A village agricultural head.
Nan haldot hi ad Batad ya nahamad di atōnan mangipapto' an amin hinan mihābal ti gunna ihamad an iba'īan.
The village agricultural head of Batad cares well for all the crops because he carefully offers ritual prayers for them.
He is to a village what a father or grandfather is to a family. At times when agricultural activities require certain rituals the agricultural head, if he is a ritualist, mumbā'i, with one or more other ritualists, performs sacrifices and recites prayers for the welfare of the whole village. Prayers are offered for crops and livestock, for safety in warfare, for protection against sickness, as e.g., against diarrhea during the first-fruits harvest season, udol. Beyond observing various prohibitions against eating of vegetables, edible aquatic invertebrates and engaging in sexual relations common to all ritualists performing rituals, there are many taboos applicable only to him, imposed for the benefit of the village. For example, after rituals for worm eradication, ālup, he is confined to his rice granary, panu'būngan, and for five days is severely restricted in what he can eat or drink. During the rice-growing season until the completion of harvest, he is prohibited from entertaining or speaking to strangers or from leaving the village area. He is also the leader in main-crop agriculture, tonong 1, for the central agricultural sub-district, babluy 2. As such he performs duties common to all leaders in rice agriculture: initiates seedbed planting, transplanting and general harvest of rice. In addition, he declares post-transplanting holiday season, ulpi, an optional holiday for the eradication of worms, ālup 1, initiates and declares the completion of the first-fruits harvest season, udol, and finally ends the rice-growing season by declaring a holiday, tūngaw hi īwang. His position is inherited, passing ideally from father or mother to first-born child. If the agricultural head has no children, the position passes to the nearest relative who is a ritualist. A woman agricultural head calls a ritualist, her nearest relative, to perform sacrificial rites for her.