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Indigenous Tribes of the Philippines

336K views 252 replies 70 participants last post by  azumiii 
#1 · (Edited)
Discuss, post photos and information on the different ethnic groups of the Philippines ;)
 
#2 ·

Aeta
Luzon


Pronounced as “ita,” this tribe is one of the most widespread ethnic group in the Philippines. They are mountain people who are dark skinned, short, small of frame, kinky haired, snub nosed, and have big black eyes.

Various Aeta groups have been differentiated in curious ways. For example, one group in northern Luzon is known as "Pugut" or "Pugot," a name designated by their Ilocano-speaking neighbors, and which is the colloquial term for anyone with dark skin. In Ilocano dialect, the word also means "goblin" or "forest spirit."

An Aeta group may resent a name coined by non-Aeta groups or neighbors, especially when they consider the given names insulting. Because the majority of Filipinos look down on their dark color, some groups resent being called "Aeta."

On the other hand, the term "baluga" is acceptable to some Aeta groups since it means "hybrid," akin to the positive connotation of "mestizo" for lowlanders.

The history of the Aeta continues to confound anthropologists and archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines who arrived through land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. These migrations may have occurred when the Malay peninsula was still connected with Sumatra and other Sunda Islands. At that time, the islands of the Philippines may have been connected and may be the reason behind the Aetas’ wide population distribution.

The Aetas have shown resistance to change. The attempts of the Spaniards to settle them in reservations all throughout Spanish rule failed.

While resisting change from the other society for hundreds of years, the Aetas have adjusted to social, economic, cultural, and political pressures with remarkable resilience; they have created systems and structures within their culture to cushion the sudden impact of change.

Since the latter half of the 20th century, however, the Aetas have been declining in number. Their very existence has been threatened by problems brought about by other people and by nature. Poverty-stricken lowlanders, seeking food, have encroached on forest lands, displacing the Aeta. The flora and fauna needed for Aeta survival are no longer available due to forest depletion. Disasters like the Pinatubo eruption destroyed and buried most of the Aeta ancestral lands.

There are different views on the dominant character of the Aeta religion. Those who believe they are monotheistic argue that various Aeta tribes believe in a supreme being who rule over lesser spirits or deities. The Mamanua believe in the supreme “Magbabaya” while the Pinatubo Aeta worship “Apo Namalyari.”

The Aetas are also animists. For example, the Pinatubo Aeta believe in environmental spirits such as anito and kamana. They believe that good and evil spirits inhabit the environment, such as the spirits of the river, sea, sky, mountain, hill, valley, and other places. The Ati of Negros island call their environmental spirits taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place." They also believe in spirits of disease and comfort.

No special occasion is needed for the Aeta to pray, although there is a clear link between prayer and economic activities. The Aeta dance before and after a pig hunt. The night before Aeta women gather shellfish, they perform a dance which is half an apology to the fish and half a charm to ensure the catch. Similarly, the men hold a bee dance before and after the expeditions for honey.

The Aetas are also skillful in weaving and plaiting. For example, the Mamanuas produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers.

Women exclusively weave winnows and mats. Only men make armlets. They also produce raincoats made of palm leaves whose bases surround the neck of the wearer, and whose topmost part spreads like a fan all around the body.

Their traditional clothing is very simple. The young women wear wraparound skirts. Elder women wear bark cloth, while elder men loincloths. The old women of the Agta wear a bark cloth strip which passes between the legs, and is attached to a string around the waist. Today most Aeta who have been in contact with lowlanders have adopted the T-shirts, pants and rubber sandals commonly used by the latter.

A traditional form of visual art is body scarification. The Aetas intentionally wound the skins on their back, arms, breast, legs, hands, calves and abdomen, and then they irritate the wounds with fire, lime and other means to form scars.

Other "decorative disfigurements" include the chipping of the teeth. With the use of a file, the Dumagat – another sub-tribe who belong to the Aeta family - mutilate their teeth during late puberty. The teeth are dyed black a few years afterwards.

The Aetas generally use ornaments typical of people living in subsistence economies. Flowers and leaves are used as earplugs for certain occasions. Girdles, necklaces, and neckbands of braided rattan incorporated with wild pig bristles are frequently worn.
 
#3 ·

Agta
Luzon


Agta is the generic term used in Bikol to refer to its 40,000 natives with dark-colored skins, short stature and kinky hair.

Though some Agtas now live in permanent settlements, there are still some in Camarines Norte who are semi-nomadic and who build temporary elevated shelters called “Butukan.” The Butukan is made from tree branches and leaves. An area is believed to be ideal for building a butukan if six tagbac tubers planted there will grow or where decayed organic matter is present or where the desired spot for the Butukan can be reached by reflected light from a river. The light is believed to prevent evil spirits from having access to the shelter and bringing death to its occupants.

The traditional attire of the Agta is the tapis/skirt for females and bahag/breech cloth for males. Their clothing is made from the bark of the Gumihan tree. A number of them now wears casual and modern urban attires, although they still adorn their heads, however, with a multi-purpose container called “Takupis” made from the Kalagimay plant where they keep their lime from burnt seashells, nganga/betel nut and pepper leaves called “ikmo” or “lukmoy.”

To take the place of body ornaments, the natives scar/“asde” their bodies with designs bequeathed to them by their ancestors. Asde is supposed to rid the body of “dirty blood” and protect it from different illnesses. To carry her baby, a breastfeeding native wears the “uban,” a piece of cloth slung from the shoulders.

The Agtas grow root crops, rice and vegetables in their farms. Rice takes time to harvest, so they substitute it with a boiled root crop called “dugma,” which gives them a shorter harvest time.

Hunting is another means of subsistence for the Agtas. They catch running game by spearing them with pointed sticks called “galud” or by means of pit-traps. Birds are caught by using slingshots locally known as “labtik” and traps made from a glue-like sap called “dikit.”

To achieve a successful hunt for animals, the Agtas perform a ritual at the grave of a skilful hunter. The process includes scattering of banana stalks – used as substitute for meat - around the grave as offering. They also erect arched bamboos to symbolize traps for a big game.

Fishing and catching crabs are other means of livelihood for the Agtas. Their instruments include the: “baslay,” a bow and arrow used for fishing; “banwit,” a set of fishing instrument that includes the “boro,” a slender bamboo with a few meters of nylon at one end that has a hook where bait is placed; “sulo,” a small torch used to attract the fishes and crabs during night-time fishing; “agahid,” a net used for catching fishes and crabs; “kawit,” a hooked wire used to dislodge crabs from their hiding places; “sagad,” a rattan basket where the catch is placed; “bobo,” a trap made from split bamboo fastened together with rattan; and “alawa,” a fishnet for shallow waters during low tide. Mollusks are also caught to augment the Agtas' diet. Some of these are the bivalves, finger-like mollusks called “sihi,” and the slender-bodied mollusks called “bagisara.”

Many Agtas have also engaged into other income generating jobs, such as copra making, charcoal making, and gold panning.

In their hierarchy, the father and the elder sons usually hunt. The mothers and daughters are left behind to do the household chores. The mother is always the one who takes care of the children.
 
#4 ·

Apayao
Luzon


They are considered as one of the most lighthearted among the indigenous tribes in the Philippines. The Apayaos are a river people. Their tribe’s name was derived from the warm waters of the Apayao River. They live in the Northwestern end of the island of Luzon from Abulog up to the Apayao River. Their mountainous territory is rich in flora and fauna – typical of the rainforests in Asia.

These virile people are said to have come to this region in two waves, a few thousand years ago; the Indonesians by way of Southeastern Asia, and the Mongolians by way of Central Asia. These two waves found a home in the northern end of the Cordillera Central Mountains. Their cultures fused into a new one. Physically, the Indonesian strain dominated, males stand an average height of five feet and four inches, while the average height for females is five feet.

The Apayaos are kind, hospitable and generous. They are highly aesthetic in temperament, self-reliant, and honest. If by some ill fate you drop something, even money, a member of the tribe will return it to you. They believe that if a man steals, his wife will leave him; or, if they acquire money unfairly and buy rice with it, the rice will not give them strength.

They like a practical jokes. In fact, even accidents are taken as a laughing matter and the one who has been injured is the one who laughs the hardest!

The Apayaos are courageous and freedom loving. The Spaniards never conquered them, even the Americans had a difficult time establishing their government.

The Common Law enjoins that man must not steal, tell false stories about others, court the wife of others, nor make trouble at a feast. It further enjoins that man must respect the rights of individuals, give food to visitors, and parents shall teach the children the old legends and customs, as well as correct them that they could grow up properly. The Apayaos have a very complete system of social etiquette.

They have no words meaning "thank you" in their dialect. When one goes on journey, there is no word meaning "goodbye". One just walks away. When he returns, even after a long absence, there are no words of greeting, of welcome. The Apayaos are very modest about their persons. A woman must not allow her legs to spread when squatting to a sitting position, nor allow her tapis to go above her knees. Even when there are no women around, while the men are bathing and swimming together, they keep their private parts covered with one hand while they are out of the water.

They have a very simple government. In each family the man rules supreme and orders his woman what to do. A group of 15 to 30 families is headed by one leader. They build their houses close to each other.

Community spirit in a barangay is strong. They have common interests and often work together in exchange of labor. When one builds a home, all the neighbors come to help.

Each barangay is surrounded by a bamboo picket fence. The bamboos are filled with little stones so that they cannot be easily cut. A peace pact called “budong” is often made with other tribes. Peace pact holders are appointed and held personally responsible to make sure that it is not broken. Each barangay is held accountable for the acts of any of its members.

During the first part of the Japanese occupation, Apayao was a place of refuge for fleeing Americans, and after the fall of Corregidor, Cabugao was made the headquarters of the USAFFE of Northern Luzon. The Japanese were not able to establish themselves in these mountains until March, 1943, but the tribesmen hardly cooperated, so they left on August, 1944. When the Americans returned, almost every Apayao volunteered to help in defeating the Japanese.

The Apayaos depend a lot on the rivers and streams, even if they live on sides of a mountain for safety. Many of their communities are named after the names of the streams nearest to them. The rivers are their source of food and water to drink.

The men are excellent in constructing boats and other wooden crafts.
 
#5 ·

Arumamen-Manuvu
Mindanao


The Arumanen-Manuvu had its origin from a village settled place called Banubu near the mouth of Pulangi River.

A god named Apo Tabunawai rules the village. He is acclaimed as the “Timuay” or the convenor of the village elders. According to legends, Timuay Apo Tabunawai was a skillful forest food gatherer such of wild ubi, sago palm, various roots crops nuts and fruits.

