History of Mindanao Part XXIII: Zamboanga City, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi Tawi Circa 1892

The following is an excerpt from the book, "The Philippine Islands and Their People" by Dean Conant Worcester (New York City:MacMillan) (1899). Worcester was an Assistant Professor of Zoology at the University of Michigan who had been to the Philippines twice at that point, visiting the Philippines in the last few years of Spanish rule. While a Graduate Student at the University of Michagin in 1887, at age 21, he was plucked from obscurity by the eminent Dr.Steele and chosen to assist Steele on a tour of the Philippines in which they were keen on cataloguing the islands' unique bird species. Speaking of that time Worcester admitted that he never wanted to see the Philippines again.

Then, offered a generous grant while employed as an Assistant Professor of Zoology at that same university, Worcester and a colleague once again accompanied Steele, although this time with much more independence due to their own grants. Again they concentrated on unique bird species although they also looked far and wide for other flora and fauna. This trip was originally funded for two years but was then extended a third year so that it covered 1890 to 1893, an interesting epoch in Philippine History, politics, and culture.

Worcester didn't intend on writing this, his first of several books and papers, and only did so in 1899 because he became involved in an acadamic "battle" with John Barrett, another American academic of that same era whose work I have included in a prior entry. America had just grabbed the country ("grabbed" is exactly the right word) and its government badly needed "experts" to explain their shiny new trinket to them. Worcester's book landed him a role on the first Philippine Commission, from 1899 to 1901, hand picked by then-President of the United States, William McKinley. He left that position to become the Secretary of the Interior of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, a lofty sounding position and one that gave Worcester incredible power over the colony's resources, though at the time it was mostly timber, abaca (hemp), and rubber that were being exploited the most- apart from land allotment, an exploitable resource if ever there was one. It was Worcester whom we have to thank for those early land laws which gave Christians more lands than any other group, etc., etc.

Worcester is well known for a couple of reasons. In 1908 a Manila-based Spanish periodical, the hyper-nationalist "Aves de Rapina," was created just to politically assassinate the man. Worcester was a Zoologist by training, as noted, one who specialised in the study of birds. The title "Ave de Rapina" was a double entendre in which two Filipino nationalists, possibly funded by Americans hoping to muscle in on Worcester's honeypot, did everything but come out and actually say Worcester's name as they outlined greedy scheme after greedy scheme, all they said, the evil doings of "someone who isn't Secretary of the Interior."

In that same year, 1908, Worcester sued both the author and publisher for Libel, a case that eventually wound its way to the US Supreme Court, a case which eaerned the publisher and author twelve and six months in prison respectively. Although these sentences were upheld by every court, including the aforementioned US Supreme Court, Worcester's arch nemesis, Governor General Burton Harrison, pardoned the two two defendants in 1914. Ironically, Worcester himself publicly accused Harrison of the same type of pernury and corruption, or in Filipino-speak, "Plunder."

Worcester is controversial in a number of other ways. A deep interest in Ethnography led to such admirable works as his book, "The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon" (1906) but it also led to Worcester's habit of photographing nude male and female tribespeople in ways that appear to transcend the late 19th/early 20th Century fascination with Eugenics and veer straight into pornography. McCoy has actually labeled it as porn, though I am not sure that was what was at stake. If one actually read's Worcester's full body of work Eugenics is often a touchstone and in that era, perfectly normal. Noone accuses the National Geographic Society of publishing porn (OK, some do but they are usually of the ilk who imagine Adam and Eve rode dinasours) and yet Worcester's photographs were no more risque than any NG magazine of the era. Anyway, it isn't something really worth debating at this point. Worcester's "sins" are catalogued far and wide and most greatly outweigh whatever sexual exploitation may or may not have taken place.

Worcester remained in the Philippines for most of his life, dying in 1924, at age 58. His work, "Slavery and Peonage in the Philippine Islands" (1913) should earn the man at least enough acclaim to mitigate his inequities, real or perceived, and make all his output worthy of consideration.

As for this book I am covering with this entry...Worcester's memoir is quite interesting for a number of reasons; on one hand, this book was written mere weeks after the Americans invaded- and "invaded" is EXACTLY what they did- and ran roughshod over a newly independent group of nations. Most Filipinos, let alone foreigners, imagine that the Philippines would have been independent in its current form if America had never came on the scene. In fact, the Americans arrived and invaded several nations. Zamboanga was an independent republic, Butuan was nearly there as was Cotabato. Cebu was on its own, the Ilonggos on the other end of the Visayas had formed their nation, and of course, on Luzon, there were at least three such nations. America merely co-opted the Spanish model of colonialist counter-intuitive cartography and with a few strokes of the pen managed to erase the national aspirations of at least seven different young nations.

Although it was basically a bloodless invasion, the blood-LOTS of it coming a bit later on- had been spilled before arrival, remembering that the Americans HAD fought a very bloody couple of rounds in the Caribbean. Cuba for example, and that had come to fruition only after a disgusting anti-Spanish propaganda campaign in the American Media, "Remember the Maine" probably being the best example of ho-hokumness arising from the buildup to the confrontation in Havana Bay. Worcester was not a media hack. He was an academic, and yet he was a man of the late 19th Century. The "White Man's Burden" was alive and well, as was "Manifest Destiny." This juxtaposition of proto-fascist ideologies produced a curious intersection that had- in Worcester's mind abyway- the Negrito, or "Savage," some steps above the slovenly, backwards, corrupt, and brutal Spaniard. Yet, being who he was, Worcester could not deny his inner superiority complex and we end up seeing what he REALLY thinks of the "Filipino" (an invented term if ever there was one), the Catholic Church, and just about everything else Worcester spends time with.

Some interesting points: Worcester, while not being a rigirous academic, did offer some very important observations; My concentration, of course, is on Mindanao, which includes Mindanowan islands to the south in what is today the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi Tawi. On these perhaps the most valuable insights involve Zamboanga City's Barangay Ayala (in this entry). However, in his musings upon Palawan Worcester mentions the Tagbauna Tribe's system of writing on knots of bamboo. He personally observed this and this is EXTREMELY important since most believe that the Tagbauna lost this practice in the 17th Century. Aside from the Tagbauna, whose system of writing has been believed to have been extinct for centuries, only Mindoro's Mangyan Tribe has produced a unique and organic system of writing that has managed to survive into the Modern Era. Islamicised Tribes of course co-opted Arabic lettering- sans vowels and accent marks- to phonetically compose omportant documents in both tribal languages like Maranaw (Maranaon) and Maguindanaw (Maguindanaon), but also Bahasa Malaya, the lingua franca of littoral Southeast Asia. Yet that is a world apart from the organic development of a unique, specific writing system.

Also, this book was written at a time when the gorilla had just been discovered in Africa. Westerners were somewhat obsessed about larger apes. Worcester mentions that the Tagbauna believe in the existence of a large ape on Palawan, a creature they call "Pakda," along with the much less interesting- to me- feral goats they say live in the mountains around them. They also have a version of that pan-Malayan bogeyman Tagalogs call "Awang," only the Tagbauna don't see it as a beautiful alluring female, but rather as an old man with very long fingernails, who after flying through the night skies lands upon their thatched roof, and then, with a very long tongue that slips through their thatched roofs, licks their necks. According to Worcester, they also believe body lice to play an integral part in their version of the "Afterlife," but alas, here I am touching upon all this and I haven't even included Palawan in my excerpt (don't you hate me?); I begin in the Chapter where Worcester and his party board an inter-island steamer sailing south out of Puerto Princessa, then like now, the capital of Palawan. Travelling south, stopping on the Islamicised island of Balabac, administratively attached to Palawan now, and onto Jama, then called Cagayan de Sulu (and decades letter renamed "Cagayan de Tawi" before recently being renamed its current label), one of the Tawi Tawi Islands, but far from the main group. Veering east and slightly north, the ship lands in Zamboanga City and here is where most of my excerpt takes place. One quick note, when they land at "Sulu," they are landing at today's Jolo City.


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Chapter VI

Balabac, Cagayan Sulu, Mindanao, and Basilan

Our first stop on the voyage to Sulu was at Balabac, a small island just south of Palwan. It is inhabited by Moros, who, while not so warlike as their brethren in Sulu and Mindanao, are still very far from being good citizens.

Balabac is hilly, and is almost entirely covered with forest, but in the few places where attempts have been made to cultivate the soil, it has proved very fertile.

The island is extremely unhealthful. Fever, of a virulent type, is very common, and so is that disgusting disease Biri-Biri. An appointment as Governor of Balabac is not ordinarily regarded as a compliment. In fact, it is quite generally understood that this honour is, as a rule, reserved for someone who could be conveniently spared should he be providentially removed. This was at all events the view of the case taken by the Governor who came off of our steamer. His face and neck were covered with the evil brown spots that are the sure sign of bad malarial poisoning, and he openly avowed his belief that he had been sent to the accursed place to die. We at first thought he had a very bad case of "funk," but when, a few minutes later, Marines from one of the gunboats were brought out from our ship for removal to the hospital, and we saw that they were swollen into utter shapelessness with Biri-Biri, we decided to drop Balabac from our list of islands to be visited.

Our next stop was a little volcanic island in the midst of the Sulu Sea, called Cagayan, where we put in to load more cattle. It is inhabited almost exclusively by Moros, the only Government representative being a "Mestizo" interpreter. The people seemed to be peacable, and on our second visit to the Philippines, we planned to make a stop there. Unfortunately, they had in the meantime fallen into bad ways. While we were at Sulu, a boatload of them were brought in by gunboat. They had been caught selling firearms and ammunition in Tawi Tawi. General Arolas put them to work on his streets. Among their number were two chiefs who felt that they had been mortally insulted, and when finally allowed to return to their homes, they promptly stirred up so much ill feeling that their island became a very unsafe place for whitemen; so we were forced to abandon our proposed visit.

When we arrived at Sulu, we found things unusually lively. General Arolas had sacked Malibun, the Moro stronghold, only two days before, and the island, dangerous enough at any time, was in ferment. Arolas objected strongly to our going outside of the walls, saying that he felt personally responsible for our safety, and, if we insisted on hunting, he should have to send a strong escort of troops with us. It was useless to attempt to collect under such circumstances, so we remained on the steamer until we reached Zamboanga, at the extreme southwestern point of Mindanao, and disembarked there.

Mindanao is nearly as large as Luzon, and many times larger than any of remaining islands of the Philippine group. Until within a short time, next to nothing has been known of its interior; but the priests of the Jesuit mission have persistently and fearlessly pushed explorations until they have gathered data for a fairly complete and accurate map.

