A little later we shall describe the active part woman takes in the
planting and care of the fields, but now we shall take up in some detail
the industry in which she stands pre-eminent, the preparation and
weaving of hemp.
The hemp ordinarily stripped by the men is considered too fine to be
used in the manufacture of clothing, so a smaller stripping device is
employed by the woman (Plate XX). On this she cleans the outer layers of
the hemp stalk, from which a stronger and coarser thread can be
obtained. The fiber is tied in a continuous thread and is wound onto a
reel. The warp threads are measured on sharpened sticks driven into a
hemp or banana stalk, and are then transferred to a rectangular frame
(Plate XXI). The operator, with the final pattern in mind, overties or
wraps with waxed threads, such portions of the warp as she desires to
remain white in the completed garment. So carefully does she wrap these
sections, that, when the thread is removed from the frame and placed in
the liquid dye, no portion of the coloring matter penetrates to the
portions thus protected. If a red color is desired the root of the
_sikarig_[17] palm is scraped and the scrapings placed in bark vats
filled with cold water. The thread is first washed in, and is later
boiled with the dye for a half hour, after which it is placed in a
basket to drain and dry. The process is repeated daily for about two
weeks, or until the thread assumes a brick red color. If a purple hue is
desired a little lime is added to the dye. Black is obtained by a
slightly different method. The leaves, root, and bark of the _pinarrEm_
tree are crushed in water. This yields a black liquor which is poured
into a jar containing the thread and the whole is placed over a slow
fire where it remains until the liquid is near the boiling point. When
this is reached the thread is removed and placed in a gourd, the open
end of which fits over the jar so as to catch the steam coming from the
dye. After a time the thread is removed and dried, and the process is
repeated until at last a permanent black is obtained. After the coloring
is complete the thread is again placed on the rectangular frame, the
over-tying is removed and the warp is ready for the loom (Plate XXII.)
In the loom (Plate XXIII) the threads encircle a bamboo pole attached to
the wall, and are held tense by a strap which passes around the waist of
the operator. The weft threads are forced up against the fabric by means
of the comber board and are beaten in with a baton. The warp threads are
held in their relative positions, first by the comber board, second by
loops which pass under the lower threads and over a small stick or lease
rod, and lastly by passing over and under, or around, other lease rods.
These are rolled away as the work progresses.
[17] _Morinda Bracteata Roxb_.
[18] Woof threads are generally of one color. A somewhat similar process
used in Java is described by SIR THOS. RAFFLES in The History of Java,
Vol. I, p. 189.
[Transcriber's note: Although footnote 2 appears on the same page as the
above paragraph, it is not clear to what particular part of that
paragraph it refers.]
After the cloth is removed from the loom it is polished. A long pole of
_palma brava_ is fitted into a notch in the roof. The operator seats
herself on the floor with a smooth board before her, or in her lap, and
on it places the dampened cloth. A shell is fitted over the lower end of
the pole, which is bent and made bowlike, until the shell rests on the
cloth. It is then ironed rapidly to and fro until the fabric has
received a high polish (Plate XXIV).
The woman's duties do not end with the manufacture of cloth, for all the
garments worn by the members of the tribe are the result of her
handiwork. She sews the strips of hemp cloth into skirts, men's
trousers, carrying bags, and sometimes into jackets. The women devote
hours of labor to these jackets, covering arms, necks, and waist bands
with colored embroidery or designs in applique, while on the better
garments they place elaborate designs in beads or shell disks.
After the evening meal is over the women of the household gather around
the flickering lights, and until far into the night work on these
garments, bead necklaces, or other ornaments.
Only a few of the weavers attempt to make the peculiar chocolate-colored
head covering worn by the _magani_. For these kerchiefs the woman weaves
a square cotton cloth of the desired size, and at one corner attaches a
small brass hook. Joined to the hook, by means of a chain, is a loop
which fits over the toes of the operator, thus enabling her to keep the
fabric taut while her hands are left free for work. Small sections of
this cloth are raised and are wrapped with waxed thread, so that when
the fabric is dyed these portions will not receive the coloring matter
(Plate XXV). Later the overtying is removed, leaving small white rings
or squares on a chocolate-colored background. These cloths are meant
primarily for the warriors, but expert weavers, who are under the
protection of a certain powerful spirit, are also permitted to wear an
upper garment of this material.
A considerable part of the man's time is consumed in preparation for, or
actual participation in, hunting or warfare, but in addition to this he
does a goodly portion of the work in the fields, and is the house
builder. When a man is about to erect a dwelling he notifies his friends
to come and aid him. This they will do without pay, but when in need of
similar services they will expect and will receive similar help. All
sorts of house-furnishings, such as spoons, meat blocks, or rice mortars
are made by the man, and not infrequently, he assists in the making or
waterproofing of baskets. A few of the old men of Cibolan still engage
in the manufacture of small shell disks with which valuable suits are
decorated, but the greater part of those now in use have been inherited,
or are purchased from neighboring peoples. The men carve beads out of
"Job's tears"[19] and make them into necklaces. For this purpose a
peculiarly carved and decorated stick is employed (Plate XXVI). This is
placed in the palm of the left hand so that the thumb and forefinger can
hold the seed which fits into a depression in the top. A knife in the
right hand of the artist is worked over the seed thus cutting a line
into which dirt is rubbed. Women's combs are made by shaping a half
circle out of light wood and then cutting teeth into it with a saw-like
blade of tin or iron.
[19] _Coix lachryma Johi L_.
Among the men, as with the women, certain industries are monopolized by
a few individuals. In this community no men stand higher in the
estimation of their fellows than do the smiths and the casters of
copper. The writer spent many hours watching I-o, the brass and copper
worker of Cibolan, while he shaped bells, bracelets, and betel boxes at
his forge on the outskirts of the village (Plate XXVII). Feathered
plungers, which worked up and down in two bamboo cylinders, forced air
through a small clay-tipped tube into a charcoal fire. This served as a
bellows, while a small cup made of straw ashes formed an excellent
crucible. The first day I watched I-o, he was making bells. Taking a
ball of wax the size of a bucket shot, he put it on the end of a stick
(Fig. 26a), and over this moulded the form of a bell in damp ashes
obtained from rice straw (b). When several bells were thus fashioned
they were dipped in melted wax and were turned on a leaf until smooth,
after which an opening was cut through the wax at the bottom of each
form (c). Strips of wax were rolled out and laid in shallow grooves
which had been cut in the sides of the bells and were pressed in, at
intervals, with a small bamboo knife (d). The top stick was then
withdrawn, leaving an opening down to the wax ball inside. Into this
hole a thin strip of wax was inserted and was doubled back on itself so
as to form a hanger (e). For three days the forms were allowed to harden
and were covered with several coats of damp straw ashes. Finally they
were laid in a bed of the same material with a thin strip of wax leading
from each bell to a central core (f). [FIG. 26] The whole, with the
exception of the top of the central wax strip, was covered with a thick
coating of damp ashes, and when this had hardened pieces of copper,
secured from broken gongs, were placed in the crucible, melted and
poured into the open end of the clay form. The molten metal took the
place of the wax as it was dissolved and flowed to all parts where it
had been. After being dropped in water the form was broken open,
revealing six nearly perfect little bells which were ready for use as
soon as the ashes were removed from them. The same method was used for
all other casting. Clay forms were made as desired, were covered with
wax, and the final coating of ashes applied before the casting. The
workers in copper and brass are under the care and guidance of a spirit,
Tolus ka towangan, for whom they make a yearly ceremony, _Gomek
towangan_.