Chapter 10

They at once bought the rice, and the man was very glad because he would not have to carry it any longer. He put the money in his belt and asked if they would like to buy any more.

"Yes," said they, "we will buy as many cavans as you will bring."

When the man reached home his wife asked if he had been successful.

"Oh, my wife," he answered, "it is a very good business. I could not take the rice off my shoulder before the people came to buy it."

"Well, that is good," said the wife; "we shall become very rich."

The next morning the man bought a half-cavan of rice the same as before and carried it to the mine and when they asked how much it would be, he said:

"It is the same as before--twenty-five centavos." He received the money and went home.

"How is the business today?" asked his wife.

"Oh, it is the same as before," he said. "I could not take the rice off my shoulder before they came for it."

And so he went on with his business for a year, each day buying a half-cavan of rice and selling it for the price he had paid for it. Then one day his wife said that they would balance accounts, and she spread a mat on the floor and sat down on one side of it, telling her husband to sit on the opposite side. When she asked him for the money he had made during the year, he asked:

"What money?"

"Why, give me the money you have received," answered his wife; "and then we can see how much you have made."

"Oh, here it is," said the man, and he took the twenty-five centavos out of his belt and handed it to her.

"Is that all you have received this year?" cried his wife angrily. "Haven't you said that rice brought a good price at the mines?"

"That is all," he replied.

"How much did you pay for the rice?"

"Twenty-five centavos."

"How much did you receive for it?"

"Twenty-five centavos."

"Oh, my husband," cried his wife, "how can you make any gain if you sell it for just what you paid for it."

The man leaned his head against the wall and thought. Ever since then he has been called "Mansumandig," a man who leans back and thinks.

Then the wife said, "Give me the twenty-five centavos, and I will try to make some money." So he handed it to her, and she said, "Now you go to the field where the people are gathering hemp and buy twenty-five centavos worth for me, and I will weave it into cloth."

When Mansumandig returned with the hemp she spread it in the sun, and as soon as it was dry she tied it into a long thread and put it on the loom to weave. Night and day she worked on her cloth, and when it was finished she had eight varas. This she sold for twelve and a half centavos a vara, and with this money she bought more hemp. She continued weaving and selling her cloth, and her work was so good that people were glad to buy from her.

At the end of a year she again spread the mat on the floor and took her place on one side of it, while her husband sat on the opposite side. Then she poured the money out of the blanket in which she kept it upon the mat. She held aside her capital, which was twenty-five centavos, and when she counted the remainder she found that she had three hundred pesos. Mansumandig was greatly ashamed when he remembered that he had not made cent, and he leaned his head against the wall and thought After a while the woman pitied him, so she gave him the money and told him to buy carabao.

He was able to buy ten carabao and with these he plowed his fields. By raising good crops they were able to live comfortably all the rest of their lives.

Why Dogs Wag their Tails

_Visayan_

A rich man in a certain town once owned a dog and a cat, both of which were very useful to him. The dog had served his master for many years and had become so old that he had lost his teeth and was unable to fight any more, but he was a good guide and companion to the cat who was strong and cunning.

The master had a daughter who was attending school at a convent some distance from home, and very often he sent the dog and the cat with presents to the girl.

One day he called the faithful animals and bade them carry a magic ring to his daughter.

"You are strong and brave," he said to the cat "You may carry the ring, but you must be careful not to drop it"

And to the dog he said: "You must accompany the cat to guide her and keep her from harm."

They promised to do their best, and started out. All went well until they came to a river. As there was neither bridge nor boat, there was no way to cross but to swim.

"Let me take the magic ring," said the dog as they were about to plunge into the water.

"Oh, no," replied the cat, "the master gave it to me to carry."

"But you cannot swim well," argued the dog. "I am strong and can take good care of it."

But the cat refused to give up the ring until finally the dog threatened to kill her, and then she reluctantly gave it to him.

The river was wide and the water so swift that they grew very tired, and just before they reached the opposite bank the dog dropped the ring. They searched carefully, but could not find it anywhere, and after a while they turned back to tell their master of the sad loss. Just before reaching the house, however, the dog was so overcome with fear that he turned and ran away and never was seen again.

The cat went on alone, and when the master saw her coming he called out to know why she had returned so soon and what had become of her companion. The poor cat was frightened, but as well as she could she explained how the ring had been lost and how the dog had run away.