They recognize twenty-four distinct tribes of people, of whom seventeen are pagan, six Mohammedan (Moro), while the remainder are Christian Visayans, who have come in from the northern islands and settled at various points, especially along the Northern Coast.

Most of the wild tribes are of Malayan origin, but there still remain in Mindanao a considerable number of the little black Negritos, and with them some of the Malay tribes have intermarried.

The warlike Moros are especially dreaded. They are found along the Southern and Southwestern Coasts, and near the large rivers and inland lakes.

Although the island is nominally divided into provinces, Spanish control is, as a matter of fact, effective only in narrow and more or less isolated strips along the sea and near a few of the rivers which afford the only means of communication with the interior. There are no roads, and the futility of attempting to move troops inland was beautifully demonstrated by General Weyler during our second visit.

For some reason best known to himself, he saw fit to send an expedition against the Moros. It was broadly hinted by his countrymen that he had an itching for the rank of Marshall and hoped to win it. Whatever the cause, all the available forces in the archipelago were concentrated, and marched into the Mindanao forest. An officer who accompanied the expedition told me that the enemy simply ran away, and they were never able to overtake them, while eighty percent of their own men were disabled by starvation and fever. Although the starvation might have been avoided, it is certainln that the fever was inevitable.

The mortality was certainly terrible. We saw the wreck of the expedition come back, and in spite of the fact that the priests from all the towns near Zamboanga were called in, they could not shrive the soldiers fast as they died. Sick men were sent away by the shipload. Meanwhile, Weyler was directing operations from a very safe distance, spending much of his time on a despatch-boat.

We learned, later, that several glorious victories were announced in Manila, and were celebrated with processions, fireworks, and great rejoicing.

The scenery in Mindanao is very fine. The largest known flower, measuring some three feet in diameter, has been discovered there. There are several active volcanoes on the island, of which the most famous is Mt.Apo, near Davao. Extinct volcanoes are numerous.

Extensive areas are covered with magnificent trees, and apart from the valuable forest products which Mindanao has in common with several of the other islands, gutta-percha is abundant in several localitiesm

As might be inferred from its name, which signifies "Man of the Lake," Mindanao is well watered. Its rivers are more important than those of Luzon. The Butuan rises within a few miles of the South Coast, and runs north, traversing the whole island. The Rio Grande, on the other hand, rises near the North Coast, and flows south and west. Important lakes are connected with the Rio Grande and the Butuan, while Lake Lanao, situated just where the Western Peninsula joins the main body of the island, empties into the sea by the river Agus.

The soil, especially in the river and lake regions, is enormously productive. Little is known of the mineral wealth, but it is certain that gold exists in paying quantities at a number of points. Diggings have long been worked by the natives near Misamis and Surigao.

Zamboamga, the port at which we landed, is the capital of a province bearing the same name. It is the oldest of the Spanish setlements, having been taken and fortified in the early days as a base of operations against the Moros. It still has an old stone fort into which the inhabitants might retreat if attacked.

The town is large and clean. It has a pier extending out to moderately deep water, but large vessels have to lie some distance offshore. The port would be a convenient place for Australian steamers to call, and as a matter of fact they used to stop there but the excessive harbour fees and senseless Customs restrictions have long since caused it to be shunned.

We established ourselves at a small and very poor hotel, on our arrival, and while there, had an opportunity to see how natives are sometimes treated. There was a grey headed old fellow about the place, who did some work in the stables. He one day chanced to pass through a room in which we were sitting, in company with several Spanish officers, and one of the latter ordered him to bring a drink. Although he was not a waiter, he set off on the errand; but he was old and slow, and when he returned the officer flew into a passion because he had been gone so long, knocked him down, and kicked his ribs in. We found him, later, dying in a horse-manger.

The natives of the town and vicinity, known as "Zamboanguehos," are an odd lot. Perhaps a majority of them are descended from Visayans who migrated to the island long ago; certainly a very considerable portion are the offspring of slaves who have contrived to escape from the Moros. As the latter people were not at all particular where they obtained captives, so long as they got them, the result has been that representatives of most of the Philippine coast tribes have found their way to Zamboangan where their intermarriage has given rise to to a people of decidedly mixed ancestry. On account of the multiplicity of native dialects, Spanish became the medium of communication, but they have long since converted it into a Zamboangueno patois which is quite unintelligible to one familiar only with pure "Castellano.'

Many of these people have the best of reasons for hating the Moros, and on one occasion they displayed such bravery in helping the troops to repel an attack on the town that a special decree was issued declaring them all "Spaniards of the first rank." This honour seems to be without practical value, however.

It happened that our boy Mateo was a Zamboangueno, born of a Tagalog father and a Visayan mother, both of whom were escaped Moro slaves. Thirteen years before, Dr.Steere had picked him up at the little native village called Ayala, some eighteen miles from town. Having gone almost immediately to America and remained there ever since, without once hearing from his own people, he was naturally anxious to find them, and at once set off on horseback for his old home.

As there was no good collecting ground near Zamboanga, we decided to follow him by sea, as soon as we could get a boat to take us and our belongings. We soon found one, but unfortunately the Doctor paid the owner in advance. He promptly got very drunk, and remained in that condition for three days, at the end of which time we got off.

The boat was a clumsy dugout, kept upright in the water by means of bamboo outriggers, lashed to heavy cross-pieces, which held them parallel to its sides, and about eight feet out. If the craft tipped, the bamboos on each side were sunk in the water, while those on the other were lifted out, and the bouyancy of the former combined with the weight of the latter to right it at once. An arched nipa shade at the stern protected us from the sun. Our men were obliged to row with oars made by tying board blades onto poles of suitable length. Although we started early and had a good crew, it was long past noon when we reached our destination; for one of the strong currents which sweep the coast of Mindanao ran against us all the way.

Mateo met us with a very sober face. He had long counted on seeing his father and mother, but they had both died of cholera, and of his large family of brothers and sisters, all but three had met the same fate.

At Ayala we saw, for the first time, a village of decent, civilized natives completely under Spanish control. There is a good deal of similarity between such villages. Each has a church, a "Convento," and a "Tribunal." The church is usually the most pretentious office of the place, and the "Convento," or "priest's house," the most comfortable.

The "Tribunal" is the one which chiefly concerns travellers. It is a sort of town-hall, where the head men of the village meet to transact business. It contains a pair of stocks, or some other contrivance for the detention of prisoners. It is frequently used as a barracks for troops, and, last, but not least, any traveller who chooses to do so has a right to put up there.

Hanging on the wall is ordinarily to be found a list of the proper local prices for rice, fowl, eggs, meat, and other articles of food,as well as horse-hire, buffalo-hire, carriers, etc. The object of this list is to protect strangers from extortion.

The priests and friars in the smaller towns and villages are, as a rule, very hospitable, and are frequently glad to have the monotony of their lives broken by a visit from a stranger. They are often imposed upon, however, and as our party was so large, and our work so dirty, we made it a rule not to stay at a Convento even when urged to do so.

Upon our arrival at Ayala we at once started for the Tribunal, where the "Gobernadorcillo" immediately set about making us comfortable.

A "Gobernadorcillo" (literally "Little Governor") is to be found in every Philippine town or village, and is a very important personage. He is aleays a native or "Mestizo," and is the local representative of the Governor of his province, from which he receives instructions, and to whom he sends reports. His headquarters are at the Tribunal. He is addressed as "Capitan" during his term of office, and after his successor had been chosen is known as the "Capitan Pasado."

He settles all local questions except those which assume a serious legal aspect and therefore properly belong to the Justice of the Peace; but his most important duty is to see that the taxes of his town are collected, and to turn them over to the administrator of the province. He is personally responsible for these taxes, and must obtain them from his "Cabezas" or make good on the deficit. He is obliged to aid the Guardia Civil in the capture of criminals, and to assist the parish friar in promoting the interests of the Church, frequently, also, in advancing his private ends. Finally, he is at the beck and call of all the public officials who visit his town. He often has to entertain them often at his own expense, and not infrequently finds it advisable to make them presents. He is liable at any time to be called to the capital of the province, but is given no compensation for the cost of travelling or the loss of time. If he does not speak Spanish, he must employ a Clerk ("Directorcillo").

There is a great deal of writing to be done at the Tribunal, and as the allowance for "Clerk-Hire" is usally utterly insufficient, the Gobernadorcillo must make up the difference. In return for all this, he is allowed a salary of Two US Dollars per month, and is permitted to carry a cane! If he does not squeeze his fellow townsmen, or steal public funds,he is apt to come out badly behind.

While the office is nominally filled by election every two years, the elective system is such a nature that service can readily be made compulsory. Wealthy men are chosen for the place, if any such can be found, and are often kept in office for two years, sorely against their will. Yet there is nothing quite so dear to the heart of the average Philippine heart as a little authority over his fellows, and in spite of the numerous drawbacks, the position is sometimes earnestly sought.

The families of every town are divided into groups of from fourty to sixty, each under a "Cabeza de Barangay" who is responsible for their taxes. If he cannot get them from the people, he must pay them out of his own pocket. Excuses are useless. For obvious reasons, men of means are chosen for this position, and though nominally elected every two years, they are actually kept in office as long as they have anything to lose, and sometimes longer. I have seen "Cabezas" suffer confiscation of property and deportation, because they could not pay debts which they did not owe.

The Gobernadorcillo has a "Ministry," consisting of the first and second "Tenientes" (Lieutenants) who take his place in his absence; other tenientes having charge of outlying districts; and chiefs of police, plantations, and cattle.

At the Tribunal is maintained a small force of "Cuadrilleros," who perform police duty, and who are supposed to defend the town against bandits and the like.

A man who has been elected Teniente or Gobernadorcillo, or who has served ten years as a Cabeza de Barangay, is numbered among the "Headmen" of the place.

The Headmen meet at the Tribunal from time to time, and discuss public affairs with great gravity. They assemble every Sunday morning, and headed by the Gobernadorcillo, and frequently also by a band playing very lively airs, they march to the Convento and escort the friar to the church, where they all attend mass. Their state dress is quite picturesque. Their white shirts dangle outside of their pantaloons after the Philippine fashion, and over them they wear tight fitting jackets without tails, which reach barely to their waists. When the jacket is buttoned, it causes the shirt to stand out in a frill, producing a most grotesque effect.

