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.
Showing posts with label Lumad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lumad. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, September 23, 2011
History of Mindanao, Part XIX: The Manobo Tribe, 1925, Part 1
There are basically three major demographical groupings in Mindanao:
1) Filipino Muslim
2) Filipino Christian
3) Lumad
Perhaps it is the last one, the "Lumad," that is the most interesting. Basically analogous to the "Igorot" of Central and Northern Luzon, the term "Lumad" is a generic label applied to a multitude of diverse, mostly Animist Hilltribes that inhabit the interior of the island. The term itself is Cebuano, the lingua franca of non-Muslims on Mindanao and literally means, "of the land," or in an idiomatic English sense, "Indigenous." Like mamy groups who end up adopting contrived labels applied by outsiders, the Lumad themselves finally adopted the label in June of 1986 as a way in which to negate tribal and ethnic differences. In this respect it has a good deal in common with the term "Bangsamoro" (Muslim Bloodline, or idiomatically speaking, "Muslim Heritage") which was invented in the late-1960s for the very same reasons. The term "Lumad," shorthand for "Katawhang Lumad," or, "Person born of this Land" (Indigenous Person) was formally adopted at a conference of Animist Tribes held at the Guadalupe Formation Center in North Cotabato Province's municipality of Kidapawan City, where 15 of the 18 ethno-linguistic groupings (often incorrectly classified as "tribes" of which Mindanao has several dozen). I need to point out that it was the Maoist NPA that was instrumental in that 1986 gathering. Formation Centers were bastions of Liberation Theology and co-incidentally employed NPA cadres such as the infamous "Angie Impong" among others.
The technical description of Lumad Peoples has the following 17 groupings, all of which share three points of commonality:
1) Native to Mindanao
2) Traditional Belief Systems remain intact
3) Malayan and/or Indonesian in descent (meaning Negritos are not included)
However, officialy speaking, there are 18 groupings though academics, politicians and the Lumad themselves cannot reach a consensus on which group constitutes the 18th...The 18:
1) Mandaya
2) Mansaka
3) Manuvu, usually referred to by non-Lumad as "Manobo"
4) Higaon-on
5) B'laan
6) Sangil
7) Bagobo
8) Teduray, or Tiruay
9) Tagakaola, or Kaola
10) T'boli
11) Subanon
12) Mangguangan
13) Dibabawon
14) Talaandig
15) Ubo
16) Banwa'on
17) Bukidnon
Number 18 is a bit of a cypher since it depends entirely upon opinion. The whole concept of "Lumad," or "Indigenous People" is counter-intuitive in the Philippines anyway, since classification can be so fluid as I will show further along in this entry. Basically, Mindanowan demography is skewed along the lines of religion, Muslim, Christian, or Animist. However, due to the quasi-fascist cultural terrorism of mostly Western Christian missionaries the majority of Lumad have at least a nominal affiliation with Christianity. Likewise, Islam is always pressing up against traditional Lumad Culture and beliefs. The best example would probably the Kalagan Tribe of Davao del Norte and ComVal (Compostela) Provinces. As Islam expanded into what we now call the Davao Region the highly marginalised Kalagan converted en masse to Islam in one fall swoop after tribal elders saw it as their best survival strategy. Now the Kalagan are counted as one of the 13 Muslim Tribes. What about individuals within the B'laan or Teduray Tribes? They are Lumad but WHAT IF they individually convert to Islam? Indeed, one of the tribes listed, the Sangil IS Muslim.
Then there is the issue of what constitutes a "tribe." Anthropologically speaking it is very easy to define, a traditional kinship grouping in which the group has reached critical mass as it expands (vis a vis the absolutely "bare bones" definition). But with Lumad we see ethno-linguistic groupings labeled as "tribes." My subject matter in this new series of "History" entries for example, the Manuvu, or as they are much more widely known, the Manobo...There is no "Manobo Tribe." Manobo was a term originally applied by other tribes to tribes whom they deemed inferior. In the early Spanish Era it came to represent so called "un-civilised" tribes. Tribes applied it to Negritos AS WELL AS to fellow Malay slash Indonesian Tribes. Today it has come to represent a disparate group of tribes ranging from the Agusan to the Matigsulag and a whole lot of shadings in between.
