The granaries, or store-houses, of the Tinguian and Ilocano are identical (Plate LV), but, barring the Apayao, are different from any of the surrounding groups, except when their influence may have spread this peculiar type to a limited degree. It is worthy of note, however, that the granaries of some Sumatran groups are of similar design and construction. Such a store-house is raised high above the ground on four hard-wood poles; the framework is of bamboo, and the sides flare sharply from the floor to the grass roof. Within the framework is a closely woven matting of flattened bamboo, which is nearly water-tight; but to secure still further protection from moisture, and also to allow for free circulation of air, a rack is built in such a way that the rice is kept several inches from the outside walls. Just below the floor, each post supports a close-fitting pottery jar--without top or bottom--or a broad disk of wood, which effectually prevents the entrance of rodents. To thrash the grain, the woman places a bundle on a piece of carabao hide, and, as she rolls it beneath her feet, she pounds it with a long wooden pestle (_hala_) until all the kernels are beaten loose from the straw. [198] It is then placed in a wooden mortar (_luson_) of hourglass form or with straight sides, where it is again beaten until the outside husks are loosened, and the grain is somewhat broken (Plate LVI). Winnowing is accomplished by tossing the contents of the mortar in shallow traps (_igau_), so that the chaff is blown away, while the grain falls back into the winnower (Plate LVII). The rice is now ready for cooking; the chaff is collected, and is used as food for the pigs and dogs, while the stalks are saved to be burned, for the ashes are commonly used in lieu of soap. Rice has also come to have great importance, both as a standard of value and as a medium of exchange. A single stalk is known as _sanga dawa_. When the stalks are equal in size to the leg, just above the ankle, the bundle is called _sang-abtek_. [199] Ten _sang-abtek_ equal _sanga-baal_. One hundred _sang-abtek_ make _sanga-oyon_. The measure of cleaned rice is as follows: Two full hands (one coconut shell full)--1 _sopa_ (Ilocano _supa_; Spanish 1/8 _ganta_). 8 _sopa_--1 _salop_ (Spanish _ganta_ or about 2 quarts). 25 _salop_--1 _kaban_. It is customary to pay laborers in rice; likewise the value of animals, beads, and the like are reckoned and paid in this medium. During the dry season rice is loaned, to be repaid after the harvest with interest of about fifty per cent.