d have appealed
to the ancient Greeks. And so, of course, we yet had some distance
to go, and now made our way through rice-paddies, echeloned on the
flanks of the spurs that came down to meet us. These rice-terraces
(_sementeras_), the first I had seen, at once excited my interest,
to the scorn of Pack, who bade me wait until we had come upon the
real thing: these were nothing. It turned out he was entirely right;
but I thought them remarkable, and anyway they were most refreshing
and cooling to look at, after our long hot ride. The sound of running
waters, the sight of the little runlets bubbling away for dear life, of
the tall rice swaying to the breeze, the acropolis before us with its
clumps of waving bamboos, of nodding bananas, and the soft afternoon
light over all, the combination made a picture that, will live in my
recollection. The impression immediately formed was that of a scene
of quiet peace and beauty, more or less rudely shocked the following
day. As we drew nearer and nearer we were welcomed by arches of bamboo
decorated with native flowers and plants, and guarded by life-size
_anitos_ [21] of both sexes _in puris naturalibus_, cut out of the
tree fern, but with no connotation whatever of indecency. For these
statues are either an innocent expression of nature, or, what seems
more likely, an expression of Nature or phallic worship.

We had now got up to the parade of the _cuartel_ (quarters or
barracks) and were greeted by shouts from the people gathered to
welcome us. The chief who had met us at Payawan, and who, on foot,
had beaten us into Kiangan, appeared in all his bravery and with a
prolonged "Who-o-o-o-e-e!" commanded silence. He then mounted a bamboo
stand some twenty feet high, with a platform on top, and made us a
speech! Yes, a regular speech, with gestures, intonations, and all
the rest of it. For these Ifugaos are born orators, and love to show
their skill. Accordingly, thanks to Mr. Worcester's appreciation,
orators' tribunes have been put up at points like Kiangan; it is
strange that the Ifugaos had never thought of it themselves. This
tribune, by the way, was ornamented with tufts of leaves and grasses
at the corners. When the speaker had done, he clapped his hands over
his head, and all the people followed suit.

Later on Gallman, who speaks Ifugao like a native, interpreted for
us. The speaker told his people that a great honor had been done them
by this visit of the "Commission," a