ere have been many
migrations into Abra from the north, south, and west. A part of the
emigrants have become thoroughly amalgamated with the Tinguian people
and have doubtless introduced some part of their material culture
and beliefs. This helps us to understand such conflicts as we have
already noted in regard to the place held by thunder and lightning
in the spirit world, as to the future abode of the spirits of the
departed, as well as other discrepancies which the limits of this
paper have prevented us from discussing.

It is not impossible that those customs of "the first times," which
are at variance with those of to-day, may represent older ideas which
have been swamped, or, on the other hand, the memory of the strange
customs once practiced by the emigrants may have caused them to be
attributed to the people of the tales.

Finally, we believe that a study of Tinguian mythology has shown us
that we can gain a real knowledge of the past of a people through
their folklore; that we can secure an insight into their mental life;
and can learn something of the valuation they attach to certain of
their activities and beliefs, which to us may seem at the surface
trite and trivial.

Tales of the Mythical Period

1

"We go to take greens, sister-in-law Dinay, perhaps the _siksiklat_
[84] will taste good. I have heard that the _siksiklat_ is good,"
said Aponibolinayen. They went to get her _siksiklat_. When they
arrived at the place of small trees, which they thought was the
place of the _siksiklat_, they looked. Aponibolinayen was the first
who looked. As soon as she began to break off the _siksiklat_ which
she saw she did not break any more, but the _siksiklat_ encircled
and carried her up. When they reached the sky (literally "the up"),
the _siksiklat_ placed her below the _alosip_ [85] tree. She sat for
a long time. Soon she heard the crowing of the rooster. She stood up
and went to see the rooster which crowed. She saw a spring. She saw it
was pretty because its sands were _oday_ [86] and its gravel _pagapat_
[87] and the top of the betel-nut tree was gold, and the place where
the people step was a large Chinese plate which was gold. She was
surprised, for she saw that the house was small. She was afraid and
soon began to climb the betel-nut tree, and she hid herself.

The man who owned the house, which she saw near the well, [88]
was Ini-init--the sun. But he was not in the place of his house,
becaus