ach sementera the owner paused to place three
small stones to hold the olla. The bundle of smoldering straw was
picked open till the breeze fanned a blaze; dry sticks or reeds
quickly made a small, smoking fire under the olla, in which was put
the pork or the chicken, if food was to be eaten there. Frequently,
too, if the smoke was low, a piece of the pork was put on a stick
punched into the soil of the sementera beside the fire and the smoke
enwrapped the meat and passed on over the growing field.

As soon as all was arranged at the fire a small amount of basi was
poured over a sprig of pa-lo'-ki which was stuck in the soil of the
sementera, or one or two sprigs were inserted, drooping, in a split
in a tall, green runo, and this was pushed into the soil. While the
person stood beside the efficacious pa-lo'-ki an invocation was voiced
to Lumawig to bless the crop.

The olla and piece of pork were at once put in the basket, and the
journey conscientiously continued to the next sementera. Only when
food was eaten at the sementera was the halt prolonged.

A-sig-ka-cho' is the name of the function of the fourth day. On that
day each household owning sementeras has a fish feast.

At that season of the year (February), while the water is low in
the river, only the very small, sluggish fish, called "kacho," is
commonly caught at Bontoc. Between 200 and 300 pounds of those fish,
only one in a hundred of which exceeded 2 1/2 inches in length,
were taken from the river during the three hours in the afternoon
when the ceremonial fishing was in progress.

Two large scoops, one shown in Pl. XLIX, were used to catch the
fish. They were a quarter of a mile apart in the river, and were
operated independently.

At the house the fish were cooked and eaten as is described in the
section on "Meals and mealtime."

When this fish meal was past the last observance of the fourth day
of the Cha'-ka ceremonial was ended.

The rite of the last day is called "Pa'-tay." It is observed by two
old Pa'-tay priests. Exactly at high noon Kad-lo'-san left his ato
carrying a chicken and a smoldering palay-straw roll in his hand, and
the unique basket, tak-fa', on his shoulder. He went unaccompanied and
apparently unnoticed to the small grove of trees, called "Pa-pa-tay'
ad So-kok'." Under the trees is a space some 8 or 10 feet across,
paved with flat rocks, and here the man squatted and put down his
basket. From it he took a two-quart olla conta