PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY
_Iron-Working_.--Little iron work is now done in the valley of the
Abra for the competition of the Ilocano smiths of Santa and Narvacan,
in Ilocos Sur, and the cheap products brought to the coast, and as
far inland as Bangued, by Chinese traders, have swamped the native
industry.
Forges are still found in many villages of eastern Abra, particularly
those of the upper Buklok river, but the real center of the industry is
in and around Balbalasang, on the eastern side of the mountain range.
We have in northern Luzon a situation similar to that found throughout
the archipelago, namely, that the most flourishing smithies are usually
those farthest removed from the coast traders. Where communication
is easy and trade unrestricted, the native industry has vanished,
or is on the wane. To-day the forges of the Bontoc Igorot, of the
Tinguian-Kalinga border villages, and of Apayao, are turning out
superior weapons, but elsewhere in the northwestern districts the pagan
people have either lost the art, or make only very inferior articles.
It is certain that iron-working has long been known, not only in the
Philippines, but throughout Malaysia, and it is likewise evident that
these regions secured the art from the same source as did the people
of Assam, Burma, and eastern Madagascar, for the description of the
Tinguian forge and iron-working which follows would, with very little
modification, apply equally well to those in use in Southern Mindanao,
Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Assam, Burma, and Madagascar. [227]
Long before the arrival of the Spanish in the Philippines, the Chinese
had built up such a lively trade in iron bars and caldrons that it was
no longer necessary for the natives to smelt their own iron ore; if
indeed they ever did so. [228] This trade metal was widely distributed,
and then reworked by the local smiths. Even to-day the people of
Balbalasang make the long journey to Bangued, or even to Vigan,
to secure Chinese iron, which they carry back to their mountain forges.
There is no positive proof that the Filipinos formerly mined and
smelted iron, but there is a strong probability that they did so, prior
to the introduction of trade metal. It has already been noted that the
Tinguian type of forge and the method of handling and tempering iron
is widespread in Malaysia; and, as will be seen later, this process
is not that in use among the Chinese, so that it is unlikely that the
art was introduced by them. In furnishing iron ready for forging,
they were simply supplying in a convenient form an article already
in use, and for which there was an urgent demand. In the islands to
the south we find that many of the pagan tribes do now, or did until
recently, mine and smelt the ore. _Beccari_ [229] tells us that the
Kayan of Borneo extract iron ore found in their own country. _Hose_
and _McDougall_ say that thirty years ago nearly all the iron worked
by the tribes of the interior of Borneo was from ore found in the
river beds. At present most of the pagans obtain the metal from the
Chinese and Malay traders, but native ore is still smelted in the far
interior. [230] Foreign iron is now used by the Battak of Sumatra,
but deserted iron-works are known to exist in their country, while the
Menangkabau still possess smelting furnaces. [231] It seems probable
that the whole industry had a common source, and was spread or carried
as a unit, but when trade relations made the arduous work of mining
and smelting unnecessary, it was quickly given up. That native iron
might have supplied the needs of many Philippine tribes, including
the Tinguian, is certain, for important deposits of magnetite and
hematite are found in Abra, in Ilocos Norte, Angat, Bulacan, Albay,
and other parts of the Islands. [232] On several occasions, when
on the trail, the natives have called our attention to boulders,
apparently of hematite, which they recognized as iron.
The smithies are small structures with grass roofs, but no sides or
floors (Plate LXII). At one end is a raised bamboo bench in front of
which stands the forge. This consists of two upright wooden cylinders,
usually logs hollowed out, known as _po-opan._ In each of these is
a piston or plunger (_doeydoyog_) at the lower end of which is a
wooden ring packed with corn husks and chicken feathers. When this
is pushed downward in the cylinder, it compresses the air and forces
it out of the small opening in the base, but when it is drawn up,
the packing collapses and allows the plunger to be raised without
effort. These pistons are worked so that one is rising, while the
other is falling. The cylinders stand in a wooden block out of which
bamboo tubes (_toloñgon_) conduct the air into a tube of fire clay
(_ibong_), and this in turn carries it into the charcoal fire. There
are no valves, as in the Chinese bellows, but the bamboo tubes fit
loosely, and the fire is not drawn back. Near to the hearth is a stone
anvil (_dalisdisan_), while a heavy stone hammer, a small iron hammer,
and iron pinchers complete the outfit.