On hearing her story the master was very angry, and commanded that all his people should search for the dog, and that it should be punished by having its tail cut off.

He also ordered that all the dogs in the world should join in the search, and ever since when one dog meets another he says: "Are you the old dog that lost the magic ring? If so, your tail must be cut off." Then immediately each shows his teeth and wags his tail to prove that he is not the guilty one.

Since then, too, cats have been afraid of water and will not swim across a river if they can avoid it.

The Hawk and the Hen

_Visayan_

A hawk flying about in the sky one day decided that he would like to marry a hen whom he often saw on earth. He flew down and searched until he found her, and then asked her to become his wife. She at once gave her consent on the condition that he would wait until she could grow wings like his, so that she might also fly high. The hawk agreed to this and flew away, after giving her a ring as an engagement present and telling her to take good care of it.

The hen was very proud of the ring and placed it around her neck. The next day, however, she met the cock who looked at her in astonishment and said:

"Where did you get that ring? Do you not know that you promised to be my wife? You must not wear the ring of anyone else. Throw it away."

And the hen threw away the beautiful ring.

Not long after this the hawk came down bringing beautiful feathers to dress the hen. When she saw him coming she was frightened and ran to hide behind the door, but the hawk called to her to come and see the beautiful dress he had brought her.

The hen came out, and the hawk at once saw that the ring was gone.

"Where is the ring I gave you?" he asked. "Why do you not wear it?"

The hen was frightened and ashamed to tell the truth so she answered:

"Oh, sir, yesterday when I was walking in the garden, I met a large snake and he frightened me so that I ran as fast as I could to the house. Then I missed the ring and I searched everywhere but could not find it."

The hawk looked sharply at the hen, and he knew that she was deceiving him. Then he said to her:

"I did not believe that you could behave so badly. When you have found the ring I will come down again and make you my wife. But as a punishment for breaking your promise, you must always scratch the ground to look for the ring. And every chicken of yours that I find, I shall snatch away."

Then he flew away, and ever since all the hens throughout the world have been scratching to find the hawk's ring.

The Spider and the Fly

_Visayan_

Mr. Spider wanted to marry Miss Fly. Many times he told her of his love and begged her to become his wife, but she always refused for she did not like him.

One day when she saw Mr. Spider coming again Miss Fly closed all the doors and windows of her house and made ready a pot of boiling water. Then she waited, and when Mr. Spider called, begging her to allow him to enter, she answered by throwing boiling water at him. This made Mr. Spider very angry and he cried:

"I will never forgive you for this, but I and my descendants will always despise you. We will never give you any peace."

Mr. Spider kept his word, and even today one can see the hatred of the spider for the fly.

The Battle of the Crabs

_Visayan_

One day the land crabs had a meeting and one of them said:

"What shall we do with the waves? They sing so loudly all the time that we cannot possibly sleep."

"Well," answered one of the oldest of the crabs, "I think we should make war on them."

The others agreed to this, and it was decided that the next day all the male crabs should get ready to fight the waves. They started for the sea, as agreed, when they met a shrimp.

"Where are you going, my friends?" asked the shrimp.

"We are going to fight the waves," answered the crabs, "for they make so much noise at night that we cannot sleep."

"I do not think you will succeed," said the shrimp, "for the waves are very strong and your legs are so weak that even your bodies bend almost to the ground when you walk." Wherewith he laughed loudly.

This made the crabs very angry, and they pinched the shrimp until he promised to help them win the battle.

Then they all went to the shore. But the crabs noticed that the eyes of the shrimp were set unlike their own, so they thought his must be wrong and they laughed at him and said:

"Friend shrimp, your face is turned the wrong way. What weapon have you to fight with the waves?"

"My weapon is a spear on my head," replied the shrimp, and just then he saw a big wave coming and ran away. The crabs did not see it, however, for they were all looking toward the shore, and they were covered with water and drowned.

By and by the wives of the crabs became worried because their husbands did not return, and they went down to the shore to see if they could help in the battle. No sooner had they reached the water, however, than the waves rushed over them and killed them.