Issues are tackled by the Council of Elders are the review and reconstitution of community policies for the coming seasons. To bring omens of good tidings, abundance and societal well-being, marriages of young people are arranged and undertaken on the post-festival evenings.

By foot and with the use of basket types of traps, the hunters bring home large fowls, fish, lizards, pythons and lesser wild games.

The villagers acknowledge that the abundance brought home from a hunt comes from the favor of Elemental Beings whose compassion is anchored upon Apo Tabunawai.
 
#109 · (Edited)
The above picture was taken from my website, without giving appropriate credit...
Not a decent way to deal with the intellectual property of other people... :eek:hno: :down:

Worse than that, the picture is used in a wrong context, as it does not show
Arumanen-Manuvu but Tigwa Manobo from San Fernando, Bukidnon. The Tigwa Manobo would
not like it at all to be sold as Arumanen Manobo...

More accuracy, please...

Here is the link of my website, which is, first of all,
dealing with Mindanao tribal music and culture:

http://brandeis.home.pages.de
http://aedv.cs.tu-berlin.de/~brandeis/ICTM-Abstracts-e.html

::
 
#6 ·

Badjao
Mindanao


The exact or scientific origin of the Badjaos are uncertain. According to a legend, they came from the shores of Johore, Indonesia, where they had already been living in clusters of houseboats.

There are other theories that claim the Badjaos were originally from the land-based Samal group but branched off into boat dwellers as a result of their occupation. Another theory claims the Badjaos were originally boat dwellers that eventually built stilt houses near fertile fishing grounds.

The Spanish and American colonizers failed to influence the Badjaos because they live in the territory of the Muslim Filipinos, although they are also the least influenced by Islam.

The Badjaos are itinerant travelers.

Their paintings and carvings are integral to their life cycle. In wedding ceremonies, the wedding beautician must be adept at applying the special makeup on the bride and groom. With a razor blade tied with thread to a split bamboo twig, the beautician shapes the bride’s eyebrows into a triangle and carves tiny bangs on her forehead. Lampblack is used to outline a rectangle on her forehead and is emphasized by a yellow ginger juice. Black dots are outlined horizontally above the eyebrows and/or beneath the eyes with the pointed end of a coconut midrib. Another beautician attends to the groom and his face is made up the same way.

The traditional attire of a Badjao is the “patadjong.” It has many uses. They are made large enough to fit any person and is worn by both men and women as a skirt or gown tucked at the chest level. It can serve as head cover, waistband, sash, blanket, hammock, shoulder bag, cradle, pouch, hood, or pillow.

The women’s “sablay” is a loosed sleeved blouse reaching down to the hips. A “simpay” (band) forms the front opening and extends to the back from a small collar. A woman’s typical accessories are jewelry and colored combs. The bracelet is the most popular ornament. Other pieces of jewelry are the pendant, earring, ring, necklace, and anklet.

Metal craft designs can be classified into three kinds: the repousse, relief hammered from the reverse side; arabesque, incision of interlocking curves; and filigree, tracing with thin gild, silver, or brass wires.

The Badjaos have five types of songs: the leleng, binoa, tenes, panulkin, and lugu. Except for the last two, the lyrics are improvised and sung to a traditional tune. The “leleng” is sung in most occasions. Anyone can sing the leleng.

The “binoa” is similarly chanted as the leleng. The “tenes-tenes” is a ballad whose tune changes with the lyrics. It may be sung for any occasion and by anyone. The melody of a known tenes may be used for a different set of lyrics. Most tenes have a subject of courtship and love. The tenes is also a song addressed to the sharks.

A woman sings the “lugu” at a wedding as the “imam” or “panglima” walks with the groom to the bride’s side. The lugu’s lyrics are verses from the Koran; it has a traditional and melancholy tune. The panulkin is sung only by the imam and has traditional tune and lyrics. It is sung during the vigil of the dead, from 7am to 1am. It is a way of keeping awake and of making the community aware that somebody has died.

The Badjao’s dance traditions are similar with the other ethnic groups of Sulu, particularly the tribes in Samal. The basic traditional dance movement is the igal or pangalay performed by the female. The dancer’s hair is preferably pulled back in a bun, although it may also be allowed to hang loose. Either a drum or a gabbang accompanies the dance.

Except for the “kata-kata” or narrative forms and riddles, Badjao literature is meant to be sung. It attributes its oral forms of literature such as animal tales, trickster tales, magical tales, and novelistic tales from the tribes in Samal.

There are two tales about the origin of the tribe. The first story involves the Princess Ayesha of Johore and the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu. She preferred the Brunei sultan, but was engaged to the Sulu sultan instead. Escorted by a fleet of war boats, she was sailing towards Sulu when a Brunei fleet, led by their Sultan, intercepted them and took the princess away. The princess’ entourage, fearing to go on to Sulu or return to Johore, stayed on the sea, mooring only at uninhabited islands. Some turned to piracy and established pirate dens along North Borneo coasts.

The other Badjao tale says that the ancestors of the Samal ha Laud came from a fishing clan in Johore, Indonesia. A group of boats sailed in search of richer fishing grounds. One night, a typhoon came and they had to anchor by a sandbar. As they were about to rest for the night, their boats suddenly started bucking up and down. They realized they had tied their boats to the nose of a giant manta ray, which had begun to swim round and round in a frantic attempt to unloosen the ropes tied to its nose. The fishers managed to untie their boats, but by then, they had been flung in an island that is unfamiliar to them.
 
#7 ·

Bago
Luzon


The Bago is a tribe composed of medium built and sturdy individuals. Their group is a product of intermarriage between the Ilocanos of the lowlands and different indigenous cultural communities of the Cordillera Region. They are settled between the mountain ranges of Ilocos and the borders of the Ilocos Provinces, La Union and Pangasinan.

Being of Iloco-Cordillera descent, they practice simple, ordinary methods of agriculture. Tobacco drying barns, harvests of garlic and onion are integrated in their houses. Their farming methods and practices include a system to initiate farm workers at harvest time through a working relationship known as gamal, ammuy, and bunggoy.

Prominent members of Bago indigenous group are former Governor Lupo Biteng of Ilocos Sur and his son Jonathan Biteng who also rose to become the Municipal Mayor of the same town.
 
#8 ·

Bagobo
Mindanao


The Bagobo is a tribe that traces its origin from the people who brought Hinduism to Mindanao during the Sri Vijayan and Majapahit invasion. When the people inter-married with the locals, they formed a new society and came up with the name Bagobo.

The word “Bagobo” is derived from the root word “bago,” which means “new” or “recent” while the “obo” suffix means “grow” in the tribe’s dialect.

The Bagobos have a light brown complexion. Their hair is brown or brownish black, ranging from wavy to curly. The men have an average height of five feet and three inches, while the women’s height average is five feet.

Although their faces are wide, their cheekbones are not too prominent. Their eyes are dark and widely set, while the eye slits are slanting. The males and females deliberately shave their eyebrows to a thin line. The root of their nose is low, while the ridge is broad. Their lips are full and their chins are round.

The Manuvu tribe is different, because they live in the upland areas northwest, north, and northeast of Mt. Apo in interior Mindanao.

In a population survey conducted in 1988, their population was around 80,000.
 
#9 ·

Balangao
Luzon

The Balangaos main source of food and income is from farming. They make quality bamboo and rattan crafts. They occasionally hunt wild games in forests.

Oral historians of the tribe claim that in 17th century when the Gaddangs of Cagayan revolted and lost against the Spanish colonizers, the Gaddangs fled to the mountains and established their settlements there.

The tribes intermarried to the original inhabitants of the mountain slopes and riverbanks where the Ifugaos, Kalingas and Bontocs lived. Culture blending for centuries resulted in the present Balangao/Boliwon ethno linguistic group or tribe.

The Balangao dialect has dominant "ch", "r," and "f" sounds.

The tribesmen who migrated to the cities to seek greener pastures, still go back to their tribe to meet their obligations.
 
#10 ·

Batak
Luzon


The word "Batak" is said to be an old Cuyunon term that means "mountain people." They have a very small population, and are feared to become extinct after a few years. Their population progressively decreased over the years.In the early 1900s, they numbered around 600, but a head count conducted in 1970 showed that there were only 393 tribesmen left.

The Batak live mainly in small settlements near Puerto Princesa, close to the coastal villages of Babuyan, Tinitian, and Malcampo. Some of them have lived in several river valleys of Babuyan, Maoyon, Tanabag, Tarabanan, Laingogan, Tagnipa, Caramay and Buayan.

Because of their physical characteristics, the Batak have been classified under the Aeta group, or as having Aeta affinities. An early account described the Batak as resembling somewhat the Aeta in other parts of the Philippines. Scientists believe they have more physical resemblances with the Semang and Sakai of the Malay peninsula, because of their long and kinky hair, hirsute faces and bodies, small stature and muscular built.

The exact origin of the Batak had not been determined. Based on their Aeta characteristics, scientists assumed they comprise the remnants of a formerly numerous group of Aetas who settled in Palawan more than 10, 000 years ago.

The Bataks are a nomadic group that roam on vast areas in the north, settling in a place where there’s enough supply of food, then will move on to other places to continue hunting and gathering.

Despite constant interaction with other Palawan groups and settlers from other islands, their culture has not changed from its seminomadic character.

Their tribe has been severely affected by a number of communicable diseases and malnutrition due to poverty. The arrival of urban settlers from Luzon and Visayas made the Batak’s natural habitat smaller. Their problems were aggravated when the forests of Palawan’s mountainous regions were opened to logging investors.

As pointed out in the a recent study of Batak society, they, like all the other Philippine Aeta groups have been critically influenced and affected by contact with the outside world. The effect has been noted in their subsistence economy, socio-territorial organization, and ritual life. As a consequence, the tribe failed to reproduce successfully. Their tribal distinctiveness is slowly crumbling, because of urban influences. The Batak tribe, together with their unique traditional culture is on the brink of extinction.

Their traditional costume is simple. It consists mainly of bark cloth that they derive from a mulberry tree.

One of the Batak folklores claim that woman did not come from man but man come from woman. The story is about an old man with two sons. He sent them out to the fields to watch over his trees, warning them not to eat the fruits of those trees. But the younger son disobeyed. He ate some of the fruits, and after a while, his breasts became bigger. The older son became curious, and ironically, fell in love with his younger brother. Rhe wedding marked the beginning of the Batak society.
 
#11 ·


Bontoc
Luzon


"Bontoc" is derived from the term "bun," which is the equivalent of heap in English and "tuk," which means top. When combined, the two words mean “mountain,” or “Bontoc,” when translated on the tribe’s dialect.