The fire is lighted, and the operator sitting on the bench alternately
raises and lowers the plungers in the cylinders until the fire burns
brightly; then the smith puts metal into the coals and allows it
to remain until it reaches a white heat. It is then removed and
placed on the anvil, where his helper beats it out with the large
hammer. This is a stone weighing twenty or more pounds, fitted inside
the handles so that it can be used with both hands. As a rule, it
is swung between the legs, and is allowed to strike the metal as it
descends, but some of the men raise it above the shoulder and strike
a much more powerful blow. If two pieces of metal are to be welded
together, as is often the case when broken caldrons are used, they
are laid, one overlapping the other, and are held together with damp
fire-clay. In this condition they are placed in the fire and heated,
and are then beaten together. It often takes several firings to bring
about a perfect weld.
After the initial shaping, the smith completes the work with the small
hammer, and the blade is ready for tempering. A bamboo tube of water
is placed near by, and the blade is again inserted in the fire and
brought to a white heat. Then the smith withdraws it and watches it
intently until the white tone begins to turn to a greenish-yellow, when
he plunges it into the water. The tempered blade is now smoothed down
with sandstone, and is whetted to a keen edge. Head-axes, spear-heads,
adzes, a few knives, and the metal ends for the spear-shafts are the
principal products of the forge.
The blades are by no means of equal temper or perfection, but the
smiths of the Tinguian-Kalinga border villages seldom turn out poor
weapons, and as a result, their spears and head-axes have a wide
distribution over northwestern Luzon.
In view of the wide distribution of this type of forge and method of
iron-working; of its persistence in isolated communities, while it
has vanished from the coast, or has been superseded by the Chinese
methods of work; as well as of other details here described, the
writer is of the opinion that the art has not been introduced into
the Philippines through trade, but is a possession which many or all
of the tribes brought with them from their ancient home, probably
somewhere in southeastern Asia. The effects of trade, in historic
times, are evident throughout the Christianized regions, in Chinese
and European forges and in foreign types of utensils. Likewise the
influence of the Mohammedanized tribes is very marked in the Sulu
archipelago, the western coasts of Mindanao, and even among many of
the pagan tribes of that island, but the isolated forges throughout
Malaysia and the methods described by early explorers in this field,
are practically identical with those just reviewed.
_Spinning and Weaving_.--That cotton (_kapas_) was being raised and
the fibre spun into cloth at the time of the Spanish occupation
of the Islands, is amply proved by many references in the early
chronicles. Also there was a considerable trade in cotton, silk,
and the like, carried on by the Chinese and the Brunei Moro. [233]
The weaving industry seems to have reached its height in the Ilocos
provinces, where the processes of ginning, carding, spinning, and
weaving were, for the most part, identical with those found in Borneo,
Java, the Malay Peninsula, Burma, and a large part of India. [234]
The same methods and utensils are used among the Tinguian, but side by
side with the more complicated devices, such as the ginning machine
and spinning wheel, are found more simple contrivances; so it would
appear that we are here dealing with older and more primitive methods
of work than are found on the coast. [235]
Every step in the manufacture of cloth is looked after by the women,
who raise a limited amount of cotton in the upland fields, pick and dry
the crop, and prepare it for weaving. The bolls are placed on racks,
and are sun-dried, after which the husks are removed by hand.