Some time after this thousands of little crabs appeared near the shore, and the shrimp often visited them and told them of the sad fate of their parents. Even today these little crabs can be seen on the shore, continually running back and forth. They seem to rush down to fight the waves, and then, as their courage fails, they run back to the land where their forefathers lived. They neither live on dry land, as their ancestors did, nor in the sea where the other crabs are, but on the beach where the waves wash over them at high tide and try to dash them to pieces.

Pronunciation of Philippine Names

The vowel sounds in the following pronunciations are those used in Webster's dictionary.

_Adasen_, a-dä'sen _Aguio_, a'ge-o _Alan_, ä'län _Alokotan_, ä-lo-ko-tän' _Aponibalagen_, apo-ne-bä-lä-gen' _Aponibolinayen_, apo-ne-bo-le-nä'yen _Aponitolau_, apo-ne-to'lou _Bagbagak_, bäg-bä-gäk' _Bagobo_, ba-go'bo _Balatama_, bä-lä-tä'ma _Bangan_, bän'gän _Bantugan_, bän-too'gan _Benito_, be-ne'to _Bilaan_, be-lä'an _Bita_, be'ta _Bontoc_, bon'tok _Bukidnon_, boo-kid'non _Bulanawan_, boo-la-nä'wan _Caalang_, kä-ä'läng _Cabildo_, kä-bil'do _Cibolan_, ci-bo'lan _Dalonagan_, da-lo-na'gan _Danepan_, dä-ne-pan' _Dapilisan_, da-pe-le'san _Dayapan_, di-a-pan _Dinawagen_, de-nä-wä'gen _Dodedog_, dog-e-dog _Domayco_, do-mi'ko _Dumalawi_, doo-mä-lä-we' _Epogow_, e-po-gou' _Gawigawen_, gä-we-gä'wen _Gaygayoma_, gi-gi-o'ma _Gotgotapa_, got-go-ta'pa _Igorot_, ig-o-rot' _Ilocano_, il-o-kä'no _Ilocos Norte_, il-o'kos no'rte _Indarapatra_, in-dä-rä-pä'tra _Ini-init_, e-ni-e'nit _Kabigat_, ka-be-gat' _Kaboniyan_, kä-bo-ne-yan' _Kadaklan_, ka-dak-lan' _Kadalayapan_, kä-dä-lä-yä'pan _Kadayadawan_, kä-dä-yä-dä'wan _Kanag_, kä'näg _Komow_, ko'mou _Kurita_, ku-re'ta _Langgona_, läng-go'na _Ligi_, le'ge _Limokon_, le-mo'kon _Lumabet_, loo-mä'bet _Lumawig_, loo-mä'wig _Magbangal_, mäg-bäng'al _Magindanau_, mä-gin-dä'nou _Magosang_, ma-go'sang _Magsawi_, mäg-sä-we' _Magsingal_, mäg'sin-gäl _Manama_, män-ä'ma _Mandaya_, män-di'ya _Mansumandig_, män-su-män-dig _Mayinit_, mi-i'nit _Mayo_, mi'yo _Mindanao_, min-da-nou' _Nalpangan_, nal-pan-gan' _Pilar_, pe'lär' _Samoki_, sa-mo'ki _Sayen_, sä-yen' _Siagon_, së-ä'gon _Silit_, se'let _Sinag_, se'nag _Sogsogot_, sog-so-got' _Subanun_, soo-bä'nun _Sulayman_, soo-li'man _Tagalog_, ta-ga'log _Tarabusaw_, ta-ra-boo'sou _Tikgi_, tik'ge _Timaco_, ti-mä'ko _Tinguian_, ting-gi-an' _Toglai_, tog-lä'e _Toglibon_, tog-le'bon _Visayan_, vi-si'yan

NOTES

[1] This incident is strikingly similar to the story in North American folk-lore of the maiden captured and carried upward by a vine. Several other points of likeness appear in the lore of Malaysia, Polynesia, and America.

[2] See Preface, p. vii.

[3] This incident is unique so far as American or European folk-lore is concerned, yet it is common in Tinguian tales, while similar stories are found among the neighboring Ilocano and Igorot tribes of the Philippines, as well as in Borneo, Java, and India.

[4] The belief that beauty is capable of radiating great light is not peculiar to Tinguian tales, for it is also found in the Malay legends and in those of India. It is not impossible that they had a common origin.

