Mythologies of the Bagóbo Tagabawa Tribes

“The owners of these islands,” says an old writer, speaking of the Southern Philippines about a century and a half after Magellan, “are those who people the mountains,” having retreated thither before invasions of more vigorous tribes (Moro), who hold the coasts and “bear themselves among those people as princes.” The Bagobo still “people the mountains” of Mindanao between the crest of the range which culminates in the volcanic Mt. Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines, and the waters at the western side of the head of the Gulf of Davao. They form a population of some ten or twelve thousand, still largely pagan; since the American occupation of the Islands, a considerable number have been induced to settle in the lowlands between their original mountain fastnesses and the coast. The Bagobo do not seem to differ greatly from other Malays in appearance. They are short and slim, broad-headed and of a light reddish-brown complexion. These characteristics are said to be common to all the tribes about the Gulf of Davao; though individuals are found, especially toward the interior, who show marked traces of intermarriage with Negritos. The Atá, to the north and northeast of the Bagobo, have been called Negritos by some observers; and there are said to be Pygmies in the Samal Islands of the Gulf. Various phases of the life of these people are well illustrated by many of the objects included in a large collection made among the Bagobo within recent years, and lately acquired by the Museum.

The Bagobo are one of the largest subgroups of the Manobo peoples. They comprise three subgroups: the Tagabawa, the Klata (or Guiangan), and the Ovu (also spelled Uvu or Ubo) peoples. The Bagobo were formerly nomadic and farmed through kaingin (slash-and-burn) methods. Their territory extends from the Davao Gulf to Mt. Apo. They are traditionally ruled by chieftains (matanum), a council of elders (magani), and female shamans (mabalian). The supreme spirit in their indigenous anito religions is Eugpamolak Manobo or Manama. The Bagobo believes in a mighty company of superior beings who exercise great control over the lives of men. Above all is Eugpamolak Manobo, also called Manama, who was the first cause and creator of all. Serving him is a vast number of spirits not malevolently inclined but capable of exacting punishment unless proper offerings and other tokens of respect are accorded them. Below them is a horde of low, mean spirits who delight to annoy mankind with mischievous pranks, or even to bring sickness and disaster to them. To this class generally belong the spirits who inhabit mountains, cliffs, rooks, trees, rivers, and springs. Standing between these two types are the shades of the dead who, after they have departed from this life, continue to exercise considerable influence, for good or bad, over the living.

Tibolo Village is home to a Bagobo tribe. Located at the foot of Mount Apo, the Philippines’ highest mountain peak, the cultural experience it brings is truly amazing that one will wish to visit over and over again. Here, you will get to meet and interact with the Bagobos, take a peek of their houses, learn their traditional craft, and taste their simply prepared but delectable food.

It is a truly Mindanaoan tribal village that showcases the Bagobo culture at its best where visitors can spend the day and immerse with the community and learn their culture. For a minimal fee, visitors may stay or sleep in a hut similar to the ones used by the Bagobos, perfect for bonding moments with families, groups of friends, colleagues from the office, or team buildings. There is also a big house for special activities and occasions of the “Lumad” like assemblies which has now become a favorite venue for weddings and receptions, business meetings, conventions, corporate events like seminars and workshops. Visitors will also get to learn the traditional craft on how to weave the T’nalak – a piece of handcrafted clothing specially woven by Bagobo women. The Bagobos showcases their traditional craftsmanship in the way they fashion tribal accessories and clothing woven in vibrant colors and intricate design.

