The “Amdag” of the Ibalois and the Christian Teaching on Redemption

By Mark S. Quios (Edited by Glenn Plastina)

The Ibalois and the Amdag. One of the interesting superstitions in Ibaloi Paganism which could have corresponding parallels to their tribes in the Cordillera is on the ransom of a soul. The Bible essentially talks about the history of redemption which was provided and accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God.

“Amdag” in the Ibaloi paganism is a ritual which refers to the ransom of a soul that is believed to have been taken or captured by a spirit. A scenario of this is that a spirit hunting for soul unprecedentally come over a house and take a family member (usually a child). Former pagans (including the resource person of this paper) witnessed and testify an eerie and haunting ambience when a hunting spirit strikes then suddenly hear a sound of a seemingly flying dog barking (which can’t be mimicked) and hovering a house of his victim. When a house has this experience, which usually happens at dusk or evening, the family, on the following day, immediately has to redeem the soul of the family-member. Subsequently, symptoms of a “captivated soul” shows the follwing: fever, flu, vomiting, LBM, oral or anal bleeding, etc. If nothing is done within the next 24 hrs, he or she will eventually die. The resource person of this paper said knew and witnessed two families who each lost a loved-one for neglecting the prescribed ritual to ransom their captivated family member. In contrast to other superstitions of the tribe (that is, the Ibalois), this has nothing to do with offending a spirit that incurs the incident. They just happen to be a victim of malevolent and capricious supernatural beings, a “chance-happenings”.

In doing the “Amdag” (or the prescribe ritual for redeeming the soul taken captive), usually a pig (a black one) is offered, though chicken will do. Two poles (metal bars) are posted facing east before a native winnowing pan on which 12 pieces of metals (bolos, sickle or any like) are placed. These pieces of metals must be pure as such, i.e., no leather, rubber or anything bound on the handles. The bolos are, said to be, what the appeased spirit will use in clearing his way through the journey. The two metal poles/bars will serve as his cane. After these things are prepared, right before the two poles, a pagan priest will call forth the spirit in their dialect “i-odim ali sota cararua jen inenopan mo, sikam jen mandebas ni mashem tan medebi” (“Bring back the soul you hunted, you who pass by at dusk and at the night”). After this call, the men in charged for the slaughter (of the pig) will thrust their pointed wooden instruments or sharpened sticks (from a branch of a tree) repeatedly on the side-neck of the pig, spurting blood. They call this “owek” which literally means “to pierce/thrust with a pointed instrument.” Following this is the slaughtering of the black pig. As in other rituals, the pagan priest will examine if the gall is “good”, i.e., not covered by the liver. The gall must be exposed on the surface of the liver; or else, the sacrifice won’t be accepted. They have to slaughter another one until the gall is pronounced “good” by the priest.

After the meat is sliced and cooked (typically in all pagan ritual cooking practice the meat is boiled plainly with no seasonings, not even a salt or any other ingredients), two plates are provided, one for cooked rice and the liver and the best part of the meat on the other one. After this, the pagan priest will pray (in chant) and call the spirit to eat and fellowship with them. His prayer includes again this line of plea, “please return the soul you’ve taken”. For about thirty minutes the spirit is allowed to eat. Then, the family and the gathered people will eat too. As a result of this ritual and having placated the spirit, the victim in the family will revive after one or few days; this means that the spirit has been satisfied with the sacrifice and the ritual.

The Introduction of the Gospel. In presenting the gospel to this people group, one particular passage and scenario in the Scripture could serve as a contact point. In Exodus chapter 11, after Pharaoh, due to a hardened heart, refused God’s people to go, God ordered His people to prepare for the tenth and final plague that would be poured forth on the land of Egypt, the death of all first born in the land. God told His people, "About midnight, I will go through out Egypt. Every first born son in Egypt will die, from the first born son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, to the first born son of a slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the first born of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughput Egypt." (Exo. 11:4 –6). At midnight the Lord struck down all the first born in Egypt, from the first born of Pharaoh, to those who were in the dungeon, and to the first born of all the live stock as well (Exo. 12: 29).

From this passage, a story of redemption can be told that a God (The God of the Bible) through an angel of death passed through one time in a certain land at midnight, to require and take the souls of all first born sons. This could easily be a point of contact to the introduction of the gospel. It must be pointed out however that this God is "the sovereign God, the God of Gods” (Deut. 10:17; Dan. 2:24) and "the God of spirits" (Num. 16:22; 27: 16; Mk. 3:11). By killing all the first born of Egypt, he was challenging and judging the gods of the Egyptians, thus claiming supremacy, “on that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every first born men and animals and I will bring judgment on the gods of Egypt. “I am the Lord” (Exo. 12:12, NIV). Here the God whose name is Yahweh (Lord) collides with the Egyptian magicians with their gods. Though for three times they were able to imitate Yahweh’s miracle, but on the next plague, the plague of gnats, they could not (Exo. 7:-8:19).

