Among the Kankanay of Benguet the sagausau is generally celebrated
before starting on a journey, and always before starting on a journey
to trade.
A chicken is first killed and its gall examined. If the gall is
full and smooth the trader will have luck, but if the gall does not
look right, the trip is delayed and the next day another chicken is
killed. When the prospective trader finds a chicken whose gall is
all right, he then proceeds to celebrate the sagausau.
In the western Benguet Kankanay towns, the person giving the sagausau
prays as follows:
Sika agou ya boan, nay ay manaugasauak; sina yamo amoya sin amoyak,
ya yaanda sakun si galiko ya takoanda sakun ni nalaka.
You, Sun and Moon, I am now celebrating the sagausau; and if I go,
wherever I go, make them give me blankets and sell to me cheap.
In Buguias, where a large number of people make their living by acting
as middlemen, between the Nabaloi and Ilocano on the one hand, and
the Ifugao on the other, the prayer which is spoken by the mambunong
is as follows:
You, Sun and Moon, come; witness the sagausau. ---- is about to
start on a journey to trade. May he be successful in trading. May
he be able to collect all that is due him and evade payment of
what he owes. Cause the people to give him food and blankets.
In the Lepanto town of Mancayan the sagausau is celebrated, but I do
not know whether or not it is held in the other Lepanto towns.
The sagausau of the Nabaloi is celebrated for a different purpose
and is an entirely different ceremony.