Ginning is accomplished by two methods. The simplest, and doubtless the
older, is to place the cotton on a smooth wooden block and to roll over
it a wooden cylinder which tapers slightly toward each end (Fig. 16,
No. 1). The palm of the hand, at the base of the fingers, is placed on
the roller and the weight of the body applied, as the cylinder is moved
slowly forward, forcing the seeds from the floss. [236] The more common
instrument (_lilidsan_) acts on the principle of a clothes wringer
(Plate LXIII). Two horizontal cylinders of wood are geared together at
one end, and are mounted in a wooden frame in such a manner that they
are quite close together, yet not in contact. A handle is attached to
the lower roller at the end opposite the gears, and as it is turned,
it rotates the cylinders in opposite directions. A piece of cotton
is pressed between the rollers, which seize the fibres and carry them
through, while the seeds are forced back and fall to the ground.
The cleaned cotton is never bowed or otherwise separated with a
vibrating string, as is the case in Java, India, and China, but the
same result is obtained by placing it on a piece of carabao hide and
beating it with two rattan sticks until it becomes soft and fluffy
(Plate LXIV).
After the carding, the cotton is spun by placing it in a hollow
cylinder of palm bark attached to a bamboo stick (_tibtibean_). A bit
of thread is twisted from the cotton at the bottom of the cylinder,
and is attached to a spindle, which is rubbed rapidly against the
naked thigh, and is then allowed to turn in shallow basket, or on
a piece of hide. As it spins it twists out new thread and the arm
of the operator rises higher and higher, until at last the spindle
stops. The position of the extended arm is then altered, and the
spindle again set in motion in order to wind up the new thread on
the shaft. While the spinning is progressing, the free hand of the
operator is passed rapidly up and down the thread, keeping the tension
uniform and rubbing out any inequalities (Plate LXV).
In many sections the spinning wheel used by the coast natives is
beginning to replace the hand outfit (Fig. 16, No. 5). The mass of
fiber is held in the left hand, and a thread from it is attached to
a horizontal spindle, which is turned by a cord passing over a large
wheel. This method is much more rapid than the hand device, but the
thread is less uniform, and it is seldom utilized when a fine fabric
is to be woven. Bamboo bobbins, consisting of small tubes, are also
wound by attaching them to the spindle shaft, so that the thread is
transferred by the revolution of the wheel.
As soon as the thread is spun, it is placed on a bamboo frame
(_lalabayan_), Fig. 16, No. 2, on which it is measured and made ready
for the combing and sizing. As it is taken from the measuring frame,
a bamboo rod is passed through each end of the loop, and these
are fastened tightly inside the combing device (_agtatagodan_) by
means of rattan bands. The thread is then carefully combed downward
with a coconut husk which is dipped in a size of rice water (Plate
LXIII). After drying it is transferred to the shuttles and bobbins by
means of the wheel described in the previous paragraph or by a more
primitive device, called _ololau_ (Fig. 16, Nos. 4 and 4a). This
consists of four horn hooks attached to bamboo sticks, which pass
through openings in a bamboo tube in such a manner that they slip
on each other, and thus produce a wheel of any size desired. [237]
The tube fits loosely over a wooden peg sustaining the wheel in a
horizontal position, yet turning readily. The loop of threads from
the sizing frame is laid on the hooks, from which it is drawn by
hand onto the bobbins and shuttles. The next step is to prepare the
warp for the loom. The thread is drawn from bobbins on the floor,
and is first fastened to peg No. 1 of the warp winder (_gaganayan_),
as shown in Fig. 16, No. 3. From here it is carried the length of
the board, around 5, thence to 6 and back to 1, after again passing
around 5. The peg A, which later serves as a lease rod in the loom,
is encircled each time by the threads passing between 6 and 5. As
the warp is carried from 1 toward 5, it passes outside 2, 3 and 4,
but when it is returned to 1, it is inside these pegs. These are the
heddle rods of the loom, and loops from them enclose certain of the
threads, thus determining the order in which the warp is to be raised
in opening the shed. [238]
The loom, while primitive, is far from simple in its operation. The
warp is attached at both ends to sticks or rollers, the far one of
which is fastened to a cross timber of the living room (Plate LXVI).