Another such quandry are the "Bukidnon Tribe." "Bukidnon" was Cebuano term (just as "Lumad" itself is) that merely denotes. "Those who live in the mountains," or Hilltribesmen. Again we see disparate tribes lumped together under an extrenely generic heading. Confusing the issue is the fact that there is today a Bukidnon Province. Saying "Bukidnon Tribe" can merely refer to a "non-Bukidnon" Tribe that merely dwells within that province, for example, the Manuvu and the Higaon-on both have substantial populations within that province's borders. Even more perplexing is the fact that in Bukidnon Province the "Bukidnon Tribe" does NOT dwell in the highlands but on the province's plains and in its largest valleys. This is because the Spanish tended to apply the label to recently "civilised" "Conquistas," or newly converted Christians that had presumably come down from the mountains. Also worth noting, on Panay Island in the Central Philippines' Visayas Region, the term "Bukidnon" is used to apply to Bisaya who resisted Spanish colonisation and assimilation by receding into the mountainous interior.
Suprisingly in the last couple of years people have mistakenly begun to label Mindanao's Negritos as "Lumad" as well. On the face of it is seems perfectly sensible since Negritos are also Animist Hilltribesmen but they don't meet the stock definition of "Malay and/or Indonesian." Ironically there is a similarly mysterious dynamic with regard to the island's Negritos. According to most academics, all Mindanowan Negritos today belong to the Mamanoa, or as they are more widely known, the "Mamanwa Tribe." However, the term "Mamanwa" is simply a generic label that literally means, "The First to Dwell in the Jungle/Forest." Just as one can find "Bukidnon Tribes" on Mindanao AND on Panay, so one can find "Mamanoa Tribes" on Leyte and Negros Islands AS WELL AS Mindanao. It isn't unheard of for tribes to inhabit different islands but in the case of the Mamanoa on Leyte and Negros, also islands in the Visayas Region, they ARE Negrito but posses a different language, culture and Belief System than the various Mamanoa groups on Mindanao (as do the Bukidnon of Panay when compared to the Bukidnon of Mindanao).
Another perplexing issue with regard to the 18th Lumad Tribe is that increasingly one finds the "Tasaday Tribe" placed on the list. For those who may be unaware, at the beginning of the 1970s, a stone age tribe of Malay descent was found naked and living in a cave in South Cotabato Province. Uncontacted Tribes are not unheard of even today in some parts of the world and Mindanao, until recently, certainly could have harboured such a tribe. The Tasaday were roughly two dozen individuals who knew very little about the outside world. What precious little they did know had been gleaned from a B'laan hunter who claims to have stumbled upon the Tasaday as he stalked a deer deeper into the jungle near his hometown. In turn this hunter told villagers about the Tasaday, or so the story goes, and before too long a Marcos crony, Rene Elizade, came south for a look see. Elizade arrived to meet the tribe in a helicopter which, if the tribe was truly contacted, could have catastrophically changed the tribe's worldview. Deciding that the Tasaday needed protecting Elizade cordoned off a huge swath of jungle and controlled all outside contact including the academic world which understandably was chomping at the bit to examine them.
In the end allegations of chicanery and deception swirled around the tribe after anthropologists and journalists later tracked down the Tasaday, or so they say, only to find that in fact they were T'boli Tribespeople who had been paid to act in a psychodrama meant to deflect Marcos' Martial Law which was declared within that same timeframe (and possibly to fufill some need for attention by Elizade). Later others would argue that the tribe was in fact authentic so that today noone but the Tasaday can say for sure since the hunter and Elizade died long ago. Personally? Well I will save my take on them for a lengthly entry on the issue.