The word “pass through” (Exo. 12:12) is a very significant word since the people of the tribe call the hunting spirit “the Spirit who pass by/through " as mentioned above. Not only that this God, whose name is Yahweh, is supreme above all other gods (“which are no gods at all” – 1 Cor. 8:5,6), but also He is not a capricious one, He didn’t just pass “by chance” and slew the first born of the land, but it was a consequent judgment on the Egyptians for their king’s hardened heart won’t listen to God’s command, to let His people go. Although the king was warned many times and suffered nine previous plagues. This passage means that this God is a just one who gives man what he deserves according to his ways and deeds (1 King 8:32; Jer. 9:24; Dt. 32: 4 Dan. 9:14). He is the same Spirit God we must listen to and obey, or else someday, as He says in the book called the Bible, we will be judged by Him; not merely a member of our family but all who would not listen to Him and obey his words will be taken away, cast into a lake of fire (Rev. 20:11–15; 21:8).

The God Who Is. This God so judges because He is the Spirit-Creator who made all things. He gives life, breath, rain and food that we need (Acts 14:17). “In Him we live and moved and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Without Him and His provision we will all be gone. Because of this He requires us to serve Him, to worship Him and obey Him. He is the God in whom we are responsible to (Heb. 4:13) and He has the authority over all ours souls as He said “all souls are mine” (Ezek. 18: 4); “as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: The soul that sinneth it shall die”, (KJV).

This Spirit-Creator God, whose name is Yahweh, being merciful, does not want anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9). He does not want that a member of our family will die and be punished. Thus, in order for His people to escape the passing angel of death, this God prescribed a ritual and a sacrifice; they were to do so that instead of “passing through” He will rather “pass over” them. "Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month (first month) each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household … the animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some blood and put it on the sides and tops of doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast ….. the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exo. 12:3, 5–8,13 NIV, Emphasis mine).

In order for the Angel of death to “pass over” the Israelites and not take their firstborn son, they were to slaughter a goat or a lamb. They were to eat its meat that is roasted (not boiled); and most important of all, its blood must be sprinkled on the door frames which will spare them from the Angel of death. And so the story goes to tell, that those who obeyed this ritual prescription--the tribe of Israel-- were passed over (or spared) while those who did not-–the Egyptians including its king--grieved over their dead sons (Exo. 12:24,30).

The book of this Spirit–Creator God (called The Bible) tells us that all men had offended him, they sinned against Him by breaking His law (Rom. 3:10,23); and as we have seen He says, “The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4). His first commandment alone says that “you shall have no other Gods before me” (Exo. 20:3). Also he says, “let no one be found among you who practices divination, or sorcery, interpret omens, engages in witchcraft or cast spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consult the dead” (DT.18:10-11). (This passage strikes right at the heart of the tribe’s pagan practices). God's book tells us too that our progenitor Adam and Eve fell into sin and their sin and its effect was passed down to us (Rom. 5:12). (This “collective responsibility” is an innate perception and easily accepted among the Ibaloi tribe, unlike the individualism of Western culture. Being oriental people, Ibalois view race, tribe, and family as one and that one’s fault is a fault of the whole tribe or family, and that they are all responsible).

The Spirit-Creator God, being just and holy, is said in His book that he appointed a day of judgment (2 Tim. 4:1; Acts. 10:42; Rev. 11:18). In that day he will send His Spirit-angels to take and gather all those who broke His law and did not repent of it from all parts of the world to be cast into eternal fire (Matt. 13:41-42). Even the souls of the dead ones who did the same will not be spared, but will suffer the same punishment (Rev. 20: 11-15).

Though He is just and Holy, and thus punishes sinners, His book tells us a wonderful news. He is also, loving, merciful and gracious to us his creatures. It says, “The Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin . Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…” (Exo. 34:6,7). The greatest and most awesome thing this Creator-God did in demonstrating his love to us was when He gave his one and only son (Jn. 3:16). Yes, “He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). This son of His was given to serve as our Lamb (Jn. 1:29). As a sacrifice He shed His blood on the cross. Without this shed blood of His, there will be no forgiveness of our sins (Heb. 9:22), because “it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats (and pigs) could take away (our) sins” (Heb. 10:4), “in Him (only) we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins” (Eph. 1:7).

Response. What this God wants us to do, then, is that we should trust in this son of His who died and rose again for our sin. If we do, His blood will be sprinkled on our souls (1 Pet. 1:2; Heb. 10:22), cleansing all our sins (1Jn. 1:7). It is “not by silver or gold” (let alone inferior metallic tools such us bolos, sickle, bars, etc) that our souls are ransomed but only “with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without defect or blemish “(1 Pet. 1: 18, 19). It is only the Son’s blood that could appease Him (the Father) in his wrath on our sins. To those who would trust in Him and avail of His shed blood having it sprinkled on their hearts and souls, when that judgment day comes his spirit-angels will spare you. Just as what happened to the tribe of Israel on whose houses’ threshold a blood of the Lamb was smeared as a sign of their salvation. Instead His Spirit-Angels will take you to be with Him in His beautiful home called heaven. Hear again what his book says when that day comes, "At that time the sign of the Son of man (the one who died on the cross and rose again) will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His Angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect (those who believed in Him) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matt. 24:30-31)

In that day, this Son of God, who saved us, will appear in the sky above our homes to look for those who trusted in Him. He won’t come as a spirit and in invisible form, but He will appear in all His glory; it will be a beautiful and wonderful thing to behold; only those who did not believed Him (who will mourn) will be haunted and be afraid. His coming will be accompanied by a loud trumpet call (not by a barking dog); and His angels (His messengers) will take us home to be with Him and be happy forever.

•The resource person interviewed in this paper was a 72 year old woman who was a former practicing pagan priestess of the Ibaloi tribe residing at Happy Hallow, Baguio City.