The Gobernadorcillo of Ayala proved to be a very accomodating old fellow. He speedily made us comfortable in one of the rooms of the Tribunal, which afforded space for our hammocks, and was furnished with a table abd wooden benches. As there were no conveniences for cooking about the building, we hired a man next door to prepare our meals and serve them to us, and the plan worked successfully after he had once gauged our appetites. We fared better than in Palawan, getting plenty of fruit, fowls, and eggs, but were forced to content ourselves with boiled rice in place of bread, as there was not an oven in the vicinity.

The villagers were a happy-go-lucky set. We were rather touched by their never failing hospitality. The Philippine native always seems ready to kill his last fowl for a stranger, or share with him his last pot of rice. When we stopped at a hut and asked for a drink, its inmates were loathe to offer us water in the coconut shell cups which served their own purpose, and hunted up and washed old tumblers, or even sent to some neighbour's to borrow them. With a glass of water they always gave us a lump of "Panoche" (Coarse Brown Sugar) that we might "have thirst"- an entirely unnecessary precaution.

Their houses were like those of the poorer civilized natives throughout the archipelago. The typical Philippine house rests on four or more heavy timbers which are firmly set in the ground, and its floor raised from five to ten feet into the air. There is not a nail or a peg in the whole structure. The frame is of bamboo, tied together by rattan. The sides and roof are usually of Nipa Palm, although the former may be made by splitting green bamboos, pounding the halves flat, and then weaving them together; while if Nipa is very scarce, the roof may be thatched with the long grass called "Cogon."

The floor is usually made of bamboo strips, with their convex sides up. They are tied firmly in place in such a way that wide cracks are left between them. The windows are provided with swinging shades, which can be propped open during the day. One has to climb a ladder to enter the house.

Often there is but one room for cooking, eating, and sleeping. The cooking is done over an open fire, built on a heap of earth in one corner, and smoke often makes a house almost uninhabitable. In the better dwellings there is a place partitioned off for cooking, usually just at the head of the ladder, while the body of the house is divided into two or more rooms.

Native houses of this sort have much to recommend them. If shaken down by an earthquake, or blown over by a typhoon, no one gets hurt; for the materials used are too light to do harm when they fall. The ventilation is perfect, and the air keeps much cooler than in a tightly controlled building.

Wealthy natives sometimes build houses of boards, with galvanized iron roofs and limestone foundations, but they are very much more expensive, and decidedly less comfortable, than the humbler dwellings of "Cana" (Bamboo) and "Nipa" (Palm).


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Glossary:

"Biri-Biri," mentioned in the third paragraph is a bastardisation of the Malay word for sheep, "Beri Beri," and denotes a disease primarily caused by thiamine deficiency. "Discovered" by a Dutch physician in 17th Century Indonesia, he christened according to the Bahasa-Malaya slang for the disease, labeled just so because it makes afflicted people walk like sheep.

The word "shrive" is now an anachronism synonymous with Roman Catholic "Last Rites."

"Despath-Boat" would today read "Dispatch-Boat" and is synonymous with "Courier," or "Messenger Vessel."

The name "Mindanao" does NOT mean "Man of the Lake," as the author claims, but rather, "Land of Innundation," or, "Land of the Flood Plain."

"Gutta-Percha" is an anachronism for a tree sap that was once a valuable commodity for water proofing.

"Butuan River" actually was then, as now, the "Agusan River" and contrary to the author's claim, it does not cross the entire island though it would certainly seem so to one unfamiliar with Mindanao.

"Horse Manger" is no longer used, instead people simply say, "Stable."

"Zamboanguehos" is actually "Zamboanguenos," or more simply, "Chavacanos."

The little "native village" where Dr.Steele had found Mateo is today's Barangay Ayala in Zamboanga City.

History of Mindanao, Part XXI: "Memories About Mindanao", Julian Gonzalez Parrado in 1885

The following is my own translation of "Memoria Acerca de Mindanao," by Don Julian Gonzalez Parrado (Manila: Ruiz and Company), published in 1893. An original copy of the book was provided to the Harvard Library as part of an endowment and it is that volume which I am utilising.

Parrado was a Brigadier General in the Spanish Military who was made Governor of the island in 1895. He arrived on Mindanao the previous year as a Brigadier General. In 1895 he was given command of Ground Forces in the Spanish "Campana Marahui," or, Marahui Campaign. Governor General of the Philippines, Ramon Blanco, launched a massive expedition to Lake Lanao to once again pacify the Maranaw (Maranao Tribe) which had been attacking Iligan, one of the three main military installations on Mindanao, and of course a burgeoning town full of civilians as well. Since it was connected to Lake Lanao by waterways, the Maranaw of the Lake Region couldn't resist pillaging the community every now and again. The Spanish campaign by the way, was the one in which they had porters carry parts of recently acquired steam boats built in Hong Kong. Arriving on the lake shore they assembled the vessels and suprised the Maranaw, as Parrado pressed in from the land side of the Kotas, or, forts. In any event, Parrado stayed until 1897, at which point he made his way home, replaced by General Buille who only had a few months to command the island before he fled ahead of the American "invasion."

Most people examining Mindanowan History, prior to the American Era, rely on the multi-volume English Language compendium by Blair and Robertson. The problem with this is three fold. First, the editors didn't include entire volumes. They merely excerpted them and in doing so may have omitted very important details. Likewise, they only rely on Spanish source materiel. Ignoring French, Dutch, Portugese AND British sources- to say nothing of indigenous sources- they present an extremely biased, and more importantly, impossible to corroborate version of events. The biggest problem perhaps, is that Blair and Robertson themselves relied on Spanish compendiums. Therefore, the reader is left with a third hand version of historical events that have become watered down to a great extent, before being filtered through the blinders of Spanish cum American cultural bias.

I have included a geographical and socio-cultural glossary to explain Parrado's antiquated place and tribal names, at the bottom of the entry.


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Difficulties in Our Rule


The conquering of Mindanao demands both time and constant patience. We cannot conquer Mindanao in just a single (military) campaign. Nor can we hope to change its social nor political climate in so many months, hoping to obtain a uniform environment in a place that hosts so many different types of civilisations and distinct religions. It is impossible on such a large island befit with so many rugged chains of mountains, vivisected by large and deep rivers with so little human existence (there are nine persons for every square kilometer). It isn't easy at all to pacifiy such a place and the following data will support my contention;



Geographical Data

At 94,000 square kilometers, with 470 kilometers from north to south, and 490 kilometers from east to west, it has five principal bays: Macajalar, Iligan and Sindangan in the north, Illana in the south, Sarangani; four peninsulas: Butuan and Panguil on the northern coast, and Sibuguey and Davao on the southern end of the isle.

Four large mountain ranges, with smaller, connected mountain ranges: The Oriental Range, running parallel to the northern coast, which in turn leads to the mountains of Surigao in the north- running south by southeast and ending at Cape San Agustin. The Central Range, running parallel to the Oriental Range, beginning in the mountains of Balatacan and Guingoog in the north, taking in the Apo Volcano which stands at 3,343 meters in altitude, and ending at Panguian Point at Sarangani Bay; These two major mountain ranges meet each other and constitute a formidable barrier at a sharp angle; the third major mountain range, emanating off of Apo in the east-northeasterly direction, runs parallel to Illana Bay and culminates in the Mountain of the Three Kings. It then continues running near the coast of Sibuguey before ending at the foot of the city of Zamboanga. The fourth major mountain range begins at Matutum, next to Sarangani Bay, follows the southern coast until reaching the mouth of the Pulangui River in and around Cotta-batto's immediate area.

The island's most important rivers are: The Pulangui, or Rio Grande de Mindanao, which runs a total of 483 kilometers, of which 160 are fully navigable; beginning in Mount Kimankil in Misamis District, and coursing into two distinct brances- although only in the lower Cotabato Basin. The river then empties into Illana Bay. The Agusan River, which runs 406 kilometers, begins atop Mount Magbsuay Taggapo [sic] in the south, and then empties at its northern end at Butuan. The Agus River, which begins in Lake Lanao, empties into Iligan Bay.There are many other long, deep rivers, indeed, too many to count. The same of course can be said for esturaries, feeder streams and brooks which all contribute to the flooding endemic to the island's lowlands.


The largest lakes are: Lake Lanao, at 450 square kilometers, Lake Mainit with 150 square kilometers, Lake Butuan and Lake Liguasan- which only become lakes per se during the Northwest Monsoon, with the latter, Lake Liguasan, becoming indistinguishable from the Pulangui River during that time of year.



Population


The following is date taken from the Philippine Jesuits, compiled in 1883. The Jesuits have devoted much time and attention towards the compilation of both geographical and demographical data relating to Mindanao, and have surmised the following: There are 194,314 Christian Filipinos, including newly converted Hilltribesmen, Bisaya, and Chavacanos.

Of the non-Christian Hilltribesmen, there are 300,000, divided between various tribes, with the following being the major tribes and their region of the island:

1) The Negritos: An aboriginal group referred to as the "Mamanwa," inhabiting the Surigao Peninsula

2) The Manobos: A tribe living in the highlands of Agusan.

3) The Monteses: This group lives in Misarais District, the highlands of Tagoloan, and the Upper Cotabato Plateau.

4) The Suba'ios: This tribe lives in the Sibuguey Peninsula and in the mountainous areas of Dapitan and Dumanquilas.

5) The Mandaya: This trible lives in the mountainous terrain around Tago and Matti, all the way from Gandi until the environs of the Agusan River. The Mandaya can also be found below the headwaters of the Salug River.

6) The Tirarays: This tribe lives in the uplands of Tamontaca and Taviran, where they intesect the Pulangui River.

7) The Bagobo Tribe:

8) The Ata Tribe:

9) The Galanga Tribe:

10) The Tagacaolo Tribe:

These last four tribes live on the coastal plains of Davao and in the hills below Mt.Apo.

11) The Manguanga Tribe: This tribe lives in the highlands near the sources of the Lianagum, Salug, and Agusan Rivers.

12) The Dulangan Tribe:

13) The Calangane Tribe:

14) The Bilane Tribe: [NOTE: Parrado listed these 3 tribes just so, with no info].

Of all the preceding tribes, there are some that are easier to assimilate than others. For example, the Monteses, the Subanos, the Manobos, the Mandayas, and the Tirurays. The Jesuit missions had managed to convert many members of those tribes and to construct mission settlements. These have played a huge part in the battle to permanently stop these tribes' idolatrous practices and to liberate them from vassalage to adjacent groups of Moros. Sometimes, this hasn't been an easy struggle. Tribes like the Bagobo, Ata, Guianga, and Tagacaolos are fierce and warlike, and some engage in human sacrifice.

