Change in aspect of country.--Mount Amuyao and the native
legend of the flood.--Rice-terraces.--Banawe.--Mr. Worcester's
first visit to this region.--Sports.--Absence of
weapons.--Native arts and crafts.
We pushed on next morning early for Banawe, the capital of the
sub-province of Ifugao, and Gallman's headquarters. The cheers of
our late hosts accompanied us as we entered the trail and began
to climb. The country now took on a different aspect, due to our
increasing altitude. The valleys were sharper and narrower, and so of
the peaks. From time to time we could see the proud crest of Amuyao
ahead of us. Over 8,000 feet high, this mountain, whose name means
"father of all peaks," or "father of mountains," is the Ararat of
the Ifugaos. Their legend has it that, a flood overcoming the land,
a father and five sons took refuge on this topmost peak, coming down
with the waters as they fell. They even have their Cain, for one of
these five was killed by a brother. This family traditionally are
the ancestors of all the mountain people.
It took us some five hours to ride to Banawe, through a country of
imposing beauty. It was not that we were in the presence of mighty
ranges or peaks, so much as that the alternation of elevation with
depression offered a bewildering variety of aspect. At every turn,
turns as unnumbered this day as the woes of Greece, the landscape
changed its face. No sooner had one's appreciation become oriented,
than it had to give way to the necessity of a fresh orientation. Of
course there must be some orographic system; but to mark it, we
should have had to fly over the land. To us on the trail it was
not evident, mountain shouldering mountain, and valley swallowing
valley, in confusion. And wherever possible, rice-terraces! If we
posit the struggle for existence, then in this view alone these
Ifugaos, and other highlanders as well, are a gallant people. Not
every hillside will grow rice; if the soil be good, water will be
lacking; or else, having water, the soil is poor. But, wherever the
two conditions are combined, there will one find the slope terraced
to the top, and scientifically terraced, too, so that every drop of
water shall do its duty from top-side to bottom-side. The labor of
original construction, always severe, in some cases must have been
enormous, as we shall see later. Many of these terraces are hundreds
of years old; their maintenance has required and continues to require
constant watchfulness. Nearly every year the supply of rice runs
short and the people fall back on _camotes_ (sweet potatoes). And
yet, in marked contrast with their cousins of the plains, whom these
conditions would drive to helpless despair, we heard on this trip
not one word of complaint. Not once did they put up a poor mouth and
beg the Government to come to their help. On the contrary, they were
cheerful throughout, knowing though they did that before the year
was over they would probably all have to pull their gee-strings in
a little tighter. It is not too much, therefore, to say that these
highlanders are in a true sense a gallant people. Indeed, they are
the best people of the Archipelago, and with any sort of chance they
will prove it. This chance our Government, thanks to Mr. Worcester's
initiative and sustained interest, is giving them, the first and only
one they ever have had.
This digression brings us a little nearer to Banawe; we leave the
terraced hills behind us, after noting how free of all plants the
retaining-walls are kept, the sole exception here and there being
the dongola, with its brilliant leaf of lustrous scarlet.
In time we began to descend, and finally there burst on the view
the sharpest valley yet, as though some Almighty Power had split the
mountains apart with a titanic ax. Down one flank we went with Banawe
near the head, but farther off than we thought, because the trail
was now filled with men that had come out to welcome us, all of whom
insisted on shaking hands with all the _apos_. Our last three miles
were a triumphal procession--columns, _gansas, bubud_, spears, shouts,
escorts, flags. Every now and then a halt; a bamboo filled with _bubud_
would be handed up, and everybody had to take a pull. Once I noticed
Gallman in front hastily return the bamboo, and reach desperately
for his water-bottle; the next man did the same thing. It was now my
turn, and I understood; I tipped up the tube, and thought for the
moment that I had filled my mouth with liquid fire, so hot was the
stuff! If there had ever been any rice in the original composition,
it had completely lost its identity in the fearful excess of pepper
that characterized this particular vintage. It was hours and hours
before our throats forgave us.
But at last we threaded our way down, and, turning sharp to the
right, rode out on the small plateau that is Banawe, to be saluted
and escorted by the Constabulary Guard and to be received by the
shouts of thousands. They at once opened on us with speeches, but
these were markedly fewer here than farther south. The quarters of
the Constabulary officers were hospitably put at our disposition,
and our first enjoyment of them was the splendid shower.