They are the people who live in the mountainous areas of Benguet, Ifugao, Mounatin Province and Kalinga-Apayao.

Their population is distributed in 10 municipalities and 137 barrios.

Although there is a common language called Bontoc, each village may have its own dialect and phonetic peculiarities. Population estimate in 1988 was 148,000. Physical types are a mix of Filipino, ancient Ainu and Mongol.

The tribesmen’s God is Lumawig. Religious practices, rituals and cañoas attend to their cycle of life, death, and agricultural activities. There are many kinds of cañoa. The chao-es is the feast for the manerwap, which is the ritual requesting for rain from Lumawig. A cho-es is also held when a person's name needs to be changed because of an incurable ailment that is believed to be caused by an ancestral spirit. The “fosog” is the feast for fertility rites.

The tribe’s traditional clothing leaves males and females bare above the waist. But because of modern influence, younger members of the tribe wear trousers, shirts, dresses and shoes that lowland Filipinos usually wear.

The tattoo used to be a prestige symbol, worn only by the headhunter. However, it is now purely ornamental. There are three types of tattoos: the “chaklag,” the breast tattoo of the headhunter; the “pongo,” the arm tattoo of both sexes or the woman's tattoo; and the “fatek” which is used as thegeneric term and refers to all other tattoos.

The tattoo used to be a prestige symbol, worn only by the headhunter. However, it is now purely ornamental.

The woman's tattoo is on the back of the hands and encircles the arms beginning from the wrists to above the elbows. On the upper arm, the figure of a man with extended arms and legs may be etched. The man's tattoo has a simpler pattern and uses longer lines; the woman's tattoo uses cross-hatched lines and patchwork designs. Disfigurement such as swellings, are used deliberately as part of the tattoo designs.

Bontoc literature is transferred through word of mouth only. It is either sung or recited. Its primary purpose is to communicate ideas and attitudes to others at certain social occasions. It also reflects the tribe’s collective history. Their literature includes riddles, proverbs, aphorism, songs, tales, legends, and myths.

Ritual literature is addressed to the deities or “anito” during ceremonies. Examples of ritual literature are the “ayyeng,” “annako,” “kapya,” “manayeng/manaing,” “orakyo,” and “achog.”

The most important of the tribe’s mythology is the “oggood.” The narrative concerning Lumawig, the Bontoc god and culture hero. He chose to marry the beautiful and industrious lady Fukan after rejecting one lady whose hair was too short, another lady who lived in a village that was too short, and another who “tittered like a bird.” Many stories about Lumawig pertain to the beginning of the Bontoc society. He rewarded good and punished evil. He wanted peace and prosperity. He established the institution of the ato. He established the rituals. He performed wonders to teach ethical norms. He changed his own selfish father-in-law into a rock with water gushing forth from its anus.

On Mt Kal-lat is a huge stone said to have been set down by Lumawig. When bad weather threatens the people, the men gather around the stone and perform a ritual called “kapya.”

The myths are also an integral part of the ritual. In the traditional wedding ceremony, the narrative of Lumawig's wedding is recited. Part of the planting rites to have an abundant harvest is the recitation of the myth about how the gods multiplied and increased the size of the crops.
 
#16 ·


Bontoc
Luzon



The tribesmen’s God is Lumawig.
Actually, the elders are trying to correct this one. Kabunian is the supreme deity(of the Ifontoc/Kankanai/Ibaloi), Lumawig is his son.

Religious practices, rituals and cañoas attend to their cycle of life, death, and agricultural activities

Tapos cañao siya. Mauuna yung a sa o
 
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#12 ·


Bugkalots
Luzon


The Bugkalots are found in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora. They inhabit the easterly central part of the Caraballo and Sierra Madre Mountain ranges. There are about 5,000 Bugkalot families. Although they live far apart from each other, their glaring similarities, customs and arts show that they belong to one distinct group.

The Bugkalots are known for their colorful attire, musical instruments and beautiful artifacts.

The Bugkalots manage to survive on the “kaingin” or slash and burn system of agriculture. Root crops are their main product. They also hunt wild game in the forest and Conwap rivers head stream of the Cagayan river.

The Bugkalots have a regular built and inherited some Mongolian features such as narrow slanting eyes and aquiline nose. The Bugkalots found along the rivers of Bua and Tubo speak the Ilocano dialect.
 
#13 ·


Mangyan
Luzon


Mangyan is the general name for the indigenous tribes who live in the province of Mindoro. Ten percent of the total population of the people who live in Mindoro are Mangyans.

Before Spain conquered the Philippines, the Mangyans were already practicing the "barter trade" to the Chinese, who traveled to the shores of Mindoro using their ancient boats. The Mangyans traded their local products of cotton, root crops, medicinal plants and bees-wax for beads, gongs, plates and jars.

Anthropological studies revealed that the Mangyans have eight tribes that may look the same but have different cultures and traditions.
 
#14 ·


Tasaday
Mindanao


One of the smallest tribes in the Philippines, there were only 61 individuals in a census conducted in 1987. They were originally called “Linat Batang."

Up to this day, they continue to hunt and gather food, dwell in caves, use stone tools and wear garments of “curcoligo” - a kind of fern plant - along side practices acquired through long contact and exchange with neighboring people. They are socially and geographically distant, though not completely isolated. Linguistic studies show Tasadays belong under the ethno linguistic category.
 
#15 ·


Tiboli
Mindanao


The Tibolis live in "long-houses" that are built on six-foot stilts. Their houses are about 50 feet long and nearly 30 feet wide. The materials are predominantly made of bamboo, wood, and palm fronds. Their houses are situated far apart from each other.

The distinctive and colorful clothing characterizes Tiboli men and women. It is a major source of ethnic pride. Nearly all clothing is made of t'nalak, a cloth that has a brown background, lightened by red and beige designs. Women wear ornamental combs, earrings, bracelets, and rings. The Tibolis usually cover their heads with turbans or large circular hats.

They speak a Malayo-Polynesian language called Tiboli. In addition to their native language, many of the Tibolis also speak Ilonggo or Bilaan.

The families usually arrange marriages after lengthy negotiations. Wedding celebrations often require months of preparation. Monogamy is always practiced. However, the rich may sometimes have multiple wives as a symbol of prestige.

The Tibolis believe that aspects of nature have spirits. If the spirits are not appeased, they can cause harm to people.

Although the Tiboli believe in a number of gods, the two most important are Kadaw la Sambad and Bulon la Mogow. They supposedly gave birth to the lesser gods, who either bestow benefits on people or afflict them with bad luck or ailments. The Tibolis place large wooden statues of the gods in their homes and fields. They frequently offer food and liquor to the gods for appeasement.

Television and radio are not yet available in the tribe.

They practice the slash and burn method of agriculture. This involves cutting the forest growth, burning the debris, and planting in the clearing. Rice is their primary crop, though yams and cassava are also grown. Their other sources food are through hunting, gathering forest crops, and fishing. To supplement their incomes, they sell bananas and other forest products in nearby markets.

Food is also provided through hunting, gathering forest produce, and fishing. To supplement their incomes, a Tiboli sometimes sell bananas and other forest produce in nearby markets.

Many Tibolis have little or no access to medical care. Education is inadequate, and at least 80% of the adults are illiterate. Running water and modern sanitation systems are virtually non-existent. Electrical power can only be found in a few villages.

Their methods of transportation and communication are extremely primitive. The arrival of logging and mining operations in Tiboli territory became a threat to their culture and way of life.

A typical Tiboli family of 8 – 10 members are usually malnourished. They only eat two meals a day of staple root crop like camote and taro. The average annual income of a breadwinner is only P6, 000.

Some of them even suffer from major diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, intestinal parasites, amoebic dysentry and upper respiratory tract infections. Some of their illnesses are believed to be the consequence of lack of access to safe potable water.
 
#17 ·
by Joel Velasquez[/B]


"Mandaya" derives from "man" meaning "first," and "daya" meaning "upstream" or "upper portion of a river," and therefore means "the first people upstream". It refers to a number of groups found along the mountain ranges of Davao Oriental, as well as to their customs, language, and beliefs. The Mandaya are also found in Compostela and New Bataan in Davao del Norte.
Scholars have identified five principal groups of Mandaya: the Mansaka or those who live in the mountain clearings; the Manwaga or those who lived in the forested mountain areas; the Pagsupan or those who make a living in the swampy banks of the Tagum and Hijo rivers; the Managusan or those who live near the water; and the Divavaogan who are found in the southern and western parts of the Compostela (Bagani 1980:30; Cole 1913:165).
The Mandaya generally have high foreheads, prominent cheekbones, broad noses, thick lips and angular features. They are generally fair (Valderrama 1987:6-7). Population estimate in 1988 was about 22,000 for the Mandaya found in Davao Oriental, and about 33,000 for the whole country (Peralta 1988:8).



Mandaya Warrior









History

Valderrama (1987:5-6) hypothesizes that the Indonesians, who came to the Philippines in a series of immigration waves from 3000 to 500 BC, intermarried with the native women and begot the Manobo of eastern Mindanao. The Malays, who migrated to the Philippines between 300 to 200 BC through Palawan and Mindoro, intermarried with the Manobo and begot the Mandaya. The Chinese came in the 13th century and through intermarriage contributed further the racial development of the Mandaya.

The Spanish conquest brought about Christianity and an inducement for the Mandaya to settle in villages. The Christianized Mandaya who have resettled intermarried with Visayan and other emigrants. Because of frequent Muslim raids, however these Christianized Mandaya were forced to return to the mountains and their old way of life.
Americans brought with them a form of political participation that was inaugurated by the Christian political leaders when Davao was made into a regular province in 1922. American planters in the Davao area did encourage the Mandaya to work in the coastal plantations and adopt the lifestyle of Christianized natives. Many of the Mandaya who did so eventually returned to the mountains armed with new ideas and technology. This led to further changes in the lifestyle of many Mandaya districts (Gagelonia 1967:259-260).

