References/sources: Kalinga Hill Tribe by: Sugguiyao

SOCIAL FUNCTIONS AND INVOLVEMENTS

The "Bakas":

        "BAKAS" is dismantling a house or rice granary and transporting all the materials to a new site. The owner makes an announcement of the task at least a day or two before it is undertaken. Early in the morning of the day set the structure is dismantled starting from the thatch roofing some of which maybe salvaged, bundled and transported to the new place. The owners obligation is to butcher a pig.

The "Botad"

        "BOTAD" is an alarm or call for assistance when someone is injured in the forest, taken ill in another village or dead in a far place. It is an alarm obliging all able bodied men and women to the site of the incident. All go to the place of injury, illness ,or death to carry the body of the injured, sick or dead for whom the whole community is alerted. For mere injury or illness, only basi is served to the people upon their arival in the village. When the place is far, a big pig or carabao is butchered and served to the people besides basi. In case a dead person brought home by the village folks, animals are butchered and served with basi for the funeral wake for two or three days. The most important consideration is to bring home the injured, sick, or dead person.

The "Bagungon"

        When someone dies in the family, relatives, friends and neighbors help in the two or three day wake of the dead. This is called the "Bagungon". All activities in the ricefield, kaingin, and elsewhere are suspended until the dead is interred. Especially on the part of the relatives and friends, material aid are given to the members of the bereaved family obliged by customary practices to fullfill some requirements such as butchering animals, serving basi and cooking to feed the people especially at night. Neighbors and friends bring in clean rice, firewood, tobaco and other materials necessary for the duration of the wake. Basi , blankets, G-strings, dogs, and pigs all constitute what the kalinga call "Adang".

The "Barubbay or Amung"

        The formal celebration of a marriage contract or adult mariage is termed "Barubbay" in the southern portion of the Kalinga territory. In the Northern portion it is called "Amung". The affair is a cooperative endeavor especially on the part of friends and relatives of both parties.

The "Saknit"

        "Saknit" is an activity consisting of harvesting a sugarcane plantation; cutting the canes into desired lengths, pulling them and putting them into bundles to be carried by both men and women to the home of the plantation owner. Then the canes are crushed in sugarcane crushers pedalled by men. The sugarcane juice is then made ready for brewing into basi or cooking into molasses. The only obligation of the family owner is to feed the people doing the job. The incentive that calls for community cooperation in this particular task does not emanate only from the expected reciprocity but also from the fact that in the Kalinga society no important gathering can take place in the community in the absence of the basi. From this social point of view, the Saknit demands the cooperative services of the community folks.

The "Labut"

        "Labut" means pulling cogon grass and bundling the materials to be carried home. Cogon is used as a material for roofing of dwellings or rice granaries. The new roofing of the house or granary is put up by the community folks.

The "Badang"

        Meaning help or assistance, "Badang" is a voluntarily rendered to a family whose harvesting the palay or planting the rice seedlings in the rice paddies, he has lagged behind. Friends and relatives who sympathized with the  family, band themselves together to render a full day service of harvesting or planting. The sympathy arises from the common desire to prevent the palay grains from falling off into the mud  or to prevent the rice seedlings from being over due for planting.

SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES

1. Akaw - A very degrading and shameful actuation of a person, Akaw or theft leaves more or less permanent stigma on the personality of the culprit and upon the reputation of his family. Stealing animals such as pigs, carabaos, or dog, the thief will not have animals of his own no matter how much he tries; palay, he will always have poor crops along his path through life; chicken, his life will soon be borne on its wings.

2. Igab- This is an evil act equivalent to cheating or one's acquisition of what is not due him. The punishment according to the Kalinga mentality and religious belief, is that the materials surreptitiously acquired will sonn fly away together with other belongings legitimately owned or earned. Besides this, illness or misfortune will occur in the family of the preparation in such a way that he will use what he cheated and what he legitimately owns. This is to the Chinese Jargon; easy come easy go."

3. Ba-ug- Is the abominable act of killing a stranger who already entered a village especially so when he is already fed or given water to drink. It is also Ba-ug when a bodong holder kills a person from a village for which he is holding the bodong.

4. Sug-sug- This act considered wicked comprises of inciting a person against another when there exist a petty misunderstanding between the two. It may also consist of inciting a clan against another clan when the two parties have only a trivial differences. It is making a molehill a mountain to the effect that injury or death becomes the consequence. It is believed that a person committing this act shall be likewise the victim of the same process.

5. Tuyuk- This is directly assisting or guiding a person to injure or kill another person. The person committing the tuyuk is either an enemy or rival of the victim in competitive understandings. It is believed that a person committing this wicked act shall be a victim of the same act or he shall remain childless or neglected during his old age.

