The "datu" served as leaders and judges. Their proclamations ("mantala") were delivered to the general populace by an "oripun" serving as the town herald (the "paratawag"). They received tributes, taxes, and gifts from their subjects, among them were the "himuka" (gifts from "timawa" for permission to marry), "bawbaw" (gifts from the winning parties in a dispute settled by the ruling of the "datu"), and "hikun" (the greater share of property being redistributed). They had control of trade through "honos" (fee for anchoring a ship in the community harbor), "bihit" (tariffs), and "lopig" (discounts on local purchases). They also had the power to restrict access to communal property through decrees ("balwang") and their crops and animals were distributed among his subjects to care for in a practice known as "takay". The "datu", however, were far from being a leisured aristocracy. They were often skilled craftsmen, hunters, blacksmiths, fishermen, and warriors in their own right, and their household produced the best commodities for trade.