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Religious Beliefs and Practices


Many Mandaya have been Christianized by the Spaniards. The Christianity that they profess, however, is a mix of traditional Catholicism with their own indigenous beliefs and practices. According to the Spanish missionaries, the Mandaya consented to be converted only if their beliefs and customs would not be interfered (Bagani 1980:24). Thus, the Mandaya's attachment to animism was the problem of the missionaries. Their idols called the Manauag are made of wood from the bayog tree; the eyes are taken from the fruit of the magobahay. The idols are painted from chest up with some kind of sap. These wooden figures have no arms; the male manauag is distinguished from the female in that the latter is adorned with a comb. These idols are set in canopied altars in the Mandaya house (Bagani 1980:21).
They are also influenced by the bailana. This is true especially during the months of famine when nightly ceremonies are held. The bailana dances three or four times around the manauag while supper is being prepared. This repeated until supper is served (Bagani 1980:21-22).
The pagcayag is a ritual performed to ward off sickness. A bobo or fish trap together with seven buyo, and a pitcher of tuba in which are placed seven crabs, are covered with leaves. These are left in the middle of the house for three days. On the fourth morning, amid shouts, these items are hacked into pieces and kicked out of the house (Bagani 1980:22).
The Mandaya believe that the limoken is a bird of omen. If it sings to the left of the person, this is a good omen. However, if it sings to the right, the person must prepare for a possible attack from enemies. If it sings right in front, there is danger ahead. If it sings while a person is between trees, an ambush is waiting. If a person encounters a dead animal, death could befall him or her; the person should return at once to where he/she started. Stomping one's right foot on a pile of ashes may neutralize these bad omens. It is believed that a serpent eating the heavens causes eclipse. The Mandaya gods include Mansilatant and Daty, father and son, who are good gods, and Pudaugson and Malimbong, husband and wife, who are evil gods (Bagani 1980:22-23).


Visual Arts and Craft

The clothes of Mandaya are considered by many as among the most beautiful in Mindanao. In general, the Mandaya costume motifs are characterized by block designs, line patterns, rickracks, scrolls, curvilinear motifs, and diamonds and crosses (De Los Reyes 1975:62,65). Another popular motif is the crocodile done at various levels of abstraction (De La Cruz 1982:60).




Present day Mandaya lass with a flower on her hair deftly weaves Dagmay, an abaca cloth with pale decorated stripes. Davao, ca 1990. (Cultural Center of the Philippines Library Collection).




The dagum nang usog or man' blue collar less shirt has sleeves which may be long or three fourths in length and embroidered with lenama. The front of the dagum is open to the hipline and the edges are trimmed with contrasting colors. Men's trousers are either long or short. The pantot trousers are usually 5-7.5 cm above the knee. The long trousers are loose on the hipline but tight from the thighs to the ankles.
Mandaya women wear cotton blouses called dagum. These are usually red, blue, and black and decorated with animal and geometric designs at the back, front and sleeves. Mandaya women also wear blue gingham blouses. Old women and Christianized bailana wear black blouses. The bado nang bubay (woman's dress) is as ornately designed as the blouses and betrays Chinese influence (Valderrama 1987:7-8).
Traditional skirts are usually made of dagmay, adored in an almost A-style and pleated on one side. The waist is held by small piece of coco negra. Some old women wear the patadyong (tubular shirt) and younger girls, the cooton skirt. Poki or women's underwear is made of coconut shell, which is finely cut to prevent injury. Strings are inserted through the corner holes and tied to the waistband (Valderrama 1987:8).
Mention must be made of the Mandaya hat made of guinit.the designs are turned into the concave shape hat. In some cases, colored feathers are found at the back of the hat. When worn, thongs are attached to keep the hat in place.
The Mandaya metal craft includes the fashioning of weaponry. Among these are the balladaw (steel dagger), kakala (bolo), likod-likod (single bladed kakana) and wasay (ax for cutting wood or for self-defense).
Mandaya jewelry may be made at home when materials are available. Jewelry measures the social and economic status of the Mandaya women, no young Mandaya woman, whether single or married, goes out without donning a piece of jewelry (Valderrama 1987:8). Silver is used often for jewelry and brass casting is copied from the Muslims.
Metal jewelry includes the sampad or earrings with a silver covering and carved round with a intricate design in the center; the balyug which a type of necklace which covers the breast, and made of tiny glass beads sewn in several rounds with silver coins or crocodile teeth serving as ornaments; the patina which is an heirloom made of round gold attached to the necklace; the sangisag or metal bracelet worn by both men and women; and the tungkaling or brass trinklets worn by women on the waistband to notify people of their presence (Valderrama 1987:8-12).
Example of nonmetal jewelry include the suwat or wooden combs; the balikog or earrings made of balatinaw wood; laog or earrings made out of glass beads; pamullang or ivory and black colored necklaces; the linangaw or male necklaces representing his battle with the crocodile; and the timusug or bracelet made of rare vines and rubber (De Los Reyes 1975:66).
The Mandaya are known to carve wooden idols. An example is the Manauag, a 12.5 cm idol made of palm wood. The asho-asho is a larger Mandaya idol that represents a **** or bird, and is kept in the house together with crocodile's teeth, roots and other charms and offerings.
A practice among the Mandaya is the filing and blackening the teeth of the young. Between the ages of 10 and 12, Mandaya children pass through an initiation in which their upper and lower sets of teeth are filed evenly. Instead of brushing their teeth, the Mandaya habitually chew tobacco pellets moistened with juice of am-mong vine. This practice has strengthened their teeth (Valderrama 1987:12).


Performing Arts

Some example of Mandaya musical instruments are the kobeng or slender piece of bamboo resembling a Jew's harp, and played while dancing the gandang; the kudlong or a two stringed instrument similar to the kudyapi of the Maranao; the gimbal or native drum made of tree trunk or deer skin, and played to accompany a dancing bailana; the nakuyag or instrument resembling a Spanish tambourine, played to accompany the gimbal; the bonabon or instrument resembling a flute (Valderrama 1987:51-53).
Like the riddles and proverbs, Mandaya folk' songs reflect the people's collective attitude towards life and the world. Two types of folk songs have remained within the native repertoire - the oyog-oyog (lullaby) and the bayok (love and adventure songs). The former deals with childhood and parental love; the lyrics and poetic and often center on maternal love and aspirations. The music is soothing (Fuentes and De la Cruz 1980:25).

Oyog-oyog, mag oyog-oyog . . .
Masinga nang Bullawan
Diyanay yagadadallawon
Baan sumngaw makawong
Dumallaw makagwa
Walla kaw sa pangubsa
Walla kaw sa pangkawasa,
Nang mallugon diabongan mo
Magaon na siollambodan mo;
Malaygon sa gigiba
Pugtok sa llollumpasi.

Walla sa pangungubsa
Wa sa pangawasa;

Awson pagpaka-indo
Ubson magpakagawa.

La - la - la- la - larin - larin . . .

Among the protodramas found among the Mandaya are the ritual balilig and the one called "the making of a Mandaya Datu". The former is one of the highest forms of Mandaya worship performed by a bailana to cure illness believed to be caused by the busaw or blood thirsty spirits. It is believed that the busaw has taken the sick person's soul and has hidden it inside the sun. The balilig is performed to appease the busaw. In the course of ceremony, the bailana stares at the sun waiting for it to open and release the sick person's soul. The performance of the balilig is announced to the temporal and spiritual worlds the night before. At about eight in the evening, a deer hide drum is played. At sunrise, an altar is erected on which a pig is laid facing the rising sun. a branch of sallapaw tree, decorated with mama-on (betel nut) flowers, is placed beside the altar bending to the east of the pig (Nabayra 1979:45).
When people gather, the drummer starts with the basal beat and the women begin to dance. The beating gets faster and the dancing get more hypnotic. The bailana present each calls upon her favorite kallbas or mugbong to suck the blood of the sacrificial pig (Nabayra 1979:45-46). The ancient chant goes thus:
O Mugbong, pangayon ka
Kallbas, kagomon kaw;
Sang amabalik na balyan
Amawaon na danginan.

The climax of the ceremony involves the stabbing of the sacrificial pig at the right armpit. All the bailana present, even those who did not dance, take turns in sucking the blood and partaking of the raw flesh of the pig. It is believed that the bailana are only acting as the medium of the blood - thirsty busaw. After this, the chief bailana dips a brunch of the bagaybay or flower of the betel nut in the blood of the pig and anoints the right palm of the sick person with the line from the middle of the palm towards the middle finger.
Another ceremonial rite is the one called "the making of a Mandaya Datu". Before a candidate is proclaimed a datu, he dances about brandishing his kampilan (large sword). The climax is reached when the priest, carrying a sprig of betel nut flower, dances in front of a candidate and sprinkles water on his forehead.
Orosa-Goquingco (1980:139) mentions the "Courting Dance" which is described as having the fiercely beautiful movements of a mountain hawk. The dancers' feet make rapid movements, creating circular patterns around each other, as their arms spread out like wings of eagles. A similar dance is the kinabua performed by a man and a girl or two girls. The dance portrays the hawks' use of sweet songs to lure out the hen and the chicks that are then made into a meal.
Sampak is a war dance of the Mandaya. It requires great skill in the handling of a spear, a sword, and a shield. The sayaw is a dance performed originally by the bailana; nowadays, children may imitate the dance. Like the bailana, two young dancers are dressed completely in native attire. The tungkaling is fastened to the dagmay skirt, and a neckerchief is held on the right hand. The dance starts with a prelude called the basal wherein the gimbal is played slowly. Following the beat, the dance proceeds to the sinakay-sakay or slow swaying of the bottoms. As the beat becomes faster, the movement progress accordingly (Valderrama 1987:53).
Another Mandaya dance is the gandang, accompany by the kudlong or kobeng. It is a free dance for all and usually starts when the elderly get tipsy with wine during a tribal celebration. The dancers may create their own actions that usually follow the rhythm and mood of the music (Valderrama 1987:54).


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References:

Bagani. Man of Dignity. Metro-Manila: the Presidential Commission for the
Rehabilitation and Development of Southern Philippines, 1980.
Cole, Fay - Cooper. The Wild Tribes of Dava District, Mindanao. Field Museum of
Natural History Publication 170. Anthropological Series, Vol XII, No 2. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1913.
Cuasay, Pablo. Kalinangan ng Ating mga Katutubo. Quezon City: Manlapaz Publishing,
1975.
De los Reyes, Roberto A. An Ethno-Artological Catalogue of the Philippine Traditional
Design Motifs. Design Monograph No 3. Manila: The Design Center, Philippine College of Arts and Trading, 1973.
De los Reyes, Roberto A. Traditional Handicraft Art of the Philippines. Manila:
Casalinda, 1975.
Fuentes, Vilma May A. and Edito T. De la Cruz, (eds). A Treasury of Mandaya and
Mansaka Folk Literature. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1980.
Gagelonia, Pedro A. The Filipinos of Yesteryears. Manila: The Star Book Store, 1967.
Jose-De la Cruz, Mercedita. Sourcebook of the Philippine Traditional Art Motifs and
Craft Processes. Manila: Philippine Committee for International Fund for the Promotion of Culture, 1982.
Landor, A. Henry Savage. The Gems of the East. New York: Harper,1904.
Montano, Jose. "Voyage Aux Philippines". Le Tour du Monde. Eduoard Charton (ed).
Paris: Librairie Hatchette et Cie, 1884.
Nabayra Jr, Emmanuel. "The Balilig." Papers in Mindanao Ethnography. Data Papers
No 2, Ethnographic Series. Marawi: Mindanao State University, 1979.
Orosa-Goquingco, Leonor. The Dances of the Emerald Isles. Quezon City: Ben-Lor
Publications, 1980.
Pegrega, Raimundo. "Breve Narracion Sobre la Tribu Mandaya." Cultura Social, Vol X,
No 116, (Aug 1922), No 117, (Sept 1922).
Peralta, Jesus T. "Briefs on the Major Ethnic Categories." Workshop Paper on Philippine
Ethno-Linguistic Groups. International Festival and Conference on Indigenous and Traditional Cultures. Manila, (22-27 Nov 1988).

