A considerable part of the man's time is consumed in preparation for, or actual participation in, hunting or warfare, but in addition to this he does a goodly portion of the work in the fields, and is the house builder. When a man is about to erect a dwelling he notifies his friends to come and aid him. This they will do without pay, but when in need of similar services they will expect and will receive similar help. All sorts of house-furnishings, such as spoons, meat blocks, or rice mortars are made by the man, and not infrequently, he assists in the making or waterproofing of baskets. A few of the old men of Cibolan still engage in the manufacture of small shell disks with which valuable suits are decorated, but the greater part of those now in use have been inherited, or are purchased from neighboring peoples. The men carve beads out of "Job's tears"[19] and make them into necklaces. For this purpose a peculiarly carved and decorated stick is employed (Plate XXVI). This is placed in the palm of the left hand so that the thumb and forefinger can hold the seed which fits into a depression in the top. A knife in the right hand of the artist is worked over the seed thus cutting a line into which dirt is rubbed. Women's combs are made by shaping a half circle out of light wood and then cutting teeth into it with a saw-like blade of tin or iron.
Among the men, as with the women, certain industries are monopolized by a few individuals. In this community no men stand higher in the estimation of their fellows than do the smiths and the casters of copper. The writer spent many hours watching I-o, the brass and copper worker of Cibolan, while he shaped bells, bracelets, and betel boxes at his forge on the outskirts of the village (Plate XXVII). Feathered plungers, which worked up and down in two bamboo cylinders, forced air through a small clay-tipped tube into a charcoal fire. This served as a bellows, while a small cup made of straw ashes formed an excellent crucible. The first day I watched I-o, he was making bells. Taking a ball of wax the size of a bucket shot, he put it on the end of a stick (Fig. 26a), and over this moulded the form of a bell in damp ashes obtained from rice straw (b). When several bells were thus fashioned they were dipped in melted wax and were turned on a leaf until smooth, after which an opening was cut through the wax at the bottom of each form (c). Strips of wax were rolled out and laid in shallow grooves which had been cut in the sides of the bells and were pressed in, at intervals, with a small bamboo knife (d). The top stick was then withdrawn, leaving an opening down to the wax ball inside. Into this hole a thin strip of wax was inserted and was doubled back on itself so as to form a hanger (e). For three days the forms were allowed to harden and were covered with several coats of damp straw ashes. Finally they were laid in a bed of the same material with a thin strip of wax leading from each bell to a central core (f). [FIG. 26] The whole, with the exception of the top of the central wax strip, was covered with a thick coating of damp ashes, and when this had hardened pieces of copper, secured from broken gongs, were placed in the crucible, melted and poured into the open end of the clay form. The molten metal took the place of the wax as it was dissolved and flowed to all parts where it had been. After being dropped in water the form was broken open, revealing six nearly perfect little bells which were ready for use as soon as the ashes were removed from them. The same method was used for all other casting. Clay forms were made as desired, were covered with wax, and the final coating of ashes applied before the casting. The workers in copper and brass are under the care and guidance of a spirit, Tolus ka towangan, for whom they make a yearly ceremony, _Gomek towangan_.