350,000 Moros, a number we believe to be somewhat exaggerated, are known by the following names:

15) Ulanos: This tribe lives alon the bay of that same name, as well as along the shores of Lake Lanao.

16) Sanguil: This tribe lives along Mindanao's southern shore, near Sarangani Bay.

17) Lutanga: This tribe lives on Olutanga Island and along the shores of Sibuguey.

18) Calibugan: This tribe lives along the shores of Sibuguey.

19) Yacan Tribe: This tribe lives on Basilan and nearby islands, as does number 20, the Samal Tribe.


Reasons for our Wars with the Moros

Spain first went to war against the Malayan Moros in 1577. It was necessary to act against the pirate raids being conducted against Christian Filipinos, whose towns were of course, under Spanish dominion. This took place after many years of Moros attacking Christians and in direct response to their pillaging and enslavement. Undertaken over the course of several years, Spain eventually aimed to conquer both Mindanao and the Joloano Archipelago, although for a long time Spain ended each campaign with mutual promises of peace, friendship, and treaties of mutual defence.

Only in 1593 did we occupy the Port of Caldera, in Southern Mindanao, constructing a fort there, and before too long, we did the same in Cagayan and Caraga (Surigao), in the north.

Still, there was no end to the Moro's piracy, and so we were forced to extend our occupation. This was our first priority, our reason for encamping on Mindanao, only later did we consider undertaking the conquest of Mindanao and Jolo.

In 1630 we built a fort in the vicinity of Dapitan, and on June 1st, 1636, Spain laid the first stone in Zamboanga.

In 1637, Generals Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, the Governor General of the Philippines, and Don Pedro Almonte, together undertook the most well defined campaign for Mindanao yet. This endeavour ended in the conquest of Mindanao and Jolo, as well as the first occupation of any island within Lake Lanao, the Pulangui River, and various points along the coast. Three forts were constructed: Buhayen, Sabanilla, and Iligan.

The war with Holland, the near invasion of Manila by the Chinese pirate Ko-seng, and all the other disgraceful happenstance of all kinds that took place at the same time, forced Spain to abandon its four fortresses on Mindanao, with the withdrawal and abandment complete by 1663.

Still, the well entrenched piracy and other similar dynamics necessitated our return to re-occupy Zamboanga in 1718, and later, Surigao, Cagayan, Iligan, Dapitan, and Misamis. In order to open our ports and to otherwise service our armed forces, it was necessary to interact with the Moros. Spain then began building towns, organising districts, and over time, further put our stamp on the island.

In 1849 Davao was founded. In 1851 we occupied Pollok and in that same year, we first encamped in Cotta-batto in the Pulangui flood basin. We also entrenched ourselves in a temporary fort at Libungan, on the Pulangui River's northern fork, as well as at Tumbao, in the river's delta, running parallel to its main course, as well as two on the river's souther fork, Taviran and Tamontaca.

In 1871, we moved the fort at Cotta-batto due to attacks by the Moros to occupy the town proper. We re-established the fort on the left side of the northern fork, and there we established the capital of the island. In 1872 we transferred back to Zamboanga (where it had originally been).

All of these events took place because of diverse consequences, and after repeated expeditions against specific Moro villages and tribes, owing to the Moro hostility againat our settlements.



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Glossary

1) Macajalar = Bay and estuary on the Northern Coast, close to Cagayan del Oro City.

2) Sindangan = Inlet in Zamboanga del Norte Province, with a town of the same name.

3) Illana = Bay on Zamboanga del Sur Province.

4) Panguil = An inlet off of Iligan Bay in Lanao del Norte Province, on the Northern Coast.

5) Sibuguey = Sibugay, the coast of what is today Zamboanga Sibugay Province.

6) Oriental Mountain Range = Diwata and related ranges, generally in Caraga Region.

7) Cape San Agustin = Eastern Coast, between the municipalities of Mati and Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental Province.

8) Central Mountain Range = Central Cordillera of Mindanao.

9) Balatacan = There are two Balatacans today, one in Zamboanga, the other in Lanao del Norte and they are not very far apart, so for now I will have to say that Parrado's reference isn't all that clear.

10) Guingoog = Gingoog City, in Misamis Oriental Province, on the Northern Coast.

11) Panguian Point = Southern most point on Mainland Mindanao.

12) Mountain of the Three Kings = A three peaked mountain in the municipality of Lake Sebu's Barangay Lamlahak, in South Cotabato Province. The T'boli Tribesmen living below the mountain, in Sitio Kangko, view the peaks as three separate mountains, known locally as Turok Bloto, Turok Tacofil, and Turok Kabaling.

13) Matutum = Mt.Matutum, a volcano in South Cotabato Province, 30 kilometers north by northeest of General Santos City (GenSan).

14) Pulangui River = Rio Grande de Mindanao, but many call it the Cotabato River, or simply Pulangi.

15) Mount Kimankil = A spur off of Mt.Kitanglad in Bukidnon Province.

16) Mount Magbsuay Taggapo = Actually two separate but adjacent mountains, Magbusay and Tagappo, in which lie the headwaters of the island's second longest river, the Agusan.

17) Lake Butuan = Agusan Marsh

18) Lake Liguasan = Liguasan Marsh

19) Monteses = The Bukidnon and Higaon-an Lumad Tribes

20) Misarais District = There was a "Misarais," but never a district. Misarais lay within Misamis District, on the Northern Coast so that it appears to have been in error.

21) Tagoloan = in Misamis Oriental Province.

22) Suba'ios = Parrado evidently confused what appears to be an alternate label of the Subanon Tribe.

23) Dumanquilas = Bay in Zamboanga Sibugay Province.

24) Matti = Modern municipality in Davao Oriental Province.

23) Gandia = A tributary of the Pulangui River, in North Cotabato Province.

24) Tago = River in Surigao del Sur Province, running through the town of the same name as well as San Miguel.

25) Salug River = Matigsalug River in Davao del Sur Province.

26) Tiraray Tribe = Teduray aka Tiruray Tribe, centered around the municipality of Upi and North Upi in the hills of Maguindanao Province

27) Tamontaca = Tamontaka, in North Cotabato Province

28) Taviran = In North Cotabato Province

29) Galanga Tribe = This is one that I'm not familiar with and may simply be an alternative name for a small group.

30) Tagacaolo Tribe = Tagakaolo, in several municipalities in Davao del Sur Province, as well as Malungon, in Sarangani Province.

31) Manguanga Tribe = Mangguanga, in the town of the same name, in Compostela Valley Province (ComVal).

32) Dulangane Tribe = Davao del Sur Province.

33) Calangane Tribe = Kalagan Tribe, a small tribe centered around the municipalities of Banaybanay and Lupon in Davao Oriental Province with a branch on the Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley (ComVal) Provincial borders. The tribe converted en masse to Islam during the second decade of the 20th Century

34) The Bilane Tribe = B'laan, a large highland tribe centered on the South Cotabato and Sarangani Provincial borders.

35) Ulano Tribe = Iranun aka Illanun Tribe that lives where it did when this book was written, along Illana Bay, and a tiny bit near Lake Lanao.

36) Sanguile Tribe = Sangil Tribe, though a very small number do live along the shore of Sarangani Province, they are scattered on offshore islets and islands.

37) Lutanga Tribe = This isn't a tribe. The author confused this group with its larger tribe, which follows as #38.

38) Calibugan Tribe = Kalibugan Tribe, these are Islamicised Subanon, aka Subanen.

39) Malayan Moros = Most Filipinos are unaware but all Muslims north of Mindanao, when Spain arrived to comquer Luzon and Mindoro, were Bruneian. The famed Rajah Soliman of Manila was a Crown Prince (Rajah Muda) of Brunei. Ergo, when discussing Muslimd the Spanish would differentiate between those from Brunei and those indigenous converts to the faith, today's "Moros."

40) Joloano Archipelago = Sulu and most of Tawi Tawi Provinces.


41) Port of Caldera = Zamboanga City

42) Fort Bulayan =

43) Fort Sabanilla = I am still researching co-ordinates for both this and the preceding.

44) Fort Illigan = Iligan City

45) Ko-seng = The Chinese pirate who nearly invaded Manila

46) Pollok = The ARMM Freeport of Polloc, in Maguindanao Province

47) Cotta-batto = Cotabato, in this case, Cotabato City.

48) Libungan = Although there is now a town of the same name in North Cotabato Province, Parrado was referring to the Alameda-Libungan River, which runs right next to that town.

49) Tumbao = A tributary of the Pulangui River.

History of Mindanao, Part III: The Bagobo Lumad, Circa 1910, Part 4

When I ended "Part 3" I had just concluded the American ethnologist/anthropologist Fay Cooper Cole's take on Bagobo housing at the beginning of the 20th Century. I beging this entry, "Part 4," with his take on a Bagobo Datu, or chief's home.

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In each settlement or district will be found one large house built on the same general plan as the smaller dwellings, but capable of housing several hundred people. This is the home of the local datu, or ruler. All great ceremonies are held here, and it is the place to which all hasten when danger threatens. It is the social center of the community, and all who desire go there at any time and remain as long as they wish, accepting meanwhile the food and hospitality of the ruler.

A brief description of the house of Datu Tongkaling will give a good idea of this type of structure. Except for size, the dimensions being 44 x 20 ft.- the exterior does not differ greatly from the houses already described. A long, partially covered porch leading to the doorway is provided with benches which are always occupied by men and boys, loitering or engaged in the absorbing task of lousing one another. At the far end of the room is an elevated platform, but this one is much wider than is customary, and is intended as the sleeping place for the warriors, or illustrious guests. As the writer and his wife were considered, by the datu, as belonging to the latter class, they were favored with this vantage spot, from which they could view and be viewed by the whole household. Along the sides of the room are elevated, box like enclosures in which the datu and some of his wives and daughters sleep and keep their belongings. At night the balance of the family, including men, women, children, dogs, occupy the floor. Midway between the sidewalls and near the elevated platform are two decorated bamboo poles, which are raised in honor of the patron spirits of the warriors; while in other parts of the room are baskets, hanging altars, and other devices intended for the spirits. In addition to the customary furnishings are hundreds of objects testifying to the wealth of the datu. Clothes, boxes, dozens of huge copper gongs, drums, ancient Chinese jars and plates, spears and shields, beaded clothing, baskets, and last but not least- in the estimation of the datu- a huge enameled advertisement of an American brewery.

