AN IFUGAO BURIAL CEREMONY. 24^ 



' The priest who was. possessed jumped up and' with ■chkraeteristic 

 Ifugao dance step, danced about the rice-wine jar,' and aboilt the pig. 

 Quickly there followed him a priest who had called ITmalgo, the Spirit 

 of the Sun, and who had been possessed by that deity. Manahaut danced 

 ahead of Umalgo to show him the pig, and to urge him on. Unialgo 

 seized a spear, danced about the pig two or three tiriies, then stepped ever 

 to it arid with a thrust, seemingly without effort, pierced its heart. The 

 priests started the blood-thirsty cry which was taken up by the hundreds 

 of high-wrought barbarians standing round: "So may it be clone to, our 

 enemies of Kurug." *" The blood spurted out of the pig's side and 

 there quickly followed a priest who had been possessed by Umbulan, the 

 Spirit of the Moon, who threw himself on the pig and drank its blood. 

 He would have remained there forever, say the people, drinking the 

 pig's blood had it not been for the fact that one. of the Stars, , his, 

 son, possessed a priest and caused him to dance over to IJmbulan, 'catcli 

 him by the hair, and lead him from the pig. 



. Following these ceremonies other priests came, possessed by various 

 Spirits of the Stars, to out off the pig's feet and .head. And after 

 each event, tlie cry issued from hundreds of throats : "So may it be 

 done to our enemies." Next came the cutting up of the pig, to cook 

 it in the pots. The blood that had settled in its chest was carefully 

 caught; it was used to smear the haiigibang *'^ and the hipag. 



The hipag are interesting. (See Plate IX.) They are little images of men, 

 piga, dogs, chickens, and ducks. The spirits that dwell in them help men to 

 take heads. The hipag are made of wood, and are about 15 to 20 centimeters 

 high. 'When an Ifugao goes on a head-hunting expedition he takes the images 

 in his head-basket together with a stone to make the enemy's feet heavy, so that 

 he can not run away, and a little wooden stick in representation of a spear, 

 to the end of which is attached a stone. This last is to make the enemy's spear 

 strike the earth so thatit shall not strike him. 



As the pig was being put in the pot to be cooked for the priests 

 who had performed the ceremony, some unmannerly young fellow started 

 to make away with one piece of the flesh. Immediately there was a 

 scramble for pork which was joined by some three or four' hundred 

 Ifugaos from all the different rancherias. Every man there (I think 

 that there were over 1,000 who attended the ceremony) leaped for his 

 spear and shield. The people who had come from Kiaiigan rushed to 

 where I was and took their stand in front of and around me, and 

 told me to stay there, and that they would protect me from any harm; 

 all of which, as' may be supposed, produced no trifling amount of 

 warmth in my feelings toward them. Fortunately nothing came of the 

 scramble. 



"''Batna kana okukulan di-Mhol-mi iid KudHg." 

 . *^ Bangihang , wooden musical instruments, see p. 244. 