6. Kodot -  is the act of putting secretly a poisonous substance in the food or drink of a person in order to take away his life. In Northern Kalinga it is called "Yam-an" which means to destroy. The punishment from kabunyan "The kalinga God" is death itself in the perpetrators family.

7. Dagdagas in the Married State- it is the amorous relationship between a man and woman without the intention of getting married. This is identical with paramouring in the more advance societies. Although this is not considered essentially evil and dishonorable within the context of Kalinga society, Dagdagas should not be indulged into by a married man or woman. The punishment is frequent death of one's own children.

8. Daro or Dayo- This act considered an evil consists of intentionally  cutting with a bolo or any sharp-bladed instrument the rice plants in the rice paddies or kaingin inorder to destroy such plantation. Since the palay is the life of the planters family, this act is looked upon as morally wrong and very wicked The perpetrators will soon die out like the growing plants he has cut down. In other words his life shall be short lived. In life he will be encountering several misfortunes.

9. Langsit- Is an embracing term equivalent to malicious mischief in the legal parlance. Tabooed by the Kalinga because it is believed morally wrong before the author of life, it consists of destroying things belonging to other people, defecating or urinating in sources of drinking water, soiling foodstuff, giving innocent children dirty food to eat and all other acts contrary to health and sanitation. The punishment is a short life either snapped out by violence or long lingering illness.

10. Disrespect to parents and elders- Discourtesy to parents and elders by hurting the feeling and neglecting to take care of them in their old age, is a cursed act. The Kalingas  firmly believe that it is a moral obligation of children to respect their parents and elders because one comes from them. Failing in this regard is despicable and the punishment is that one will surely be treated likewise by his own children besides frequent bad luck in one's life time in the forms of failure, frustrations and inadequate family life.

11. Apos- Apos in english is envy. Being maliciously envious on other people including wishing them evils so that they will fail in their ventures towards prosperity, is cowardly. It is believed that one who is maliciously envious of other people will never prosper. Envy shall be his only share during his life time.

12. Killing or injuring a child- A child is always looked upon as an innocent person having no fault of his own and incapable of doing harm to other people. Therefore killing or injuring a child is one of the most evil acts one can commit. The punishment is believed to be that one who has committed the act will have no children of his own. If he has already children they will die one by one until the person becomes entirely childless.

13. Kindness to other people- A kind heart is believed as a spiritual shield from dangers in life. If a person is kind to other people especially to the weak and the helpless so are other people kind to him. In other words, Kindness is a protective virtue.

14. Ngilin/Paniyao- It is the strict adherence to taboos regarding social and economic activities. It also involves compliance with certain rituals to protect oneself and the members of the family from illness or harm. It dictates avoidance to what is offensive to kabunyan (kalinga God) to one's own kind. "mangngilin ka" means avoid doing evil is a common advice of the elders.

RELIGIOUS RITUALS

1. The Kaykayappo- Is an act of supplication to Kabunyan asking him to bless the newly harvested palay that it may last long and that the members of the family partaking of it may be healthy and well. This is a family ceremony performed by an elderly woman before cooking the pounded rice from the newly harvested palay. Before entreating the great Kabunyan for his blessing upon the newly harvested crop a  tale is retold while the members of the family listen.

2. The cure of the sick-  Human illness among the simple mountain folks of the Cordillera, is intricately interwoven within a complex system of mythological beliefs and practices. It is believed that punitive spirits roam around retaliating against mankind. Spirits of ancestors demand something from their descendants. Wicked living persons perform acts of sorcery to cause physical and mental ailments on persons they dislike for one reason or the other. Surmised from these points of view, human ailments are brought by;

   • Evil spirits making revenge on the living

   • Ancestral spirits dissatisfied of their descendants

   • Kabunyan punishes evil acts of man

   • Sorcery of wicked persons in the community

   • Poisoning by evil-minded persons

           At the onset of an ailment the "Mandadawak" (priestess) is summoned to see the sick. The mandadawak is usually an elderly woman who claims to have acquired power of cure through a revelation from Kabunyan or transmitted to her by her forebears. By weird incantation the mandadawak tries to know what is wanted of the sick in cases where evil spirits are determined to be the cause of an ailment. In some cases of ailment, it is determined by the mandadawak that a "Manlorogam" (Herb Man) is needed. The herbman is given the task to gather secretly the needed herbs in the depth of the jungle. With basi or coconut oil he makes concoction of the herbs and with a gentle massage he rubs the mixture all over the body of the sick person and at the same time invoking Kabunyan to cure his patient.