Regional Map of the Philippines - XI. Manila: Edmundo R. Abigan Jr. 1988.
Rubinstein, Donald H. Fabric Treasures of the Philippines. Guam: ISLA Center for the
Arts at the University of Guam, 1989.
Valderrama, Ursula C. The Colorful Mandaya: Ethnic Tribe of Davao Oriental. Davao
City: Ursula Valderrama, 1987.
Yengoyen, Aram A. "Mandaya." Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia. Vol II:
Philippines and Formosa. Frank M. Lebar (ed). New Haven: Human Relations Area Files, 1975.
 
#18 ·
The Manobo (Philippines)

There is an ancient Manobo legend which tells of how a god created man to be immortal. The legend says that immortality was lost when a bird exchanged man's "life breath" for a mere peice of kemp string. For generations the Manobo have learned from childhood that no one has been raised to heaven. Still they hope to leave this world of poverty, sickness, hunger and death for the bliss of heaven. Today some villages are experiencing the joy of knowing Jesus who was raised to heaven by the power of the true and living God.

Ethnicity
There are about 25 tribal groups, linguistically grouped under the "Manobo" family.

Language
The Manobo have 24 main dialects. The following six groups are more closely related than others since their dialects are related. They include the Ata or Langilan Manobo, Tala Ingod, Matig-Salug, Tigwa, Dibabawon and Umayamnon.

Population
The population of the combined groups totals over 100,000.

Location
The island of Mindanao is the second largest of the Philippines archipelago with a land area of 36,505 square miles and the most recent of the major islands to be developed. It is often referred to as the "Land of Promise." The majority of the Manobo are located in the Central Mountains of the island and are seldom found in lowland towns except for going there to trade. Recently, however, many young people have made their way to the urban centers in search of work.

Culture
For hundreds of years these tribes roamed the valleys and mountains, doing slash-and-burn agriculture and having little or no contact with the outside world. From birth they have heard the oral traditions, myths and ballads, and have practiced the ways that made them distinctly Manobo - different from the lowland Filipino and neighboring tribal groups. Perhaps the strongest of their beliefs is that a person cannto leave the traditional spirits and ways and still be a true Manobo.

Livelihood
Physically, the lives of Manobos have been catastrophically altered by the rape of the environment by logging companies. Since the 1960s almost all of the native rain forest has been destroyed. This has rendered the Manobo slash-and-burn agriculture ineffective and no longer viable. Also many Manobo found pleasure in the new way the lowlanders brought, not realizing that the urge for materialism has made them poorer because of their unique lifestyle. Up to 90% of the land that belonged to Manobo has been sold - and is still being sold - to lowlanders. Up to this point in time many Manobo remain subsistence farmers and food gatherers instead of producers but this lifestyle has become increasingly hard without a good rain forest.

Political
Generally speaking, the tribes have been left to govern themselves because the economy is too poor for a tax base. Sadly many Manobo have left the once effective self-governing lifestyle and have become workers for the lowlanders. From the 1970s until the present, the national government has formed agencies to remedy wrongs and upgrade the lives of these minority people. For the most part, these projects have not yet been completed.

Religion

Animism, the fear of evil spirits, is the mainspring of tribal religion. Every village will have at least one spirit priest, usually a man. Animal sacrifices are required to appease the offended spirit in times of illness. All of the tribal groups believe in one great spirit who created everything but then left and turned over the daily affairs of running the world to the spirits.

Openness to Christianity
There is usually a welcome for foreign missionaries although travel may be restricted in some areas. Most of Mindanao tends to be "sensitive" but many people are open to change - especially where their old values and faith are disintegrating under the clash of cultures and the secularizing influence of the cities. Initially, the Manobo are receptive, especially among the developing tribes. Among the more traditional groups, it is more difficult. Many tribal leaders are keen to invite people to come and teach them the Bible for varying reasons, usually because of the resources the outsider brings.

Missions
Over the years various missions and churches have played a part in evangelism among the tribes. This has usually been an offshoot of their main work - church planting among lowlanders. In recent years, however, some larger denominational groups have focused on tribal work and at least one mission besides OMF is working exclusively with four tribal groups (the Tigwa, Langilan, Tala Ingod and Dibabawon).

OMF Involvement
Since 1978 there have been 36 churches (and 18 outreaches on the way to becoming churches) planted among them belonging to the Manobo Bible Church Association of Mindanao. Most churches are closer to the lowlands, while the more remote villages remain without churches. Ministries: Pioneer evangelism, assistance in church planting, medical work, Bible teaching/training of church leaders, agriculture, adult literacy/education, video and radio ministry and mobilizing and training Filipino Christians for cross-cultural ministry.

OMF is working among the Langilan, Talaingod, Tigwa, Dibabawon, Umayamnon and Pulangion Manobo with the MABCAM being the church association of these churches. OMF is also involved with the video ministry among the Manguangan, Kamayo and Teduray. There we work together with already existing church organizations.

Two other tribes that OMF is hoping to start work in soon, are the Rajah Kabunsuwan and Cinamiguin tribes.
 
#19 ·
Badjao

Dear Jhaelnis,

The photo of the Badjao kids on a small canoe was taken in the village of Cabukan, Jolo, Sulu. I stayed there for a while in 1999 when the elders asked us to look at the possibility of filing for an ancestral waters claim similar to the one secured by the Tagbanwa in of Coron Island in the Calamianes.

I am just curious, how did you manage to get a hold of that picture which I took way back in 99? I'm pretty sure I did not publish it or put it in any public access/domain portal.
 
#21 ·
Dear Jhaelnis,

The photo of the Badjao kids on a small canoe was taken in the village of Cabukan, Jolo, Sulu. I stayed there for a while in 1999 when the elders asked us to look at the possibility of filing for an ancestral waters claim similar to the one secured by the Tagbanwa in of Coron Island in the Calamianes.

I am just curious, how did you manage to get a hold of that picture which I took way back in 99? I'm pretty sure I did not publish it or put it in any public access/domain portal.
Here: http://www.globalpinoy.com/ch/ch_tribes_sub.php?name=Badjao
 
#20 ·
Why do Atis beg?

Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre
2007-03-05

KALIBO, Aklan – Ever wonder why Atis beg for your hard-earned money to buy liquor instead of food?

This is natural for the first inhabitants of Panay, according to Fr. Hermiginio ‘Jun Jun’ Felipe, an Aklanon priest who is studying the Ati’s way of life.

Felipe is currently in the second year of his three-year Cultural Heritage masteral course at the University of Santo Tomas.

Fr. Felipe is among the first five Filipino priests who enrolled in the said course in the country.

The Diocese of Kalibo under Bishop Jose Romeo Lazo commissioned his study.

“In my interviews with the Atis of Western Visayas, I realized that unconsciously their forefathers taught them that they need to demand for money in keeping with an unwritten agreement between the Atis and the Visayans,” Felipe said.

Felipe is referring to the so-called Barter of Panay which has been dismissed by some Filipino historians as a mere legend with no historical basis.

It is said that 10 Bornean datus arrived in Panay in the 13th century AD to escape their cruel king.

The Borneans led by Datu Puti brokered a trade with the Atis who agreed to sell the plains in exchange for a golden saduk and pearl necklace.

The Atis then lived in the mountains as part of the bargain.

The barter and other accounts on the pre-Hispanic history of Panay and Western Visayas were popularized by a historian from Miag-ao, Iloilo.

“After several years, they (Atis) went back to the plains to continuously ask the present Visayan inhabitants for their dowry in exchange for the Panay land they once owned,” he said.

Thus, the Atis believe they are not beggars but collectors of a land deal brokered several centuries ago.

Along this line, this indigenous people also believe they can do whatever they want with the money people give them. They can even taunt as kuripot or tightfisted those who refuse to spare them some coins.

One of the evidence presented by advocates to prove the historicity of the Barter and the 10 Bornean datus is the Ati-Atihan festival which is the modern day presentation of the festivities that followed after the 13th century land deal was consummated.

Fr. Felipe said he is eyeing the possibility of recommending to the Commission on Culture and Arts of the Diocese of Kalibo led by Fr. Boy Quan a new Ati-atihan perspective that will concretize the festival based on available evidence on Panay’s history.

“Right now, I am gathering solid evidence that instead of focusing the festival on the arrival of the 10 Bornean datus and the alleged purchase of Panay, I am planning to shift the focus on more concrete history of Kalibo which historians agree as the origin of the Ati-Atihan and other festivals with a similar theme,” he said.

According to historians, Kalibo came from the word ‘one thousand’ (sanglibo) in memory of the first 1,000 Christian converts in Aklan after the Spaniards arrived in the 18th century.

“Is it possible that the future ati-atihan festival will give emphasis on the first Christian converts of Kalibo and the manner of celebration is giving glory to the Child Jesus (Sto. Niño) for saving Panay by baptizing its inhabitants in the name of Christ?”

“In this way, the history of the Ati-atihan festival will not be anymore questioned by tourists and historians because it will now have a solid historical foundation based on facts and available archeological evidences,” Fr. Felipe added.

Source: The Daily Guardian Iloilo
 
#24 ·
The ones I know off...

-Karajahan/Kaharian ng Maynilad Kingdom of Manila
Ruled by the three last known kings of Manila
-Raja Suleyman
-Raja Matanda
-Lakan Dula

Covered parts of Metro Manila, but most of its population lived where Intramuros is today.

Laguna Copperplate reveals people have lived in the area as early as 900 AD.