In any event, the book I will be excerpting from in this section is not a book per se but rather an academic treatise presented at the 1929 annual gathering of the National Academy of the Sciences in the United States. Entitled, "The Manobos of Mindanao" by John M.Galvan. Galvan does a magnificent job and to his credit seems to be unblemished with the typical "White Man's Burden" mindset. He approaches his work by considering views other than his own with sincerity and respect. Garvan was a fascinating man. Emigrating to the United States from his native Irelans in 1895, at age 20. Saving gis wages he was able to put himself through university and afterwards spent 5 years teaching in one or another school.
In 1903 Garvan enlisted for service as a teacher in the nascent Americanisation programme being foisted upon the re-conquered people of the Philippines. In 1907 Garvan decided not to re-enlist and instead he opted for a life in the Mindanowan bush, homesteading in what is today Agusan del Sur Province. There Garvan opened up a trading post slash general store and became very well acquainted with the Manobo living in the hills around him. With no formal training as an anthropologist, ethnologist, OR sociologist. He merely had an inquisitive mind with a keen interest in the world around him.
Returning to America in 1925. In 1929, having edited his voluminous notes and journals he produced what became the seminal volume on the Manobo. That November he presented his volume at the annual conference for the National Academy of Science in Washington D.C.
I need to add that while many know of the aforementioned work on the Manobo, Garvan also studied the Negritos and became the first to study all four Negrito groupings in the Philippines:
1) Mindanao in what is today Surigao del Norte Province
2) Negros Island in the Central Philippines' Visayas Region
3) Northern Luzon
4) In what is today Zambales Province
The work was unfortunately published in its entierty after Garvan's death: "The Negritos of the Philippines" edited by Hermann Hochegger (Vienna:Horn) (1969). Portions had appeared a bit earlier but the only one I personally know of is a German language, "J.M.Garvans Materialien uber die Negritos der Philippinen" Fritz Borneman (Anthropos #50, pp899-930)(1955).
1) Filipino Muslim
2) Filipino Christian
3) Lumad
Perhaps it is the last one, the "Lumad," that is the most interesting. Basically analogous to the "Igorot" of Central and Northern Luzon, the term "Lumad" is a generic label applied to a multitude of diverse, mostly Animist Hilltribes that inhabit the interior of the island. The term itself is Cebuano, the lingua franca of non-Muslims on Mindanao and literally means, "of the land," or in an idiomatic English sense, "Indigenous." Like mamy groups who end up adopting contrived labels applied by outsiders, the Lumad themselves finally adopted the label in June of 1986 as a way in which to negate tribal and ethnic differences. In this respect it has a good deal in common with the term "Bangsamoro" (Muslim Bloodline, or idiomatically speaking, "Muslim Heritage") which was invented in the late-1960s for the very same reasons. The term "Lumad," shorthand for "Katawhang Lumad," or, "Person born of this Land" (Indigenous Person) was formally adopted at a conference of Animist Tribes held at the Guadalupe Formation Center in North Cotabato Province's municipality of Kidapawan City, where 15 of the 18 ethno-linguistic groupings (often incorrectly classified as "tribes" of which Mindanao has several dozen). I need to point out that it was the Maoist NPA that was instrumental in that 1986 gathering. Formation Centers were bastions of Liberation Theology and co-incidentally employed NPA cadres such as the infamous "Angie Impong" among others.
The technical description of Lumad Peoples has the following 17 groupings, all of which share three points of commonality:
1) Native to Mindanao
2) Traditional Belief Systems remain intact
3) Malayan and/or Indonesian in descent (meaning Negritos are not included)
However, officialy speaking, there are 18 groupings though academics, politicians and the Lumad themselves cannot reach a consensus on which group constitutes the 18th...The 18:
1) Mandaya
2) Mansaka
3) Manuvu, usually referred to by non-Lumad as "Manobo"
4) Higaon-on
5) B'laan
6) Sangil
7) Bagobo
8) Teduray, or Tiruay
9) Tagakaola, or Kaola
10) T'boli
11) Subanon
12) Mangguangan
13) Dibabawon
14) Talaandig
15) Ubo
16) Banwa'on
17) Bukidnon
Number 18 is a bit of a cypher since it depends entirely upon opinion. The whole concept of "Lumad," or "Indigenous People" is counter-intuitive in the Philippines anyway, since classification can be so fluid as I will show further along in this entry. Basically, Mindanowan demography is skewed along the lines of religion, Muslim, Christian, or Animist. However, due to the quasi-fascist cultural terrorism of mostly Western Christian missionaries the majority of Lumad have at least a nominal affiliation with Christianity. Likewise, Islam is always pressing up against traditional Lumad Culture and beliefs. The best example would probably the Kalagan Tribe of Davao del Norte and ComVal (Compostela) Provinces. As Islam expanded into what we now call the Davao Region the highly marginalised Kalagan converted en masse to Islam in one fall swoop after tribal elders saw it as their best survival strategy. Now the Kalagan are counted as one of the 13 Muslim Tribes. What about individuals within the B'laan or Teduray Tribes? They are Lumad but WHAT IF they individually convert to Islam? Indeed, one of the tribes listed, the Sangil IS Muslim.
