The Tinguian: Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine TribeCole, Fay-Cooper
Religion
The Tinguian: Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe
Cole, Fay-Cooper
Tinguian (Philippine people)
With some modification this description of the Tinguian house and
village would apply to those of the western Kalinga and the Apayao,
[170] and likewise the Christian natives of the coast, but a very
different type of dwelling and grouping is found among the neighboring
Igorot. [171] 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_ [172]
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. [173]
_House Furnishings_.--The average house has only one room. Inside the
door, at the left, one usually finds the stove, three stones sunk in a
box of ashes or dirt, or a similar device of clay (Fig 5, No. 1). Above
the fire is suspended a hanger on which are placed dishes and food, in
order that they may not be disturbed by insects. Along the wall stands
a small caldron, jars for water and rice, and the large Chinese jars,
tke latter as a general rule heirlooms or marriage gifts. These are
sometimes used for _basi_, but more often they contain broken rice,
cotton, or small articles. Above the jars is a rack or hangar on which
dishes or coconut shells are placed. At one end of the room a set of
pegs, deer horns, or a cord supports a variety of clothes, blankets,
a woman's switch, and perhaps a man's belt. The sleeping-mats either
hang here or occupy a rack of their own. Below the cord stand chests
secured in early years through trade with the Chinese. In these are
the family treasures, valuable beads, coins, blankets, ceremonial
objects, and the like. Piled on the boxes is a variety of pillows,
for no Tinguian house is complete without a number of these (Plate
LXVI). The other house furnishings, consisting of a spinning wheel,
loom, coconut rasp, and clothes beater (Fig. 5, No. 10) find space
along the other wall. Behind the door, except in the valley towns,
stand the man's spear and shield; above or near the door will be the
spirit offering in the form of a small hanger or a miniature shield
fastened against the wall. The center of the floor affords a place
for working, eating, and sleeping. If there are small children in
the family a cradle or jumper will be found suspended from a beam or
a bamboo pole placed across one corner of the room (cf. p. 272).
The type of jars made by the Tinguian is shown in Fig. 5, No. 7,
while those of foreign introduction have been fully described in a
previous publication. [174]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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