begin. With almost imperceptible movement of
the feet and toes and a bending at the knees, he approaches the woman,
who in a like manner goes toward him. They pass and continue until
at a distance about equal to the start, when they again turn and
pass. Occasionally the man will take a few rapid steps toward the
woman, with exaggerated high knee action and much stamping of feet,
or he will dance backward a few steps. At times the cloth is held
at arm's length in front or at the side; again it is wrapped about
the waist, the woman always following the actions of the man. At
last they meet; the man extends his hand, the woman does likewise,
but instead of taking his, she moves her own in a circle about his,
avoiding contact. Again they dance away, only returning to repeat
the performance. Finally she accepts the proffered hand, the headman
brings _basi_ for the couple to drink, and the dance is over. The
man sometimes ends the dance by the sharp snapping of his cloth,
or by putting it on his extended arms and dancing toward the woman,
who places her cloth upon his (Plate LXXXI, Fig. 1).

_Musical Instruments, Songs, and Dances_.--The Tinguian is naturally
musical. He sings at his work, he beats time with his head-axe against
his shield as he tramps the mountain trails, he chants the stories of
long ago as the workers gather about the fires each evening of the dry
season, he sings the praises of his host at feasts and festivals, [248]
joins with others in the dirge which follows a burial, and he and many
others will sing together as they dance the _da-eng_. But his music
does not stop with his vocal accomplishments. In the folk-tales the
pan pipe (_dew-dew-as_) occupies a most important place, and to-day
the maidens still play them in the evening hours. It is a simple
device made of reeds of various lengths lashed together (Fig. 26,
No. 1). The player holds the instrument just in front of her lips,
and blows into the reeds, meanwhile moving them to and fro, producing
a series of low notes without tune.

Another instrument of great importance in the legends is the nose
flute (_kalaleng_). This is a long reed with holes cut in the side,
to be stopped by the fingers in producing the notes. The player closes
one nostril with a bit of cotton, and then forces the air from the
other into a small hole cut in the end of the tube. The instrument
is popular with the men, and often one can hear the plaintive note
of the nose flute f