[5] The betel-nut is the nut of the areca palm. It is prepared for chewing by being cut into quarters, each piece being wrapped in betel-leaf spread with lime. It produces a blood-red spittle which greatly discolors the teeth and lips, and it is used extensively throughout the Philippines. While it appears to have been in common use among the Tinguian at the time these stories originated, it has now been displaced by tobacco, except at ceremonies when it is prepared for chewing; it is also placed on the animals offered for sacrifice to the spirits. Throughout the tales great significance is given to the chewing of betel-nuts before names are told or introductions given, while from the quids and spittle it appears to have been possible to foretell events and establish relationships.

[6] Compare with the story of Phæton in Bulfinch, _The Age of Fable_, p. 50.

[7] The Tinguian have no calendar, but reckon time by the recurrence of the moon.

[8] It is the present custom of the Tinguian to make numerous ceremonies for the spirits. These vary in length from a few hours to seventeen days. During this period animals are slaughtered, small houses are built, mediums deliver messages from the spirits, and there is much feasting and dancing.

[9] When ripe, the betel-nut is covered with a golden husk, and it is possibly because of this that they were said to be covered with gold. The present-day Tinguian, in place of sending the betel-nut, sends a small piece of gold to any relative or friend whom he specially wishes to induce to attend a ceremony.

[10] This seems to be peculiar to Tinguian folk-lore.

[11] Except when she is in mourning a Tinguian woman's arms are always covered with beads placed strand above strand.

[12] The parents of a boy choose his bride when the children are very young. A great celebration is then held, and relatives and friends of both parties decide on the price to be paid for the girl. Partial payment is made at once, and the remainder goes over until the marriage proper takes place, when the boy and girl are about twelve or fourteen years of age. In this instance Ini-init makes the customary payment for his bride, though the marriage had already taken place.

[13] The friends and retainers pound rice and prepare food for all the guests who attend the ceremony.

[14] A spirit house is one of the small houses built during a ceremony.

[15] reference is probably to ancient Chinese jars.

[16] The custom, which still exists to a certain degree, was to offer food to a guest before any matter was discussed. In ancient times this was considered very necessary, as it still is among the Apayao who live north of the Tinguian. With them to refuse food is to refuse friendship.

[17] A drink made of fermented sugar-cane.

[18] The old jars possessed by the Tinguian today have notches broken in the rim, one for each generation through whose hands it has passed.

[19] When the first negotiations are made the boy's parents offer some gift, nowadays usually a small bead. If this is accepted it signifies the willingness of the girl's parents to consider the match.

[20] See note 1, p. 15.

[21] The music for the dances is made by beating on drums and copper gongs. A man and a woman enter the circle, each carrying a large square of cloth on outstretched arms. Keeping time to the music with their hands and feet, they move about, coming near to each other and then drawing farther apart The woman follows the movements of the man and finally places her cloth on his outstretched arms, thus ending the dance; another couple then takes their place.

[22] An interesting parallel to this is found in the Dayak legend of Limbang, where a tree springs from the head of a dead giant; its flowers are beads; its leaves, cloth; and the fruit, jars. See Roth, _The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo_, Vol. I, p. 372.

[23] Throughout the Tinguian tales the characters are frequently described as changing themselves into oil, centipedes, birds, and other forms. This power is also found among the heroes of Dayak and Malay tales. See Roth, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 312; Perham, _Journal Straits Branch R., Asiatic Society, No. 16_, 1886; Wilkinson, _Malay Beliefs_, pp. 32, 59 (London, 1906).

[24] The Tinguian place a tame rooster in an open spot in the forest and surround him with a line to which slip nooses are attached. The crowing of this bird attracts wild ones which come to fight him and are caught in the nooses.

[25] The water buffalo now used as the beast of burden throughout the Philippines.

[26] The ordinary dress of the Tinguian man is a clout and a striped belt, in which he carries his tobacco and small articles. Some of them also possess striped cotton coats, which they wear on special occasions.

[27] See note 2, p. 12.

[28] See note 1, p. 13.

[29] This peculiar idea, which frequently appears in Tinguian tales, is also found in Javanese literature. See Bezemer, _Volksdichtung aus Indonesien_, p. 47 (Haag, 1904).

[30] See note 3, p. 15.