Banawe stands at the head of a very deep valley, shut in by mountains
on three sides; the stream sweeping the base of the plateau breaks
through on the south. This plateau rises sharply from the floor of
the valley; in fact, it is a tongue thrust out by the neighboring
mountain, and forms a position of great natural strength against any
enemy unprovided with firearms. Across the stream on the east mount
the rice-terraces over a thousand feet above the level of the stream;
a stupendous piece of work, surpassed at only one or two other places
in Luzon. Elsewhere we saw terraces higher up, but none on so great
a scale, so completely enlacing the slope from base to crest. The
retaining walls here are all of stone, brought up by hand from the
stream below. This stream makes its way down to the Mayoyao country,
and I was told that the entire valley, thirty-five or forty miles,
was a continuity of terraces. Indeed, it requires some time and
reflection to realize how splendid this piece of work is: it is almost
overwhelming to think what these people have done to get their daily
bread. In contemplation of their successful labors, one is justified
in believing that, if given a chance, they will yet count, and that
heavily, in the destinies of the Archipelago.
Banawe was first visited by Mr. Worcester in 1903, coming down from the
north with a party of Igorots. At the head of the pass he was met by
an armed deputation of Ifugaos, who came to inquire the purpose of his
visit. Was it peace or was it war? He could have either! But he must
decide, and immediately. Assured as to the nature of the visit, the
head man then gave Mr. Worcester a white rooster, symbol of peace and
amity, and escorted him in. But the accompanying Igorots came very near
undoing all of Mr. Worcester's plans. Not only were they shut in during
their stay, an obvious and necessary condition of good order and the
preservation of peace, but, on Mr. Worcester's asking food for them,
they were told they could have _camotes_, but no rice; that rice was
the food of men and warriors, and _camotes_ that of women and children,
and that the Igorots were not men. This almost upset the apple-cart,
for the Igorots in a rage at once demanded to be released from their
confinement so as to show these Ifugaos who were the real men. But
counsels of peace prevailed. In fact, it is a matter of astonishment
that Mr. Worcester should be alive to-day, so great at the outset was
the danger of personal communication with the wild men of Luzon. [30]
It was not always a handsome white rooster, in token of peace, that
was handed him; sometimes spears were thrown instead. However, on
this trip of ours he got a whole poultry-yard of chickens, besides
eggs in every stage of development from new-laid to that in which
one could almost feel the pin-feathers sticking through the shell.
We spent two days here, and over 10,000 people were collected;
some of them apparently showed traces of Japanese blood. Gallman
allowed me to make an inspection of his Constabulary, their quarters
and hospital. The men were as fine and as well set-up as those we
saw at Kiangan. Everything was in immaculate condition, and ready
for service. From the circumstance of this inspection, I could not
afterward pass near the _cuartel_ that the guard was not turned out for
"the General"--a fact amusing to me, but which I carefully concealed
from the other members of the party. During these two days, nights too,
the _gansas_ never stopped, neither did the dancing. Mr. Worcester
distributed thousands of paper slips, and, besides, much serious
business was dispatched. Then we had sports and ceremonial formal
dances, much like those we saw at Kiangan, but better done. There was
the same slow advance with shields, the same sacrifice of a pig--only
this one was not speared, but had his insides mixed with a stick. He
proved obstinate, however, and refused to die, so a man sat down on
the ground, put his thumbs on the victim's throat, and choked him to
death. Before that the usual lances had been laid across his body,
and some _bubud_ poured (judiciously, not extravagantly) on him as
a libation. This was a head-dance, the taken head being simulated by
a ball of fern-tree pith stuck on a spear fixed in the ground.
