The rope machine (agtatalian) consists of three wooden whirls, which constitute the forming device, and a single whirl for the traveler, while a grooved block serves to keep the strands apart ([Fig. 17], No. 2). Three equal lengths of the prepared bast are measured, and an end is attached to each of the whirls of the forming machine ([Fig. 17], No. 2a). However, only one cut is made in the bast, for strand 3. Page 420All are attached to the single whirl of the traveler, and the process begins. The operator at each end turns his whirl, or set of whirls, rapidly toward the right, the one with the traveler bracing his foot against the lower end, to keep the twisting bast under tension. A third operator guides the grooved piece of wood from the traveler toward the forming machine, as the three strands twist round each other into rope. The bast is known as gīnīsgīs, the rope as tali.
Vines, rattan, and strips of bamboo are likewise twisted together to form crude, but strong cordage.
The making of thread is described under spinning and weaving, but the cords used in snares and the like are prepared in a different manner. The operator squats on the ground, and taking a strip of fiber, places it on his thigh; then with open palm he rolls it toward the knee. The twisted bast is bent at the center; the thumb and forefinger of the left hand hold the loop, and the two strands are placed together. These are now rolled toward the knee as before, the hand giving extra pressure on the ulnar side, and then are rolled back toward the body with pressure on the radial side. When the end of a band is reached, a new one is rolled in, and the process is continued. A tie at the end keeps the cord from untwisting.
When very long strips of fiber are used, two men will work together. One holds the end of the loop, while the other twists each half of the strip in the same direction. Then placing them together on his thigh, he turns them, under pressure, in the opposite direction, thus making a cord.
Figure 18.
Bark Beater.
Bark Cloth.—Bark cloth is still in common use for men's headbands and for clouts. It is secured from the same trees as the rope material, but wider strips are taken, and it is customary to beat the bark thoroughly before it is removed from the wood. It is then split to the desired thickness, after which it is beaten with wooden or bone mallets (gīkai), which are generally grooved transversely ([Fig. 18]). The cloth produced is soft and pliable, but is not of the fineness of tapa, and it is always in comparatively narrow pieces. In no instance Page 421was the operator seen to beat two strips together to gain greater breadth or to repair breaks.
Basket Making.—In most districts the men are the basket weavers, but in some towns, especially of Ilocos Norte, the women are skilled in this industry (Plate [LXVII]). The materials used are rattan, which may be gathered at any time, or bamboo, which is cut only during the dry season and under the waning moon. It is firmly believed that boring insects will not injure bamboo cut at this time, and it is known that the dry period stalks are the strongest.
The tools employed are a short knife or a miniature head-axe and an awl. With the former the operator scrapes the outer surface, and then splits the tube into strips of the desired width and thickness. A certain number of these strips, which are to be used for decoration, are rubbed with oil, and are held in the smoke of burning pine or of rice-straw until a permanent black is obtained.[15]