Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-06-08
poUBLE WEDDING 10 BE cELEBaArsO
In the Camp Of tho lsorrotes Dog Intestine
BInds blairimonIaI Contract.

st. Louis, June 2.--Fatted dogs
have been gathered for the feast and
q double wedding is soon to be eele.
brated In the camp of the head. hunt.
ing Igorrotes at the Worlds Fair.
Dog dinners are most essential tc
the lgorrote marriage ceremony, fo,
it is q section of the canine intestine
stuffed with tender bits of the meat
highly spiced and favored, that binds
the matrimonial contract.
4 Fantastic dances, which are also @
part of the ceremony, are daily re-
hearsed in the quartet and the reser-
vation has taken on holiday mein
in anticipation of the approaching
event.
Consent has been given by the
natives for the public to witness the
weddings, and when all is ready il
will be one of days events at the
exposition.
Governor Hunts first intimation
that love-making was being INDUCED
in by his wards was when Domingo
and Bocosso, two of the young war
riors, lay aside their spears and
shields and suddenly began building
each a house after the fashion of his
clan.
Domingo is Bontoc and his peo-
pie prefer the low-roofed structure
with dirt floor; Bocosso is q Suyoc
it is the custom of his kind to rear
their homes upon high foundations
with floors some distance from the
ground.
In such ways the young me,' set at
their taks and when it was observed
what they were about all the village
gossipped over the incident. Friends
gathered around while Domingo and
Bocosso worked and helped them to
shape the timbers and select the nipa
grass with which the houses were
constructed.
While the men labored the women
brought water and food and sang
songs for their entertainment. Now
the homes have been completed and
are ready for the inspection of the
brides.
Tugmena is the demure maiden
whose dreamy eyes soothed the saw
age breast of the much tattooed Bo-
cosso. She is 16 years old and, like
her lord, is full-blooded Suyoc.
Bocosso is distinguished from other
lgorrotes because of the unusual size
of the ear ornaments which he wears.
These are large pieces of wood inlaid
with mirrors and inserted in ghastly
slits through the ears.
Laguima, 17-year-old belle of
the Bontoc tribe, is to be the bride
of the war-like Domingo, whose
tattoo marks indicate that he has
brought his share of human heads to
the camp of his chief. This young
lady is very much attached to her
pipe and during rehearsals of mar
riage ceremony she keeps it con-
stantly in her mouth.
Antonio, the great chief of the
Igorrotes, has already approved the
matches which Cupid has made
among his dark-skinned and little
clothed subjects, and the official per-
mission of Governor Hunt, the repre-
sentative of the United States gov
ernment, under whose charge the
natives were brought to St. Louis,
has been given.
On the day of the weddings great
feast of dog and rice will be prepared
for all the tribes and they will gather
on the plaza opposite the Governors
bungalow. After the guests have
cleaned their plates the strange dish
of dog entrails will be served to the
two couples. When this has been
eaten, patriarch, Byungasiu, will
chant a blessing upon the unions.
No promises will be exacted, no ad-
vice given. With but single swal-
low two hearts will be made as one.
IT'S to dance and eat dog that the
lgorrote lives, and it is difficult to
tell which pastime he likes the better.
When the tom-toms begin their din
the women, with heads aloof and
body listless. waltz to the center, and
the head-bunting warriors, waving
their spears and shields and chanting
festival airs, form constantly NOV
ing circle about them.
Igorrote women are sufficiently
modest to don a blanket when they
appear in public, but the male limits
his dress to breech clout. AS the
dance proceeds the almost naked
forms of the men writhe and wriggle
in rhythm to the strange music, and
not until they are completely e.
hausted will they forbear the plea
sure. When one drops out there is
another to take his place, and 30 the
merry-making continues.
Contrasted with the brown skins
of the men, the bright garments of
the women and their dignifed de-
meanor, make the dance all the more
interesting. The woman dancer
goes through none of the contortions
performed by the men, and she is
not so quickly fatigued. She turns
slowly as upon pivot, the knees
bending slightly and the head grace
fully swaying in harmony with the
music.
When the season of festivities is
over the brides will be taken to their
new homes, where friends have fixed
them out for housekeeping in real
1gorrote style. Then the men change
their name, but they do not take the
names of their wives as would be
the case if the American custom
we're reversed.
1t all depends upon what happens
during the early honeymoon as to
what titles Domingo and Bocosso
will bear in their after life, for their
new names are selected from some
incident surrounding their wedding.
If it should rain and thunder one of
the other might, after the true GUS
tom, be christened "Bad Weather"
or its equivalent in the lingo of the