In one room is the hearth, the water pots, and dishes, while the other is the family sleeping-room.
The construction of the dwelling is shown in Plates [XL]–[XLI]. A number of heavy hard-wood posts are sunk deeply into the ground and project upward 10 or more feet. At a height of 4 or 5 feet above the ground, crossbeams are lashed or pegged to form the floor supports, while at the tops are other beams on which the roof rests. Plate [XL] shows the skeleton of this roof so plainly that further description is unnecessary. This framework, generally constructed on the ground, is raised on to the upright timbers, and is lashed in place. A closely woven mat of bamboo strips, or of bamboo beaten flat, covers each side of the roof, and on this the thatch is laid. Bundles of cogon grass are spread clear across the roof, a strip of bamboo is laid at the upper ends, and is lashed to the mat below. A second row of thatch overlaps the top of the first, and thus a waterproof covering is provided.
Another type of roofing is made by splitting long bamboo poles, removing the sectional divisions and then lashing them to the framework. The first set is placed with the concave sides up, and runs from the ridge pole to a point a few inches below the framework, so as to overhang it somewhat. A second series of halved bamboos is laid convex side up, the edges resting in the concavity of those below, thus making an arrangement similar to a tiled roof.
For the side walls this tiled type of construction is commonly used (Plate [LXXVIII]). A coarse bamboo mat is likewise employed, while a crude interweaving of bamboo strips is by no means uncommon. Such a wall affords little protection against a driving rain or wind, but the others are quite effective. Well-to-do families often have the side walls and floors of their houses made of hard-wood boards. Since planks are, or have been until recently, cut out with knives, head-axes, or adzes, much time and wealth is consumed in constructing such a dwelling. When completed, it is less well adapted to the needs of the people than the structures just described, but its possession is a source of gratification to the owner, and aids in establishing him as a man of affairs in his town.
The floor is made of poles tied to the side-beams, and on these strips of bamboo are laid so as to leave small cracks between them. This assists in the house-cleaning, as all dirt and refuse is swept Page 363through the openings on to the ground. When the floor is made of wood, it is customary to leave one corner to be finished off in the bamboo slits, and it is here that the mother gives birth to her children. This is not compulsory, but it is custom, and indicates clearly that the planked floor is a recent introduction.
Entrance to the dwelling is by means of a bamboo ladder which is raised at night, or when the family is away. Windows are merely square holes over which a bamboo mat is fitted at night, but the door is a bamboo-covered framework which turns in wooden sockets.
Such a house offers no barriers to mosquitoes, flies, flying roaches, or white ants, while rats, scorpions, and centipedes find friendly shelter in the thatch roof. Quite commonly large but harmless snakes are encouraged to take up their residence in the cook room, as their presence induces the rats to move elsewhere. Little house lizards are always present, and not infrequently a large lizard makes its home on the ridge pole, and from time to time gives its weird cry.
The ground beneath the house is often enclosed with bamboo slats, and is used for storage purposes, or a portion may be used as a chicken coop. It is also customary to bury the dead beneath the dwelling, and above the grave are the boxes in which are placed supplies for the spirits of the deceased.
With some modification this description of the Tinguian house and village would apply to those of the western Kalinga and the Apayao,[3] and likewise the Christian natives of the coast, but a very different type of dwelling and grouping is found among the neighboring Igorot.[4] It is also to be noted that we do not find to-day any trace of tree dwellings, such as were described by La Gironière[5] at the time of his visit scarcely a century ago. Elevated watch-houses are placed near to the mountain fields, and it is possible that in times of great danger people might have had similar places of refuge in or near to their villages, but the old men emphatically deny that they were ever tree-dwellers, and there is nothing in the folk-tales to justify such a belief; on the contrary, the tales-indicate that the type of dwelling found to-day, was that of former times.[6]