The web is kept stretched by means of a strap or belt, which attaches
to the near roller and then passes around the waist of the operator,
who sits on the floor with her feet against a bamboo brace. [239]
The arrangement of the lease rod and heddle sticks has been already
described; in addition to these the threads are further controlled by
a reed board which acts both as warp spacer and beater-in. All being
ready for the weaving, the shed is opened by raising one of the heddle
sticks, and a heavy knife-shaped batten of wood is slipped into the
opening. This is turned sideways to enlarge the shed, and a shuttle
bearing the weft thread is shot through. By raising and lowering the
heddle rods the position of the warp is changed as desired, while
from time to time the weft threads are forced up against the fabric by
means of the reed board, and are beaten in with the batten. Tangling
is prevented by means of several flat sticks which cross the warp at
some distance from the operator; while threads which show signs of
loosening are carefully rubbed with a waxed stick.
On this loom the woman produces head-bands, belt, and narrow strips of
cloth which are made up into blankets and the like. These fabrics are
often in several colors and exhibit many tasty and intricate designs,
some of which will be described in the chapter on Decorative Art.
_Manufacture of Rope and String_.--At least eighteen trees, shrubs,
and vines are used in the making of cordage. [240] When small trees
or limbs are used, and the bark does not adhere too tightly to the
wood, sections about an arm's length are cut, and two or four splices
are made at the top. These are loosened with a knife until there is
enough for the hand to grasp, when the bark can be turned back like a
glove. Very large sections are held by two men, while a third peels
off the bark. With some varieties of trees and shrubs it is found
best to place the sections in the sun to dry, then a sharp bend in
the stalk causes the bark to separate from the wood so that it is
easily peeled off.
When large trees are used, the bark is slit lengthwise every six of
eight inches, and the log is beaten with hard wood sticks. In a short
time the covering loosens from the wood and is pulled off. The outside
layer is worthless, but the remainder is cut into strips about a half
inch in width, and is then split lengthwise into thin layers.
In rope-making three strips are laid side by side on the thigh or on a
board, but with their ends at unequal distances (Fig. 17, No. 1). These
are twisted together, toward the right, until a few inches have
been turned, then the cord is put over one end of a double forked
stick (_sikwan_), leaving an equal length on either side (Fig. 17,
No. 3). The two halves are twisted together until the end of one strip
of bark is reached; a new piece is laid on top of the others, and as
they are turned, it becomes part of the twist. As other ends are met
with, new strips are added in a like manner until all the bast desired
has been made. It is then wound up on the forked stick until needed.
The rope machine (_agtatalian_) consists of three wooden whirls, which
constitute the forming device, and a single whirl for the traveler,
while a grooved block serves to keep the strands apart (Fig. 17,
No. 2). Three equal lengths of the prepared bast are measured, and an
end is attached to each of the whirls of the forming machine (Fig. 17,
No. 2a). However, only one cut is made in the bast, for strand 3. All
are attached to the single whirl of the traveler, and the process
begins. The operator at each end turns his whirl, or set of whirls,
rapidly toward the right, the one with the traveler bracing his foot
against the lower end, to keep the twisting bast under tension. A
third operator guides the grooved piece of wood from the traveler
toward the forming machine, as the three strands twist round each
other into rope. The bast is known as _ginisgis_, the rope as _tali_.
Vines, rattan, and strips of bamboo are likewise twisted together to
form crude, but strong cordage.
The making of thread is described under spinning and weaving, but
the cords used in snares and the like are prepared in a different
manner. The operator squats on the ground, and taking a strip of
fiber, places it on his thigh; then with open palm he rolls it
toward the knee. The twisted bast is bent at the center; the thumb
and forefinger of the left hand hold the loop, and the two strands
are placed together. These are now rolled toward the knee as before,
the hand giving extra pressure on the ulnar side, and then are rolled
back toward the body with pressure on the radial side. When the end
of a band is reached, a new one is rolled in, and the process is
continued. A tie at the end keeps the cord from untwisting.
When very long strips of fiber are used, two men will work
together. One holds the end of the loop, while the other twists each
half of the strip in the same direction. Then placing them together on
his thigh, he turns them, under pressure, in the opposite direction,
thus making a cord.
