[1] Read before The Philippine Academy, October 2, 1912. The paper
is intended as an introduction to a series of more complete studies
in Philippine mythology and religion.
[2] A complete bibliography cannot be given within the limits of
this paper, but a number of the most important printed titles and
manuscripts have been cited.
[3] Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands. Cleveland (1906), 37;
(1907), 48.
[4] This Journal (1906), 1, 812-818. Many plates illustrating Ilongot
types and culture are given.
[5] The Philippine Islands and Their People. New York (1898), 362-434.
[6] A typewritten manuscript of 60 pages, entitled "The Hampángan
Mangyans of Mindoro" by Dr. Fletcher Gardner. U. S. A. (1905). In
the records of the division of ethnology, Bureau of Science, Manila.
[7] This Journal, Sec. D (1912), 7, 135-156.
[8] Loc. cit., 76-122.
[9] Smithsonian Misc. Colls. (Paper No. 1700), 48, 514-558.
[10] Loc. cit., 109-111.
[11] I am informed by Dr. N. M. Saleeby that this myth is also known
among the Malays of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
[12] Kágbubátang is a point within sight of the town of Placer,
eastern Mindanao.
[13] The offering may be very small, even a little piece of wood,
and is thrown overboard while passing the point.
[14] There is said to be a similar locality near Taganíto, eastern
Mindanao.
[15] Bináoi is the name of an oddly shaped peak at the source of the
River Angdánan, tributary of the River Wáwa, Agúsan Valley.
[16] Limes and lemons are said to be objects of fear to the búsao.
[17] Garvan suggests these stories as illustrations of punishment
following the imitating or making fun of animals, acts which are
strictly tabú in Manóbo culture.
[18] Some say that the spots upon the moon are a cluster of bamboos,
others, that they are a baléte tree.
[19] Our information concerning these peoples is limited, but of
much interest. Besides the work of Garvan, the chief sources are the
Letters of the Jesuit Fathers and a paper on the Subánuns [Christie,
Pub. P. I. Bur. Sci., Div. Ethnol. (1909), 6, pt. 1]. The latter
does not record any myths, but gives several song-stories about great
culture-heroes which throw much light on the character of the Subánun
mythology and identify it with the mythologies of the other pagan
tribes of Mindanao. These hero-stories are too long to be given here.
[20] The Tinggiáns, or Itnegs, should be excepted, as there are
important and accurate accounts of these people by Gironière, Reyes,
Worcester, Cole, and others.
[21] According to the translation by James A. Robertson in Blair and
Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1906), 33, 167-171.
[22] Note the similarity of this place-name to the Kágbubátang of
the Manóbo legend, p. 89.
[23] Translated by Roberto Laperal from "Igorrotes," by Angel
Perez. Manila (1902), 319-320.
[24] Jenks, Albert Ernest, The Bontoc Igorot,
Pub. P. I. Ethnol. Surv. (1905), 1.
[25] Seidenadel, Carl Wilhelm, The First Grammar of the Language
Spoken by the Bontoc Igorot, with a Vocabulary and Texts. The Open
Court Publishing Co., Chicago (1909).
[26] Opus. cit., 485-510. Seidenadel gives an interlinear literal
translation, which is, in some places, slightly inaccurate. I have
made a new free translation directly from the Bontok. The text was
told in the form of a story rather than that of a myth, and contains
much extraneous matter which I have omitted.
[27] Place of anger.
[28] There are about 127,000 Ifugaos, nearly all living in the
subprovince of Ifugao. They are divided into a large number of
hereditary clans, each of which has its own social and political
organization. They are an agricultural people, and have developed
their great stone-faced terraced rice fields to an extent probably not
equaled elsewhere in the world. I do not believe that the physical
type, language, or culture of these people is wholly a native
development. The evidence seems to indicate that the present-day
Ifugaos are the result of mixture, perhaps one or more thousand years
ago, of several widely different native types with an incoming people
of high culture. Indications seem to point to the highlands of Burma
as the original home of this highly-cultured people, but this is
a supposition that will require proof. Within historic times the
Ifugaos have been almost entirely free from mixture of any sort.
[29] 1.--"The Religious Beliefs of the Kiángan Ifugaos," a manuscript
of some 300 pages, by Juan Fernandez Villaverde, translated and
annotated by myself with the assistance of Mr. John M. Garvan.
2.--"The Religion of the Kiángan Ifugaos," a manuscript of 350 pages,
by Roy Franklin Barton, with notes by myself.
3.--Unpublished notes. "The Religion of the Central Ifugaos," a
manuscript of about 300 pages, by myself.