Then there is the issue of what constitutes a "tribe." Anthropologically speaking it is very easy to define, a traditional kinship grouping in which the group has reached critical mass as it expands (vis a vis the absolutely "bare bones" definition). But with Lumad we see ethno-linguistic groupings labeled as "tribes." My subject matter in this new series of "History" entries for example, the Manuvu, or as they are much more widely known, the Manobo...There is no "Manobo Tribe." Manobo was a term originally applied by other tribes to tribes whom they deemed inferior. In the early Spanish Era it came to represent so called "un-civilised" tribes. Tribes applied it to Negritos AS WELL AS to fellow Malay slash Indonesian Tribes. Today it has come to represent a disparate group of tribes ranging from the Agusan to the Matigsulag and a whole lot of shadings in between.
Another such quandry are the "Bukidnon Tribe." "Bukidnon" was Cebuano term (just as "Lumad" itself is) that merely denotes. "Those who live in the mountains," or Hilltribesmen. Again we see disparate tribes lumped together under an extrenely generic heading. Confusing the issue is the fact that there is today a Bukidnon Province. Saying "Bukidnon Tribe" can merely refer to a "non-Bukidnon" Tribe that merely dwells within that province, for example, the Manuvu and the Higaon-on both have substantial populations within that province's borders. Even more perplexing is the fact that in Bukidnon Province the "Bukidnon Tribe" does NOT dwell in the highlands but on the province's plains and in its largest valleys. This is because the Spanish tended to apply the label to recently "civilised" "Conquistas," or newly converted Christians that had presumably come down from the mountains. Also worth noting, on Panay Island in the Central Philippines' Visayas Region, the term "Bukidnon" is used to apply to Bisaya who resisted Spanish colonisation and assimilation by receding into the mountainous interior.
Suprisingly in the last couple of years people have mistakenly begun to label Mindanao's Negritos as "Lumad" as well. On the face of it is seems perfectly sensible since Negritos are also Animist Hilltribesmen but they don't meet the stock definition of "Malay and/or Indonesian." Ironically there is a similarly mysterious dynamic with regard to the island's Negritos. According to most academics, all Mindanowan Negritos today belong to the Mamanoa, or as they are more widely known, the "Mamanwa Tribe." However, the term "Mamanwa" is simply a generic label that literally means, "The First to Dwell in the Jungle/Forest." Just as one can find "Bukidnon Tribes" on Mindanao AND on Panay, so one can find "Mamanoa Tribes" on Leyte and Negros Islands AS WELL AS Mindanao. It isn't unheard of for tribes to inhabit different islands but in the case of the Mamanoa on Leyte and Negros, also islands in the Visayas Region, they ARE Negrito but posses a different language, culture and Belief System than the various Mamanoa groups on Mindanao (as do the Bukidnon of Panay when compared to the Bukidnon of Mindanao).