Status : Dead but some people claim to be descendants of Raja Suleyman. I forgot the guy's name.

-The Makati City website claims a kingdom was once in its vicinity.

-Kasultanan ng Magindanaw Sultanate of Maguindanao
Still going... I don't know who its current sultans are.

-Kasultanan ng Sulu Sultanate of Sulu
Still going. Current sultan is disputed. Jamalul Kiram III, who claims to be the current sultan, is a member of GMA's Team Unity.

-There is speculation that the SriVijaya Empire, which covered parts of SE Asia, controlled parts of the Philippines. Not enough evidence proves this to be true, however.
 
#23 ·
The Vanishing Batak Tribe

The end of the Batak had come and gone. Their culture was already gone. The language was all that remained. Do you doom yourself and your children to lives of abject poverty, ridden with disease and living with hunger on a daily basis just to preserve a language?

Lorenzo Batak stands about five feet tall, and wears the traditional loin cloth, made from bark. At fifty-four years of age he is one of the most respected tribal elders. His face is lined. His curly black hair has gone completely gray, and his teeth are disappearing, making him look much older than he really is. Of late, he has been plagued by a constant cough and shortness of breath. Lung infections are rampant among the tribal people, living in their jungle community. The homes are lean-tos composed of leaves and bamboo, centered around a fire pit. The makeshift dwellings are suitable for the Batak, a nomadic people, accustomed to abandoning their village, and relocating. In the past, their relocations were conducted in a rhythm with the natural ecosystem. They would move, so as not to deplete the forest resources, which have sustained their people for centuries. Lately, most of their relocations have been a reaction to forced incursions by lowlanders.

Today, the entire community has turned out to greet the outreach mission from Tag Balay, an NGO, lead by Marifi Nitor-Pablico of Tag Balay Foundation. Lorenzo recognizes me from a previous visit to another Batak village and he smiles broadly, slapping me on the chest. The tribe is much more excited to see Marifi and her team of volunteers who are bringing food and medicine. Perhaps the most important member of the team is Dr. Richard LaGuardia, an American Filipino doctor, living in Puerto Princesa, who donated his time and medical assistance. The young students from Palawan State University follow behind, carrying crates of donated medicines.

Batak women, wearing sarongs, bare-breasted squat in a line, at the long tribal drums, made from hollowed out tree trunks. They pound out a joyful rhythm with heavy club-like drum sticks.

The Batak, believed to be the oldest inhabitants of the Philippines, are one of three principal tribes, located in Puerto Princesa City, on Palawan Island. In the far south of the island is the Palawan tribe, who still live as cave dwellers, hunting in the forest with blowguns. Inside the limits of Puerto Princesa City are the Batak and Tagbanua. The Tagbanua are by far the largest of the Palawan tribes. Population estimates range from 15-25,000 persons. The Tagbanua are largely integrated, living in communities, raising rice crops, and sending their children to church and school, much as their Filipino neighbors. (Note: all tribes in the Philippines are more or less indigenous and are entitled to Philippine citizenship. The term Filipino here refers to the modern, non-tribal, majority of Filipinos.) The Batak still live largely as they have for centuries, as semi-nomadic hunter gatherers. They are by far the smallest tribe, both in stature and in numbers. The average Batak man barely stands five feet tall. The tribal population is estimated at 360 members.

The Batak are a negrito people, with kinky (curly) hair and dark skin. Their mother-tongue is called Binatak and is related to other regional languages of Malayic origin. While the Palawan and the Tagbanua tribes developed a unique alphabet, the Batak have never had a writing system. Anthropologists believe the Batak to be related to the Aeta people, found in other parts of the Philippines. The Batak also bare a resemblance to the Semang and Sakai tribes of the Malay Peninsula. As the Batak do not have a written history, much of the explanation of their origin is based on guess work. Dr. Carlos Fernandez, a retired professor of anthropology in Puerto Princesa and a leading authority on the Palawan tribes, explained that a commonly held theory is that Borneo was once connected to Palawan by a land bridge. The Batak and other tribes are believed to have migrated from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, centuries ago. The theory goes on to suggest that the ultimate origin of these tribes may be from Madagascar.

In her book on the tribe, Bakas (an ethnographic documentation of the Batak indigenous people in Sitio Kayasan, Barangay Tagabenit, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines) Marifi Nitor-Pablico recounts the legend which the Batak use to explain their own origin.

Long ago while a mother was sleeping, her four sons came in the house. The eldest son lifted her skirt and laughed at his mother's nakedness. The second son also laughed but not as much. The third son did not laugh at all.

The fourth son covered his mother with cloth. The father stepped in the room, and told the children this had been a test, and they had each won an award. To the oldest son he gave a stick used to beat bark for making cloth. To the second son, he gave a piece of torn cloth. To the third son he gave a piece of new cloth. And to the youngest he gave a piece of iron. From the oldest son came the Batak people. From the second, the Tagbanua. From the third, the Moro (rich Muslim traders). And from the fourth came the Spaniards.

Batak language

Binatak, the dialect of the Batak, is classified as an Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Meso-Philippine Palawano language. Due to contact with outsiders the Batak language has become the recipient of many loan words from Tagbanua, Tagalog/Filipino, Spanish, and English. Although illiteracy is extremely high, nearly 100 percent of Batak speak Filipino, the lingua-franca of the Philippines. The distance to the primary school is identified as primary reason why illiteracy can't be combated among the Batak.

"Violence is not part of their code of ethos" explained Dr. Fernandez, "They deal with conflict by running away. They avoided contact with foreigners. Historically, their only means of defense was moving deeper into the forest."

Aside from the fact that it was historically easy for lowlanders to steal Batak land, simply by driving them into the jungle, Marifi explained that as the Batak push deeper and deeper into inaccessible jungle, they moved further and further away from schools and medical aid stations. Even if they lived closer to a school, however, Batak families are extremely poor and would be unable to pay tuition fees.

Unlike tribal people in other countries, Batak enjoy full rights of citizenship, including land ownership. Under the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) the Batak are gaining land rights. But they are still extremely shy about dealing with outsiders and run from confrontation. As a result, sending them medical supplies, teaching them agriculture, or giving them land rights are nearly ineffective in helping to preserve this vanishing race of people.

Lack of access to doctors adds to their staggering rate of infant mortality. Several Batak women confirmed that the average number of babies born per family was eight, but normally only two would live.

The Batak are hunter gatherers, so their diet consisted largely of forest products and meat. In the last thirty years, the forest cover of the Philippines has decreased from 70 percent to 3 percent. Only three percent of the Philippine Islands are covered in old growth forest. Thanks to the efforts of the environmentally-minded Mayor Edward Hagedorn, Puerto Princesa City, with 49 percent old growth forest coverage, is referred to as "the cleanest and greenest" city in the Philippines, and possibly in the world. Even with the protectionist measures, the environment of the Batak is shrinking. Today, there is very little large game left on Palawan Island. The largest animal they could hope to kill in the forest is a wild pig, and they are now becoming rare.

The Batak have made some changes to their diet, adapting the eating of rice to supplement the diminishing forest products. They buy additional foods from lowlanders when they have money. This has forced them into a market economy which they have very little understanding of. Batak are often cheated by the middlemen, whether they be Muslim, Chinese, or Filipino. They sell their products to local buyers at a fraction of their fair market value, because they have no direct access to the end-user markets in the city.

First contact

My first contact with the Batak was at Kalakwasa Village, a one hour walk from the paved road. When I met Lorenzo, an elder, I just assumed he would be the headman, and my point of contact. Instead, however, I was introduced to a much younger man, Eliseo, age 42, who claimed he was headman. Elisio claimed the village had been in its present location for 32 years. Nomads don't normally stay in one place for 32 years. I had trouble believing this and many others of his answers. "Before, we moved a lot. But now, we have settled here because no one came to help us when we lived deep in the forest." The Batak were living in houses, with woven walls, raised up non stilts. Elisio explained that these were not traditional Batak houses. "Before, our houses were made of natural materials. Now, we use wooden prefab materials provided by government." The new, permanent houses meant the tribe could no longer move.

Noticing that one of the buildings had a cross on the roof, I asked if it was a church. "Yes, we converted to Christianity (not Catholicism) ten years ago."

That single statement of fact explained the Disney like look of the village. Typical Filipino houses on stilts with woven walls were not typical for nomads. The fact that a young man was the leader also made no sense. But then Elisio explained.

"I worked with the missionaries. They taught me to speak Tagalog and to read. So, now I am the leader."

It would later turn out that not only was Elicio not the headman, but he was not even a Batak. He was a Tagbanua who had set himself up in business as guide and interpreter for foreign visitors to the tribe.

Dr. Fernandez explained that historically, the main outside influence on the Batak were the Muslim merchants who the Batak traded with when they were living in coastal regions. For the most part, however, the Batak were and are xenophobic, which is why the Spanish language and Catholicism never
caught on. Traditionally, the Batak followed an animist religion. They believed in spirits that lived in the forest, trees, rivers, and animals. Their value system was based on this belief system.

Recently, however, foreign missionaries, generally from Protestant sects, had been successfully converting villages. Once a village converts, every aspect of tribal identity disappears. In asking further questions about tribal customs and beliefs, Elisio either didn't know, didn't want to say, or just outright lied, so that he could provide us with the standard Christian answers which would have been no different than if we had remained in town and interviewed any Filipino working in a bank in Puerto Princesa.

Example: "What is the average marriage age of the tribe?” "Eighteen," answered Elisio.

This answer is a clear fabrication. Rural Filipinos don't even wait till eighteen to marry. For tribal people, the answer should be closer to twelve. Dr. Fernandez would later confirm that the onset of puberty is the signal that the child is ready for marriage.

"How many children do most families have?" "Two"

This was a near lie. The correct answer, as I would learn from Marifi and Dr. Fernandez later, was that the average family had eight children, but on average only two would live.

"How many wives do the tribal people have?" "Only one," answered Elisio, dutifully lying.

Polygamy

The Batak traditionally allowed polygamy, but it didn't come up very often because the man had to be wealthy enough to support the additional wives and children. After Christian conversion, this practice became taboo.

Tribal people, nearly everywhere, live in harmony with nature. Their existence is one of delicate balance. If any element is taken from the equation, if any changes are made to the eco system, they could go extinct.
If researched and studied deeply, every aspect of their cultural belief system is normally found to have practical and positive applications. Said another way, all that they do, they do in order that the tribe may continue to exist.