[30] The subprovince of Ifugao may be divided into five general culture
areas which can be also considered as religious districts. These are:
Kiángan Ifugao, Western Ifugao, and Central Ifugao, speaking the Pure
Ifugao dialect; and Alímît Ifugao and Mayóyao Ifugao, speaking the
Sub-Ifugao dialect. (Plate I.) Very little is known of the religion
of Alímît Ifugao and Mayóyao Ifugao, and they will not be further
discussed in this paper.
[31] Or búling (?).
[32] Dáwi (?).
[33] It can only be seen at this point for the reason that the earth
beneath and the blue-stone underfacing of Kabúnian immediately above
cut off the view. Ifugao astronomical knowledge, plus the circular
nature of the horizon and the apparent slope of the whitish band
above it, has doubtless given rise to this belief in a celestial
globe surrounding the universe.
[34] The Ifugaos have no belief, that I have ever been able to
discover, as to the origin of the universe. To their minds it has
always existed and will always continue to exist.
[35] In the three previously mentioned manuscripts on the Ifugao
religion, between two and three thousand deities are spoken of by name,
and this is only a fraction of the number known to the Ifugaos. Of
course, only a few of them are really great deities, but even such
may be counted by hundreds. Of the very diverse and all-inclusive
character of these deities, no accurate idea can be given within the
brief limits of this paper. Suffice it to say there are gods of war,
of industry (such as weaving, metal-working, etc.), and of beauty and
love; nature-gods, cannibalistic gods, evil deities, mythical monsters,
messenger spirits, guardian spirits; and hosts of mischievous elves
and fairies.
[36] Collected by Juan Fernández Villaverde, in 1894, from a
celebrated Ifugao priest, Duminóng of Kiángan. Translated, corrected,
and annotated by myself with the assistance of Mr. John M. Garvan.
[37] This statement is significant, as it shows an understanding of
the true cause of the echo. Ifugao cosmographical and astronomical
knowledge is not very primitive, as a careful study of this myth will
clearly demonstrate.
[38] God of the rain.
[39] Ifugao knowledge of the part played by erosion in the formation
of the topographical features of the earth is clearly shown.
[40] Shellfish, greens, fruits, meats, or fish that constitute the
savory part of the meal, as contrasted with kánon which refers only
to staple foods such as rice, sweet potatoes, etc.
[41] Mumbónang has a head covered with bristles, just like a porcupine,
but radiating and sharp pointed like nails facing outward to penetrate
any object on the outside. He possibly represents some constellation.
[42] The goddess of weaving.
[43] Or Ngílîn an Maknóngan (?).
[44] Deities which the Ifugaos believe to be their ancestors.
[45] The people of Alímît Ifugao. (Plate I.)
[46] Tad-óna and Inúke are recognized as common ancestors by all the
Kiángan Ifugaos, and the myths about them are legion.
[47] Ceremonies to the búni, accompanied by prayers and sacrifices.
[48] A version of the same type, but very different in detail, is
contained in the unpublished notes of Mr. Roy Franklin Barton. I
have also several others from the same area (Kiángan Ifugao) that
were collected by Lieut. Maximo Meimban.
[49] For bibliographical reference, see Villaverde, loc. cit.
[50] Manaháut is the greatest and most hated evil deity of the Ifugaos.
[51] The memory of cannibalism so common in Ifugao mythology possibly
dates back to a period of contact with human cannibals.
[52] The Ifugao version of the story states that the sky was so low
that it interfered with the plying of the spear, while the Manóbo
story relates that the rice pestle would strike against it. It is
possible that this myth dates back to cave-dwelling ancestors--for
the low roof of a cave would be an inconvenience of the same character
as that which is here ascribed to the sky.
A further proof of this is the following Tagálog myth furnished me by
Mr. Roberto Laperal: "In former times the sky was very low and could be
touched with the hand; when men were playing, they would strike their
heads against it whenever they jumped upward. This made them impatient,
and one day they began to throw stones at the sky. The great god
Bathala was very angry and removed the sky to its present position."
[53] For bibliographical reference, see footnote 36. A less complete
version of this myth, differing somewhat in detail, is given by Barton
in the second manuscript mentioned in footnote 29.
[54] God of the rain.
[55] God of the lightning.
[56] It is a common belief, widespread in the Philippines, that the
appearance of a woman at a place where men are hunting will render
the search for game fruitless. J. M. Garvan.
[57] It will be noted that most of the things created by Búgan from
the corrupted half of Balitúk were pests and things of evil omen to
torment the people of Kiángan as they had tormented her.