The Bagóbo are a proud people with proto Malayan features and with a strong social structure enabled them, as a group, to integrate with the main body politic while retaining much of their indigenous customs, beliefs, and values. That said, most of the Bagóbo have suffered dislocation due to the loss of their ancestral lands and the effects of modern day insurgency. While many are in economically depressed circumstances, a considerable number have attained a substantial degree of self-sufficiency. For instance, they are renowned for their metal-craft skills, particularly in the production of brass articles by means of the ancient lost-wax process; weaponry best exemplify Bagóbo ornate traditions of metal-crafting. While still others of the Bagóbo specialize weaving abacca cloths of earth-toned hues, as well as, basket-making trimmed with beads, fibers and horse hair. Their distinct ceremonial attire made of ikat textiles is likely to be referred to as either costume or dress. For the Bagóbo, however, whichever word is used made a difference. For example, they tend to use kóstyom (costume) when speaking to non-Bagóbo; amongst themselves, they use ompák (garment or clothing). Kóstyom is not just “costume” pronounced with a local accent, it referred to something more exact. For the Bagóbo, the implementation of these clothes took on multiple meanings that delineated the many modes of being a modern Bagóbo. Textiles continue to profoundly connect to ideas of the self in relation to the group, especially with regard to shared ideals of spiritual understanding and belonging.

The Bagobo, one among the leading group of indigenous people in Davao City, exhibits very colorful roots of their culture and arts through their dance and music. Among the most common dance performances is the Bagobo Festival comprising sets of dances that interpret their economic activity ending into a social gathering. The Pangkat Silayan Theatre Collective of the University of Southeastern Philippines would be very glad to show case an excerpt of the festival in their most authentic interpretation of “Sayow ka manto Taladuma” and “Todak”. This dance of the Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe is usually performed during social gatherings especially after a good harvest as a thanksgiving for everyone who has helped newly wed couples in starting their living. As a social dance originating in Todaya, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, this performing art work depicts happy moods of newly wed couples while clearing the field after a slash and burn activity. After marriage, couples are usually given an area in the forest for them to cultivate. Other couples related to the man would join the activity with their wives. Men and wives tease each other playing with charcoals and dancing atop unburned trunks of trees. Men would be using long poles to clear the ground from charcoals of burned trees; women would have a pair of red handkerchiefs to wipe out charcoal markings in the face of their husbands. At some time, women would entertain their husbands by dancing and playing with a sauroy exhibiting their balancing skills of performing atop leftover trunks of burned trees that has remained standing on the ground with unstable balance that would easily seem to breakdown. Men would follow with their faglhong and the couples would be dancing and singing together while teasing each other.

The Bagobo Tagabawa is known for its colorful garb due to a lasting weaving tradition as well as for making really good coffee that gives them warmth from the year-round cold weather of the area. The cultural immersion experience to visitors is completed with their offering of traditional dishes including the ludang (a taro root dish cooked with dried fish and coconut milk) and nilutlot na manok (native chicken with lemongrass and coconut milk, cooked inside a bamboo).

The Bagobo are considered the most colorful people of the Philippines, heavily embroidering their abaca clothing with beads and stitchwork. The never ending jingling of the many tiny brass bells woven into the clothing became a Bagobo symbol. Both men and women use the abaca for clothing which usually are heavily decorated with multi-colored beads and embroidery over the woven designs on the cloth. The Bagobo is also known for the production of cast brass ornaments like bells using the lost-wax process. The Bagobo are a settled people, practicing agriculture as well as hunting and fishing. Their chief crop is rice, which they grow in clearings on the mountain sides. Since this grain is their staple food, the whole routine of its cultivation is most closely bound up with their religious beliefs and practices.

Tagabawa is spoken in Cotabato and Davao del Sur provinces, and on the slopes of Mount Apo west of Davao City, The language is spoken by the Bagobo Tagabawa people. Their religion is an array of innumerable gimokods (spirits) who have to be shown respect. The Bagobo also believe in a supreme being who inhabits the sky world, as well as a deity, a supernatural immortal being who will brings sickness and death to incestuous couples. The Bagobo are a settled people, practicing agriculture as well as hunting and fishing. Their chief crop is rice, which they grow in clearings on the mountain sides. The Tagakaulo or Tagakaolo inhabit Mindanao, Sarangani, Davao del Sur, and Mt. Apo. Tagakaulo belongs to the Austronesian and Malayo-Polynesian language families; its dialect related to the Mandaya, Kalagan, and Kamayo. Tagakaulo translates to “inhabitants of headwater (olo sa tubig) or sources of rivers and streams.”