Another perplexing issue with regard to the 18th Lumad Tribe is that increasingly one finds the "Tasaday Tribe" placed on the list. For those who may be unaware, at the beginning of the 1970s, a stone age tribe of Malay descent was found naked and living in a cave in South Cotabato Province. Uncontacted Tribes are not unheard of even today in some parts of the world and Mindanao, until recently, certainly could have harboured such a tribe. The Tasaday were roughly two dozen individuals who knew very little about the outside world. What precious little they did know had been gleaned from a B'laan hunter who claims to have stumbled upon the Tasaday as he stalked a deer deeper into the jungle near his hometown. In turn this hunter told villagers about the Tasaday, or so the story goes, and before too long a Marcos crony, Rene Elizade, came south for a look see. Elizade arrived to meet the tribe in a helicopter which, if the tribe was truly contacted, could have catastrophically changed the tribe's worldview. Deciding that the Tasaday needed protecting Elizade cordoned off a huge swath of jungle and controlled all outside contact including the academic world which understandably was chomping at the bit to examine them.
In the end allegations of chicanery and deception swirled around the tribe after anthropologists and journalists later tracked down the Tasaday, or so they say, only to find that in fact they were T'boli Tribespeople who had been paid to act in a psychodrama meant to deflect Marcos' Martial Law which was declared within that same timeframe (and possibly to fufill some need for attention by Elizade). Later others would argue that the tribe was in fact authentic so that today noone but the Tasaday can say for sure since the hunter and Elizade died long ago. Personally? Well I will save my take on them for a lengthly entry on the issue.
In any event, the book I will be excerpting from in this section is not a book per se but rather an academic treatise presented at the 1929 annual gathering of the National Academy of the Sciences in the United States. Entitled, "The Manobos of Mindanao" by John M.Galvan. Galvan does a magnificent job and to his credit seems to be unblemished with the typical "White Man's Burden" mindset. He approaches his work by considering views other than his own with sincerity and respect. Garvan was a fascinating man. Emigrating to the United States from his native Irelans in 1895, at age 20. Saving gis wages he was able to put himself through university and afterwards spent 5 years teaching in one or another school.
In 1903 Garvan enlisted for service as a teacher in the nascent Americanisation programme being foisted upon the re-conquered people of the Philippines. In 1907 Garvan decided not to re-enlist and instead he opted for a life in the Mindanowan bush, homesteading in what is today Agusan del Sur Province. There Garvan opened up a trading post slash general store and became very well acquainted with the Manobo living in the hills around him. With no formal training as an anthropologist, ethnologist, OR sociologist. He merely had an inquisitive mind with a keen interest in the world around him.
Returning to America in 1925. In 1929, having edited his voluminous notes and journals he produced what became the seminal volume on the Manobo. That November he presented his volume at the annual conference for the National Academy of Science in Washington D.C.
I need to add that while many know of the aforementioned work on the Manobo, Garvan also studied the Negritos and became the first to study all four Negrito groupings in the Philippines:
1) Mindanao in what is today Surigao del Norte Province
2) Negros Island in the Central Philippines' Visayas Region
3) Northern Luzon
4) In what is today Zambales Province
The work was unfortunately published in its entierty after Garvan's death: "The Negritos of the Philippines" edited by Hermann Hochegger (Vienna:Horn) (1969). Portions had appeared a bit earlier but the only one I personally know of is a German language, "J.M.Garvans Materialien uber die Negritos der Philippinen" Fritz Borneman (Anthropos #50, pp899-930)(1955).
Monday, June 20, 2011
History of Mindanao, Part III: The Bagobo Lumad, Circa 1910, Part 2
A continuation of Chapter I, "The Wild Tribes of Davao District"by the American anthropologist Fay Cooper-Cole, best known as a Defense Witness in the "Scopes Monkey Man Trial" that pitted Evolution versus Creationism, a milestone in American jurisprudence and culture in general.