[58] Ído, or ídu, is the Ifugao name for the omen spirits. A certain
small black and white bird called pîtpît is believed to be an omen
spirit, and therefore it is also properly called ído. When an Ifugao
is going on a journey and sees one of these birds, or hears its cry,
he immediately stops and calls out to it. He tells it where he is going
and why. If the bird flies away to one side or in a forward direction,
it is a good sign; but if it flies backward along the path, uttering a
sharp cry of fright, it is a very bad omen, and the man will probably
return home and not continue on his journey until another day.
[59] I am informed by Dr. Dean S. Fansler that he obtained from an
Igorot of Túblai, Benguet, in May, 1910, a myth very similar to this
story of Búgan and Kinggáuan. The details are different, but some
of the more important incidents are the same and I will give a brief
summary of the myth here: A god named Dumágid, whose home is in one of
the lower regions of the sky, came down to the earth and lived among
the people. He taught the people many things, and often went hunting
with them in the forest. But one day, when he was out in the woods
alone, he met a beautiful girl by the name of Dúgai with whom he fell
in love, and they were married. A son was born to them, and they named
him Ovug. Shortly after this Dumágid informed the people that he must
return to the Sky World to make report to the chief deity, Kabigat,
but that he would soon come down again to the Earth World. But the
people demanded that he take his wife with him, and that they leave
their son as security for their return. Dumágid told Dúgai that the
path was so hot that she might die, but this the people would not
believe. So Dumágid and Dúgai started out, but as they approached
the sun it grew so hot that Dúgai died. Dumágid returned her body
to the earth, and went on to his home in the sky. Later he came back
to the earth, in company with the god Bangan di Bai-ángan, and told
the people that he must take his son Ovug to the Sky World. This the
people refused to allow him to do, so Dumágid took a knife and divided
his son Ovug into equal parts by cutting him straight down. When he
had done this, he told the people to keep one half and make a new boy
out of it. The other half Dumágid took with him to the Sky World and
reanimated it. Then he looked down to the Earth World and saw that
the half of his son there was becoming decayed because the people
had not given it new life. So he came down with the boy he had made,
and made another beautiful boy out of the decayed half. Then he made
the two boys stand before the astonished people. For their greater
astonishment, Dumágid asked the boy he had made in the Sky World to
talk. He spoke very loud like sharp thunder, so that the people were
frightened almost to death. Then Dumágid asked the other boy to talk,
and he spoke low like the rolling thunder. Then the first boy went
up to the Sky World whirling like fire, and thundered there. And it
is believed that this is the origin of the lightning and the sharp
thunder that comes after; and it is also believed that the low thunder
is the voice of the second boy, or the one made on the earth.
[60] Collected by myself from various Ifugaos of Banáuol clan, in
1906. A similar but less complete version was collected at the same
place by Levi E. Case, in May, 1905, and published in This Journal,
Sec. A (1909), 4, 256-260.
[61] Or Alauítan in Sub-Ifugao. See Plates I and II.
[62] The Ifugao rice drink, usually known as búbûd.
[63] About six months. The duration of the flood varies greatly in
the different versions of this myth.
[64] Incest is looked upon by the Ifugaos with horror, and is held
to be one of the gravest of crimes.
[65] The number and names of the children of Wígan and Búgan are
variable in the different Ifugao clans.
[66] The frequent repetition of Búgan as the name of a female deity is
worthy of further explanation. Búgan is the Ifugao ideal of feminine
beauty. There is no single goddess of love and beauty such as Venus
or Aphrodite, but an abstract ideal of womanly perfection. Therefore,
all beneficent female deities are called Búgan, which is also the
most common name among Ifugao women. When a man wishes to praise his
wife, he speaks of her as Búgan-ko (my Búgan), and when a young man
goes courting he often speaks of it as mum-Búgan (searching for a
Búgan). Light, fleecy clouds, high in the sky, are often called "the
wavy hair of Búgan." Such poetic usages are almost innumerable. It
is an interesting conception, and is one of the proofs of Ifugao
æsthetic development.
[67] A Chinese author, Chao Ju-kua, writing in the year 1280, mentions
that porcelain jars and bronze gongs were two of the most important
exports from China to the Philippines.--Blair and Robertson, The
Philippine Islands (1906), 34, 181-191.
[68] Free translation of an Ifugao text obtained by myself in January,
1909, from Tugínai Páit (Plate III, fig. 3), an Ifugao of Amgodé clan,
Central Ifugao.
[69] The three unbroken jars brought by Banggílît from the village
of souls in the Sky World are still in existence and their location
is as follows: The first jar is called Inhyúwat, and is owned by
Bînwâg of Búwôt. The second is called Ináyao, and is owned by Ináyao
of Hinagángan. The third is called Búût, and is owned by Búût of
Hápao. These jars have an estimated value of several hundred pesos
each, but, unless driven to it by dire extremity, their owners would
not sell them for any price. (Plate IV, fig. 1.)