In the Western part of the Bagobo District is a village known as Bansalan. Recently its people have been inducted to leave the old settlement and build in a new location, midway between the mountains and the sea. Here the writer found a very different type of house. Small trees formed the uprights to which cross beams were tied to make the roof supports, and on these rested a final covering of nipa palm. A few feet above the ground other supports were lashed and on them strips of Palma Brava were laid as flooring. In the few cases where the houses were fitted with sides, strips of Nipa Palm fastened together with rattan were used. There seemed to be no uniform type of dwelling, each house differing from its neighbor in the number of rooms, floor levels, or in other respects. Only one feature, the elevated sleeping platform at one end of the house, was always found. A few miles further inland, in the old settlement, the houses are of the type already described in detail. The people have been practically forced to their new location by governmental action. The new careless type of structures seen in Bansalan probably represents, to them, temporary structures in which they expect to remain only until a change of governors will furnish an excuse for returning to the old location.

Other Buildings

Near to each farm house or settlement will be seen one or more granaries, where rice is stored. Four poles form the support for a rectangular base from which the sides of the structure slope out at an angle of about 25 degrees from the perpendicular until they meet the roof. The sides and roof are of bamboo beaten flat, the latter covered with a topping of straw.

In the hemp fields is an occasional shed where the fiber is sometimes stripped, but more often these buildings, thus hidden from the public gaze, house the forges in which the smiths fashion knives and spears, or cast the bells and betel nut boxes so dear to the heart of each Bagobo.

Aside from the shrines or altars, which we shall describe later, the Bagobo erects no other buildings. He sometimes encloses a rice or a cornfield with a fence, but this requires no special skill in building, since it consists of two parallel lines of uprights, between which bamboo tubes are laid to the desired height.

Food and its Preparation.

It is impossible, without including about everything edible in a vegetable line to be found in the district, to give a full list of foods; hence no such attempt will be made. Chief of all is the rice, many varieties of which are grown in the mountainside clearings.

Back of the coast there are no irrigated fields to be found in the Davao District.

Next in importance is the camote, or sweet potato, and then follow in the order of their importance: corn, banana, sago, and coconut.

Fish, eels, crabs, grasshoppers, monkeys (some people refuse to eat monkey meat), deer, pigs, and chickens form part of the food supply; in fact, the people seem to draw the line at nothing but crows, snakes, mice, rats, goats, horses, dogs, and cats. Despite the assertion of a number of worthy informants that the last three are on the prohibited list, it is the opinion of the writer that it is the scarcity of the supply rather than any feeling of prejudice which causes them to be included.

Salt and pepper are used as condiments. The former is secured in trade with the coast natives and Chinese, while the latter is produced by mashing the fruit of a small wild pepper, locally known as "Katombal."

Rice, after being allowed to dry, is stored without being separated from the straw. When a supply is needed a bundle us laid on a piece of hide and is beaten with a wooden pestle, wielded by a woman or a slave. This separates the grain, which is gathered up and placed in a wooden mortar, where it is again beaten with the pestle until the outer husk has been loosened. To remove the chaff the rice is taken from the mortar, placed on a flat winnowing tray and tossed and caught, until the wind has carried away the lighter husks, thus leaving the grain free. This is placed in a pot, a small quantity of water is added, and the vessel is placed over the fire. Here it is allowed to remain only until it begins to boil, when it is placed in a jar on the ashes, near enough to the fire to keep it hot. From time to time the woman turns the jar until the contents is cooked through, when each grain stands out free from its fellows. This is the usual way of preparing rice throughout the archipelago.

Other vegetable foods are eaten raw, or are cooked with water and salt, with perhaps the addition of a little meat broth or a soup.

Small birds and fish are cooked without other treatment than a hasty cleaning; but the flesh of larger fowls, deer, and pig is generally cut into small cubes and cooked with condiments in a jar or small Chinese caldron. Birds are sometimes prepared by placing them on a spit, covering them with green banana leaves, and suspending them above the fire until roasted. This primitive paper bag cooking yields a most excellent dish.

Grasshoppers are relished, and are secured in the following manner: A clear grass spot is selected and several deep holes are dug in one end. Back of them, and leading towards them, is a high, tight fence made in a "V." By beating the grass with boughs as they walk towards the trap, the people drive the grasshoppers before them until they are finally forced into the pit, from which they are collected by the bushel.

I was told that the meat (of animals) is sometimes salted, dried, and stored away for future use. The climate seems to be absolutely opposed to such foresight, and the one time that I saw the process being used, the odors were such that I beat a hasty retreat and chose to accept, without proof, the verdict of the natives, that venison thus prepared was excellent.

Of almost as much importance as food is the use of the betel or areca nut, which is chewed almost constantly by young and old of both sexes. The nut is divided into quarters and a piece of "Buyo" leaf is wrapped about each bit. To this is added, a little lime and a pinch of tobacco, and it is ready for the mouth. The resultant deep red saliva is distributed indiscriminately on the floor, walls, and furniture where it leaves a permanent stain. To hold the materials necessary for this. Practice brass betel boxes, secured from the Moro or from their own manufacture, as well as plaited glass boxes and pouches are constantly carried. The brass boxes generally have three compartments; the first for nuts, the second for leaves and tobacco, and the third for lime. Lime is also carried in small bamboo tubes in the decoration of which a great deal of lime is consumed. The open end is fitted with a rattan sifter so that the powder is distributed evenly on the nut and leaf.

Aged persons and those whose teeth have been so mutilated that they cannot chew, make use of an outfit which includes a small mortar and pestle. Cutting open green betel nuts, the chewer wraps the pieces in leaves and, after adding a liberal supply of lime, mashes them in the mortar until all are reduced to a soft mass.

Lime is secured by placing snail shells in a fire, from which they are taken while hot and dropped into cold water. They can then be crushed into powder with the fingers.

Although the Bagobo raises a considerable quantity of tobacco he seldom, if ever, smokes it unless the leaf is furnished him, already prepared, by an outsider. Sometimes a small ball made of the green leaves is placed between the teeth and upper lip, where it remains until all the flavor has been extracted.

The outfit for betel nut and tobacco, aside from the brass boxes which fasten at the side, are generally carried in the sacks worn by the women. However, a small waterproof box is frequently seen attached to a man's belt, and in this he carries his betel nut, tobacco, and fire making outfit.

The usual method of making fire is by the use of flint and steel, but when this is not at hand a flame can be quickly obtained by rubbing two pieces of bamboo rapidly together until the friction produces a spark.

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In my next installment of this series, I will transcribe the next section, on the Bagobo Tribe's hunting and fishing practices, weaving, and metal craft.

History of Mindanao, Part III: The Bagobo Lumad, Circa 1910, Part 3

In this excerpt, the third from American Anthropologist Fae Cole Cooper's "The Wild Tribes of Davao District," (, Cooper discusses the Bagobo's Animist beliefs at a time in which Christianity and its cancerous missionaries had yet to twist the arms of most Bagobo. In this, Cooper's contribution is invaluable. With groups today, virtually all of them based in Western countries, the Bagobo's traditional mores have been greatly eroded. Today Bagobo Sprirituality is like that of most Philippine (non-Muslim) ethnicities, a synchrestic blend of Christianity with a sheen of Animism. This isn't to judge this new hybrid Belief System, only to lament the chances lost to consider what came before it and to greatly rue Westerners operating under their (usually) White Man's Burden mindset. Enticing tribes with infrastructural trinkets like foot paths, electrical generators, and food staple allowances IF they agree to allow a church and church run school to exist in their midst... AND then ONLY IF they show regular participation in its activities, is about as disgusting as disgusting gets from my perspective and mind you, Mindanao is a place where "disgusting" comes a dime a dozen every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

All Belief Systems offer lessons for non-adherants even if only to learn more about how its purveying culture developed and how it interacted with others. The extinction of ancient fonts of wisdom is a lot like the extinction of a language. It hurts non-adherants just as it hurts those who contributed towards that particular wealth of knowledge.

Cooper arrived in Davao District, which at the time extended all the way to today's Region 13, aka Caraga. It encompassed today's Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, and Compostela Valley (ComVal) Provinces. Its coastal environs were peopled with a roughly even mix of Christian and Muslim villages, including recently Christianised Animists, people whom the Spanish classified as "Conquistas," idiomatically meaning "Civilised," though the literal definition, quite ironically, is, "The Conquered Ones." The vast interior, a portion still uncharted by the early 1900s, was entirely Animisy. It is this last demographic whom Cooper focused upon. Working on a grant from the Filed Museum of Chicago in the United States, in the then nascent field of ethnography, Cooper hoped to index the Animist Tribes and their way of life which even then was on its well trodden path towards extinction.

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"Sketch of Fundamental Religious Beliefs"

Although we shall treat religion more fully in a later paragraph, it is desirable that we now gain an idea of those beliefs which enter intimately into every activity of the daily life of this people.

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 acorrded them. Below them is a horde of low, mean spirits who delight to annoy mankind with mischievious pranks, or even to bring sickness or disaster to them. To this class generally belong the spirits who inhabit mountains, cliffs, rocks, 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.

We have still to mention a powerfull class of supernatural beings who, in strength and importance, are removed only a little from the Creator. These are the patron spirits.

Guarding the warriors are two powerful beings, Mandarangan and his wife, Darago, who are popularly supposed to make their home in the crater of the volcano. They bring success in battle and give to the victors loot and slaves. In return for these favours they demand, at certain times, the sacrifice of a slave. Dissentions [sic], disasters, and death will be sure to visit the people should they fail to make the offering. Each year in the month of December the people are reminded of their obligation by the appearance in the sky of constellation known as "Balatik," (Orion) and soon thereafter a human sacrifice doubtless takes place in some one or more of the Bagobo settlements.

A man to come under the protection of these two dieties must first have taken at least two human lives. He is then entitled to wear a peculiar chocolate-colored kerchief with white patterns in it. When he has killed four he may wear blood-red trousers, and when his score has reached six he may don a full blood-red suit and carry a sack of the same color. Such a man is known as a "Magani" and his clothing marks him as a person of distinction and power in his village. He is one of the leaders in a war party; he is chosen by the datu to inflict the death penalty when it has been decreed; and he is one of the assistants in the yearly sacrifice. It is not necessary that those he kills, in order to gain the right to wear the red suit, be warriors. On the contrary he may kill women and children from ambush and still receive credit for the achievement, provided his victims are from a hostile village. He may count those of his townspeople whom he has killed in a fair fight, and the murder of an unfaithful wife and her admirer is credited to him as a meritous deed.

