RESEARCH DATA:

The tabayag (lime container) is a small tube that interknob a hollow cane using a receptacle. Tabayag can be in the forms of fine woven rattan and nito fibers, bone, wood, coconut shell, animal horn and scrotum. It was considered a very intimate personal belonging probably because of the constant handling that it got and its close proximity in the human body.

Chewing momma (areca nut) has been a customary practice in some parts of the Cordillera Region, areca nuts and hapid (betel leaves) were stored in a small basket carried by men in their biltong (hip bag). Due to the powdery, grainy nature of the slaked lime (nganga), this essential was carried in a specially made container called tabayag. According to Quintos and Tysmans (2006) the lime containers are adorned with zoomorphic or anthropomorphic figures and reflect the painstaking craftsmanship abundantly conveyed by mostly unknown artisans on these implements.