Chapter I: The Bagobo (continued):
The genealogy of the Bagobo rulers is traced back through ten generations. The first ruler of whom there is record was Salingolop, during whose reign it seems, the Spaniards first came to the Philippines. According to the tale "Salingolop was a man of great and prodigious force, and as tall as the Lauan, which is the tallest tree in these forests. He had three sons called Bato, Sipongos, and Calisquisan, and a daughter named Panugutan. When the Spaniards arrived at Manila, and found that there existed a man so tall and powerful, they sent a battalion of soldiers. They disembarked on the shore of Bimigao near Daron, and ascended the mountain where Salingolop lived. He was not found, because at the time he was on the other side of the mountain hunting wild boar, and the soldiers returned to the shore, taking Panugutan as a hostage. Salingolop, having found out what had happened descended the mountain alone to fight the soldiers which were there. These fired on him, but in vain, because the balls could make no impression. On seeing this, they dropped their rifles and with bars of iron they struck him on the legs, trying to overthrow him. As he fell on the side towards the sea, the noise of the waves, it is said, reached to the Cape San Agustin. They cut off his head and, as he lay dead, they cut off his legs that he might not arise again. The Spaniards returned to Manila, taking with them Panugutan; she married in Manila a Spaniard, by whom she had two children, who later returned to these parts and were well received, being considered not only as friends but as brothers of the Bagobo. (THE PRECEDING FROM THE WRITINGS OF THE JESUIT MISSIONARY FR.JUAN DOYLE)
Salingolop was succeeded by his son Bato who, in turn, was followed by Boas, Basian, Lumbay, Banga, Maliadi,and Taopan. Until we come to this last mentioned ruler we learn little more of importance, but at the beginning of his rule, we learn that the Bagobo had become a powerful people. Under his leadership they made frequent forays into neighboring districts and returned with many slaves and rich loot. The datu* was noted as a brave warrior, but in addition to this he was a wise and just ruler greatly beloved by all his people. When he died more than one thousand of his subjects attended the funeral which lasted ten days. On the last day the house was decked, inside and out, with red and yellow flowers; many valuable gifts were placed beside the corpse, and the place was then abandoned. (*THE AUTHOR NEN IN GENERAL USE WAS THE CORRUPTED MALAY"DATU,"AN AFFECTATION OF THE NEIGHBORING ISLAMICISED TRIBES.THE TRADITIONAL BAGOBO TERMS ARE"LAGAIMODA"AND"MATANEM")
He was succeeded by his son Pangilan,whose administration,like that of his father,was firm and just.Upon his death he bequeathed the leadership of a united people to his son Manib.The new datu did not prove to be a great warrior and his decisions in matters of dispute were not always just,so that bad blood arose between the people of Cibolan and Talun. (THE 2 MAIN BAGOBO POPULATION CENTRES INTO THE EARLY AMERICAN COLONIAL ERA IN DAVAO DISTRICT) He was unable to quell the disturbances,and finally open warfare broke out, petty chiefs of other districts throwing off his control and ruling as datu. This was the condition which confronted the present ruler, Tongkaling, when he found himself ruler of Cibolan.
The claims of leadership over all the Bagobo had never been relinquished,but the actual power of the datu outside his own district amounted to little.Tongkaling soon established his right to the name of a great warrior, and his people so prospered under his rule that upon the advent of the Americans he was very much the most powerful among the several chiefs. Under the administration of Governor Bolton, Tongkaling was officialy recognised as head of the Bagobo and with this added prestige,he has finally suceeded in gaining recognition from all the chiefs except those about Santa Cruz, but his actual control over them is still very slight. He has been a consistent friend of the Americans, but has jealousy guarded his people against outside influences,so that they are much less affected then those of other districts.For this reason we shall, in this paper, use Cibolan as a type settlement, but where radical differences occur in other districts they will be noted.
Physical Type: (I WILL OMIT THE HIGHLY ACADEMIC PORTIONS RELATING TO CEPHALIC INDICES,CRANIUM MEASUREMENTS AND THE LIKE) The maximum height of the males was found to be 164.8 cm.; minimum 149.9 cm.; with an average of 158.6 cm. For the women the maximum was 152.8 cm.; minimum 141 cm.; average 147.3 cm.
The face is long, moderately broad, and the zygomatic arches are seldom prominent. The forehead is high and full with supra-orbital ridge slightly developed. The crown and back of the head are rather strongly arched. The people are seldom prognathous, yet individuals are met with who are markedly so.
