improbable that it has grown up, except through a long period of 

 time. At this point it is interesting to note that at many ceremonies it 

 is necessary to construct a small raft called tal-taldbahong, or talabong, 

 to place offerings in it, and set it adrift on the stream, in order that any 

 spirits who have been prevented from attending the ceremony may still 

 secure their share* 1 



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 narra- 

 tives. 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 cov- 

 ered 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- 



1 According to Ling Roth, the Malanaus of Borneo bury small boats near the 

 graves of the deceased, for the use of the departed spirits. It was formerly the 

 custom to put jars, weapons, clothes, food, and in some cases a female slave aboard 

 a raft, and send it out to sea on the ebb tide "in order that the deceased might meet 

 with these necessaries in his upward flight." Natives of Sarawak and British North 

 Borneo, Vol. I, p. 145, (London, 1896). For notes on the funeral boat of the 

 Kayan, see Hose and McDougall, Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Vol/TCp: 35.— Among 

 the Kulaman of southern Mindanao an important man is sometimes placed in a 

 coffin resembling a small boat, which is then fastened on high poles near to the beach. 

 Cole, Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao (Pub. Field Museum of Natural His- 5 

 tory, Vol. XII, No. 2, 1913). — The supreme being, Lumawig, of the Bontoc Igorot 

 is said to have placed his living wife and children in a log coffin; at one end he tied 

 a dog, at the other a cock, and set them adrift on the river. See Jenks, The Bontoc 

 Igorot, p. 203, (Manila, 1905); Seidenadel, The Language of the Bontoc Igorot, 

 p. 502 fL, (Chicago, 1909). 



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