322 The Tinguian 



No spirits are summoned at this time, neither is there singing or 

 dancing. 



Bakid. 1 — This ceremony is held to celebrate the completion of a 

 new dwelling, or to remove any bad sign, which may have been re- 

 ceived during the building operations. 



The medium and her assistants fasten a bamboo pole or rattan cord 

 across one portion of the room, and on it place numerous pieces of 

 cloth-skirts, blankets, belts, a fish-net, and a quantity of false hair. 

 This serves first as an offering to the spirits, but it is also explained 

 that, if the immortals are unable to count all the gifts, they will be 

 powerless to injure the occupants of the dwelling. Should an evilly 

 disposed being desire to make trouble for the owner, he must count 

 every hair in the switches, as well as every hole in the fish-net. Fail- 

 ing in this, he will be compelled by the other spirits to celebrate the 

 Bakid ceremony five times at his own expense. 



Beneath the line of offerings, a bound pig is laid; and, as she 

 strokes the side of the animal, with oiled fingers, the medium repeats a 

 dlam 2 in which she tells of misfortunes of a family, which failed to 

 observe the signs sent by Kaboniyan, and of his instructions as to how 

 best to overcome their troubles. The family listens respectfully until 

 the story is finished, then they lift a door from its socket, place it in 

 the middle of the floor, and proceed to sacrifice the pig upon it. Some 

 of the blood is immediately sprinkled on the house timbers, particularly 

 those which may have given the builders trouble, either in transporta- 

 tion, or during the erection of the structure. The greater part of the 

 blood is mixed with rice, and is dropped through the slits in the floor, 

 or scattered about for the spirits ; while for an hour or more a portion 

 of the meat, the heart, and the head, are placed below the offerings 

 on the cord or on the house-beams. Later, these portions will be 

 cooked and served to the guests. Immediately after the killing, the 

 liver is removed, and is examined for a sign. Should the omens be 

 unfavorable, another animal will be killed, or the family will celebrate 

 Sangasang within a few days. If the signs are satisfactory, the host 

 begins to distribute basi, and soon good fellowship reigns. One after 

 another of the guests sings the daleng, in which they bespeak for the 

 owner a long and prosperous life in his new home. The Bakid always 

 ends with a feast, in which the flesh of slaughtered animals plays the 

 important part. Upon its completion, the medium is given a portion of 



1 Known as Palasod in Bakaok. 



2 See Traditions of the Tinguian, this volume, No. I, p. 175. 



