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)
The only intoxicating drink made and used by this people is the
fermented juice of the sugar-cane, known as _basi_. The juice when
extracted from the cane is boiled with water for four or five hours. It
is placed in a large jar together with cinnamon bark, and is tightly
covered over with leaves. Fermentation begins almost at once, but for
a month the drink is raw and little prized. In three or four months,
it becomes quite mellow and pleasant to the taste. Jars are sometimes
stored away to be opened only for some important event, such as a
marriage festival or the celebration of a great ceremony. At such a
time a very definite procedure is followed. The most honored guest
is invited to do the serving. He removes the covering, dips into the
liquor, pours a little on the sides of the jar, and then a few drops
on the ground as an offering to the spirits. A coconut shell cup
is then dipped out, and is carried to the _lakay_ or some other old
man. Before he drinks, he raises the cup to the level of his face, and,
beginning at his right, offers it to each person in the circle. The
one saluted makes a gesture away from his body with his right hand,
the palm upturned. When all have refused the cup, the man drinks,
often he stops to sing the _daleng_, an improvised song in which he
compliments his host, bespeaks the welfare of his family, or praises
the other members of the gathering. One after another the guests are
served, but always according to age and importance, the women and
young people being left to the last. The liquor is quite intoxicating,
two or three drinks being sufficient to put the company in a jovial
mood. It often happens that one or more will become gloriously drunk,
but, as a rule, they are not quarrelsome, and there seems to be no
unpleasant after-effects. [226]
_Domestic Animals_.--Dogs, pigs, chickens, and carabao appear to
have been long in the possession of this tribe. Horses, goats, and
cattle are now owned by some of the people, but only the former are
of sufficient number to be considered important.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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