alila was not two hours old before friends began to arrive to see him. but they did not enter suddenly! that would have been the height of rudeness. as they reached the doorway, each in turn stood for a long time on the outside, making many complimentary remarks to alila's family. that was their way of showing themselves well-mannered and polite.
the tagals, for that is the name of this tribe of people, never do anything suddenly. they do not appear to believe in surprise parties.
when all the fine speeches which seemed proper had been made, they entered the little[16] house and came to the side of the new baby. they made the young mother very proud by the praise they gave her tiny son.
but she and her husband were not the only ones pleased. there was alila's grandmother, who was always the most honoured one in the household; there was also an aunt who made her home here as she was too poor to have one of her own; and beside these, there was a lame old man, a friend of the family, who had come to them for shelter. the tagals are so hospitable they will never turn any one from their homes.
as one visitor after another arrived, the little house became crowded. if it had not been for the high, dome-shaped roof, the air would have grown heavy and impure. as it was, alila and his mother soon grew very tired and closed their eyes in sleep.
"that is good," said the grandmother, "we must let her rest. we will go out under the[17] cacao-trees and talk, and i will bring some cocoa wine and betel to you there."
this old woman was certainly not pretty, although good and thoughtful. as she stood talking to the visitors in low tones, one could see how short she was. her coarse, black hair grew down upon her forehead almost to her eyebrows; her wrinkled skin was dark brown; her eyes were large and round and, like her baby grandchild's, ever turning in a new direction.
she was dressed in a short skirt much like those of the other women of the party; it was of three colours,—green, white, and bright red. over this she wore a large piece of blue cotton cloth, cut in the shape of an oblong, tucked in at the waist and hanging over her skirt almost down to her knees. no shoes or stockings covered the bare legs or feet, but she did not seem to miss them.
she was as straight as an arrow, even if she[18] were a grandmother. perhaps it was because she had been used to carrying jars of water and baskets of fruit upon her head ever since she was a little child.
she moved softly about the hut as she got the entertainment ready for the company. from one corner she drew forth a large bamboo with a grass stopple in it. this held the wine the guests would sip so sparingly, for the tagals are a sober people and seldom drink enough fermented liquor to hurt them. the old woman next got some cocoanut shells together. these were the only drinking-cups the family ever used.
but the betel which she now placed beside the other things,—what is that, you ask? it is not a food, and yet it often takes the place of food; for a tagal can work a long time without eating if he can chew all of this he wishes. it is prepared from the nut of the areca palm, one of the most beautiful trees in[19] the world. a palm of this kind grows right beside alila's home, and, now that he is a big boy, he climbs the tall tree himself and brings down the nuts which grow at the top under the tuft of glossy green leaves.
the nuts are cut into thin slices and wrapped in the leaves of a singular plant called buyo. but, before they can be used for this purpose, these leaves are coated with lime made from oyster shells and then folded up.
alila's grandmother prepared a quantity of betel before the new baby was born.
just as she was going out to offer refreshments, another visitor arrived. it was a friend who had come from a distance, but the mother and child must not be wakened. oh, no! that was not to be thought of. the souls of people leave their bodies and go away while they are sleeping, the old woman believes; and if any one should arouse them suddenly, they might never return to their bodies.
so, of course, the visitor, who also had this belief, wouldn't have disturbed the sleepers for anything in the world. she quietly turned away and joined the other guests in the garden.