The Bagobo (Manobo, Manuvu, Obbo, Obo) may be thought of as several groups of people, each of whom speak one of three Bagobo languages; these languages belong to the Manobo Family. Until sometime in this century, there were two major groups, which were distinguished from each other by geographic separation and by several cultural distinctions. The upland Bagobo live in the very mountainous region between the upper Pulangi and Davao rivers on Mindanao in the Philippines, whereas the coastal Bagobo once lived in the hills south and east of Mount Apo. The coastal Bagobo were influenced by Christianity, plantations, and resettlement among coastal Bisayans; they now reside either with the upland Bagobo or with the Bisayans and do not exist as a separate group. Upland Bagobo numbered 30,000 in 1962. Their traditional subsistence is derived approximately 75 percent from swidden fields that yield rice, maize, sweet potatoes, and other crops. Twenty-five percent of their diet comes from hunting, fishing, and gathering. Some villages consist of only a few families on a hilltop and are impermanent owing to the needs of swidden farming. In larger valleys, up to 100 families may live together in more permanent villages. They are organized by bilateral kindreds that work together to pay bride-wealth, for wergild, and to form vengeance groups. Bilateral kinship reckoning, a strict incest prohibition, and small villages together make most villages exogamous. Residence is matrilocal. Until World War II, villages were autonomous and were governed by one or more datus, who were wealthy legal authorities and negotiators.

The Bagobo-Tagabawa are very creative and resourceful. They used materials found in their surroundings as part of their ornaments. They are also artistic and they love to display colorful ornaments over almost all parts of their bodies. The Spaniards once marveled at them and called them “one of the most handsomely dressed natives.” The ceremonial attire of the Bagobo is most ornate and artistic. The Bagobo tie-dye abaca fibers in deep red, maroon, and black. The sheen of the undyed white fibers provides a sharp contrast. They weave these fibers into longitudinal strips with geometric designs representing nature and human beings. The motifs, spaces, and symmetric are recalled from memory. They polish the fabric, called tinalak, with stones and shells to bring out a special luster and softness.

The origin of the term “Bagobo” is uncertain, but it may have come from bago, meaning “new or recent,” and obo or uvu, meaning “person.” The name originally applied to the coastal peoples of Davao Gulf, especially the indigenous groups on the western shores of southeastern Davao. However, these groups consisted of three different linguistic groups whose languages were mutually unintelligible before acculturation and intermarriage: the Tagabawa, the Ubo Manuvu, and the Jangan. A fourth group, the Matigsalug, is linguistically most closely related to the Ubo, but this may be the result of intermarriage and close interaction with the neighboring Ubo of Baguio District, Davao City. “Tagabawa” means “people of the south,” from bawa, which may actually mean either “south” or “north.” The Ubo Manuvu call themselves Manuvu, meaning “people.” However, so as not to be confused with the Manobo groups that are scattered in various places in Mindanao, the Manuvu are more known as Obo Manobo and Obo Bagobo. “Jangan” means “forest,” and the Jangan are called by various names by neighboring groups. The Matigsalug call them Klata, meaning “to go through,” because the Matigsalug have to go through Jangan territory to go to Davao to barter. The Tagabawa and Ubo call them Eto or Attaw, a variant of tao, utaw, or tawo, which all mean “people.” “Jangan” is spelled “Guiangan” in the Spanish records because of the peculiarities of Spanish orthography. The older-generation Jangan call themselves thus, but the present generation prefer to be called Klata and refer to jangan as the forest that is their traditional habitat. Spanish missionaries and early ethnographers tended to identify them all as one group because they had common articles of material culture such as dress and ornaments, tools, blades, and musical instruments.