The basis of the designs is apparently geometric.  If the straight-line designs originated in animal forms, they have now become so conventional that I have not discovered their original form.

The Bontoc woman is tattooed only on the arms.  This tattoo begins close back of the knuckles on the back of the hands, and, as soon as it reaches the wrist, entirely encircles the arms to above the elbows.  Still above this there is frequently a separate design on the outside of the arm; it is often the figure of a man with extended arms and sprawled legs.

The chak-lag’ design on the man’s breast is almost invariably supplemented by two or three sets of horizontal lines on the biceps immediately beneath the outer end of the main design.  If the tattoo on the arms of the woman were transferred to the arms of the man, there would seldom be an overlapping —­ each would supplement the other.  On the men the lines are longer and the patterns simpler than those of the women, where the lines are more cross-hatched and the design partakes of the nature of patch-work.

It was not discovered that any tattoo has a special meaning, except the head-taker’s emblem; and the Igorot consistently maintains that all the others are put on simply at the whim of the wearer.  The face markings, those on the arms, the stomach, and elsewhere on the body, are believed to be purely aesthetic.  The people compare their tattoo with the figures of an American’s shirt or coat, saying they both look pretty.  Often a cross-hatched marking is put over goiter, varicose veins, and other permanent swellings or enlargements.  Evidently they are believed to have some therapeutic virtue, but no statement could be obtained to substantiate this opinion.

As is shown by Pls.  CXLVIII and CXLIX, the tattoo of both Banawi men and women seems to spring from a different form than does the Bontoc tattoo.  It appears to be a leaf, or a fern frond, but I know nothing of its origin or meaning.  There is much difference in details between the tattoos of culture areas, and even of pueblos.  For instance, in Bontoc pueblo there is no tattoo on a man’s hand, while in the pueblos near the south side of the area the hands are frequently marked on the backs.  In Benguet there is a design popularly said to represent the sun, which is seen commonly on men’s hands.  Instances of such differences could be greatly multiplied here, but must be left for a more complete study of the Igorot tattoo.

Music

Instrumental music

The Bontoc Igorot has few musical instruments, and all are very simple.  The most common is a gong, a flat metal drum about 1 foot in diameter and 2 inches deep.  This drum is commonly said to be “brass,” but analyses show it to be bronze.

Two gongs submitted to the Bureau of Government Laboratories, Manila, consisted, in one case, of approximately 80 per cent copper, 15 per cent tin, and 5 per cent zinc; in the other case of approximately 84 per cent copper, 15 per cent tin, 1 per cent zinc, and a trace of iron.