_Bark Cloth_.--Bark cloth is still in common use for men's headbands
and for clouts. It is secured from the same trees as the rope
material, but wider strips are taken, and it is customary to beat
the bark thoroughly before it is removed from the wood. It is then
split to the desired thickness, after which it is beaten with wooden
or bone mallets (_gikai_), which are generally grooved transversely
(Fig. 18). The cloth produced is soft and pliable, but is not of the
fineness of tapa, and it is always in comparatively narrow pieces. In
no instance was the operator seen to beat two strips together to gain
greater breadth or to repair breaks.
_Basket Making_.--In most districts the men are the basket weavers,
but in some towns, especially of Ilocos Norte, the women are skilled
in this industry (Plate LXVII). The materials used are rattan, which
may be gathered at any time, or bamboo, which is cut only during the
dry season and under the waning moon. It is firmly believed that
boring insects will not injure bamboo cut at this time, and it is
known that the dry period stalks are the strongest.
The tools employed are a short knife or a miniature head-axe and an
awl. With the former the operator scrapes the outer surface, and then
splits the tube into strips of the desired width and thickness. A
certain number of these strips, which are to be used for decoration,
are rubbed with oil, and are held in the smoke of burning pine or of
rice-straw until a permanent black is obtained. [241]
Five weaves are recognized by the Tinguian, but they are really
variations of two--checkerwork and the diagonal or twilled.
The first and most simple is known as _laga_, the technic of which
is the passing of each element of the weft under one and over one
of the warp elements. Where the warp and weft are of uniform size,
as in mats, it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other,
but in many cases the weft is the smaller. Fish traps and storage
baskets for mangoes and cotton are generally of this type (Fig. 19,
Nos. 1 and 2).
A variation of the _laga_ known as _minmináta_--"many eyes"--(Fig. 19,
No. 3), is found in certain types of carrying baskets, the woven tops
of hats, and the like. Here the warp is crossed, and the weft passes
through it in regular order so as to produce hexagonal openings.
Another variant is known as _kaláwat_ [242] (Fig. 19, No. 4). In this
the warp stems are in threes. Starting from A they are bent down,
pass over and under similar sets of three, curve on themselves or
other warp stems so as to leave open spaces between. The rattan
wall-hangers for coconut shell dishes are usually in this weave.
The greater part of the baskets are in the diagonal or twilled
weave, in which each element of the weft passes over two or more warp
elements. Variations are numerous, either to produce certain effects
or to accommodate designs. Of these the most common are
1 under 2 over 2 etc.
2 under 2 over 2 etc.
2 under 4 over 4 etc.
The weaver also frequently constructs the bottom with 2 over 4 under
4; then when the sides are made he changes to 1 over 2 under 2, until
the center is reached; then 1 of the warp passes over 3 of the weft;
for the balance the stitch is 1 over 2 under 2. This variation produces
a chevron-like pattern which, in general, is known as _binakol_; but
when it is desired to designate more closely, this name is applied
to the weaving having an oblique effect (Fig. 19, No. 5), while the
horizontal is known as _dinapálig_ (Fig. 19, No. 6).
_Types of Baskets_:--Plates LXVIII and LXIX show the most common
types of baskets made and used in this territory. Others of Igorot
and Kalinga origin sometimes appear, but are seldom imitated by the
local basket-makers.
Baskets 1 and 2 of Plate LXVIII are known as _kaba_, and are used
principally to hold unthreshed rice, corn, and vegetables. Smaller
baskets of the same form are for broken rice and cooked vegetables. The
larger specimens are often made of rattan, while the smaller are
usually of bamboo. Shallow bamboo baskets, _pidasen_ or _alodan_
(Plate LXIX, No. 2) are used as eating dishes for cooked rice.
Clothing is put away in covered oval or rectangular baskets, _opigan_
(Plate LXIX, No. 4), while cotton is stored in long cylindrical
baskets _kolang_ (Plate LXVIII, No. 3).