But these formal dances were not the only ones. Everybody danced,
even Cootes and I again; but it was our last time. People kept
on arriving from miles around, columns in single file, headed by
men bearing _bubud_-jars on their heads. Every party, of course,
brought its _gansas_, and had to give an exhibition of dancing on
the parade. The arrival of the Mayoyao people on the 6th really
made a picture, because we could see the trail for a long distance,
occupied by men and women in single file, headed by Mr. Dorsey, of
the Constabulary, on his pony. What with the _budbud_-bearers, the
bright blue skirts of the women (color affected by these _rancherías_),
and the cadence of the _gansas_ to which they marched, it was a good
sight, received with cheers. [31]
In general, but few parties were armed; and, as elsewhere, there
were no old women. Some of the shyer people, coming from afar,
had brought their spears, and, squatted on the slopes round about,
apparently passed their time in silent contemplation of the great
game going on below. Everybody seemed to be in a good humor. This was
especially manifest in the great wrestling-match that took place on the
afternoon of the 6th, when _ranchería_ after _ranchería_ sent up its
best man to compete for the heads of the carabaos that had furnished
meat for the multitude. The wrestling itself was excellent. The
hold is taken with both hands on the gee-string in the small of
the back; and, as all these men have strong and powerful legs, the
events were hotly contested and never completed without a desperate
struggle. Defeat was invariably accepted in a good spirit. As before
remarked, however, when Mr. Worcester first organized these meetings,
the _rancherías_ came together armed to the teeth. Each would stick its
spears in the ground, with shields leaning on them, and then wait for
developments. Suspicion, hostility, defiance were the rule, and hostile
collisions were more than once only narrowly averted. But on these
occasions the native Constabulary proved its worth, by circulating in
the crowd, separating parties, and so asserting the authority of the
Government in favor of good order. Moreover, the highlanders soon
learned to respect the power of "the spear that shoots six times"
(the Krag magazine rifle, with which our Constabulary is armed);
but it can not be repeated too often that our hold on these people
is due almost entirely to the moral agencies we have employed.
Gradually Mr. Worcester satisfied some _rancherías_, at least, that
had been open enemies for generations, whose men, in Mr. Worcester's
graphic expression, had never seen one another except over the tops
of their shields, that nothing was to be gained in the long run by
this secular warfare; and his purpose in bringing the clans together
is to make them know one another on peaceful terms, to show them that
if rivalry exists, it can find a vent in wrestling, racing, throwing
the spear, in sports generally. And they take naturally to sports,
these highlanders. Success has crowned Mr. Worcester's efforts; in
witness whereof this very concourse of Banawe may be cited, where
over 10,000 persons, mostly unarmed, mingled freely with one another
without so much as a brawl to disturb the peace.
Two years ago people would not go to Mayoyao from Banawe, through
their own country, save in armed groups of ten to twelve; now women
go alone in safety. And it is a significant fact that the Ifugaos
are increasing in numbers. Of course, this particular sub-province is
fortunate in having as its governor a man of Gallman's stamp. But it
is generally true that village warfare is decreasing, and that travel
between villages is increasing. These Ifugaos ten years ago had the
reputation, and deserved it, of being the fiercest head-hunters of
Luzon. Gallman has tamed them so that to-day they have abandoned
the taking of heads. Now what has been done with them can be done
with others.
At Banawe we saw more examples of native arts and crafts than we
had heretofore. For example, the pipe is smoked, and we saw some
curious specimens in brass, much decorated with pendent chains;
others were of wood, some double-bowled on the same stem. Some of
the men wore helmets, or skull-caps, cut out of a single piece of
wood. Other carved objects were statuettes, sitting and standing;
these are _anitos_, frequently buried in the rice-paddies to make
the crop good; besides, there were wooden spoons with human figures
for handles, the bowls being symmetrical and well finished. Then
there were rice-bowls, double and single, some of them stained black
and varnished. Excellent baskets were seen, so solidly and strongly
made of _bejuco_ as to be well-nigh indestructible under ordinary
conditions. Mr. Maimban got me a pair of defensive spears (so-called
because never thrown, but used at close quarters) with hollow-ground
blades of tempered steel, the head of the shaft being wrapped with
_bejuco_, ornamentally stained and put on in geometrical patterns.
Our officials regarded this great meeting as entirely satisfactory. We
made ready for an early start the next morning, saying good-bye to
Browne, who had accompanied us from Bayombong, and who had shown me
personally many courtesies. His last act of kindness was to take back
with him the various things I had got together, and later to send
them on to me at Manila. Our column was to be increased by a party of
Ifugaos, whom, with a head man named Comhit, Gallman wished to take
through the Bontok into the Kalinga country. The fact that these men
returned safely unaccompanied by Gallman or any other American is
the best possible proof of the positive results already achieved by
our Government in civilizing the highlanders.