[44] The similarity of the Tinguian rice ceremony to that of many other Philippine tribes is so great that it cannot be due to mere chance. Customs of a like nature were observed by the writer among the Bukidnon, Bagobo, Bila-an, Kulaman, and Mandaya of Mindanao, and the Batak of Palawan; they are also described by Reed and Worcester for the Negrito of Zambales and Bataan; while Loarca, writing late in the sixteenth century, records a very like ceremony practised by a coast group, probably the Pintados. At the same time it is worthy of note that Jenks found among the Bontoc Igorot a great divergence both in courtship and marriage. Among the Dusun of British North Borneo the marriage of children of the well-to-do is consummated Page 279nby the eating of rice from the same plate. Other instances of eating together, as a part of the marriage ceremony in Malaysia, are given by Crawley. See Cole, The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao (Field Museum of Natural History. Vol. XII, No. 2, pp. 102, 144, 157, 192); Reed, Negritos of Zambales (Pub. Ethnological Survey, Vol. II, pt. 1, p. 58 (Manila, 1904)); Worcester, Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. I, p. 811 (Manila, 1906); Loarca, Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas, Chap. X (Arevalo, 1580), translated in Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vol. V, pp. 157, et seq.; Jenks, The Bontoc Igorot (Pub. Ethnological Survey, Vol. I, pp. 68, et seq., Manila, 1905); Evans, Journ. Royal Anth. Inst., Vol. XLVII, p. 159; Crawley, The Mystic Rose (London, 1902), pp. 379, et seq.
[45] In Manabo an old woman sleeps between them. Among the Bagobo and Kulaman, of Mindanao, a child is placed between the pair. See Cole, op. cit., pp. 102, 157.
[46] In Likuan they chew of the same betel-nut. Among the Batak of Palawan they smoke of the same cigar.
[47] This part of the ceremony is now falling into disuse.
[48] See Traditions of the Tinguian, this volume, No. 1, p. 12.
[49] Here again the Tinguian ceremony closely resembles the ancient custom described by Loarca. In his account, the bride was carried to the house of the groom. At the foot of the stairway she was given a present to induce her to proceed; when she had mounted the steps, she received another, as she looked in upon the guests, another. Before she could be induced to set down, to eat and drink, she was likewise given some prized object. Loarca, Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas, Chap. X; also Blair and Robertson, op. cit., Vol. V, p. 157.
[50] See Traditions of the Tinguian, this volume, No. 1, p. 172. The origin of death is also given in the tales, ibid., p. 177.
[51] The spirit of the dead is generally known as kalading, but in Manabo it is called kal-kolayó and in Likuan alalya; in Ilokano, al-aliá means “phantom” or “ghost.”
[52] In some villages Sᴇlday is the spirit against whom this precaution is taken.
[53] In Daligan and some other villages in Ilocos Norte, a chicken is killed, is burned in a fire, and then is fastened beside the door in place of the live bird.