The workers in iron or brass, the weavers of hemp cloth, and the mediums or shamans- known as "Mabalian"- are under the protection of special dieties for whom they make ceremonies at certain times of the year.

The "Mabalian" just mentioned are people- generally women past middle life- who, through sufficient knowledge of the spirits and their desires, are able to converse with them, and to make ceremonies and offerings which will attract their attention, secure their good will, or appease their wrath. They may have a crude knowledge of medicine plants, and, in some cases, act as exorcists. The ceremonies which are performed at critical periods of life are conducted by these "Mabalian," and they also direct offerings associated with planting and harvesting. They are generally the ones that erect the little shrines seen along the trails or in the forests, and it is they who put offerings in the "spirit boxes" in the houses. Although they, better than all others, know how to read the signs and warnings sent by the spirits, yet, all of the people know the meaning of certain omens sent through the medium of birds and the like. The call of the "Limokon" (Calcophops Indica, a Dove, and in this way their belief is very similar to that of the Tagalogs in the pre-Hispanic Era as recorded by Juan de Plasencia in 1589) is recognized as an encouragement or a warning and its message will be heeded without fail. In brief, every natural phenomenon and every living thing is caused by or is subject to the will of unseen beings, who in turn can be influenced by the acts of individuals. As a result everything of importance is undertaken with reference to these superior powers.

"Dwellings- Household Utensils"

The houses found in the coast villages line well marked streets and differ in few respects from those built by the Christianized natives throughout the islands. Even in the more isolated districts the effect of this outside influence is marked. However, we can state with confidence that village life is a new idea to the Bagobo. He has, from time immemorial, built his home near to his fields, and there he and his family reside, except during festivals or when extreme danger threatens. At such times all go to the house of the local ruler and there unite in the festivities of the common defense.

The smaller dwellings have but one room, the floor of which is raised several feet above the ground and is supported by many piles. A part of the latter extend five or six feet above the floor and form supports for the side and cross-beams. From the center of the room lighter poles project eight or ten feet above the cross-beams and form the main supports for the ridge timber. From beams at the ends and sides of the room similar pieces run to this central ridge; below this they are joined together, at intervals, by means of horizontal poles and cross-beams. To this framework are lashed strips of "Palma Brava," supports for a covering of closely laid "Runo," on which rests the final toping of flattened bamboo. The ridge pole is always at a sufficient height above the floor to give the roof a steep peak, and is of such length that, at the top, the side roof overhangs the ends. The roof generally rises in two pitches and always extends past the sides ofthe room.

In house building, the roof, which is made first, is raised to the desired height, thus serving as a shelter for the workers until the structure is complete. Resting on the cross-beams, just below the rafters, a number of loose boards are laid to form a sort of attic or storage room where all unused articles, and odds and ends are allowed to accumulate.

The sides of the room, which are of flattened bamboo, are about six feet in height, and extend only to within a foot of the roof. In the walls small peep holes are cut so that the inhabitants can look outside without being seen.

The flooring, which is generally made of strips of Palma Brava, is in two levels, forming a narrow elevated platform at one end of the room on which a part of the family sleep.

The furniture of this house is very scanty. Near to the door is the "stove"- a bed of ashes in which three stones are sunk to form a support for the pots and jars and nearby a stand a few native jars and sections of bamboo filled with water. On a hangar above the fire may be found articles of food, seeds, and the like, which need protection from flies and insects. Against the wall is a bamboo rack, filled with Chinese plates, or half coconut shells which serve as dishes. Near to the stove is a rice mortar standing on its own wooden pedestal which reaches to the ground.

A child's cradle, made of a blanket suspended hammock-like between the wall and a beam support, will probably be found. A few boxes and jars, usually of Chinese make, and always a copper gong or two are regular furnishings, while to these can be added a miscellany of clothing, looms, spears, shields, meat blocks, spoons, and the like. Akin to furniture, since they are found in every house, are little basket-like receptacles made by splitting one end of a bamboo pole into several vertical strips and then weaving in other shorter horizontal strips. These are attached to walls and supporting poles, and in them offerings are made to the various spirits.

This is our picture of a typical home. It is not a cheery place by day, for the lack of windows, as well as a fog of smoke from the open stove, makes it dark and gloomy. Nevertheless, since the house offers a cool retreat from the blazing sun, and the smoke-laden air is free from flies and mosquitoes, it is a popular resort for all members of the family during the hottest part of the day. The little light, which filters in through the many cracks in the floors and walls, is sufficient to allow the women to spin, dye, weave, and decorate their clothing, or to engage in other activities. After dark the resinous nuts of the "Bitaog Tree," or leaf covered resin torches are burned, and by their uncertain light the women and men carry on their labors until far into the night. Entrance to the dwelling is gained by means of a notched log, bamboo pole, or by a ladder of the same material. As a protection against strong winds many props are placed against the sides of the house, and what large trees are available the dwellings are further secured by being anchored to them with rattan lines.

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In my next "Wild Tribes" excerpt I will continue where I left off, with Cooper offering a detailed description of a datu's home and the Bagobo Cuisine.

History of Mindanao, Part XVIII: Annual Report to the War Department (US), 1902/1903

While memoirs and other published materiel can offer one a deeper understanding, they should always be supplemented, and if possible corroborated, by other source materiel. This entry involves some excerpts from the Philippine Division of the American Military, and the Division's Annual Report to the powers that be in the War Department. Because Major General Davis relieved his predecessor, the Annual Report for 1902 was never filed. Because of summary documents furnished up until September of 1902 this report then covers the period between October of 1902 and July of 1903.

While I am excerpting summaries of a counterinsurgency nature, the report covers a myriad of disparate subjects; from the evolution of the "Native Scouts" programme, the struggles for opcon (operational control) of the PC, or Philippine Constabulary, and even Spanish reports on Filipino Muslim culture, of course post-translation into English, amongst other informative subjects.

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pp5 through 7: On March 23rd, 1903, a chief named Concepcion, who was an escaped convict, at the head of a band of forty of his kind entered into Surigao (SURIGAO CITY), province of the same name, killed an American Constabulary officer , captured the remainder of the party of Constabulary and disarmed them, thus securing about 148 firearms, several thousand rounds of ammunition, all the Constabulary supplies, and the sum of about 7,000 Pesos. The inhabitants of the place were either neutral or favored the robbers. When the facts were known to the Civil Governor, he requested the Division Commander to take charge of the disaffected region and ordered the Constabulary serving there to act under order of the military officer in command, who was Brigadier General Jesse M.Lee, U.S.A. He at once sent troops to the scene and personaly organized and directed operations, until the arrival of Colonel Myer, of the Infantry, who carried on the work. Five Companies of white troops, two of Scouts, and about one hundred and sixty Constabulary took part in these operations.

The Civil Governor intimated that the Writ of Habeus Corpus might be suspended in this province if the necessity for doing so existed, but as criminal judicial proceedings could promptly be had in every case of those who were charged with participation in law breaking, it was not necessary to invoke the more summary methods of military law. Almost all the participants in the attacks were arrested and tried; four are under death sentence, twenty for life, most of the others received sentences reaching to twenty years of hard labor. The leader Concepcion has not been caught, but an unconfirmed report that says he was wounded and has died while his band are all in jail as are many of his confederates. The American troops were withdrawn in early July (1903), and peace and quiet in the province has been restored, but two Companies of native troops still remain for moral effect.

It is a noteworthy fact that since American occupation in March of 1900, there had been no trouble in the province, neither did the Filipino Republicans (INSURRECTOS) forces resist the American troops when they landed in Surigao in 1899 (THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT ON BOTH COUNTS).

On April 1st of 1903 there was an incident in Misamis under a leader named Flores, with a following of one or two hundred very ignorant people, armed with a few rifles and many bolos and spears, this outlaw was able to raid the pueblos (TOWNS) and rob the inhabitants of their property and set the province in a turmoil. The Provincial Governor, who is a Filipino, described the uprising as an insurrection, and Governor Taft, having given directions that all military operations in Misamis be under the orders of the military commander, General Lee, and afterwards General Wint, was placed in charge of the restoration of order.

About April 1st (1903), a Company of native troops was sent to Cagayan del Misamis (CAGAYAN DEL ORO CITY) and on the 13th of this same month the command encountered the insurgents at Agusan, causing them damage.

On May 11th there was an outbreak on the island of Camaguin (CAMAGUIN PROVINCE) which pertains to the province of Misamis when before this for four years there had been absolute peace. The Provincial Governor asked for help and a Company of native troops arrived at the scene of the trouble the next day. A sharp fight ensued and the trouble was ended immediately.

About May 1st, a troop of the 15th Calvary from Iligan (ILIGAN CITY) had been sent into Misamis Province. With the hope that the moral effect of its presence would be beneficial. On May 16th, the troop commander with a small detachment arrested and disarmed a number of Flores' adherants in Suclutan (UNKNOWN LOCATION). But in some manner the natives recovered their bolos, set upon the detachment and killed Captain Overton and one man of the 15th Calvary and wounded another soldier.

The uprisings in this province were ended by the 1st of July (1903), the chief Flores was a prisoner, and the white troops returned to their former stations.

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History of Mindanao, Part XVI: The Lake Lanao Expedition, Spring of 1902

In previous "History" entries, numbers I, part 1 and 2, I discussed the American arrival on Mainland Mindanao with the 23rd Infantry Regiment landing at Cagayan del Misamis, today's Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province, in March of 1900. In that entry I included excerpts from two different Insurrecto, or Filipino Independence fighters, who told of their own unsuccessful expedition to Lake Lanao, in today's Lanao del Sur Province. Under orders from the Philippine Junta, ensconced in Hong Kong, Isurrecto General Rufino Delfino set out from the Isurrecto capital on Mindanao, Oroquieta, today's Oroquieta City. Paying the Maranaw (Maranao) leaders a fortune in gold to buy at least their neutrality, they ended up borrowing much of it back and having to leave Captain Isidro Rillas as hostage to boot.

Though in the end Isidro was freed, and both he and Rufino lived to surrender to the Americans, the Maranaw of the Lake Region remained just as aloof as they ever had, guarding their own petty self interests far above the concern of their constituencies and certainly far above that of any johnny come lately colonial power like the Americans. As had been the case throughout Muslim-dominated Mindanao, the leadership was initially happy to be rid of the Spanish. Aside from the Spaniards unceasing attempts at political and cultural domination they also stifled economic growth. Keeping the island under a "Bamboo Curtain" the Spaniards limited inbound and outbound shipments and investment and so the Americans, at least initially, were a breath of fresh air.

