Kadangyang class: It is a general principle that true kadangyang do not steal. However, it sometimes occurs, especially in the Kiangan-Maggok area, that persons who have the right to claim this rank become needy. The rule for the punishment of members of this class is: The kadangyang must return the stolen thing, or, if it shall have been consumed, its equivalent in value, and must entirely surround it with like things of equivalent value. This rule merely amounts to the paying of five times the value of the stolen thing. He must also pay a fee to the go-between.
Middle class: A thief of this class must return the stolen thing and ulpitan it, i.e., place a like thing, or an equivalent value, on either side of it. He must also pay a liwa fee to the go-between of the case.
Very poor: A thief of this class must repay the stolen article or its equivalent value, tokopna, and pay a fee to the go-between in the case.
In the case of the theft of heirlooms of great value, such as rice-wine jars, or gansas, the thief must repay, besides the stolen articles, their tokop, or equal, and in addition must furnish a certain number of pigs or other articles of medium value. The following shows how the Ifugao visualizes a payment of this sort.
- The stolen article.
- Its equal or equivalent.
- Honga, a full-grown pig.
- Yubyub, a full-grown chicken.
Theft should not be confused with improper or illegal confiscation. This latter is commonly effected by members of the kadangyang class. It is punished in much the same way as theft, but is not so disgraceful.
A thief discovered in delicto is likely to be punished by death if the thief be of a different district. If not punished by death, the culprit is caught and tied and kept prisoner until his kin in the other district pay the fine demanded. This fine, needless to say, is somewhat larger than would ordinarily be assessed for the crime. If a member of the home district be caught in an unaccomplished theft, the case is not altered in any way from an ordinary, consummated theft.
111. Theft of rice from a granary.—The theft of rice is considerably more serious than would be theft of any other article of equal value, because it ruins the miraculous increase of the rice that the Ifugao as well as all other Malay tribes in these islands so thoroughly believe in. If the thief confesses and shows himself docile, he may wipe out his guilt with the following payment:
- Hulul-na, 1 large pig, payment of the stolen rice.
- Honga, 1 large pig and 1 large chicken, for granary feast to secure return of the miraculous increase.
If, however, the accused persistently deny his guilt, he is challenged to an ordeal. If by this he is proven guilty, he is fined one bakid or one “ten”—in Kiangan about thirty pesos—in addition to the payment above. If he refuse to submit to the ordeal, he is adjudged guilty, and has to make the same payments as if he had submitted to the ordeal and had been adjudged guilty. The fee of the monkalun is included in, and is not additional to, the bakid in this case.