A Study in Tinguian Folk-Lore

by Fay-Cooper Cole

The myths 32-40, which are known to the people as diams, are now inseparable parts of the various ceremonies. Thus, when a pig is to be offered in the Sayang ceremony, the medium sits down beside it and strokes it with oiled fingers while she "talks to the spirits." The translation of her "talk" shows that this is in no sense a prayer but is rather an account of how the greatest of the spirits taught the Tinguian people to perform this ceremony correctly. Likewise, when she offers food in the Dawak [67] ceremony, she relates how the spirit Kaboniyan taught the Tinguian to do this in the same manner that he performs it. In the Pala-an [68] diam she relates, in story form, the cause of the sickness, but in this case ends with a direct invocation to the spirits in Dadáya to "make them well again if you please." The balance of the diams, 35-40, are in story form, and seem intended more as an explanation to the people as to the causes of their troubles than to be directed toward the spirits. However, the medium seldom has an audience, and rarely ever a single listener, as she recites the diams she has learned verbatim from her instructors when preparing for the duties of her office.

Myths 41-54 are of quite a different type. They are generally told by the mediums or wise old people, during the ceremonies, but always to a crowd of eager listeners. They are not learned word for word, as are the diams, but their content is constant and they are thoroughly believed.

That they exert a great influence on the beliefs and conduct of both old and young is undoubted. The evil which befalls a person who molests the guardian stones is thus made known even to the children who generally keep at a distance from the grove in which they stand. Again, these tales give sharp warning as to what befalls a person who even ignorantly breaks the taboos following a death; but at the same time advance means of thwarting the wrath of the enraged or evil spirits.

Myths 55 to 62 at first glance to not appear to be explanatory at all, but seem rather to be a series of stories dealing with the relations between certain persons and the natural spirits or those of the dead. However, it is the intent and use rather than the form of these stories which has caused them to be included in this division, for they give the people authority for certain beliefs and conceptions which they hold. Tale 56 gives us a glimpse of the prevalent idea of the abode of the dead, where the spirits lead much the same sort of life as they did while alive, but we secure quite a different picture of this realm from the Baluga [69] tale, in which the home of the deceased is said to be in the ground while the "life" of the dead woman is kept in a bamboo cup. This last account was heard in Manabo, a town near to the Igorot settlements of the Upit river, and may be influenced by the beliefs held in that section. [70]

Certain individuals appear to have intimate dealings with the natural spirits, in some instances even being joined to them in marriage. The afterbirth child, Sayen, is believed to have lived "not very long ago;" yet we find his life and actions quite similar to those of the heroes in "the first times," while his foster mother—the alan [71]—takes the same part as did the alan of old.

Relations 63 to 74 appear as pure explanatory tales, accounting for the existence and appearance of celestial bodies and animals in their present state; they also account for the possession of fire and of many prized objects, such as jars and agate beads. Incidentally many essential traits and old customs come out, such, for instance, as those of war and mourning, which appear in connection with the origin of the kalau. [72]

With few exceptions the myths of this division correspond to present beliefs; the spirits are those known to-day; the towns mentioned are now existing or their former locations are well known. They have thus the appearance of being of more recent origin than those of the first division, yet it is worthy of note that there is little in them which seems foreign to or out of keeping with the older tales.

FABLES

The last division may be said to be made up of fables, for the story tellers without hesitation label them as fictions. The last of these appears to be only a worked over incident of myth 56, in which the big bird Banog carries the hero to its nest, from which he escapes by holding to the wings of the young birds. It is possible that more of these fables are likewise incidents in tales prevalent among the Tinguian, but not heard by the writer. Whether or no this be true, it is certain that most of these stories are well known to the Ilocano of the coast and the other Christianized natives throughout the archipelago. Comparison with the folk-lore from other regions shows that these stories are by no means confined to the Philippines. The chief incidents in the narrative of the turtle and the monkey have been recorded from the Kenyah of Borneo [73] and from the northern peninsula of Celebes; [74] the race between the shell and the carabao is told in British North Borneo [75] in regard to the plandok and crab, while it is known to European children as the race between the turtle and the hare. The threat of the mosquito in 84 is almost identical with that recorded by Evans in Borneo; [76] while many incidents in the fable of Dogidog [77] are found in the Iban story of Simpang Impang. [78]

When comparing the Tinguian versions of these fables with those of the Ilocano, one is impressed with the fact that while the incidents upon which they are founded are often identical, the stories themselves have frequently been moulded and changed by the tellers, who have introduced bits of old customs and beliefs until they reflect, in a way, the prevalent ideas of the people. Thus in the story of the magic poncho, [79] which is evidently of Spanish introduction, the owner is identified as the banbantay—a well-known minor spirit. Again, the first part of tale 85 is identical with that of the Ilocano, but ends with the parents of the groom preparing the things used in the pakálon—a very necessary part of the Tinguian marriage ceremony.