NON-CHRISTIAN PEOPLES OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



1199 



received on such occasions must be taken 

 in good part (see photographs in the Na- 

 tional GEOGRAPHIC AIagazine:, Septem- 

 ber, 1912). A man who complained over 

 having a few fingers chopped off would 

 lose caste as completely as would a foot- 

 ball player who objected to being tackled 

 hard (see page 1230). 



The men of certain towns, and espe- 

 cially of Sapao, are skillful in working 

 and tempering steel. They make excel- 

 lent lance-heads and war-knives. They 

 are the only people in the Philippines 

 who do not naturally and normally eat 

 with their fingers. The poorest Ifugao 

 usually carries a wooden spoon in his 

 clout and uses H in feeding himself. The 

 handles of these spoons are often well 

 carved in imitation of human figures. 

 Striking-looking wooden bowls carved in 

 imitation of hogs or carabaos are in 

 fairly common use, while under the 

 houses of what may be termed the Ifu- 

 gao nobility huge carved tagabi, or rest- 

 ing benches, fashioned from single logs 

 and capable of accommodating two or 

 more persons stretched at length, are 

 often seen. 



Until American control was estab- 

 lished over them, the Ifugaos were in- 

 veterate head-hunters, and their heavy 

 burden of field work was necessarily 

 largely performed by women or children, 

 while their men did sentry duty on the 

 hilltops or stood guard over them in the 

 fields. It is nov/ more than six years 

 since a head has been taken in their ter- 

 ritory, and the several settlements are 

 not only on friendly terms with each 

 other, but with the people of neighbor- 

 ing tribes as well. 



EXPERT SHOTS AND EEEICIENT POLICE 



When trouble threatens, they carry 

 plain rattan-lashed board shields, which 

 look ugly but are effective. Their offen- 

 sive weapons are formidable bolos and 

 steel-headed lances. They also use bam- 

 boo lances and a few of them have rifles. 

 Today order is maintained throughout 

 their territory by Ifugao constabulary 

 soldiers, who speedily become expert 

 rifle shots and have shown themselves to 

 be brave, efficient, and loyal (see p. 1224). 



The Ifugaos have only two musical 

 instruments : a wooden drum with skin 

 head, used in connection with certain 

 ceremonial feasts, and the common 

 gansa, or timbrel, which they play with 

 consummate skill. They march to its 

 music on the trail and dance to it on 

 every possible occasion. 



Their feasts are apt to be rather up- 

 roarious. They make an excellent fer- 

 mented drink from rice, and on gala oc- 

 casions are prone to partake of it rather 

 too freely. 



Today they show the utmost friendli- 

 ness toward Americans. They have 

 built splendid roads and trails through- 

 out their subprovince, over which Amer- 

 ican women may and do ride in perfect 

 safety. 



Under a continuation of the present 

 policy the Ifugaos will go fast and far 

 on the road which leads to better things. 



Their condition and customs in Span- 

 ish days have been accurately and quite 

 fully described by Father Juan A^illa- 

 A^erde, a Spanish missionary priest, who 

 labored long among them and won their 

 respect and regard. Had the policy 

 which he recommended been followed by 

 the Spanish government in dealing with 

 them, many of the results which the 

 American government has now attained 

 would have been achieved years ago.* 



THE IGOROTS OE BENGUET, LEPANTO, AND 



amburayan(see pictures, pages 1 169, 



1 174, I22I, 1238, I24I, AND 1255). 



The Igorots who today inhabit the sub- 

 provinces of Benguet, Lepanto, and Am- 

 burayan must be considered as consti- 

 tuting a single tribe, although they speak 

 several distinct dialects, of which Nabaloi 

 and Kankanai are the more important. 

 The territory which they occupy is for 

 the most part very mountainous. They 

 number today in Benguet 28,000 ; in Le- 

 panto, 27,000, and in Amburayan, 34,000. 



They are a robust and vigorous peo- 

 ple. Both men and women are as a rule 

 short, heavily built, and strongly muscled, 



* I have translated and illustrated his ac- 

 count of this interesting tribe, and have pub- 

 lished it in the Philippine Journal of Science 

 for July, 1909. 



