Tinguian of today, for even now they talk with jars, perform certain
rites to bring sickness and death to their foes, and are warned by
omens received through the medium of birds, thunder and lightning,
or the condition of the liver of a slaughtered animal. They still
converse freely with certain spirits who during religious ceremonies
are believed to use the bodies of men or women as mediums for the
purpose of advising and instructing the people.

Several of the characters appear in story after story. Sometimes they
go under different names, but in the minds of the story-tellers their
personality and relationships are definitely established. Thus Ini-init
of the first tale becomes Kadayadawan in the second, Aponitolau in
the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, and Ligi in the seventh. Kanag,
the son of Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen, in the fifth tale is called
Dumalawi.

These heroes had most unusual relations with the heavenly bodies,
all of which seem to have been regarded as animate beings. In the
fourth tale Aponitolau marries Gaygayoma, the star maiden who is
the daughter of the big star and the moon. In the first story the
same character under the name of Ini-init seems to be a sun-god:
we are told that he is "the sun," and again "a round stone which
rolls." Thereupon we might conclude that he is a true solar being;
yet in the other tales of this collection and in many more known to
the Tinguian he reveals no celestial qualities. Even in the first
story he abandons his place in the sky and goes to live on earth.

In the first eight stories we read of many customs of "the first
times" which differ radically from those of the present. But a careful
analysis of all the known lore of this people points to the belief that