The _pasikeng_ or _lagpi_(Plate LXIX, No. 3), commonly called the
"head basket," is the chief basket of the men. It is made of rattan,
and is supported on the back by means of bands which pass over the
shoulders. In it are carried extra garments and all necessities for
the trail. Recently some of the men have joined together two of these
baskets by means of a wide, flat band, and this is fitted over the
back of a horse or carabao,--an evident imitation of the saddle bags
used by Spaniards and Americans. Men also carry small containers for
their pipes and trinkets, or else make use of a traveling basket,
such as is shown in Plate LXIX, No. 5.
Rice winnowers and sieves (Plate LVII) and the fish-traps shown in
Fig. 13 conclude the list. No coiled baskets are made.
Aside from the decoration produced by variations in the weave, little
ornamentation is found in the basketry from Abra, but the Tinguian
of Ilocos Norte make and distribute large quantities of baskets with
colored patterns. Colored vines are sometimes woven in, but the common
method is to employ blackened bamboo, both in warp and weft.
The top of the basket is strengthened by two hoops of rattan or
bamboo. One is placed outside, the other inside; on them is laid
a small strip of the same material, and all three are sewed down
by passing a thin strip of rattan through two holes punched in
margin. This strip doubles on itself, encircles the rim, and after
an interval again passes through two more holes, and so on around the
entire basket. A square base, attached in the same manner as the rim,
generally completes the basket. In the mountain districts near to
Apayao, the bases of the smaller eating dishes are drawn in toward
the center at four points, giving the effect of a four-pointed star.
_Mats_ (_ikamin_).--Mats are used as beds, never as floor
coverings. They are rectangular in form, usually about six feet long
and three wide, and are undecorated. They are made from strips of
_pandanus_ in the _laga_ weave (cf. p. 423).
_Dyes_.--In recent years analine dyes have come into favor in some
villages, and a variety of colors appears in the articles made by
their weavers, but the vegetable dyes used by the ancestors are
still employed by most of the women. The commonest colors are blue,
pink--"black red"--, red, and yellow.
Blue is ordinarily produced by placing the leaves and branches of the
indigo plant, _tayuni (Indigofera tinctoria)_in water for a few days;
then to boil them, together with a little lime. The thread is dipped
in the liquid.
Pink is secured by crushing _lynga_ (_Sesamum indicum_ L.) seeds and
boiling them in water. Threads are placed in this for five nights,
while during the day they are dried in the sun. The root of the
_apatot_ (_Morinda citrifolia_ or _umbellata_) is next crushed,
and water is added. The threads are now transferred to this liquid,
and for ten days and nights are alternately soaked and sunned. A
copper color results, but this soon changes to pink. It is said that
the _apatot_ alone produces a red dye. It is also claimed that the
seeds of the _apang_ (_Bixa Orellana_ L.) and of a variety of rattan,
when boiled, give a permanent red. [243]
A yellow dye is produced by boiling the leaves of the _Tamarindus
indica_ L. in water until a strong liquor is obtained.
Bark head-bands are stained a purplish-red by applying a liquid
secured through boiling _kelyan_ (_Diospyros cunalon_ D.C.?) bark. For
ceremonial purposes they are also colored yellow by applying the juice
of the _konig_ (_Curcuma longa_), but as this has a disagreeable odor,
and the color is not permanent, it is not much used in every-day
garments. Lemon juice is also applied to bark to give it a yellow hue.
Fish nets are colored brown by dipping them into a dye made by
crushing the _katakot_ vine in water, or by staining with the juice
of the _taotawa_ (_Jatropha curcas_ L,).
The bamboo strips used in decorating basketry are blackened by
holding them in the smoke of burning rice-straw. Black designs,
such as appear in the ornamentation of lime holders and the like,
are secured by rubbing oil and soot into incised lines, and then
holding the object in the smoke of burning rice-straw.
_Net Making_.--Nets are used in fishing, in catching wild chickens
and grasshoppers, and in hunting deer and pigs. The first three types
are made of twine, but the fourth is of strong rope.
