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)
Going to the hearth, the medium withdrew burning sticks, and placed
them in a jar, and held this over the head of the sick woman, for
"a spirit has made her sick, but the fire will frighten him away,
and she will get well." After she had made the circuit of the family,
she held a bundle of rice above the flames, and with it again went
to each person in the room; then she did the same thing with broken
rice and with the _atilwag_ vine.
Two mediums then seated themselves on the mat, and covering their
faces with their hands, began to chant and wail, beseeching the
spirits to enter their bodies. One after another the spirits came
and possesed the mediums, so that they were no longer regarded as
human beings, but as the spirits themselves. First came Kakalonan,
also known as Boboyonan, a friendly being whose chief duty it is
to find the cause of troubles. Addressing the sick woman, he said,
"Now you make this ceremony, and I come to make friends and to tell
you the cause of your trouble. I do not think it was necessary for you
to hold this ceremony now, for you built your _balaua_ only two years
ago; yet it is best that you do so, for you can do nothing else. You
are not like the spirits. If we die, we come to life again; if you
die, you do not." At this point an old man interrupted, and offered
him a drink of _basi_. At first Kakalonan refused, saying he did not
want to accept any payment; but finally he yielded and drained the
coconut shell of liquor. After assuring the family that all would be
well with them when the ceremony was complete, he took his departure.
The next spirit to come was Sagangan [147] of Anayan. He appeared to
be in a rage, because the proper present had not been prepared for his
coming, and was expressing himself vigorously when a passing woman
happened to touch him, and he at once departed. The medium chanted
for a long time, urging him to return, and finally he did so. At once
he demanded that two bundles of rice have wax heads moulded on them,
and that black beads be inserted for eyes. These, he assured them,
would serve him as well as the woman's life, so he would make the
exchange, and she would get well.
When the dolls were prepared, he addressed the husband, "My other
name is Ingalit, and I live in the sky. What is the matter with the
woman?" "I do not know," replied the man. "We ask you." "You ask me,
what is the matter with this woman, and I will tell you. How does
it happen that Americans are attending the ceremony?" The husband
replied that the Americans wished to learn the Tinguian customs, and
this finally seemed to satisfy the superior being. Turning toward the
door where the men were still softly playing on the _tongátong_, he
called out peevishly, "Tell the people not to play on the _tongátong_,
for the spirits who wish to hear it are not present, and we are ashamed
to have the Americans hear it. You make this ceremony now because you
are sick and do not wish to die, but you could have waited two years."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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