FIELD SPORTS OF NORTHERN LUZON 



233 



BONTOC 1GOROT SLAPPING GAME 

 Fifth position: just after the blow. The man struck does not look happy 



firm grip on the waistband of his oppo- 

 nent's clout. There is an instant of quiet, 

 and then begins a curious hauling and 

 tugging as each strives to lift the other 

 bodily from the ground and throw him 

 flat. Tripping is barred. The physical 

 exertion involved is tremendous and the 

 bout is almost always short. A single 

 fall may decide the match, or it may be 

 the best two in three. The judges and 

 referee are Americans, and the Igorots 

 have implicit confidence in the fairness 

 of their decisions. 



the: igorot slapping game; 



A constabulary officer tells us that if 

 we want to see a unique contest we must 

 ask for the slapping game of the Bontoc 

 Igorots from the towns of Kadaklan and 

 Barlig. We want to see all there is 

 going, and say so. A wooden bench is 

 brought out and two lithe and muscular 

 young men step forward. One of them 

 squats on the bench, grasping his right 



thigh so as to tighten the muscles in a 

 fashion which will be best understood 

 from the accompanying illustrations. 

 The other stands beside him and 

 stretches out his right arm. He first 

 throws it back and then sweeps it for- 

 ward in a full round-arm swing. The 

 blow falls on thin air close to the tight- 

 ened thigh muscles of his opponent. He 

 now swings his arm back again, his 

 whole body turning with it, rises on the 

 toes of his left foot, and puts every 

 ounce of strength which he possesses 

 into a stroke delivered with the flat of 

 his hand full upon the rigid thigh of his 

 opponent. Knots of muscle spring out 

 on his arm, back, and legs as he strikes, 

 and the blow cracks like a revolver shot. 

 The recipient endeavors, sometimes with 

 rather poor success, to preserve an ex- 

 pression of contemptuous indifference. 

 The judges examine his thigh. If the 

 blow has been hard enough, blood will 

 show just beneath the skin, and he will 



