The Bontoks have hundreds of myths and stories about Lumáwig, who
corresponds to the Ifugao Líddum, who is the good god who gave men
fire, animals, plants, and all the useful and necessary articles of
daily life. These myths are of great value, and it is to be hoped
that a full collection of them will some day be made.
The Bontok religion is, on the whole, somewhat less developed than
that of the Igorots and Ifugaos. The same general beliefs are held,
however, and the ceremonial life is similar. Priests are the rule,
rather than priestesses; and the same sacred animals are used, as in
the other areas. In the social organization, the clan system is in
a more perfect state of development than among any other people in
the Philippines.
I shall now take up the last religion to be discussed, and the one
which is at the same time the most highly developed:
THE RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE IFUGAO PEOPLE OF NORTHERN LUZON [28]
The subject of the Ifugao religion is an extensive one, and I have no
intention of discussing it in detail here. I shall merely give a few
general facts, and a few of the more interesting myths. In addition
to some minor papers by the Dominican fathers Malumbres and Campa,
most of our information concerning the Ifugao religion is contained
in three extensive manuscript monographs. [29] The myths that I shall
give here are selected from the first and third of these manuscripts,
and the general facts are taken from all three.
BELIEFS AND MYTHS OF THE KIÁNGAN IFUGAOS
The Ifugao conception of the universe differs considerably in the
different religious districts. [30] The Western Ifugao and Central
Ifugao beliefs are closely associated, but stand quite apart from
those of Kiángan Ifugao. The people of the latter area think of the
universe as being composed of a large number of horizontal layers
which are very similar one to the other. The upper face of each
of these layers is of earth, while the lower face of each of them
is of a smooth blue stone called múling. [31] The layer on which
we live is called the Earth World (Lúta). The four layers above us
constitute the Sky World (Dáya), and are called, in order from the
top down, Húdog, Luktág, Hubulán, and Kabúnian. The last is the
layer immediately above the Earth World, and it is the blue-stone
underfacing of this layer that we call the "sky." The Under World
(Dálom) consists of an unknown number of layers beneath the one on
which we live. All of the layers meet in the farthest horizon, [32]
where lie the mythical regions of the East (Lágud) and other places.
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