“Ala! my wife Iwánen who loves me every afternoon, make cakes of rice which shall be my provisions when I go to the southern place San Fernando and Baknotan, which is a part of Pangasinan.216 I am going to investigate the report concerning the beautiful women, who are like the rift in the clouds—the escaping place of the moon—; who are like the bright stems of good betel-nuts.”
“Ala! my soldiers who are many, catch my horse which is a pinto, which paces, which walks fast, which goes, which gallops, which has sore sides.” “It is here already, the horse which is a pinto, the saddle is already placed.”
“Ala! now my wife Iwánen, I am going to leave you here. Keep your honor as a person of wealth. Perhaps some one will entice you and we two will be ashamed before the people of our town.”
After that he went and started—Tolagan who went toward the south. He whipped the pinto, he ran, he walked.
When he was in the town of Kaodanan his body was thirsty. “I go to the place of betel-nuts, where I shall drink the water which is white like coconut oil.” He arrived at the place of the betel-nuts. He met a maiden who was like the place of a large fire. There was no other such maiden.
“Good morning, maiden who takes water in the shady place of the leaves which grow, which are stripped off in the middle of the place of betel-nuts, which bear fruit which anyone gathers. I come to drink with you the water which looks like oil,” said Tolagan. “If you are the old raider cut me only once so that I have less to heal,” (she said). “No, I am not the old raider, for I live in Baliwanan and I go to the south to Pangasinan.” “Do not continue the journey, for you have a bad sign. The birds skimmed past in front of you, also in the rear and the sides.217 Go back to Baliwanan.” “If that is what you say pretty one, I shall turn back because of this sign.”
He arrived at Baliwanan, but his wife was not there, for she had run away with Kabonīyan218 to the town of the sky.
There was not a place he did not search for her. He went to the head man. “Ala, presidente of our town, I come to ask for companions while I search for my wife, who vanished last night.” He gave (the searchers), but when they did not find her, he went to another town. He went to the place of Baīngan in the town of the north. “Good morning, I came to ask companions to search for her who was absent last night.” “If that is still your trouble” said Baīngan, “you go and Page 169see my sister, who is Imbangonan, whom you shall take for wife, who cannot belt herself unless there are nine belts. She is in the middle of the place of the betel-nuts.”
“Good morning, Imbangonan,” said Tolagan. “I came to see you, for your brother told me we are to marry if you like me.”
“If you like me, we will chew green betel-nut and see what is your fortune.” When they finished chewing, the two quids went into a line. “Ala! we will marry if you agree to pay 100 gumtang and 50 ginalman”.219
There were two girls who went to take a walk and a rich man met them, and he asked, “Where are you going, you two girls?” “We are going to walk around the town.” The rich man said, “Come and walk with me.” When they reached their house he gave them some work to do and he treated them just the same as his daughters. The rich man was a king, and he put the girls in a room and the princesses Mary and Bintolada were in the other room. The king and the queen gave dresses to the girls but they did not give them any bracelets and rings.
Not long after the two girls went to the house of the jeweler and they ordered him to make rings and bracelets for them like those the princesses had. As soon as they went in the house of Indayo and Iwaginan in the town of Pindayan, they asked for water to drink. After that Iwaginan and Indayo gave them water to drink, and they thought that the two girls, who were dressed like men, were ladies, so they followed them when they left and they took basi for them to drink.
As soon as the princesses arrived in the jeweler's house they commanded him to make rings and bracelets for them. As soon as the jeweler began to make the rings and bracelets for them Iwaginan and Indayo arrived with the basi. Soon it became night and they ate and drank in the night and they became drunk, and they all slept in one room. The people saw the beads on their arms and the jeweler awakened them and put them in another room so they did not sleep in the same room with the others and he said, “I thought you were princes, for you dress like princes, but when I saw your beads I woke up, for I think those two men are planning bad for you. Go and sleep in the other room.” So they went into the other room to sleep.