In choosing a mate, women will choose the man who is the best provider. If asked, she knows that this increases the chances of survival of her children. But modern researchers will also see a kind of social Darwinism in this practice. The best provider will probably be the biggest, the strongest, the healthiest or the cleverest man. By marrying and fathering children, these desirable genes are perpetuated. And the tribe as a whole becomes stronger. If the feeblest men married the feeblest women, they would produce feeble children who would not survive. Polygamy could really only be practiced by men who were super providers. There is an implication that they were carrying genes for unusually desirable traits, and so, polygamy gave them the opportunity to produce as many offspring as possible.

Another important function of polygamy is that the tribal people know that siblings shouldn't marry. Most tribes also discourage first cousins from marrying, but if there are no other spouses available even first cousins will marry. Polygamy would increase the marriage pool, so that men who were already married wouldn't be off the list of potential husbands.

Once the tribe converted to Christianity, they stopped practicing polygamy. The marriage pool decreased in size and women were often forced to marry "undesirable" men.

"Do cousins marry?" "Never," said Elicio, "We go to the other village to find a wife if none is available here."

This was again a near lie. Cousins did marry, because of the ever shrinking gene pool. If 30 families live in a village, and each have only two children, it doesn't take long for everyone to be related. As for finding a wife in another village, Marifi explained that this often meant marrying a Tagbanua. Because of so many intermarriages, the Batak are being slowly bred out of existence.

Dr. Fernandez said that as a result of poor diet and disease, Batak men have become very small. "In Asia," He said. "Women can marry up or they can marry at the same level, but they cannot marry down. Batak men are becoming undesirable candidates for marriage, so many of the Batak women are marrying Tagbanua."

The Tagbanua just looked healthier and stronger than Batak men. They were also richer. A large percentage of them farmed rice and lived in or near the city. Some even had regular jobs.

Marifi confirmed, "It is getting harder and harder for Batak men to marry."

"What do you do with your dead?" I asked Elicio. "We bury them in a coffin."

Superstitions and rituals

Once again, the Christian answer was given. In reality, tribal people usually have a number of superstitions and rituals associated with death. Some tribes actually relocate the entire village if one person dies. According to Dr. Fernandez, the Batak would burn the house where the dead person had lived, and no one would live in that house again. This superstition had the practical function of preventing the spread of communicable diseases. Now that they lived in pre-fab houses bought in the city, I wondered how quick they would be to burn them. And would not burning the home of the deceased result in more deaths?

The part of his story that was believable was that the pastor hadn't been to the village in ages. This was so common and frustrating among tribal people. Missionaries convert them, destroy the culture, and then leave.

Elisio told me that the church also served as a school for the Batak children. The teacher only came on Mondays and Tuesdays and taught first and second grade. As a result, although the church/school had been there for ten years, nearly everyone was still illiterate.

In most tribes babies are delivered at home, by midwives, as is the custom of the Batak. In many tribes it is customary to cut the umbilical cord with bamboo, a practice which leads to infection and threatens the life of the mother and infant. When I asked Elicio about this, he answered.

"The midwife uses scissors and she boils them for thirty minutes to sterilize them first."

This was one more answer that had been programmed into him by the missionaries. And of course, it turned out to be untrue. In questioning Batak women in another village, I found out that they use bamboo to cut the umbilical cord.

According to Elicio there were 33 families, 140 people living in the village. Dr. Fernandez explained that the political organization of the Batak was very loose, much simpler than the organization of say the Native Americans. Native Americans had chiefs and councils. They had political units and sub units. But with the Batak there isn't even a chief, just a village headman, who is consulted and whose opinion weighs more than that of the others, but he is not the boss. This type of structure can only work for about 90 people. Native Americans, on the other hand, were able to organize thousands and even tens of thousands of members in their nations. For the Batak, when the limit, of about 90, is reached, they would split off and form a new village.

According to this information, Elicio's village was way past being due for a split. Once again, this was putting unusual pressure on the forest resources to sustain this unnaturally large group of people.

Elicio was wearing basketball shorts and a T-shirt. Only the very old men seemed to be wearing a loin cloth. Many of the adolescents and even up to their thirties were wearing jeans. I asked if the missionaries had introduced the wearing of clothes. But Elicio answered, "No, we want to look like city people." Whether this was the case of not, the tribal culture was clearly dying out.

"Do you still hunt in the jungle with bows and arrows?" I asked. Elicio assured me that they did. Always interested in primitive weaponry I asked to see them.

Elicio turned to Lorenzo and, ostensibly, asked in Batak language, for the bows.

"Our bows are already at the museum." answered Lorenzo.

A diet of tuber

Elicio said the tribe ate a diet of fruits, vegetables, and meat they hunted. The lack of bows suggested they weren't doing any hunting. And fruits and vegetables don't grow so readily in the wild. Even if they did, they would be depleted by the tribe's lack of mobility. I would later find out that the Batak ate a diet which consisted almost exclusively of a tuber called kudot. It looks like a white root, which is so tough that it should be inedible. But the Batak would pound it and boil it for hours, till it had a consistency of mashed-potatoes mixed with saw dust. The resultant glue was absolutely tasteless, which was probably a good thing. If there was any nutritional value at all in kudot, it was most likely a source of carbohydrates but nothing else.

While Elicio and I did our interview on the porch of the main house, the elders sat inside talking. Across the way, a group of women huddled around a fire, with a number of children clinging to their bodies. All of them, the men, women, and children looked extremely unhealthy. And they looked unbelievably poor.

I didn't believe a word that Elicio was telling me, but his presence, his attitude, the presence of the church, and the artificiality of the whole situation signaled that this was the end of the Batak. Or even more accurately, the end of the Batak had come and gone. I was looking at the last few hold outs. And what was it exactly they were holding out for? Were they trying to preserve their culture? Their culture was already gone. The language was all that remained. Do you doom yourself and your children to lives of abject poverty, ridden with disease and living with hunger on a daily basis just to preserve a language?

Catching a moment alone with Lorenzo, I asked him what the worst problem was that tribe was facing. "The worst problem is that we get sick and there is no doctor. And sometimes we don't have food." He smiled and added, "But that is why foreigners are fat you have a lot of food, so your bodies are good."

Three Filipino teenagers entered the village with sports bags full of digital watches. "We trade watches to the Batak for chickens," explained one of the boys.

Why did the Batak need watches? They had no concept of time? Time was measured by seasons, each associated with a particular activity. For example, Tagpulot (honey season) is the time when they gather honey.

Besides not understanding hours and minutes, it isn't like their social calendars were full and they needed expert chronography.

I asked Elisio why the Batak needed watches. His answer was a bit strange. "Because they think the city people are rich."

I assume he meant that wearing a watch made them more like city people and thus made them appear rich.

I ducked around the house, to see what the Filipino boys were up to. Somehow I suspected they would be laundering money, dealing arms, trafficking narcotics, anything but selling watches. But there they were, with huge handfuls of watches, showing off their wares to a crowd of wide-eyed Batak. Behind the house, I found an old bolt-action rifle under a shed which had been converted into a muzzle loader

"We fill it with five packs of matches and BOOM!" explained one of the Filipino boys.

Pig bomb

Dr. Fernandez told me the tribal people also had a new invention called a pig bomb. They cut the heads off of several packs of matches and wrapped them in tape with broken glass. The lethal bundle was then inserted into a piece of fruit and left in the jungle. When an animal bites it, his head explodes.

The village had recently enacted a program of collecting a nominal entrance fee from guests, which we gladly paid. We had also brought several kilos of rice, coffee, and sugar as gifts. Additionally, we had to pay Elicio 300 pesos for the interview. I also paid one old man for sitting for a portrait. As we were leaving Elicio informed me that we were expected to pay 100 pesos per photo we shot in the village. There were four of us with digital cameras, snapping away. I am all in favor of tribes earning money, but this was outrageous. I made a donation of several hundred pesos to the community coffers, and signaled that this was the end of the interview. As we drove back to town, I wondered if the Batak would get any of that money or if Elicio was raiding the cash register.

My second contact with the Batak was more positive. The Tag Balay volunteers set up a make-shift medical aid station, for Dr. La Guardia, another station for gifts, and a third for food. After Lorenzo and I said our hellos, the next person I talked to was Burt, a Tagbanua. He wore a blousy shirt, like a pirate, and loose trousers, with a huge bolo knife on his belt. Burt was noticeably taller than the Batak. In addition to being literate in Tagalog, he spoke excellent English.

"I was born in a tribal village like this one." He told me, with a kind of nostalgia. The tone of his voice, and the fact that he was hanging around the Batak village, suggested that he missed some aspects of the wild,
natural days of his youth. "I had no shirt and no pants until I went to the Catholic school. They taught me to read and write and to wear clothes."

Now Burt is a farmer, with his own house, in the Tagbanua village, near the highway. "The Batak still live in the jungle, but the Tagbanua moved to town because we want to live like everyone else."

Lorenzo and some other old men were doing their war dance, waving their wooden bolos, dancing around the drumming women. As a martial artist, it was interesting to me that the postures and positions of the war dance, done with two large bolos, one in each hand, looked like the Filipino stick-fighting martial art of Arnis (also called Kali or Escrima). What was interesting, however, was that the dance was only ceremonial, and the men would never practice striking with the bolo. In fact, the martial art, if they had ever known it, had been lost long ago, and only this vestige remained.

"Mayor Hagedorn is a good man, he does everything for the people. I am glad Tag Balay comes here to help them," said Burt. "Last time I came here they were all passed out on the floor, sick with malaria."

The farmer's life was obviously healthier than living in the jungle. Burt looked to be half as old as Lorenzo, but in actuality, they were probably about the same age. He told me he had 14 children by five wives. "They are all grown now. Some live in Manila, and some in Canada. We live exactly like city people now."

Toys

Marifi's team of volunteers were handing out toys to the Batak children and cookies to everyone. Very interesting was that as soon as they saw the toys, the children knew these were for them. But, coming from a society that had absolutely nothing, the kids had no clue how to play with toys. Action Rangers, cars, baby dolls, yo-yos and balls had no place in the jungle. The children were walking around holding them and looking at them. In most of the lean-tos the entire family was gathered around staring at the new toys,
in their decorative packages. There were also rattles and shaking and grasping toys for the infants. But no one knew which ones were for babies and they would just as likely be played with by a middle-aged head of a family. Or more accurately, they would be held and stared at by a middle-aged head of a family.

The bright colors were such a stark contrast to the green and brown of the forest. One boy had a ball but didn't know to play catch. He just carried it around from family to family, showing it off. One of the Tag Balay college kids took the ball and threw it to the boy. But the boy had no concept of catching. The ball just hit him, bounced off his chest and fell on the ground. A little girl had a baby doll, which she tried to play with, in spite of it still being in the plastic bag. It made crinkling noises when she hugged it. The same was true of the toy cars which were never removed from their packages.