While Cagayan de Misamis became the American capital in non-Muslim Mindanao, Parang, in what is today Maguindanao Province, served in the same capacity with regard to Muslim-dominated areas. In only a couple of months however that administrative capital was moved to Malabang, in what is today Lanao del Sur Province and with it came a close proximity to the Maranaw Tribe. Much has been said about the Maranaw political structure and its unique approximation of the Sultunate system. A confederation of 4 tribal blocs, each with several lesser duchys, and yet unable to forge a unified direction in any pursuit. The confederation merely attempted to keep the dozens of territories from incessantly warring with one another and more often than not failed miserably. As soon as a strong external force appeared, like the Americans, any semblance of unity or shared destiny evaporated and disappeared.

On the northern end of Lake Lanao the petty rulers were at worst aloof, unemotional and calculating spectators waiting to see which way the wind blew. On the southern periphery of the Lake it was a tad bit different with the petty leaders there always jockying for an advantage and not at all hesitating to play a fellow petty leader against another, or against the external force, in this case the Americans. Indeed, it was the southern end of Lake Lanao that we saw in the aforementioned entries about General Rufino and Captain Rillas. In fact, it was Kota Pandapatan, the Bayan Fort that sits at the centre of both the Insurrecto AND American expeditions to the Lake.

The following excerpt is taken from the book, "The Battle of Bayan and other Battles" by the journalist James Edgar Allen and John J.Reidy (Manila:E.C.McCullogh) (1903). Allen, the primary author, was a war reporter who was embedded with US Forces on the expedition and who sat down months later to write this book.

The expedition was under the command of Colonel Frank Baldwin. A career officer Baldwin is one of the few men in American Military History who have won not only one Medal of Honor, but a second one as well. That he lived through both experiences is amazing. The first incident took place in the American Civil War while the second one was during the Cheyenne Campaign during the (American) Indian Wars. The first two battalions of the 27th Infantry Regiment, the 1st and the 3rd, arrived on Mindanao in mid-February of 1902 and ensconsed themselves in the administrative capital of the Muslim-dominated portion of Mainland Mindanao, what is now the town of Parang in Maguindanao Province. On March 30th the 2nd Battalion arrived at Malabang in what is today Lanao del Sur Province. The next day, March 31st, 1902, the administrative capital was moved to Malabang.

On March 9th, Private Frank P.Lewis was waylaid 1.5 kilometers from the Parang encampment. Chopping his body into pieces his attackers stole his Krag rifle, an extremely valuable firearm in that place and time. Then, on March 30th, the same day that the 2nd Battalion arrived at Malabang, Privates Lester J.Lewis and Joseph I.Whittemore were attacked nearly 2 kilometers away from the Malabang encampment, even as the camp was still being erected, for the move to Malabang. 6 local men chopped Lewis to death and badly disfigured Whittemore. Interestingly, Allen and Redidy list the second fatality as a "Private Mooris." Both fatalities were surnamed Lewis.

Then, on April 15th, a Lieutenant Forsyth of the 15th Calvary, with 17 mounted calvarymen, was out on reconaissance, appraising a foot path known as the "Ganassi Trail." The primary Hearts and Minds objective at Malabang was to clear and widen the path to create a wagon road that would allow farmers in the Lake Region to get their produce and livestock to a wider customer base, an archaic version of today's "Farm to Market Roads." As night fell Forsyth's detachment was attacked by 200 Maranaw Tribesmen. One calvaryman was killed but several horses had to be abandoned and they became just as much of a sticking point as the three dead American soldiers.

The "Lake Lanao Expedition" was not, as some claim, a punative action. Indeed no less than the commander of the Philippine Division, Major General Anda R.Chaffee personally appealed to the Maranaw leaders at the southern edge of Lake Lanao to surrender the American horses, the two stolen rifles, and the killers of US servicemen. Chaffee did so in Bahasa Malaya, the lingua franca of all Filipino Muslim tribes in that era, written in the phonetic Arabic script utilised by all Filipino Muslim leaders. His requests were first ignored, and then replied to with insults and direct challenges.

Colonel Baldwin led a Provisional Battalion composed of the 27 Infantry Regiment's A, B, and D Companies, under subordinate command of Captain Moore, two troops from the 15th Calvary, and 4 small mountain gun batteries from the 25th Mountain Gun Field Artillery Regiment under command of Captain W.S.McNair, leaving Malabang on April 19th, 1902.

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Chapter I: It does not seem that several months have elapsed since General Chaffee issued an ultimatum to the Sultan of Bayan and other leading Moros of the Lake Region, demanding the surrender of several Moro Tribesmen for the murder of Privates Lewis and Mooris of the 27th Infantry, in March last (1902) and for the return of several horses which had been deliberately stolen from Lieutenant Forsyth, 15th Calvary at Buldoon (BULDON,MAGUINDANAO PROVINCE), a small village in the mountains along the south coast of Mindanao.

When General Chaffee visited the little town of Malabang in the early part of April (1902), and inviting the Sultans and Dattos of the Lake Region to come in and hold a friendly conference with him, little did he dream that he was taking the first step in what was to be the most aggressive campaigns ever inagurated. But when instead of complying with the terms of the ultimatum the Moros indolently replied to it and defied the Americans to come and fight, General Chaffee realized that the situation was grave indeed and accordingly telegraphed Washington immediately for permission to proceed ro the Lake Region and administer a lesson to the recalcitrant Sultans and Datus.

But it was not until after much delay that the War Department reluctantly gave permission to proceed against the Moros, and General Chaffee was cautioned not to go to the extreme of warfare until every peaceful method had been exhausted.

"The First Advance": Preparations were at once began; an expedition was formed and got in readiness and on April 17th, 1902, six companies of the 27th Infantry, two troops of the 15th Calvary, and the 25th battery of field artillery started for the interior of Mindanao, which had, as yet, never been explored by white men. The troops constituting that column were, for the most part, raw materiel, having been organized but a short time previous to the time of which I write, and had as yet seen but little of active service. But it must not be imagined that they were all inexperienced in warfare, for in its ranks were many who had either transferred from other organizations, or who had voluntarily enlisted in these organizations, and who had seen service in more than one war.

It is needless to narrarate how the column marched over the first great mountain range which follows along the southern coast in a parallel line and then to the enemy infested region about Lake Dapao (NEAR PUALAS,LANAO DEL SUR) which is but a forerunner of a more impregnable region and which is now gradually resuming its former peaceful aspect and which in time will develop into one of the most productive regions in the Philippine Archipelago.

"The Enemy Encountered": Suffice it to say that after three days of hardships and privation, those troops, constituting what was known as the "Lake Lanao Expedition" encountered the enemy on a bit of rising ground at a place known as Gadungan and after two engagements fought, one there and one at a place known as Fort Pulaos, a camp was established in the vicinity and negotiations with the Moros were renewed. These were but preliminary engagements and were merely forerunners of what was to come. After a useless delay and fruitless attempts to restore peace, the column again advanced, this time for the Bayan Forts.

On May 1st (1902) the little army of American troops arrived at a point on the southeast shore of the Lake Lanao, overlooking the Lake and in sight of the enemy's stronghold. At this juncture Brigadier General George W.Davis, commanding the 7th Separate Brigade and who had been designated by General Chaffee to personally accompany the expedition, arrived from Malabang after making a flying trip (MOVING RAPIDLY) across the mountains.

A temporary camp was established and General Davis prepared messages in Arabic writing, which were immediately sent to the Sultan of Bayan demanding bhis surrender by noon of May 2nd, or suffer the consequences.

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I will continue in a future "History" entry, labeled "XVI, part 2."

History of Mindanao, Part XV: The Americans Try to Disarm Moro Province in 1911

In my entry "History of Mindanao, Part XIII" I discussed the withdrawal of the last Spanish soldiers in 1899. Unlike most Spanish withdrawals the last one took place in an orderly fashion with a handoff of power that was achieved in an absolutely orderly fashion. From 1899 to 1902, while the rest of the Philippines was at war with the Americans the Sultunate of Sulu had managed to come to an accomadation with the Americans with a few notable exceptions. From 1906 onwards though, Jolo Island, the main island in the Sulu Archipelago (which includes both Basilan and Tawi Tawi) was as peaceful as peaceful gets.

In 1911 this would change after a sinle, particularly attack by a "Juramentado," the era's equivalent to a Suicide Bomber. A properspective Juramentado fasts, prays, shaves every hair on his body including his eyebrows, and then attempts to kill as many non-Muslims as possible. The initial Juramentado attack in 1911, against a First Lieutenant, Walter H.Rodney is discussed in the following excerpt culled from the book, "Moroland, 1899 to 1906: America's First Attempt to Transform an Islamic Society," by Robert A.Fulton (Bend,Oregon:2009) which was written by a veteran of the American Diplomatic Service who served in the Philippines during the 1960s.

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Sunday, April 16th, 1911, 1Lt.Walter H.Rodney, a recently arrived officer of the 6th US Calvary, was out for a stroll with his 5 year old daughter on a wide boulevard outside the walls of the Jolo garrison. As the pair walked by a coxkpit (STADIUM FOR COCK FIGHTING) thronged with excited, screaming spectators watching a cockfight, a lone young male Tausug approached from the opposite direction. As they passed one another, the Tausug suddenly pulled a barong (INDIGENOUS FORM OF SWORD) from his shirt and whirled about, and repeatedly slashed the hapless officer about the head and shoulders. Rodney staggered to the side of the road, mortally wounded. His daughter, though traumatized, was left unharmed as the man quickly discarded his weapon and attempted to hide in the nearby crowd. Cries of "Juramentado" went up from the cockpit and hundreds ran for the safety of the guarded village gate. The commanding officer of the garrison by chance only a few yards (METERS) away in a passing carriage yelled for the gate sentries, who, assisted by the crowd, confronted the assailant and shot him to death. Three days later, at the Asturias guardhouse at the opposite end of the road, the Seargant of the Guard began to search two young Moros for weapons, when both suddenly drew barongs from hiding and killed him instantly. Another guard shot both men, killing one and mortally wounding the other.

