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Updated: June 28, 2025
These are offerings to the great spirits MElu and Dwata who are besought to give health to the workers while they are gathering crops. As soon as this offering is made, the men begin to build the rice granaries; meanwhile the women silently guard the mat and gifts, for until the new storehouses are completed there must be no dancing or merry-making.
When all is ready for the harvest, the wife of the owner goes alone to the field, and having cut a few heads of grain, she carries them back to the house. One portion is placed in the sabak another on a little platform, gramso, near to the house, as an offering to MElu and Dwata; and the balance is cooked and eaten by the family.
Melu, the greatest of the four, took the soil and shaped it and beat it with a paddle in the same manner in which a woman shapes pots of clay, and when he finished he had made the earth. Then he planted the seeds from the fruit, and they grew until there was much rattan and many trees bearing fruit.
The four beings watched the growth for a long time and were well pleased with the work, but finally Melu said: "Of what use is this earth and all the rattan and fruit if there are no people?" And the others replied, "Let us make some people out of wax."
Melu, from his place on the clouds, saw their danger, and he came quickly to earth and saved their lives by turning their noses the other side up. The people were very grateful to him, and promised to do anything he should ask of them.
Both unsheathed their knives and then they called upon the spirits Dwata, MElu and Lamot ta Mangayo to look and see that they were killing the man because of his great fault; if this were not true they surely would not kill him.
There are no restrictions placed upon a pregnant woman, who, as a rule, continues her regular duties until near the time of delivery. When the first pains begin an old man or woman offers four pieces of betel nut to MElu, and to the spirit of the child's grandfather, if deceased.
Fiuweigh who was making this part put the nose on upside down and when MElu told him that the people would drown if he left it that way he became very angry and refused to change it. "The people they made were Adnato and Andawi, male and female. The last was the father of Alimama, the chief informant of this tale. Inok, dato of Labau, is also of this line, tracing his descent from Lakbang.
When he had watched it for a time he said: 'Of what use is land without people'; so the others said, 'Let us make wax into people. They did so, but when they put the wax near to the fire it melted, so they saw they could not make man that way. Next it was decided that they should use dirt, and MElu and Fiuweigh began to make man. All. went well until they were ready to make the nose.
The two following tales deal with the Bila-an genesis. "In the beginning was MElu a being of such great size as to be beyond comparison with any known thing; who was white, having gold teeth, and who sat upon the clouds, and occupied all space above. "He was very cleanly and was constantly rubbing himself with his hands in order that he might keep his skin quite white.
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