Each a′-to, except Chakong, has a pa-ba-fu′-nan. When the men of Chakong were building theirs they met the pueblo of Sadanga in combat, and one of the builders lost his head to Sadanga. Then the old men of Chakong counciled together; they came to the conclusion that it was bad for the a′-to to have a pa-ba-fu′-nan, and none has ever been built. This absence of the pa-ba-fu′-nan in some way detracts from the importance of the a′-to in the minds of the people. For instance, in the early stages of this study I was told several times that there are sixteen (and not seventeen) a′-to in Bontoc. The first list of a′-to written did not include Chakong; it was discovered only when the pueblo was platted, and at that time my informants sought to pass it over by saying “It is Chakong, but it has no pa-ba-fu′-nan.” The explanation of the obscurity of Chakong in the minds of the Igorot seems to be that the a′-to ceremonial is more important than the a′-to council—that the emotional and not the mental is held uppermost, that the people of Bontoc flow together through feeling better than they drive together through cold force or control.
The a′-to ceremonials of Chakong are held in the pa-ba-fu′-nan of neighboring a′-to, as in Sigichan, Pudpudchog, or Filig, and this seems partially to destroy the esprit de corps of the unfortunate a′-to.
Each a′-to has a fa′-wi building—a structure greatly resembling to the pa-ba-fu′-nan, and impossible to be distinguished from it by one looking at the structure from the outside. The fa′-wi and pa-ba-fu′-nan are shown in [Pls. XXX], [XXXI], and [XXXII]. [Pl. XXIX] shows a section of Sipaat a′-to with its fa′-wi and pa-ba-fu′-nan. The fa′-wi is the a′-to council house; as such it is more frequented by the old men than by the younger. The fa′-wi also shelters the skulls of human heads taken by the a′-to. Outside the pueblo, along certain trails, there are simple structures also called “fa′-wi,” shelters where parties halt for feasts, etc., while on various ceremonial journeys.
The fa′-wi and pa-ba-fu′-nan of each a′-to are near together, and in five they are under the same roof, though there is no doorway for intercommunication. What was said of the pa-ba-fu′-nan as a social center is equally true of the fa′-wi; each is the lounging place of men and boys, and the dormitory of unmarried males.
In Samoki each of the eight a′-to has only one public building, and that is known simply as “a′-to.”
One is further convinced of an extensive early movement of the primitive Malayan from its pristine nest by the presence of institutions similar to the pa-ba-fu′-nan and fa′-wi over a vast territory of the Asiatic mainland as well as the Asiatic Islands and Oceania. That these widespread institutions sprang from the same source will be seen clearly in the quotations appearing in the footnote below.[1] The visible exponent of the institutions is a building forbidden to women, the functions of which are several; it is a dormitory for men—generally unmarried men—a council house, a guardhouse, a guest house for men, a center for ceremonials of the group, and a resting place for the trophies of the chase and war—a “head house.”
Olag
The o′-lâg is the dormitory of the girls in an a′-to from the age of about 2 years until they marry. It is a small stone and mud-walled structure, roofed with grass, in which a grown person can seldom stand erect. It has but a single opening—a door some 30 inches high and 10 inches wide. Occupying nearly all the floor space are boards about 4 feet long and from 8 to 14 inches wide; each board is a girl’s bed. They are placed close together, side by side, laid on a frame about a foot above the earth. One end, where the head rests, is slightly higher that the other, while in most o′-lâg a pole for a foot rest runs along the foot of the beds a few inches from them. The building as shown in [Pl. XXXIII] is typical of the nineteen found in Bontoc pueblo—though it does not show, what is almost invariably true, that it is built over one or more pigsties. This condition is illustrated in [Pl. XXIX], where a widow’s house is shown literally resting above the stone walls of several sties. Unlike the fawi and pabafunan, the o′-lâg has no adjoining court, and no shady surroundings. It is built to house the occupants only at night.
The o′-lâg is not so distinctly an ato institution as the pabafunan and fawi. Ato Ungkan never had an o′-lâg. The demand is not so urgent as that of some ato, since there are only thirteen families in Ungkan. The girls occupy o′-lâg of neighboring ato.