In the discussion of the tales[6] it was suggested that these and other ideas, which differ from those held by the majority of the tribe, may represent older conceptions, which have been swamped, or may have been introduced into Abra by emigrants from the north and east.
The Mediums.—The superior beings talk with mortals through the aid of mediums, known individually and collectively as alopogan (“she who covers her face”).[7] These are generally women past middle life, though men are not barred from the profession, who, when Page 300chosen, are made aware of the fact by having trembling fits when they are not cold, by warnings in dreams, or by being informed by other mediums that they are desired by the spirits. A woman may live the greater part of her life without any idea of becoming a medium, and then because of such a notification will undertake to qualify. She goes to one already versed, and from her learns the details of the various ceremonies, the gifts suitable for each spirit, and the chants or dīams which must be used at certain times. This is a considerable task, for the dīams must be learned word for word; and, likewise, each ceremony must be conducted, just as it was taught by the spirits to the “people of the first times.” The training occupies several months; and when all is ready, the candidate secures her pīling. This is a collection of large sea-shells attached to cords, which is kept in a small basket together with a Chinese plate and a hundred fathoms of thread (Plate [XIX]). New shells may be used, but it is preferable to secure, if possible, the pīling of a dead medium. Being thus supplied, the novice seeks the approval of the spirits and acceptance as a medium. The wishes of the higher beings are learned by means of a ceremony, in the course of which a pig is killed, and its blood mixed with rice is scattered on the ground. The liver of the animal is eagerly examined; for, if certain marks appear on it, the candidate is rejected, or must continue her period of probation for several months, before another trial can be made. During this time she may aid in ceremonies, but she is not possessed by the spirits. When finally accepted, she may begin to summon the spirits into her body. She places offerings on a mat, seats herself in front of them, and calls the attention of the spirits by striking her pīling, or a bit of lead, against a plate; then covering her face with her hands, she begins to chant. Suddenly she is possessed; and then, no longer as a human, but as the spirit itself, she talks with the people, asking and answering questions, or giving directions, as to what shall be done to avert sickness and trouble, or to bring good fortune.
Certain mediums are visited only by low, mean spirits; others, by both good and bad; while still others may be possessed even by Kadaklan, the greatest of all. It is customary for the spirit of a deceased mortal to enter the body of a medium, just before the corpse is to be buried, to give messages to the family; but he seldom comes again in this manner.
The pay of a medium is small, usually a portion of a sacrificed animal, a few bundles of rice, and some beads; but this payment is more than offset by the restrictions placed on her. At no time may Page 301she eat of carabao, wild pig, wild chicken, or shrimp; nor may she touch peppers—all prized articles of food.
The inducements for a person to enter this vocation are so few that a candidate begins her training with reluctance; but, once accepted by the spirits, the medium yields herself fully and sincerely to their wishes. When possessed by a spirit, her own personality is submerged, and she does many things of which she is apparently ignorant, when she emerges from the spell. Oftentimes, as she squats by the mat, summoning the spirits, her eyes take on a far-away stare; the veins of her face and neck stand out prominently, while the muscles of her arms and legs are tense; then, as she is possessed, she assumes the character and habits of the superior being. If it is a spirit supposed to dwell in Igorot or Kalinga land, she speaks in a dialect unfamiliar to her hearers, orders them to dance in Igorot fashion, and then instructs them in dances, which she or her townspeople could never have seen.[8] At times she carries on sleight-of-hand tricks, as when she places beads in a dish of oil, and dances with it high above her head, until the beads vanish. A day or two later she will recover them from the hair of some participant in the ceremony. Most of her acts are in accordance with a set procedure; yet at times she goes further, and does things which seem quite inexplainable.
One evening, in the village of Manabo, we were attending a ceremony. Spirit after spirit had appeared, and at their order dances and other acts had taken place. About ten o'clock a brilliant flash of lightning occurred, although it was not a stormy evening. The body of the medium was at that time possessed by Amangau, a head-hunting spirit. He at once stopped his dance, and announced that he had just taken the head of a boy from Luluno, and that the people of his village were even then dancing about the skull. Earlier in the evening we had noticed this lad (evidently a consumptive) among the spectators. When the spirit made this claim, we looked for him, but he had vanished. A little later we learned that he had died of a hemorrhage at about the time of the flash. Page 302
Such occurrences make a deep impression on the mind of the people, and strengthen their belief in the spirit world; but, so far as could be observed, the prestige of the medium was in nowise enhanced.
Since most of the ceremonies are held to keep the family or individual in good health, the medium takes the place of a physician. She often makes use of simple herbs and medicinal plants, but always with the idea that the treatment is distasteful to the being, who has caused the trouble, and not with any idea of its curative properties. Since magic and religion are practically the same in this society, the medium is the one who usually conducts or orders the magic rites; and for the same reason she, better than all others, can read the signs and omens sent by members of the spirit world.
Magic and Omens.—The folk-tales are filled with accounts of magical acts, performed by “the people of the first times.” They annihilated time and space, commanded inanimate objects to do their will, created human beings from pieces of betel-nut, and caused the magical increase of food and drink. Those days have passed, yet magical acts still pervade all the ceremonies; nature is overcome, while the power to work evil by other than human means is a recognized fact of daily life. In the detailed accounts of the ceremonies will be found many examples of these magical acts, but the few here mentioned will give a good idea of all.
In one ceremony, a blanket is placed over the family, and on their heads a coconut is cut in two, and the halves are allowed to fall; for, “as they drop to the ground, so does sickness and evil fall away from the people.” A bound pig is placed in the center of the floor, and water is poured into its ear that, “as it shakes out the water, so may evil spirits and sickness be thrown out of the place.” At one point in the Tangpap ceremony, a boy takes the sacrificial blood and rice from a large dish, and puts it in a number of smaller ones, then returns it again to the first; for, “when the spirits make a man sick, they take a part of his life. When they make him well, they put it back, just as the boy takes away a part of the food, gives it to the spirits, and then replaces it,” The same idea appears in the dance which follows. The boy and the medium take hold of a winnower, raise it in the air, and dance half way around a rice-mortar; then return, as they came, and replace it, “just as the spirits took away a part of the patient's life, but now will put it back.”