A Study in Tinguian Folk-Lore Part 8

Distribution of the Non-Christian Tribes of Northwestern Luzon. Am. Anthro., Vol. II, No. 3. 1909.

The Bagobo of Davao Gulf. Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. VI, No. 3. 1911.

Chinese Pottery in the Philippines. Pub. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. XII, No. 1. Chicago, 1912.

Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao. Pub. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. XII, No. 2. Chicago, 1913.

Traditions of the Tinguian. Pub. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIV, No. 1. Chicago, 1915.

NOTES

[1] Traditions of the Tinguian. (Pub. Field Museum of Natural History. Anthro. Series, Vol. No. I. Chicago, 1915.)

[2] Men or women through whom the superior beings talk to mortals. During ceremonies the spirits possess their bodies and govern their language and actions. When not engaged in their calling, the mediums take part in the daily activities of the village.

[3] See page 26.

[4] The initial portion of some of these names is derived from the respectful term apo--"sir," and the attributive copulate ni; thus the original form of Aponitolau probably was Apo ni Tolau, literally "Sir, who is Tolau." However, the storytellers do not now appear to divide the names into their component parts, and they frequently corrected the writer when he did so, for this reason such names appear in the text as single words. Following this explanation it is possible that the name Aponibolinayen may be derived from Apo ni bolan yan, literally "Sir (mistress) who is place where the moon"; but bolan generally refers to the s.p.a.ce of time between the phases of the moon rather than to the moon itself. The proper term for moon is sinag, which we have seen is the mother of Gaygayoma--a star,--and is clearly differentiated from Aponibolinayen.

[5] [male]--male. [female]--female.

[6] Occasionally the storytellers become confused and give Pagbokasan as the father of Aponitolau.

[7] The town of Natpangan is several times mentioned as though it was the same as Kaodanan.

[8] The figures in parentheses refer to pages in the volume Traditions of the Tinguian, Pub. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIV, No. I. Chicago, 1915.

[9] The only possible exception to this statement is the mention of a carabao sled on p. 150, and of Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen riding on a carabao p.51. Traditions of the Tinguian. (Pub. Field Museum, vol. xiv, No. I; Chicago, 1915.)

[10] A term applied to any of the wilder head-hunting tribes.

[11] Ladders are placed on each side of the town gate and are inclined toward one another until they meet at the top. Returning warriors enter the village by climbing up the one and descending the other, never through the gate.

[12] Copper gongs.

[13] Sharpened bamboo poles which pa.s.s through the foramen magnum.

[14] This poison is placed in the food or drink. The use of poisoned darts or arrows seems never to have been known to this people.

[15] A similar custom is found among the Kayan of Borneo. See Hose and McDougall, Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Vol. II, p. 171 (London, 1912).

[16] In this dance a man and a woman enter the circle, each holding a cloth. Keeping time to the music, they approach each other with almost imperceptible movements of feet and toes, and a bending at the knees, meanwhile changing the position of the cloths. This is varied from time to time by a few quick, high steps. For fuller description see article by author in Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. III, No. 4, 1908, p. 208.

[17] The custom was formerly practised by the Ilocano. See Reves, Folklore Filipino, p. 126 (Manila, 1899).

[18] See Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. III, No. 4, 1908, pp. 206, ff.

[19] The Tinguian do not have a cla.s.sificatory system of relationship terms. The term kasinsiu is applied alike to the children of mother's and father's brothers and sisters.

[20] A sacred dance in which a number of men and women take part. It takes place only at night and is accompanied by the singing of the partic.i.p.ants.

[21] The night preceding the greatest day of the Sayang ceremony.

[22] Runo, a reed.

[23] See p. 8, note 2.

[24] A short ceremony held for the cure of fever and minor ills. It also forms a part of the more extensive rites.

[25] A sugar-cane rum.

[26] See p. 7, note 1.

[27] Lesser spirits.

[28] Lesser spirits.

[29] Lesser spirits.

[30] Like ideas occur in the folk-tales of British North Borneo. See Evans, Journal Royal Anthro. Inst., Vol. XLIII, 1913, p. 444.

[31] In various guises the same conception is found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Malaysia. See c.o.x, An Introduction to Folklore, p. 121 (London, 1904).--In an Igorot tale the owner captures and marries the star maiden, who is stealing his rice. Seidenadel, The Language of the Bontoc Igorot, p. 491 ff. (Chicago, 1909).

[32] The Dusun of Borneo have tales of talking jars. Evans, Journal Royal Anthro. Inst., Vol. XLIII, 1913, pp. 426-427. See also Cole and Laufer, Chinese Pottery in the Philippines (Pub. Field Museum of Nat. Hist., Vol. XII, No. I, p. 11 ff., 1912).

[33] Piper sp.

[34] Bagobo tales relate that in the beginning plants, animals, and rocks could talk with mortals. See Benedict, Journal American Folklore, Vol. XXVI, 1913, p. 21.

[35] Tales of animals who a.s.sist mortals are found in all lands; perhaps the best known to European readers is that of the ants which sorted the grain for Cinderella. See also Evans, Jour. Royal Anthro. Inst., Vol. XLIII, 1913, p. 467, for Borneo; Tawney's Katha Sarit Sagara, pp. 361 ff., Calcutta, 1880, for India.

[36] Fabulous birds of gigantic size, often known under the Indian term garuda, play an important part in the beliefs of the Peninsular Malays.

[37] A similiar incident is cited by Bezemer (Volksdichtung aus Indonesien). See also the Bagobo tale of the Kingfisher (Benedict, Jour. American Folklore, Vol. XXVI, 1913, p. 53).

[38] The magic flight has been encountered in the most widely separated parts of the globe, as, for instance, India and America. See Tawney, Katha Sarit Sagara, pp. 361, 367 ff. and notes, (Calcutta, 1880); Waterman, Jour. American Folklore, Vol. XXVII, 1914, p. 46; Reinhold Kohler, Kleinere Schriften, Vol. I, pp. 171, 388.

[39] In the Dayak legend of Limbang, a tree springs from the head of a dead giant; its flowers turn to beads; its leaves to cloth; the ripe fruit to jars. See H. Ling Roth, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 372.

[40] Similar incidents are to be found among the Ilocano and Igorot in Borneo; in Java and India. See Reyes, Folklore Filipino, p. 34, (Manila, 1889); Jenks, The Bontoc Igorot, p. 202, (Manila, 1905); Seidenadel, The Language of the Bontoc Igorot. p. 491, 541, ff, (Chicago, 1909); Evans, Journal Royal Anthro. Inst., Vol. XLIII, 1913, p. 462; Ling Roth, Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 319; Tawney, Katha Sarit Sagara, Vol. II, p. 3, (Calcutta, 1880); Bezemer, Volksdichtung aus Indonesien, p. 49, (Haag, 1904).

[41] This peculiar expression while frequently used is not fully understood by the story tellers who in place of the word "whip"

occasionally use "make." In one text which describes the Sayang ceremony, I find the following sentence, which may help us to understand the foregoing: "We go to make perfume at the edge of the town, and the things which we take, which are our perfume, are the leaves of trees and some others; it is the perfume for the people, which we give to them, which we go to break off the trees at the edge of the town." Again in tale 20, Kanag breaks the perfume of Baliwan off a tree.--The use of sweetly scented oil, in raising the dead, is found in Dayak legends. See Ling Roth, The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Vol. I, p. 314.