The Iocoros were in a forward state, if not of civilization, of preparation therefor. On all hands their youth were anxiously waiting to be taught. Compared with Teutonic races they were superficial and emotional, but they had great ambition and perseverance.
Igarrote Religious Dance, Lepanto.
A sharp contrast were the Igorrotes. These appeared to be at bottom Malays, though Mongolian features marked many a face. They had withstood all attempts to christianize them, and stubbornly clung to their primitive mode of life as tillers of the soil. Mentally they were near savagery, entirely without ambition or moral outlook. Nevertheless they adhered to the American arms and rendered valuable porter service.
Their religion had elements of sun and ancestor worship. The one tangible feature in it was the “kanyan,” a drunken feast held on such occasions—fifteen in all—as marriage, birth, death, and serious illness. The feast began with an invocation to Kafunion, the sun god, and a dance much like that of the American Indians. Then came the drinking of tapi, a strong beer made from rice, and gorging with buffalo, horse, or dog meat, the last being the greatest delicacy. Till the Americans vetoed the practice, the Igorrotes were “head hunters.” The theory was that the brains of the captured head became the captor’s.
The Igorrotes had magnificent chests and legs, and were extensively used as burden-bearers. Sustained by only a few bowlfuls of rice and some sweet potatoes, a man would carry fifty or even seventy-five pounds on his head or back all day over the most difficult mountain trails. The Igorrotes had a mild form of slavery, and, though good-natured and at times industrious, appeared utterly without spirit of progress. It was interesting to mark whether or not contact with a superior race would be a stimulus to them.
Igarrote Head Hunters with Head Axes and Spears.
A contrast, again, to the Igorrotes was presented by the Ilocoans, an intelligent, industrious, Christian people, eager for education, yet promising to cherish independent ideals the more dearly the more prosperous and advanced they became.
