Although the word dap-ay is used to refer to an open meeting place made of stone slabs where a bonfire is usually set at its center, it also refers to the group of elders who serve as the governing body in the community, pre-existing any modern-day form of government. In the dap-ay rest legislative and judicial powers. As a socio-political unit, the dap-ay gathers to settle disputes, resolve conflicts, issue laws and customary conducts binding the community and makes decisions involving the lives of the people in it. It was the dap-ay that served as the primary teacher of good citizenship prior to the arrival of Christian missionaries who educated the mountain people. As a cultural center, the dap-ay is the seat of rituals. From it emanates the cultural attitude of inayan, a guiding belief of not doing harm to anybody, lest harm shall befall on himself or his/her family members. Most festivities and rituals are done around the dap-ay, which also stands as the symbol of prosperity and merrymaking.
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