Not long after it became daylight and they returned home, and Iwaginan and Indayo did not see them, and they were very sorry for they thought the princes were truly girls. So they went back home, and as soon as they arrived there they said, “We are going to make balaua, to find out if those princes were truly girls.” So they began Page 170to build balaua. They sent messengers to go and invite people in every town. Not long after the people whom they invited arrived, and they saw that the princes were not there. So they commanded their spirit aids to go to all the world and find those princes. So the spirits became hawks and they flew about the world. As soon as they came near to the palace of the king they alighted on a tree and they watched the princesses in the windows and hawks said, “Tingi.” The princesses heard the word “Tingi,” and they were Ganīnawan and Asigtanan. They saw the birds from the window, and the hawks flew by them and the princesses stroked their feathers, because they were pretty.
Soon the hawks seized them in their talons and flew away with them and carried them to Pindayan. Not long after they reached there and Iwaginan and Indayo were very glad, and they made a big party and they invited the king. The king had been searching for them for a long time. Some of the spirit helpers who had gone to the palace said, “Good morning. We came here to invite you, for Iwaginan and Indayo sent us. They are making a big party for those princesses for whom you are searching, for we took them to Pindayan, and Iwaginan and Indayo married them.” When the king heard the news he was glad, and he went to the party. Indayo and Iwaginan made him dance when he arrived, and Kanag and Dagoláyen went to that party. Not long after they put those girls, whom Iwaginan and Indayo had stolen, in their belts and they did not know what had become of their wives and they were sorry. Kanag and Dagoláyen took them home. When they arrived home they told their names and they chewed betel-nut and they found that it was good for them to be married, instead of Iwaginan and Indayo. Kanag married Asigtanan and Dagoláyen married Ganīnawan. The mother of Ganīnawan was Aponībolinayen and the mother of Asigtanan was Aponīgawanī.
As soon as they were married and they had learned who their mothers were they built balaua, and they sent some betel-nuts to invite all of their relatives in other towns. Iwaginan and Indayo went to attend the balaua, and they danced. They saw that those girls were their wives and they tried to take them back home, but Kanag and Dagoláyen would not let them. They said it was not good for them to be married even though they wished to be married to them, because the girls would become oil when they went close to them. So Indayo and Iwaginan were very sorry. Ganīnawan was the sister of Kanag and Asigtanan was the sister of Dagoláyen. They did not find out that they were related until Indayo and Iwaginan took them, for their mothers had lost them in miscarriages, and the girls became women by themselves, and the king found them.
(Told by Talanak of Manabo.) Page 171
1 A vine the new leaves of which are used for greens.
2 Antidesma ghesaembilla Gaertn.
3 Rare beads.
4 Larger beads than oday.
5 Shallow wells are dug in the sands, near to the river.
6 See p. 17, note 3.
7 It was so long that it dragged.
8 i.e., it was so small. The idea that roosters produce unusually small eggs is still held. The same conception is found in Javanese folk-lore. Here the “rooster's egg” or its substitute—the Kemiri nut—is placed in the granary to cause an increase in the supply of rice. Bezemer, Volksdichtung aus Indonesien, p. 29, (Haag, 1904).
9 See p. 17, note 3, for similar incidents in other Philippine tales, also from Borneo and India.
10 The illuminating power of beauty receives frequent mention. Similiar references are met with in Malay legends and Indian tales. See Tawney, Kathá Sarit Ságara, p. 121 ff. (Calcutta, 1880.)
11 The meaning of this passage is not clear.
12 See p. 17, note 3.
13 See p. 10, note 1.
15 See p. 18, note 2, for similar incidents.
16 This would have been a sign that the child wished to go to its father.
18 Certain varieties of bamboo and reeds.
20 See p. 13, note 1.
21 The rice used in this ceremony is pounded in a certain manner, by many women who sing as they work.
23 See p. 13, note 2.
25 Like presents, or others of equal value, are generally given in return.
26 A dance held at the gate of the town, on the great day of this ceremony. During the dance rice and water are thrown on the visitors.