One of the Tag Balay guys told me. "I brought some toys to a village two years ago. When we came back, a year later, the toys were still new. They were still in the original packages and the family just displayed them, like a decoration in their lean-to."

I took the Power Ranger from one boy and made it fly, making "Woosh! Woosh!" noises. The whole family laughed hysterically and then the boy tried to imitate me. Soon the whole troupe of children were trying it. I decided they thought flying, with "woosh" noises was the only game that could be played with a Power Ranger. Maybe two years later, they would still be doing the "woosh." Maybe they would call it the Antonio Game. Perhaps it would become a cult, and I could be the leader of a movement….My imagination tends to run away from me when I am in the jungle for more than ten minutes.

Marifi told me a lesson she learned from the Batak. "In a nomadic society, possessions are a burden."

On some level, wasn't this true for all of us? The things you own end up owning you. You become a slave to your car or house, working to make payments. A monk once taught me that possessions were a chain that prevented your soul from reaching the next level.

A lesson I learned from the Batak children was that it didn't occur to them to make Power Rangers fight. Dr. Fernandez words rang true. "Violence is just not a part of their ethos."

While the Tag Balay guys tried to teach the children to play yo-yo, most of the Batak adults lined up to be examined by Dr. LaGuardia.

"The most common problems in communal living situations like these are infectious diseases like TB, and then disease specific to living in the jungle like malaria." explained Dr. LaGuardia. "Internal and external parasites are also to be expected. They all have skin diseases, but we didn't receive a donation of skin medicines." The doctor confided in me, only half jokingly. "I am afraid to leave the Batak with ointments and pills because they may forget my instructions and start eating the ointment."

Vitamin deficient

All the children had a runny nose and most adults had a cough. "They are vitamin deficient from their poor diet," diagnosed Dr. LaGuardia. He estimated the average weight of the Batak men to be about 40 kgs which was less than all but the smallest Filipina women in our party. It was less than half of my own body weight.

Lorenzo was running a fever and complained of difficulty breathing. Most patients turned out to have lung infections. Dr. LaGuardia said, "It could be from the environment. It could be from the smoky fire. Many of these diseases would disappear if they would learn to wash with soap and water."

Not to be insulting, but most of the tribal people smelled as if they didn't bath often, if at all. When it didn't rain, the river was completely dry, so obtaining water just for drinking must already have been a hardship. Bathing would have been out of the question. And of course a lack of water brings up the questions of where were they getting their drinking water? And, was it clean?

Dr. LaGuardia was dispensing a lot of multi vitamins and antibiotics. "They all seem to have lung infections. We don't have a field test kit for TB, but we can treat it with antibiotics."

The Batak must also chew a lot of beetle nut because they had terrible teeth, black, red, and missing.

In the end, the doctor estimated that 80 percent of the patients were severely anemic. Dr. LaGuardia peeled back the lower eye-lid of one man and showed me. "The tissue here should be red." Instead, the man's tissue was completely white. "This is a sign of anemia." The man, Willis, was a muscular guy, who looked like the healthiest person in the village. But in actuality, he was one of the sickest.

When asked about his diet Willis said, "I wish I could eat more meat, but I can't afford it."

"We can treat the anemia with courses of multivitamins," said Dr. LaGuardia, explaining to the Batak patients how many pills they should take and for how many days. "But how can we be sure they will take them once we leave?"

"In prescribing medicines for tribal people you have to be careful about dosages. First, they are very small in stature. And second, they have never taken any medicine in their life. Luckily, with multivitamins we don't have to worry about vitamin toxicity. It would be different, however, if we were giving them A or E by itself because it accumulates in the body."

Trying to discover the source of the anemia, we quizzed the Batak about their diet. The story from all of them was the same. Kudot was the staple of the diet. The only meat they got was from small animals. Squirrels were often trapped in holes in hollow tree trunks and killed with a stick.

Francis, 21 years old, a Tagbanua working for the Tag Balay foundation told me he had lived his whole life in a Filipino style village. He even went to university for several years but had to stop because of financial constraints. Now, he was helping the tribes and doing translation. Francis had a gentle, kind spirit and seemed so at home in the village talking to everyone.

"I feel very happy to come here," said Francis, "I have more in common with these people than I do with city people."

Dr. LaGuardia suggested that someone should teach the Batak to domesticate chickens. "Chickens are easy to keep and feed. And that would eliminate the problem with anemia."

But Marifi said "No, they are nomadic. They can't domesticate animals and continue to live as nomads."

Migratory habits

Dr. Fernandez explained further about the migratory habits of the tribe. "The Batak can replant forest foods closer to the village but they do very little actual agriculture. Nomadic is perhaps not the right word. They do move if they deplete the resources in a particular part of the forest. In recent years moving has been a means of dealing with encroachment from lowlanders. The Tagbanua are more sophisticated. They have had contact with Muslims since the early 1900's. They traded with Muslim seaborne traders who exploited them. They also had contact with Muslim pirates who committed raids." The Tagbanua were able to embrace the outsiders, or at least, deal with them in a constructive fashion. "Tagbanua women marry Muslim men. There have been attempts made to convert them to Islam, but it hasn't taken hold, although you do find some Muslim goods in their homes."

"The Batak, on the other hand, engage in conflict resolution by fission, moving away from trouble. This behavior is very common among hunter gatherers."

As for the acquisition of Muslim goods or houses among the Batak, Dr. Fernandez reiterated, "Material wealth is a burden to hunter gatherers."

As a rule, the Batak, unlike other ethnic minorities, don't make any attempt to go to the city and find jobs.

"They know they are always welcome at Tag Balay," explained Marifi, "And they sometimes walk all the way into the city when they have a problem. We keep beds for them in the back of the office, so they can sleep if they need to, but we don't encourage them to move into town."

Other than a few of the children, the youngest man wearing traditional garments was in his late thirties. The rest of the men were wearing jeans. Even in the most traditional of Batak villages, the culture was dying.

A little Batak boy named Jonus had just traded his loin cloth for basketball shorts and was trying to master his new yo-yo. He looked so much like a city kid, Marifi asked him, "Do you want to go to school?"

"No," he answered, without even a moment's hesitation. "Why not?" asked Marifi. "My family is too poor. We can't pay for school." "What if someone paid for you?" "No, I am too old for school, now."

Jonus looked like he was nine, but actually he was 13.

My experiences with the tribes in Thailand and Burma told me that tribal kids like being tribal kids. They like playing in the wilderness and hunting and gathering. They have no chores, or duties, or schedules apart from what is necessary to live. Also the apprenticeship for a hunter gatherer is much shorter than for a city dweller. Where it takes us 25 years to complete an education, and be able to support ourselves, and live as adults, tribal kids can learn all they need to know, and get married by their mid teens.

Time to go

When it was time for us to go, Lorenzo stood before the entire assembly and in a very dignified manner, befitting a polished statesman, made a lengthy speech of thanks to Marifi, Tag Balay, and Mayor Hagedorn.

The Batak women banged the drum as we made our way back to our vehicles.

Both Marifi and Dr. Fernandez agreed that the Batak were on their last leg. As proof, they both cited the book, The Road to Extinction, by James Eder. Mr. Eder outlines several causes why the tribal people, all over the world, are dying out: Deterioration of resources, loss of land or forced relocation, diet, diminished fertility, infant mortality, and mal nutrition. The lack of preferred spouses forces them to marry undesirable husbands and promote undesirable genes. Finally, the long term stress of foraging and worrying about food destroys the health of the hunter gatherers. Additional stress comes from worrying about being eaten by animals and stress caused by the threat of encroachment by outsiders.

As the tribe disappeared in the rearview mirror, I realized that soon they would disappear forever. Did that mean little Jonus would die, never having attended school? Lorenzo would surely be one of the first to go. Then who would be the leader of the tiny enclave that would be left? Would people like Elicio come and exploit them further?
 
#122 ·
I always held the belief, I could be wrong, that the Sri Vijaya covered most of present day Visayas, hence our name.

I also want to learn more about my Pintado ancestors, the tattooed warriors or the ancestors of Lapulapu et al. What were they like and so on. What manner of Alibata did they use, if at all? Was there only one standard Alibata or did it have variants scattered across 7,100 islands?

The only clue I have is that there is a shrinking tribe in Brunei who also goes by the name Bisaya...
 
#27 ·
Moro Pilipinas: Muslim People and Culture in the Philippines

I noticed that we are quite mainstream-centric when we discuss heritage and culture, obviously because of Western culture that we have embraced as Filipinos.

In this thread, lets talk about the people and culture of the Muslim Filipinos (especially in Mindanao & Sulu area), the traditions and their issues, the art and architecture and beliefs and the concept of "Bangsamoro".
 
#32 ·
about architecture... I hope a big mosque be build somewhere in the Mindanao.. a mosque that can be a tourism icon of the south... or is there already one iconic Mindanaoan mosque already?
there are already so many mosques... many are small and some are large and iconic... they're not given publicity however so almost nobody know the exist...

other public buildings in mindanao are built in islamic architecture too... try the thread about ARMM in mindanao forum dude...
 
#29 ·
I'll start off with my favorite Muslim ethnic group, the Maranaos.
http://class.csueastbay.edu/anthropologymuseum/virtmus/Philippines/Peoples/Maranao.htm

The Maranao are famed for their sophisticated weaving and wood and metal craft. Maranao means "People of the Lake," after their traditional territory in the area surrounding Lake Lanao in the Bukidnon-Lanao Plateau, which is some 2,200 feet above sea level. They are one of the largest Islamic groups in the Philippines. Core areas as Marawi City, Lumba-a-bayabao, and Bayang. The Maranao are a splinter group of the Magindanao who took up Islam; all families trace their religious origin to Sharif Kabunsuan, who introduced the religion in the area. Communities are clustered around a mosque and a torogan, a royal house belonging to the leading economic household in the area. The Maranao are widely distributed and play an important role in market trade. Besides exotic textiles, metalwork, and woodcraft, the torogan building is perhaps the most spectacular example of Filipino secular architecture. The awang, or dugout boat used in Lake Lanao, is possibly the most unique and ornate of dugouts. Maranao textiles, which indicate the status of the wearer, are known for their very ornate designs and colors. The design motifs which form the basis for the okil are highly systematized. NOtable among them are the sari-manok and naga, abstract animate forms of the ****, and dragon or snake, respectively. They also utilize a unique tube skirt, the malong.





 
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