Figure 4.
Ceremonial Paraphernalia.
Dakīdak ([Fig. 4], Nos. 3–3a): Long poles, one a reed, the other bamboo, split at one end so they will rattle. The medium strikes them Page 311on the ground to attract the spirits to the food served on the talapītap.
Īgam: Notched feathers, often with colored yarn at the ends, attached to sticks. These are worn in the hair during the Pala~an and Sayang ceremonies, to please the spirits of the east, called Īdadaya.
Inálson: A sacred blanket made of white cotton. A blue or blue and red design is formed, where the breadths join, and also along the borders. It is worn over the shoulders of the medium during the Gīpas ceremony (cf. p. 263).
Lab-labón: Also called Adug. In Buneg and nearby towns, whose inhabitants are of mixed Tinguian and Kalinga blood, small incised pottery houses are found among the rice jars, and are said to be the residences of the spirits, who multiply the rice. They are sometimes replaced with incised jars decorated with vines. The idea seems to be an intrusion into the Tinguian belt. The name is probably derived from lábon, “plenty” or “abundance” (Plate [XXIX]).
Pīling (Plate [XIX]): A collection of large sea-shells attached to cords. They are kept in a small basket together with one hundred fathoms of thread and a Chinese plate, usually of ancient make. The whole makes up the medium's outfit, used when she is summoning the spirits.
Pīnapa: A large silk blanket with yellow strips running lengthwise. Such blankets are worn by certain women when dancing da-eng, and they are also placed over the feet of a corpse.
Sado ([Fig. 4], No. 3): The shallow clay dishes in which the spirits are fed on the talapītap.
Salogeygey: The outside bark of a reed is cut at two points, from opposite directions, so that a double fringe of narrow strips stands out. One end is split, saklag leaves are inserted, and the whole is dipped or sprinkled in sacrificial blood, and placed in each house during the Sagobay ceremony. The same name is applied to the magical sticks, which are placed in the rice seed-beds to insure lusty plants (cf. p. 399).
Sangádel: The bamboo frame on which a corpse is placed during the funeral.
Tabing: A large white blanket with which one corner of the room is screened off during the Sayang and other ceremonies. In this “room” food and other offerings are made for the black, deformed, and timid spirits who wish to attend the ceremony unobserved.
Takal: Armlets made of boar's tusks, which are worn during certain dances in Sayang. Page 312
Talapītap ([Fig. 4], No. 3): A roughly plaited bamboo frame on which the spirits are fed during the more important rites. Used in connection with the dakīdak and clay dishes (sado).
Tongátong ([Fig. 4], No. 5): The musical instrument, which appears in many ceremonials. It consists of six or more bamboo tubes of various lengths. The players hold a tube in each hand, and strike their ends on a stone, which lies between them, the varying lengths of the cylinders giving out different notes. Page 313
[1] See Traditions of the Tinguian, this volume, No. 1, p. 185.
[2] In Manabo it is said that there are five sons, who reside in the spirit houses known as tangpap, alalot, and pungkew.
[3] The people of Manabo say, he resides in the spirit-structures known as balaua, sogayab, batog,and balag (cf. pp. 308, et seq.)
[4] Among the Ifugao, Kabúnian is the lowest of the three layers which make up the heavens (Beyer, Origin Myths among the Mountain Peoples of the Philippines, Phil. Jour. of Science, Vol. viii, No. 2, 1913, p. 99).
[5] Traditions of the Tinguian, this volume, No. 1, p. 15.
[6] Traditions of the Tinguian, this volume. No. 1, p. 32.
[7] The medium is also sometimes called manganito.
[8] Similar mediums and possession were observed among the ancient Visayans. See Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vol. V, p. 133; Perez writing concerning Zambales says of their mediums, “He commences to shiver, his whole body trembling, and making many faces by means of his eyes; he generally talks, sometimes between his teeth, without any one understanding him. Sometimes he contents himself with wry faces which he makes with his eyes and the trembling of all his body. After a few moments he strikes himself on the knee, and says he is the anito to whom the sacrifice is being made.” See Blair and Robertson, op. cit.,Vol. XLVII, p. 301.
[9] Among the ancient Tagalog, charms made of herbs, stones, and wood, were used to infuse the heart with love (Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vol VII, p. 194). Similar practices are found in India, among the Selangor of the Malay Peninsula, among the Bagobo of Mindanao and in Japan: see Roy, Jour. Royal Anth, Inst.,Vol. XLIV, 1914, p. 337; Skeat and Blagden, Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, p. 312; Benedict, Bagobo Ceremonial, Magic and Myth, p. 220 (Annals N. Y. Academy of Sciences, Vol. XXV, 1916); Hildburgh, Man, Nov. 1915, pp. 168, et seq.; Trans. Japan Soc, Vol. VIII, pp. 132, et seq.
[10] The salaksak was also the omen bird of the Zambales (Blair and Robertson, Philippine Islands, Vol. XLVII, p. 307).
[11] Predicting of the future through the flight of birds, or by means of the entrails of slain animals, is widespread, not only in the Philippines and Malaysia generally, but was equally important in ancient Babylonia and Rome. The resemblances are so many that certain writers, namely, Hose and McDougall, Kroeber, and Laufer are inclined to credit them to common historical influences. See Hose and McDougall, Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Vol. II, p. 255 (London, 1912); Kroeber, Peoples of the Philippines (American Museum of Natural History, Handbook Series, No. 8, p. 192, New York, 1919); Laufer, Toung Pao, 1914, pp. 1–51.