[31] The powerful deeds of these heroes often resemble the miraculous achievements of biblical and ancient times.

[32] See note 2, p. 20.

[33] The Tinguian of today do not possess soap, but in its place they use the ashes from rice straw, or not infrequently they soak the bark from a certain tree in the water in which they are to wash their hair.

[34] The lawed vine. In ancient Egypt and in India it was a common belief that friends or relatives could tell from the condition of a certain tree or vine whether the absent one was well or dead: if the vine thrived, they knew that all was well, but if it wilted they mourned for him as dead. It is interesting to find the identical belief in the northern Philippines.

[35] The Tinguian stove consists of a bed of ashes in which three stones are sunk, and on these the pots are placed.

[36] It appears that these people of ancient times possessed the same weapons as those of today. The Tinguian ordinarily wears a head-ax thrust into his belt, and when at work this is his hand tool. When on a hunt or during warfare he also carries a wooden shield and a steel-pointed spear from eight to ten feet in length. For attacks at a distance he depends on the spear, but in a close encounter he uses his head-ax and shield, the latter being oblong in shape and having two prongs at one end and three at the other. The two prongs are to be slipped about the neck of the victim while the head-ax does its work, or the three prongs may be slipped about the legs in the same way.

[37] From this and other incidents it is evident that these people talked with the lightning and thunder. They still have great regard for the omens derived from these forces; but it is now believed that thunder is the dog of Kadaklan, the greatest of all the spirits, and that by the barking of this dog, the god makes known his desires.

[38] Stories in which animals come to the assistance of human beings are found in many lands. One of those best known to Europeans is where the ants sort the grain for Cinderella.

[39] See note 2, p. 21.

[40] It was the ancient custom to place the heads of slain enemies at the gate or around the town, and this practice still prevails with some of the surrounding tribes. More recently it was the custom to expose the head at the gate of the town for three days, after which followed a great celebration when the skulls were broken and pieces were given to the guests.

[41] In their beliefs of today the Tinguian recognize many giants, some with more than one head. In a part of the ritual of one ceremony we read, "A man opens the door to learn the cause of the barking and he sees a man, fat and tall, with nine heads."

[42] A large bamboo pole, with all but the end section cut out, serves for a water bucket.

[43] A long bamboo pole, in one end of which a hard-wood point is inserted. This is thrust into the ground, and in the hole thus made the grain or cuttings are planted. This old method is still in use in some sections of the mountains, but on the lowlands a primitive plow is used to break the soil.

[44] In European, Asiatic, African, and Malaysian lore we find stones of beings with star dresses: when they wear the dresses they are stars; when they take them off they are human. See Cox, _An Introduction to Folklore_, p. 121 (London, 1904.).

[45] note 1, p. 9.

[46] See note 1, p. 12.

[47] Preface, p. vii.

[48] It is the custom to have a small bamboo house built from fifteen to twenty feet from the ground near the rice fields, and in this someone watches every day during the growing season to see that nothing breaks in to destroy the grain. Often flappers are placed in different parts of the field and a connecting string leads from these to the little house, so that the watcher by pulling this string may frighten the birds away from the grain.

[49] See note 1, p. 18.

[50] Preface, p. vi.

[51] The nights in the mountains are cold, and it is not at all uncommon in the early morning to see groups of people with blankets wrapped tightly about them, squatting around small fires in the yards.

[52] See note 2, p. 12.

[53] See note 1, p. 13.

[54] See note 1, p. 17.

[55] Compare with the biblical story of the loaves and fishes. For similar incidents among the Igorot of the Philippines, in Borneo, and in India, see Jenks, _The Bontoc Igorot_, p. 202; Seidenadel, _The Language of the Bontoc Igorot_, pp. 491, 41 ff. (Chicago, 1909); Roth, _The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo_, Vol. I, p. 319; Tawney, _Katha Sarit Sagara_, Vol. II, p. 3 (Calcutta, 1880); Bezemer, _Volksdichtung aus Indonesien_, p. 49 (Haag, 1904).

[56] See note 1, p. 15.

[57] See note 3, p. 15.

[58] There appear to have been two classes of spirits, one for whom the people had the utmost respect and reverence, and another whom they looked upon as being of service to mortals.

[59] See note 1, p. 30.