All net work is done by the man who, for this purpose, employs a mesh
stick and a needle of bamboo or carabao horn (Fig. 20). The needle
(No. 1) also serves as a shuttle, since it carries a considerable
amount of thread between the tongue and notch. The size of the loop
is determined by the width of the mesh stick or spreader (No. 2). The
operator generally sits on a rice winnower or squats on the ground with
a net suspended above him (Plate LXX). He forms the mesh by running
the needle over and around the spreader, and up and through the loop
above, thus forming a loop on the mesh stick. This is drawn tightly,
the needle is again passed through, but without encircling the stick,
and thus a knot is tied. This is repeated until a row of loops has
been completed, when another series is started.
_Manufacture of Pottery_.--In nearly every village there are two or
three women who make jars and dishes, but the potters of Abang and
Lakub are the only ones whose wares have a wide distribution.
The clay is dampened, and is carefully kneaded with the hands to remove
lumps and gravel, and to reduce it to the proper consistency. A handful
is taken from the mass, and is roughly modeled with the fingers to
form the base of the pot. This is set on a wooden plate which, in
turn, is placed in a rice winnower (Plate XXXVI). The plate takes
the place of a potter's wheel, for it is turned with the right hand
while with the left the woman shapes the clay, and smoothes it off
with a dampened cloth. From time to time, she rolls out a coil of clay
between the palms of her hands, lays it along the top of the vessel,
and works and pinches it in. Further shaping and thinning is done with
a wooden paddle and the dampened hand, and then the jar is allowed to
dry slightly. Before the drying has progressed far enough to render
the sides rigid, a smooth stone is placed inside, and the sides are
tapped gently with a paddle until properly thinned and shaped.
After allowing a couple of days for drying, the potter rubs the jar
inside and out with smooth stones or _lipi_ seeds, so as to give it
an even surface.
When several jars or dishes have been prepared, they are placed in
carabao dung or other slow burning material and fired. This generally
takes place at night, and the jars are left undisturbed until morning,
when they are ready for service. Occasionally resin is rubbed over a
jar while it is hot, thus giving it a glazed surface; this, however,
is not common, as the resin quickly melts off the cooking utensils,
while porous jars are preferred as water containers, since the seepage
lowers the temperature of the contents.
Vessels made in Lakub are often decorated with incised patterns
(Fig. 22, No. 8), but otherwise the Tinguian ware is plain. Chinese
jars are found in every village, and are highly prized, but the native
potters do not imitate them in form or decoration. Had Chinese blood
or influence ever been strong in the region, we might expect to find
the potter's wheel and traces of true glazing, but both are lacking.
_Pipe Making_.--Both men and women smoke pipes, consisting of a short
reed handle and a small bowl. Men are the pipe makers, and often show
considerable skill in the decoration of their product.
The common pipe-bowl is of clay, which has been carefully shaped
with the fingers and a short bamboo spatula. Designs are incised,
and the raised portions are further embellished by the addition of
small pieces of brass wire (Fig. 21, Nos. 4-5). The bowls are baked
in a slow fire, and the mouthpieces are added.
A second type of pipe, or cigar holder, is made of bamboo (Fig. 21,
Nos. 1-3). Designs are incised in the sides, oil is applied, and the
pipe is held in the smoke of burning rice-straw until the lines become
permanently blackened (Fig. 22, Nos. 1-3).
In recent years, Ilocano jewelers have introduced silver pipes, made
from coins. One Tinguian pipe maker has learned the trade, and does a
lively business. He has further beautified his product by attaching
pendants representing fish (Fig. 21, No. 6). Brass pipes of Igorot
origin are sometimes seen, but are not made in this region.
_Method of Drying Hides_.--Hides of carabao, and sometimes of other
animals, are stretched on bamboo frames and are sun-dried (Plate
LV). Later they are placed in water containing tanbark, and are roughly
cured. Such leather is used in the manufacture of the back straps used
by the weavers, and in making sheathes for knives, but more commonly
it is placed on the ground, and on it rice and cotton are beaten out.