3. The Datum- although a practice lost to the new concepts of the modern world, has been for centuries and obligatory religious ceremony considered the climax of Kalinga manhood. It is a festive ceremony by which the young warior of yesterday was formally admitted into the society of the brave. Coming home unsctahed after having participated and dominantly figured in a bloody man to man combat, the young warior of the behest of his elders and relatives, would announce the day set aside for this significant affair, he eagerly desired to consummate as the symbolic manifestation of a worthy manhood characterized by bravery superb physical skill and manly prowess and courage undaunted by combat or crisis.

4. Funeral Practices and ceremonials- The Kalingas firmly believed in the life beyond the grave. The "Kakkalading" or soul of the dead, having left its mortal sanctuary is treated by the almighty Kabunyan according to how the person has lived on earth. As soon as a person dies, he is given a warm bath, oiled and dressed. By traditional practice a young man whose spouse is on the family way, is never allowed to give the bath of the deceased person. A pregnat woman is not allowed to enter into the house where a dead lies in state. This is to avoid the odor of pregnancy being brought by the dead to haunted places where the evil spirits may catch the scent and trace the pregnant woman to do her harm by way of causing the premature delivery or abortion of the unborn infant. A dead woman is given the necessary feminine care such as washing her private part and plugging the vaginal orifice with a clean piece of cloth. The dead person is made to sit on a high bamboo chair or "Sangadil", the feet resting on a "Gusi" (porcelain jar) and the hands joined together on a "Panay" (Porcelain plate) called "patay" which means to lay on. Around the gusi upon which the feet of the deceased are resting, a chicken of atleast edible size is tied with a bundle of palay to feed on during the two or three days funeral wake. The chicken used in this manner is called "Wallit" simply for the purpose of giving alarm to the night watchers in the evening that demons come by to feed upon the flesh of the dead person. The blankets, G-string/Ka-in and all other kinds of clothing apparels to be buried with the dead are all together called "Gaga-om".  When the dead is a married person the bamboo chair is made of double seats and reclines. The bereaved spouse occupies the left side where she or he cries during the funeral wake.

5. The Birth of the Child-  The birth of the child means the foundation of a real family life. It is the primary aspiration of Kalinga marriage and without it the marriage bond shall eventually undergo a very sad dissolution. As  soon as the monthly flow of young mariried woman ceases, which means the beginning of conception, the house of the couple is closed to friends, relatives, and neighbors. The couple are forbidden  to go to tabooed places such as marches, caves, known haunted forests, lagoons and springs believed to be the abodes of the "Paniyao" or evil spirits opposed to the birth of children. The diet of a pregnant woman is carefully prescribed. Morbid cravings are promptly attended to. Eating dark colored fruits which may cause unpleasant discoloration on the skin of the expected infant, must be avoided. All kinds of meats coming from animals butchered for funeral wakes are also tabooed for pregnant woman. The birth of the child is announced with joyful ceremonies. Early in the next morning after the birth of the baby the grandfather or any elder in the clan goes to the main entrance of the village, any conspicous spot, shouting that the baby is born. The after birth is carefully collected, wraped in clean cloth and secretly buried. The younger mother goes to the spring early the next morning to clean herself. All along the way she scatters ashes to drive evil spirits who might smell her and lick her. On her way back home she does the same thing to repel these evil ones from following her home to do harm to her baby. Upon her return she is given soft rive and plenty of chicken broth to hasten her lactation. On the first or second day following the birth of an infant, the mandadawak is called upon to start the preliminary offerings to kabunyan and other lesser dieties overseeing the welfare and destiny of man. The kind and size of the animal offered is determined by the status of the deity concerned. The offering are repeated at intervals during the first six months. Ordinarily ten pigs and ten chickens of varying sizes are offered. The sacrificial animals are offered to appease the deities in order that they may protect the newborn child. During the entire period of sacrificial offerings called the "Kontad" or "Gabbok". When the time's finally decided to bring the baby to the river or nearby creek for the first time, A ceremony "Dupdupit" "Dupit" (means river bank) is performed.

