VIII, D, 2 Beyer: Myths Among Mountain Peoples 115 



whimper and whine, and to pull on the leash; and Banggilit ran, and 

 they went on. Suddenly it became light all around them, and they came 

 out of the forest into a large group of people. And the people said 

 among themselves: "Surely Banggilit is dead," and they examined his 

 body and asked: "Where were you speared?" And Baiiggilit spoke and 

 said: " I have not been speared! I went hunting and was overtaken by 

 night, and my dog here ran ahead on our path. I followed, and came 

 here, and lo! it is light here!" 



And they took Banggilit and went to their toAvn — for there are many 

 large towns there in the dwelling-place of souls. They wished to give 

 him food, but he said: "Wait until my own food is exhausted, and then 

 I will eat of your rice here." And they asked him: "How many days 

 will you remain with us?" and Baiig-gilit answered that he would remain 

 four days. Then the people began to laugh and one of them said: "Not 

 four days but four yeais here!" "Ha!" cried Banggilit, "I shall never 

 do that! Wait until you see!" "Just so!" answered the other, "but one 

 day here is the same as a year on the Earth World," but Banggilit thought 

 that he was lying. 



Baiiggilit visited all of the towns there. He worked in the rice fields 

 and they gave him four jars as his wages. Then his host said to him: 

 "Return home now, for you have been here four days, which, according 

 to the usage of the Earth World, are four years." "Yes," answered 

 Banggilit, "I wish to go home now, as I am homesick for my family. 

 You have been very good to me, for you have given me wages for my 

 work." And the host said: "It was a gift; not wages, but a gift, that 

 I gave you," and he led the way and pointed out to Banggilit a ladder. 

 "Go down that ladder, and in a short time you will arrive at your house," 

 he said." Baiiggilit started to go down, but one of the jars struck 

 heavily against the ladder and was broken. He went down the ladder and at 

 last arrived in the top of a betel-nut tree. He slid down the trunk of 

 the tree to the ground, and the chickens were crowing and it was just 

 davni. And he looked at his surroundings and exclaimed: "Why this is 

 my own house!" His relatives came out and said: "Who are you?" and 

 he replied: "This is my house." They looked at him closely and cried: 

 "Well now, it is Baiiggilit who has been gone these four years!" And 

 they sat down and talked long together. He showed them the jars, and 

 they asked: "Where did you get those?" And he answered: " I brought 

 them from the Sky World," and they were afraid and went to look for 

 the ladder but it was no longer there.*' 



The above myth may well have been invented by some man 

 who, unknown to his relatives and friends, wandered across 



*° The three unbroken jars brought by Baiiggilit from the village of 

 souls in the Sky World are still in existence and their location is as 

 follows: The first jar is called Inhyuwat, and is owned by Binwag of 

 Buwot. The second is called Indyao, and is owned by Inayao of Hina- 

 gaiigan. The third is called Buut, and is owned by Biiut of Hapao. These 

 jars have an estimated value of several hundred pesos each, but, unless 

 driven to it by dire extremity, their owners would not sell them for any 

 price. (Plate IV, fig. 1.) 



