many of these accounts depict a period when similar customs did exist
among the people, or else were practiced by emigrants who generations
ago became amalgamated with the Tinguian and whose strange customs
finally became attributed to the people of the tales. The stories
numbered nine to sixteen are of a somewhat different type, and in
them the Tinguian finds an explanation of many things, such as,
how the people learned to plant, and to cure diseases, where they
secured the valuable jars and beads, and why the moon has spots on
its face. All these stories are fully believed, the beads and jars
are considered precious, and the places mentioned are definitely
known. While the accounts seem to be of fairly recent origin they
conflict neither with the fundamental ideas and traditions of "the
first times" nor with the beliefs of today.

Stories seventeen to twenty-three are regarded as fables and are told
to amuse the children or to while away the midday hours when the people
seek shaded spots to lounge or stop on the trail to rest. Most of
them are known to the Christianized tribes throughout the Islands and
show great similarity to the tales found in the islands to the south
and, in some cases, in Europe. In many of them the chief incidents
are identical with those found elsewhere, but the story-tellers, by
introducing old customs and beliefs, have moulded and colored them
until they reflect the common ideas of the Tinguian.

The third group includes stories from several wild tribes who dwell
in the large island of Mindanao. Here are people who work in brass
and steel, build good dwellings, and wear hemp clothing elaborately
decorated with beads, shell disks, and embroidery, but who still
practice many savage customs, including slavery and human sacrifice.