OWIK

photo courtesy of Et-chel

Owik is the ceremonial way of killing a pig, thrusting a pointed stick (also called the owik itself)  into the side of the pig and into his heart (Ibaloy dictionary, 2011) so that the blood comes out.

When the pig is butchered, the pig has to face towards the east (badalan).  The reason could be the same reason as the Muslims face the east whenever they pray and the Ibaloys believe in it, too. 

Owik signals the beginning of the ritual feast.  When the owik gets into the pig’s heart, the pig is supposed to “cry” out loud (onpalak) and produce a lot of blood, otherwise, it is a bad omen for the ritual and for the hosts, so the mambunong would ask for another pig to be butchered, unless he has prayer that will soma (antidote) the bad omen.

The cry of the pig is also a way to call the neighbors.  In the past where there were no mobile phones and the nearest neighbor could be 1-hour’s walk away, it takes a lot of time to invite the nearest neighbor.  So if the neighbors hear the pig’s cry, they go where the pig’s palak is coming from, not only to eat but to help in the preparations for the feast, to take a share in the watwat and most importantly, to mingle with their kaits (meki-adivay).