This was the first such incident in Jolo, and General Pershing concluded that, whilr Rodney's death was infortunate, the real blame lay with the newly arrived garrison commander who had failed to enforce a long standing order that no officers or men were permitted to go outside the garrison walls unless armed. Not only Rodney, but the commanding officer himself and several others nearby officers had been unarmed and might have been able to intervene. But to their dismay, in reporting on the incident the American press faulted Pershing and Bell, claiming that they had been too "soft and weak" on the Moros. It turned out that a few Americans in the Philippines had anonymously written Rodney's father, a retired Army General, falsely claiming that the real reason Rodney and the others had been unar$ed was due to a direct order from Pershing forbidding them to carry weapons. The letters further claimed that Pershing had caved into pressure from the datus. In his grief, Rodney's father had written angry letters to the Taft Administration and members of Congress over the "supidity" and the "calumny" of the "civil government" of Moroland. Uncharacteristically and for reasons unclear, Pershing panicked and reacted to outside pressure even though his superiors fully supported him and knew the accusations to be false. Over the astonished objections of the Constabulary and Scouts, the vert people he relied upon to maintain public order,, on September 8th, 1911 Pershing issued Executive Order #24 ordering the total and immediate disarming of Moro Province, an action he had strongly opposed only a few weeks before.

Nearly all army officers who had previously served in Moroland thought Pershing was out of his mind, particularly since it specified not just a total ban on firearms but the carrying of any and all edged weapons of more than six inches in length. This struck at the very heart of Moro warrior culture and the reality that despite a formal American system of law and policing the average still looked upon his or her datu for protection, redress, and justice, not the Government. How ccould a datu enforce the traditional communal beliefs of right and wrong and preserve stability without arms? Even hardline Leonard Wood, now Army Chief of Staff, felt Pershing had bitten off more than he could chew. Holding out both a carrot and a stick, Pershing offered cash bounties on all proscribed weapons turned in before the end of 1911, but wuth the threat of heavy fines and incarceration for those caught with contraband weapons after that date. Those arrested were held indefinitely until relatives were able to raise money to pay the fines.

As expected the Moros were outraged and in many cases took out their anger at what they saw as the impotency of their headmen by switching allegiances to younger vocal, firebrands who nursed a growing sense of shame and outrage that the older generation of leaders had so willingly acquiesced to a long period of control by foreigners. Particularly restive were the Maranaos (MARANAW) of Lake lanao and the Tausugs of Jolo. Violent incidents between Americans and Moros multiplied resulting in a steady stream of small skirmishes in Lanao between the Constabulary and the Maranaos and the Second Battle of Bud Dajo on Jolo during Christmas week of 1911. Random shots fired at night into the Jolo garrison. Became so common that the wives and the dependents of the garrison were evacuated to Zamboanga (ZAMBOANGA CITY).
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History of Mindanao, Part XIV: America Enters Cotabato, Summer of 1904

Though the Americans were able to take direct control of Jolo from the Spaniards with no lapse in authority, the handoff was usually non-existent in other parts of Muslim dominated Mindanao. Cotabato had finally come under Spanish control in 1846, though upriver, in the so called "Sultanate of Buayan," a self styled ruler popularly known as Datu Utto, the Rajah of Buayan, was able to foster the last bit of rebellion against Spanish control all the way up until 1888, but then he too finally came to heel as well. The key to the Spaniard's success had finally been a combination of advanced, small bore cannonry in combination with the simple, but heretofore unthought of, innovation of a shallow draught keel on their now mechanised gunboats. The low profile keel allowed a previously unimaginable advance up the cataracts of the Pulangi, or as the Spaniards, and later the Americans, called it, the Rio Grande de Mindanao (Big River of Mindanao).

Utto was a Buayanan, a Maguindanowan-speaking tribe that inhabited the plateau on the border of what is now North Cotabato and Bukidnon Provinces. In 1892, just four years after acquiescesing to Spain, Utto died. After a short jockying for power a nephew known as Datu Ali seized power and so it was Ali whom the Americans faced when they arrived at empty Spanish forts along that famed river in 1899. Not bothering to wait as did the garrison on Jolo Island, the Spanish fled as soon soon as they received confirmation that the Insurrectos, or Filipino Independence Forces, had folded under American pressure in Cagayan del Misamis, today's Cagayan del Oro City. At first Datu Ali was amenable to the Americans, trying to gauge them for some possible accomodation. By 1902 though things had turned ugly and Ali threw in his chips and went for broke.

The following excerpt is taken from Chapter 27 from the memoir of Colonel John White, "Bullets and Bolos: Fifteen Years in the Philippine Islands," by John White (New York/London) (1928). Mr.White, an American Colonel in the nascent PC, or Philippine Constabulary, spent 15 years in the Philippines engaging in Counterinsurgency, with nearly 10 of those years on Mindanao.

Factually correct in terms of his recall, his historical context, and so on. He shows a very curious ignorance of the most basic facts of life on Mindanao. For example, despite spending nearly 10 years in Mindanao, most of which was spent commanding Moro Units (as they were known), he obviously believes the Maranaw (Maranao) to be a Maguindanowan Tribe. The Maranaw and Maguindanaw (Maguindanao) DO both descend from the Iranun (Illanun) Tribe, and therefore their languages are very strongly mutually intelligible, their customs, even their form of government was very different.
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Chapter 27: Early in June, 1904, General Wood called upon Colonel Harbord to organize a Constabulary in the District of Cotabato, the largest and perhaps least known division of the Moro Province, where a prominent Moro chief named Datu Ali had recently started on the warpath. Colonel Harbord relieved me as Adjuant for assignment as Senior Inspector of the Constabulary of Cotabato with instructions to recruit as rapidly as possible among the tribes of friendly Moros and organize a force that could be used as Scouts accompanying expeditions of United States troops against the hostiles scattered throughout the length and breadth of the valley of the Rio Grande of Mindanao. Cotabato District consisted of this valley of this broad, deep, muddy stream, a valley some two hundred miles (230KM) long and some ten to fifty miles (13 TO 18KM) broad. This watershed contained large areas of swamp and lakes, with villages of Maguindanowan Moros scattered along the banks of the river and its tributaries or amid the almost trackless and impassable swamps. Back of the valley rose forbidding ranges of mountains, culminating in Mount Apo, eleven thousand feet in height (NEARLY 4,000 METERS). In the jungles of these mountains were legendary pagan tribes rejoicing in the names of Tirurayes (TEDURAYS), Manobos, Bagobos, Bilanes (B'LAANS), and many more such.

The Maguindanowans were the largest tribe of Moros. They controlled practically the whole of the mainland of Mindanao. Although more agricultural and less piratical [SIC] than their cousins in Sulu, they held almost as tightly to their ancient privilege of slavery and control of the pagan tribes, while the situation of their bamboo villages and earthen cottas (forts) (KOTAS) on the shores of the mountain lakes, as in Lanao, or amid the swamps, as in Cotabato, made campaigning against these chiefs who refused to recognise the authority of the United States both difficult and costly.

The Spaniards had sent many an expedition up the Rio Grande, and with shallow-draft [SIC] gunboats had shot their way into the heart of Cotabato District. They obtained concessions from Datu Utu [SIC], the Maguindanowan chief who then ruled that swampy land. But the control exercised by the Spaniards extended little if any further than the range of cannon shot from the toy men of war ("MAN OF WAR"BEING A WAR SHIP,"TOY"REFERRING TO SHALLOW DRAUGHT BOATS), while the price they paid in men and blood for even such a victory was heavy. Futhermore, every inch of ground wrested from the Maguindanowan must be controlled by stone fort or blockhouse. When, in 1899, the Spaniards withdrew before the advancing Americans from the north, anarchy reigned in Cotabato. Datu Utu had gone to the voluptuous reward of good fighting Moros and his nephew, Datu Ali, ruled in his stead.

The American troops came to Cotabato. A wise officer, Colonel Febiger, was appointed Governor of the District. Datu Ali paid his respects to Colonel Febiger and for awhile all went pleasantly along the Rio Grande. The Military Government was busy subduing Aguinaldo's Insurrection in the northern islands and was quite willing to leave the Moro hornets alone as long as they refrained from stinging American soldiers. Colonel Febiger cemented friendship with Datu Ali and at one time even made tenative arrangements to send him on an educational tour in the United States. The cautious Governor shut the other eye at such exhibitions of Moro customs, such as slavery, an occasional raid on the pagan hillmen (LUMAD), or a little inter-tribal bloodshed by way of keeping the young braves fit (USE OF NATIVE AMERICANISMS LIKE "BRAVES" WAS RIFE AMONGST THE AMERICANS IN THE PHILIPPINES).

It is likely that had Colonel Febiger remained at Cotabato, gradually enlarging his influence and control of the Maguindanowan (MAGUINDANOAN) and especially their fighting chief Datu Ali, the bloody chapter of our campaign in Cotabato of which I shall sketch but the highlights, might never have been written. It is safe to say that nine tenths of the trouble in Mindanao has been due to the impermanence of officials; no sooner did an officer like Febiger get to know his Moro men and manners than military orders carried him off to some other sphere of usefulness; and his successor came with no fund of stored up experience upon which to draw. Of course, it was not to be expected that the feudal conditions of Moro misgovernment in Mindanao and Sulu could be replaced by an administration modeled on American ideas of the rights of man without a certain amount of friction and even bloodshed. But the amount of each might have been reduced by a policy which used personal influence rather than the Krag (A RIFLE) to enforce necessary and wholesome changes.

General Wood recognized this. He soon appointed civilian understudies and District Secretaries under Army Governors, but before many years the General himself was , after having become skilled in Moro administration, spirited away to another command. Colonel Febiger left Cotabato. Datu Ali heard of the new laws passed by the legislative council of the Moro Province, which prescribed penalties for slave holding, together with new and altogether hateful restrictions on the authority of proud Moro chieftains.
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Of course the next step is Datu Ali entering into alliances with other datus chafing under American rule and finally, entering into open rebellion. In the end Ali was shot dead on the porch of his home after being ferreted out by both a right hand of Datu Piang, the half Chinese, half Buayan man who although of non-royal blood himself, would become the most powerful Maguindanowan/Buayuan Tribesman of the 20th Century, and the richest man on Mainland Mindanao to boot. The right hand man, the giant- even by Western standards- Datu Ituk, had been waiting to take a swipe at Ali for a number of years, after the love of his life, his wife, had run away with Ali. The other man aiding the Americans was a mestiso of Bisaya parentage who did it solely for self-enrichment. With Ali's death Piang rose to unchallenged heighys.

I should add, the MILF Peace Panelist, Datu Michael O.Mastura? The ex-Congressman who now fashions himself an uber-patriot to the MILF's cause? It was his own grandfather who joined with Piang to support the Americans against their own people. Interesting, but what would be even more interesting is to have someone call him on it next time he segues into another one of his hate filled rants.