6. The Kopya- The "kopya" which means fullfillment for the blessing of conjugal union, portrays the couple on an elevated platform, below which a group of men, usually the married people with children, play the "Tongatong" consisting of different sizes and lengths of bamboo tubes held vertically while the nod-closed ends are struck on hard objects to produce a loud blended rhythmic sound supposedly prompting Kabunyan to look down upon the couple. After the tongngatong is played a mandadawak ringing a porcelain bowl or plate prays over the couple seated close together on the platform which the kalinga call "Tallagan" and which means "public information". The sole conceptual objective of marriage is to beget children. After seven or nine years without children, the couple may agree to separate and re married

7. The first born first visit to the house of the grandparents-  One of the fondest expectations of grandparents is the reception of their first born grandchildren for the first time in their own separate dwellings. This first entry of a first born child into the house of its grandparents entails a distinct ceremony. In the Tanudan- Tinglayan area, the ceremony is called "Gammid" which means taking as one's own. In the Lubuagan- Pasil region it is "Parnok" meaning allowing to enter. In the Balballan- Pinukpuk- Tabuk area it is "Maka-apo" which means greeting the grandparents. Although the ceremony is commonly practiced in the entire Kalinga region, it varies in procedure.

SIGNIFICANT COSMOLOGICAL TERMS:

1. Kiyang- Weather is very cool and people jump over small streams to avoid getting chilled.

2. Panaba- A kind of tree blooms, plants become greener and healthier. Dry days begin.

3. Ladao- Continuos drizzling ends and the ladao tree blooms.

4. Adawoy- A kind of tree blooms.

5. Akar- The first rice crop of the year blooms.

6. Kamaduyung- The first rice crop of the year is harvested.

7. Waro- Time of heavy rains with hailstones in the afternoon.

8. Bisbis- Windy days with slight drizzling

9. Aradug- Trees bow down constantly because of strong wind.

10. Buybuyag- Second rice crop of the year blooms.

11. Gabbok- Second rice crop of the year is harvested.

12. Upuk- Folks at home frequent the fireplace because of a rainy cool weather.

13. Libu-o- clouds

14. Bidbid- winds

15. Bali- Typhoon

16. Dullaro or dararo- Hailstone

17. Lidaga- Aurora borealis

18. Kilat- Lightning

19. Udan- Rain

20. Kidor- Thunder

21. Abungar- Rainbow

22. Bunot- Fog

23. Ligat- Dry day

24. Dagun- Dry season

25. Aguilid- Rainy days, continous drizzling

26. Lunig- Earthquake

27. Durom- Cloudy

28. Tawon- Year

29. Bulan- Month

30. Argaw- Day

31. Padda- Daytime

32. Labi- Nightime

33. Suminar- Sunrise

34. Mamatuk- Noon

35. Ag-agaw/Madama- Afternoon

36. Masdom- Sunset

37. Big-bigat- Morning

38. Pummada- Daybreak

39. Sa-ar- Beginning of lunar month

40. Sikut- End of lunar month

41. Init- Sun

42. Sorag- Moon

43. Bituwon- Star

44. Ipusan- Comet

45. Aguiwanas- milky way

46. Buliyat- Meteor

47. Bullayao or Bullalayao- Meteorite

48. Ambigatton- Morning star

PERFORMING ARTS

1. Pattong - The pattong consists of six or even more men beating the "Gangsa" gongs in unison to produce a rhythmic sound and dance in semi circular formation. The females young and old, dance freely in front  of the men beating the gongs. The beating of the gong is called "Pattong" and the act of dancing is called "Tadok". During those dark days of tribal wars, this variety of was utilized to celebrate the "Datum", a brief but significant ritual by which a young warrior was formally recognized and admitted into the society of the brave.

2. Tupayya - This consists of six men in a kneeling down position with the gongs suspended upon their laps. With the open palm of both hands, they beat the gongs in unison to produce a peculiar rhythmic sound. By means of the "Allap", a piece of brightly colored cloth, a pair, a female and a male designated to the dance by the "Mangallap" a pair, a man and woman assigned to pick the dancers. The Tupayya is usually a wedding festival. The act of dancing is "Salidsid".

3. Turayan - In the early days of the Kalingas the turayan was a victory dance of Southern Kalinga. "Turayan" is the ethnic term to name an eagle, a bird of prey. It is consideed the tribal bird of the Kalingas because of its strength and swiftness. The women dance imitating the position and movement of the eagle observing the surrounding below for a possible prey. During this victory dance in the days of old, the Datum ceremony was also performed. Imitating  the eagle swooping down suddenly upon its prey would mean the warriors came home victorious from manly combat.

4. Ballattan - Still confined even at the present in the remote Kalinga villages, Ballattan as performing art means a sound to all for the protection of a certain deity concerned in the health and security of the family. This variety of Kalinga dance is vogue only in the extreme Southern villages is a medium for the installation of the "Tamoyong" which sets the dwelling place of a guardian spirit at one corner of a kalinga one- room multi-purpose house.

5. Salidummay, Dan-dannag, Sus-suray - These are songs composed extemporaneously with melodies that differ according to the tribes. These are songs by young and old alike to express jubilation and as a means of communicating as in the balagtasan.