27 This was a sign that they were related. In this case the quids of the young people went to those of their fathers.
28 They had not yet paid the customary marriage price for the girl.
30 Copper gong.
31 A white and a black strip of cloth which the dancers carry in their hands. When the cloth is given to a person he is thus invited to dance.
32 Kanag was the baby born from Aponībolinayen's finger. Mentioned earlier in story.
33 Names of different kinds of jars.
34 Poles on which the heads of enemies are displayed.
36 See p. 18, note 1.
38 A powerful spirit.
39 The head man of a Tinguian village.
41 Algaba is renamed Aponītolau.
43 A big bird.
44 A bad sign. See p. 19, note 1 for omens.
45 Sugar cane rum.
46 The groom's gift.
47 Lesser spirits.
48 See p. 35, note 1.
49 See p. 42, note 1.
50 Piper sp.
51 See p. 18, note 1.
52 See p. 17, note 3.
53 A powerful spirit.
54 See p. 30, note 3.
56 See p. 7, note 1.
57 The story tellers explain the very frequent mention of “girls who always stay in the house” or “who never go out of doors” by saying that in former times the prettiest girls were always protected from the sunlight in order that their skin might be of light color. These girls were called lala-am—those within. It is not thought they remained constantly within doors.
60 See p. 13, note 1.
61 See p. 14, note 2.
62 See p. 13, note 2.
63 Small covered benches built during the Sayang ceremony for the use of spirits and mortals.
67 Each type of jar has its special name.
69 This was the tadek. See p. 11, note 3.
70 Similiar ideas appear in tales from Borneo. See p. 15, note 1.
71 Ilangilang.
72 It is still considered a bad sign if anything falls or breaks at a wedding.
73 Apparently Gawigawen had not been present at the pakálon. Such a condition frequently exists nowadays.
75 A minor spirit.
76 King or ruler.
77 This seems to be a late unconnected, intrusion into the tale. The ati and soldiers are entirely foreign to the Tinguian.
79 This incident is frequently found in these tales. It also occurs in Javanese literature. See Bezemer, Volksdichtung aus Indonesien, p. 47. (Haag, 1904).
81 Kadayadawan is re-named Aponītolau by his new-found parents.
82 A powerful spirit.
83 See p. 54, note 2.
84 The story teller paused here to explain that his mother did not know that she was pregnant, and that a miscarriage had occurred.
85 See p. 63, note 1.
86 Head man.
87 The term used is alopogán, which means “she who covers her face.” For lack of a better designation we shall call her a medium. See p. 23.
88 See p. 41, note 2.
89 A bird.
90 Copper gong.
91 See p. 59, note 1.
92 It is the custom to distribute a part of the marriage price among the relatives of the bride.
93 The groom's gift.
94 See p. 11, note 5.
95 The term which expresses the relationship established between the parents of the bride and groom.
96 Piper sp.
97 A headband of beads or gold.
98 See p. 17, note 1.
100 Don Carlos was evidently an Ilocano, for his language is Ilocano and his residence Vigan. Other points indicate that the story has many recent additions.
101 The use of love charms is not confined to the Tinguian and their Ilocano neighbors, but is known also by the tribes of the Malay Peninsula. See Reyes, Folklore, Filipino, p. 50, (Manila, 1889); Skeat and Blagden, Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, Vol. II, pp. 232, 262. (London, 1906.)
102 Antidesma ghesaembilla Gaertn.
103 Ordinary lightning.
104 See p. 24, note 1.
106 Another name for Aponītolau.
107 See p. 41, note 2.
108 Līgī (Dagdagalīsit) is now known by his true name.
109 See p. 54, note 2.
111 See p. 18, note 3.
112 See p. 18, note 2.
113 See p. 30, note 3.
114 See p. 14, note 2.
115 Another name for Ingiwan, who is really Aponītolau.
117 As a sign of mourning.
118 See p. 18, note 1.
119 See p. 19, note 1.
121 See p. 10, note 4.