g)_ is constructed, and a portion of the food is placed
inside. Late in the afternoon, this is carried through the village,
while one or more drummers keep up a din to frighten evil spirits
away. Just as the sun is sinking, the raft is carried to the river,
and is set afloat, in order that any interested spirits, who may have
been prevented from attending the ceremony, may still receive their
share of the offering. In Likuan a different explanation is offered
for the _taltalabong_. Here they say that the offerings are placed
on the raft, so as to induce any hostile spirits who may be near to
enter, and then they are carried out and away from the town.
The blood of the slaughtered animals has been saved, and upon their
return from the river the people dip leaves into it, and attach these
near to the doors of their dwellings. For at least one day following,
no work is done, and all visitors are barred. During this time the
people only converse in low tones, and take special precautions against
even animals making a noise. The beaks of roosters are tied, or they
are placed in small baskets, so that they cannot stand up to crow.
In Lakub a new house or protection is placed above the guardian stones,
and offerings are made to them at the time of the _Sagobay_, while
in Likuan the participants wear neck and ankle bands of bamboo as a
further protection from the sickness.
_Ngorong-or_.--Lumaba and the Tinguian villages of Ilokos Sur hold
this ceremony, whenever a person is seriously ill with stomach
trouble. As the rite does not extend far into the Tinguian belt,
but is found in the Igorot villages farther south, it seems likely
that it is an importation from that region.
The members of the family gather in the afternoon, and kill a small
pig by cutting off its head. A part of the blood is saved, and the
balance is sprinkled against the house posts and ladder. The pig
itself is hung from one round of the ladder, so that its blood will
drip to the ground. The medium has been standing quietly to one side
watching, but now she calls upon the spirits, "You (calling one or
more by name), come out; be vomited up, for now you are being fed." She
allows them a few minutes for their repast, then cuts open the carcass
and removes the liver. A bit is cut from the top, then she splits open
the animal's skull, and removes a little of the brain. This she places
on a banana leaf; and, after adding a small piece of gold, wraps it up
a
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