A game frequently seen in the lowland valleys is also common to the Ilocano children, who call it San Pedro.  Lines are drawn on the ground to enclose a space about thirty feet square (see diagram Fig. 2).  The boys at d try to run between the lines, and at the same time evade the guards a, b, and c.  Guard a can run along line 1, or 4 as far as 2.  Guard b must stay on line 2; and c must keep on 3.  When the runners are captured, they become the guards.

From the preceding paragraphs it may be surmized that the youth is quite untrained and untaught.  It is true that he spends no time in a class-room; he passes through no initiation at the time of puberty, neither are there ceremonies or observances of any kind which reveal to him the secret knowledge of the tribe, yet he quickly learns his place in society, and at an early age begins to absorb its customs and beliefs.  He sits about the village fires in the evenings, and listens to the tales of long ago, or hears the elders discuss the problems of their daily life.  During the hot midday hours, he lounges in the field-houses, while his parents relate the fate of lazy children; or tell of punishments sent by the spirits on those who fail to follow the customs of the ancestors, or give heed to the omens.  He attends the ceremonies, where he not only learns the details of these important events, but with his own eyes sees the bodies of the mediums possessed by superior beings, and thus the close relationship of the spirit world to his people is forcibly brought to his notice.  He is never debarred from the dances or other activities; in fact, he is encouraged to take part in them or to imitate his elders.  Soon custom gathers him into its net, and unless he is the exceptional individual, or comes in intimate contact with outsiders, he never escapes.

It has already been seen that he begins very early to take an active part in the village life, but it is many years before he assumes a position of importance in the group.  It is only when age and experience have gained for him the respect of his fellows that he begins to have a voice in the more weighty affairs of Tinguian life.

Engagement and Marriage.—­Since there are no clans or other groupings to limit the number of families in which unions may be contracted, the only impediments are former marriage ties or blood relationship.  Cousins may not marry, neither is a man allowed to wed his step-sister, his wife’s sister, or her mother.

Engagement takes place while the children are very young, sometimes while they are still babes-in-arms; but usually the contract is made when they are six or eight years of age.

The boy’s parents take the initiative, and having selected a suitable girl, they broach the subject to her family.  This is not done directly, but through an intermediary, generally a relative, “who can talk much and well.”  He carries with him three beads—­one red, one yellow, and one agate, [78] which he offers “as an evidence of affection,” and then proceeds to relate the many desirable qualities of the groom and his family, as well as the advantages to be gained by the union.  If the suit is favored, the beads are attached to the girl’s wrist as a sign of her engagement, and a day is set for the pakalon [79] or price fixing.