t social importance or advantage may be, it seems
that every man in Bontoc who has the right to the emblem shows his
appreciation of the privilege, since nine-tenths of the men wear the
chak-lag'. It consists of a series of geometric markings running
upward from the breast near each nipple and curving out on each
shoulder, where it ends on the upper arm. The accompanying plates
(CXLIII to CXLIX) give an excellent idea of the nature and appearance
of the Igorot tattoo -- of course, reproductions in color would add
to the effect. The distinctness of the markings in the photographs
is about normal.

The basis of the designs is apparently geometric. If the straight-line
designs originated in animal forms, they have now become so
conventional that I have not discovered their original form.

The Bontoc woman is tattooed only on the arms. This tattoo begins
close back of the knuckles on the back of the hands, and, as soon
as it reaches the wrist, entirely encircles the arms to above the
elbows. Still above this there is frequently a separate design on
the outside of the arm; it is often the figure of a man with extended
arms and sprawled legs.

The chak-lag' design on the man's breast is almost invariably
supplemented by two or three sets of horizontal lines on the biceps
immediately beneath the outer end of the main design. If the tattoo
on the arms of the woman were transferred to the arms of the man,
there would seldom be an overlapping -- each would supplement the
other. On the men the lines are longer and the patterns simpler than
those of the women, where the lines are more cross-hatched and the
design partakes of the nature of patch-work.

It was not discovered that any tattoo has a special meaning, except
the head-taker's emblem; and the Igorot consistently maintains that
all the others are put on simply at the whim of the wearer. The face
markings, those on the arms, the stomach, and elsewhere on the body,
are believed to be purely aesthetic. The people compare their tattoo
with the figures of an American's shirt or coat, saying they both look
pretty. Often a cross-hatched marking is put over goiter, varicose
veins, and other permanent swellings or enlargements. Evidently they
are believed to have some therapeutic virtue, but no statement could
be obtained to substantiate this opinion.

As is shown by Pls. CXLVIII and CXLIX, the tattoo of both Banawi men
and women seems to spring from a different form than does