Kankanay Ceremonies Part 9

Ud niman nay yaanakka si noang, ut masaoan di sakitna.

Now I am giving you a carabao, and may the sickness be cured.

The carabao is then killed and cooked. Just before the people eat, the mambunong says:

Amud, omalika ta mangangtaka.

Soul of the dead relative, come and eat with us.

After the people have eaten, the mambunong shakes the two blankets to be used by the dancers, in order that he may shake out the spirits of the blankets for the dead relative. While doing this he says the following:

Bomaknangkami, onmandokami, ta waday kadayyawanmo.

May we be rich, may we live long, so that there is your remembrance.

The people then spend the rest of the day dancing and drinking tapuy.

The ceremony is entirely different from the kiad of the Nabaloi. It corresponds in purpose and occasion to the Nabaloi tabwak.

KOSDE

Kosde, called pakde in some barrios, is celebrated in all Benguet Kankanay towns. The purpose of the ceremony is to cause agricultural products to grow well, and it is always celebrated some time between rice planting and rice harvesting, generally soon after the planting has been finished.

The night before the ceremony begins, every fire in the barrio is extinguished, and the next morning new fire is produced by means of friction.

Each household must furnish a hog or chicken and a jar of tapuy. The mambunong holds a separate ceremony at each house, and prays to the G.o.ds and spirits asking that the yield may be sufficient for the people and that there may be enough surplus with which to celebrate many ceremonies.

After the ceremony has been held at each house, the meat and tapuy are taken to one place. The men proceed to drink the tapuy, but the meat is divided among the people according to the number in each family. The part which can not be eaten is hung above the fire and dried.

This ceremony corresponds to the Nabaloi kosday; to the pakde or begnas of the Lepanto Kankanay; and, in a general way, to the honga of the Ifugao, and the chaka of the Bontoc.

BUGID

The ceremony called bugid is held in the Benguet Kankanay towns when the water for irrigation is not sufficient.

A jar of tapuy and some dried meat are taken to the field for sacrifice, and the owner of the field prays to the spirits of suicides asking them not to try to drink from the irrigation ditches.

The purpose of the ceremony corresponds to the tawal ni payu of the Nabaloi, and to the bakid as celebrated in some of the Lepanto Kankanay towns.

PUNGAU

The pungau is celebrated by the Benguet Kankanay at the beginning of rice harvest. Before any rice can be gathered, the owner of the field must procure a jar of tapuy and either a chicken or dried meat, which are taken to the field. The owner holds the chicken or dried meat in one hand and prays that the rice to be harvested may increase to an amount sufficient to last until the next harvest, and promises that a large part of it will be used for ceremonies.

After the prayer all who are to take part in the ceremony drink tapuy. No one else is allowed in the field until after the harvesting has been completed, and a piece of cloth is displayed to warn away intruders.

This ceremony corresponds to the pungau of the Nabaloi and the safosab of the Bontoc. The Lepanto Kankanay also celebrate a ceremony before beginning rice harvest, but I do not know by what name it is designated nor the manner in which it is celebrated.

BUGAK

Before any new rice is eaten, the ceremony called bugak is held. Some of the new rice and either dried meat or a chicken are cooked. A mambunong is not necessary, but the head of the household throws some of the cooked rice in the fire and says:

You, the fire which did the cooking, shall be the first to eat, in order that the rice shall not cause us to become sick.

He prays a similar prayer to the pots in which the cooking has been done, to the rack on which the rice was dried, and to the mortar in which it was threshed.

This ceremony corresponds to the bakak of the Nabaloi.

SALDI

The ceremony called saldi is held before eating the meat of animals which have died of disease or have fallen from a cliff.

Pieces of the animals' liver are thrown in various directions while the mambunong addresses the bilig living in the pasture lands of the animal, asking that sickness may not result from eating the meat.

After the meat has been cooked, the mambunong invites the fire and the pot to eat first, in order that the people who eat may not become sick.

This ceremony, which corresponds to the Nabaloi salchi, is celebrated in all Benguet Kankanay towns, and also in Bacun, Amburayan, and in Ampusungan and Mancayan, Lepanto.

BILIG

The bilig are spirits which are friendly to the people, but cause sickness when they need blankets or food. The ceremony called bilig is performed to cure the sickness caused by these spirits.

A chicken, tapuy, rice, and blankets are obtained. The mambunong puts a basket full of blankets on his head, holds a chicken in one hand, and while squatting beside the tapuy and rice says the following:

Usay agou ud nabaon, din dagum ya din kimat nanbatbatda isan mabilig. Kinwanin kanon, dagum un, "Wawadaak mo si sika." Tumba pay, kano, si kimat, "Wawadaak mo si sika, tan mo kanuk sikayi, pantaoliuk ut matagua loman. Mo si sika payut mo waday kanun yan matui." Asi abun kanon dugum un, "Mo sakun kanuk yan matagua loman."