26 Traditions of the Tinguian 



linayen appears as the first wife of Aponltolau, and it is clear that in the 

 mind of the story teller she is not identified with Sinag. Aponltolau 

 appears in the other tales without any hint of celestial qualities. Aside 

 from her name and the fact that she is once pictured as visiting the sky, 

 there is nothing to indicate that his wife Aponibolinayen is to be con- 

 sidered as the moon. A careful study of the other characters who re- 

 side in Kadalayapan and Kaodanan fails to yield any evidence that they 

 are considered as celestial beings. 



During the Sayang ceremony held in San Juan, a certain man and 

 woman, who are then called Iwaginan and Gimbagon, 1 represent the 

 good spirits and are defended by the people when evil spirits try to dis- 

 possess them of their property. This is the only instance I have observed 

 in which the names of any of these characters of the tales appear in the 

 ceremonies, while a list of more than one hundred and fifty spirits known 

 to the Tinguian fails to reveal more. 



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 cere- 

 monial life much like that still found in Abra. 



It seems then that these people, about whom the stories cluster, are 

 not to be identified as celestial beings or spiritsi$ They appear rather as 

 generalized heroes whose life and deeds represent that of an earlier 

 period, magnified and extolled by succeeding generations. 



RITUALISTIC AND EXPLANATORY MYTHS 



The second division of the tales now assumes a position of importance 

 to us, for in it we find present day ideas and beliefs of the people strong- 

 ly brought out, and are thus in a position to contrast them with the 

 tenets of the people in "the first times." 



The influence of custom is exceedingly strong among the Tinguian of 

 to-day. The fact that the ancestors did so and so is sufficient justifica- 

 tion for performing any act for which they have no definite explanation. 

 Nowhere is this influence greater than in the ceremonies. These, which 

 accompany all the important happenings in their daily life, are conducted 

 by mediums who are fitted for office by long training, and each one of 

 whom is a check on the others if they wilfully or through carelessness 

 deviate from the old forms. The ritual of these ceremonies is very 



1 See tale 22. 



* For a discussion of this class of myths, see Waterman, Jour. Ant. Folklore, 

 '■> Vol. XXVII, 1914, p. 13 ff.; Lowie, ibid., Vol. XXI, p. 101 ff., 1908; P. W. Schmidt, 

 Grundlinien einer Vergleichung der Religionen und Mythologien der austronesischen 

 Volker, (Wien, 19 10). 



