Termination of Controversies: Peace-making
141. The hidit or religious aspects of peace-making.—The word hidit has three senses: It refers to a class of deities, the offspring of one of the principal deities of war; it refers to sacrifices to these deities; it refers to peace-making. Deities, sacrifice, and peace may seem widely distinct, but a glance into the Ifugao’s religion will show the connection.
The hidit (deities) desire peace: but the peace must be made in the proper manner, and accompanied by sacrifice to themselves. The hidit have established the taboo that those who are involved in a controversy or enmity must not chew betels with an adversary, nor be in the same house or gathering or feast with him, nor drink with him, nor receive gifts or hospitality from him. The penalty for breaking this taboo is the affliction by the hidit with diseases of the lungs, throat, voice; the condition known as “big belly,” leukaemia, short wind, swelling of the feet, dropsy, etc. This may be said to be the punishment for making peace without ceremonies. But sometimes the hidit punish the prolongation of a feud, enmity or controversy, by afflicting one or both of the parties as set forth above. Those who are involved in long enmities sacrifice continually to the hidit in order to offstand such affliction.
The hidit or peace-making ceremony is performed in the following cases:
(a) At the termination of the funeral of a married person. It is performed between the kin of the dead spouse and between those of the living spouse.
(b) Between adversaries in case of adultery, rape of married woman, sorcery, murder, manslaughter, malicious killing of animals, false accusation, disputes over rice fields, theft (sometimes), or other serious controversy, provided the controversy terminate peaceably.
(c) At the peaceful termination of all ordeals and trials.
(d) Between the kin of a dead spouse and the widow or widower on occasion of remarriage of the latter.
(e) Between parties to a controversy ending in payment of the tokom fine.