eaving, but
the cords used in snares and the like are prepared in a different
manner. The operator squats on the ground, and taking a strip of
fiber, places it on his thigh; then with open palm he rolls it
toward the knee. The twisted bast is bent at the center; the thumb
and forefinger of the left hand hold the loop, and the two strands
are placed together. These are now rolled toward the knee as before,
the hand giving extra pressure on the ulnar side, and then are rolled
back toward the body with pressure on the radial side. When the end
of a band is reached, a new one is rolled in, and the process is
continued. A tie at the end keeps the cord from untwisting.

When very long strips of fiber are used, two men will work
together. One holds the end of the loop, while the other twists each
half of the strip in the same direction. Then placing them together on
his thigh, he turns them, under pressure, in the opposite direction,
thus making a cord.

_Bark Cloth_.--Bark cloth is still in common use for men's headbands
and for clouts. It is secured from the same trees as the rope
material, but wider strips are taken, and it is customary to beat
the bark thoroughly before it is removed from the wood. It is then
split to the desired thickness, after which it is beaten with wooden
or bone mallets (_gikai_), which are generally grooved transversely
(Fig. 18). The cloth produced is soft and pliable, but is not of the
fineness of tapa, and it is always in comparatively narrow pieces. In
no instance was the operator seen to beat two strips together to gain
greater breadth or to repair breaks.

_Basket Making_.--In most districts the men are the basket weavers,
but in some towns, especially of Ilocos Norte, the women are skilled
in this industry (Plate LXVII). The materials used are rattan, which
may be gathered at any time, or bamboo, which is cut only during the
dry season and under the waning moon. It is firmly believed that
boring insects will not injure bamboo cut at this time, and it is
known that the dry period stalks are the strongest.

The tools employed are a short knife or a miniature head-axe and an
awl. With the former the operator scrapes the outer surface, and then
splits the tube into strips of the desired width and thickness. A
certain number of these strips, which are to be used for decoration,
are rubbed with oil, and are held in the smoke of burning pine or of
rice-straw until a permanent black is obtained.