The lips are full and bowed; the chin is round and well formed. The root of the nose is depressed; the ridge broad and generally inclined to be concave,although straight noses are not uncommon.The nasal wings are moderately broad and arched or swelled. The eye slits are oblique and moderately open, showing dark or brown-black eyes. The hair is brown-black and generally slightly wavy or loosely curled, while in some cases it is found curled in locks. Women comb their hair straight back and plaster it with coconut oil, but even this does not prevent stray locks from creeping out. Both face and body hairs are scanty and are generally removed, yet occasionally a man is seem who has cultivated a few hairs into the semblance of a beard.
The Bagobo,while well nourished, are inclined to be of slight build,with very narrow waists. In color they are a light reddish brown with a slight olive tinge which is more pronounced in the women than in the men.
In a brief summary, we can say that they are a short, slightly built, metasi-cephalic people, with wavy hair, long faces,and broad, full noses and lips. Individuals are met with who exhibit many of the physical characteristics of the Negrito; while still others, both in color and facial lines, are comparable to the Chinese.
Dress-Personal Adornment: No wild tribe in the islands gives more attention to dress than does the Bagobo. By an intricate process hemp us colored and woven into excellent garments, which, in turn, are decorated with embroidery, applique,or designs in shell discs and beads. The men wear their hair long and after twisting it around the head hold it in place with kerchiefs, the edges of which are decorated with beads and tassels.
A close fitting undershirt is often worn, and above this is an elaborately beaded or embroidered coat which generally opens in front. The hemp cloth trousers scarcely reach to the knee,and the bottom of each leg is decorated with a beaded or embroidered band.Two belts are worn,one to hold the trousers,the other to support the fighting or working knives which each man carries. In lieu of pockets he has on his back an elaborately beaded hemp cloth bag bordered with tassels and bells of native casting. Highly prized shell bracelets, worn as cuffs by some men,are made of a large, conical sea-shells,the base and interior spirals of which have been cut away. Necklaces made of rattan strips decorated or overlaid with alternating layers of fern and orchid cuticle are frequently seen, while many strands of beads and carved seeds surround the necks of both men and women. Both sexes also wear, above the calf of the leg, plaited or beaded leglets to some of which magical properties are ascribed.
The woman wears a jacket which is close fitting about the neck and reaches to the skirt, so that no portion of the upper part of the body is exposed. The cloth now used in this garment is generally secured in trade, and in recent years decoration in applique has begun to succeed the excellent embroidery seen on older garments. Frequently the two types of decoration are seen on the same jacket, and to these are added complicated designs in shell or metal disks, or beads.The narrow tube skirt is of hemp cloth and is made like a sack with both ends open. At the waist it is held in place by means of a cloth or beaded belt.
In addition to the many strands of beads which encircle the neck and fall over the chest, a broad bead band is often worn over one shoulder, passing under the opposite arm near the waist. Scarfs of colored cloth are also worn in this manner when the ladies are on dress parade. Leglets and brass anklets, made like tubes so as to enclose metal balls or with bells and rattles attached, are commonly worn. The women are fond of loading their arms with ornaments of shell or brass and one forearm is covered with separate rings of incised brass wire which increase in size from the center towards the ends, forming an ornament in the shape of an hour-glass. Their hair is generally cut so as to leave a barrow band in the front; this is brushed back, but often falls forward on the face or in front of the ears. Back of this the hair is kept well oiled and is combed straight to the back of the head, where it is tied in a knot. Into this knot is pushed a wooden comb decorated with incised lines filled with lime, or inlaid with beads. On festive occasions more elaborate combs, with plumes or other decorations attached, are worn. Aside from these ornaments the head is uncovered.
Men and women are seen who have their eyebrows shaved to thin lines. This is a matter of individual taste and is done only for beauty.
Neither sex makes use of tattooing, nor do they mutilate their lips or their nose, but what they lack in these respects they make up for in ear ornaments.
When a child is very young a small hole is pierced in the ear lobes, and into this opening a piece of twisted banana or hemp leaf is placed. This leaf acts as a spring, continually enlarging the opening until the ear plugs can be inserted. Another method, sometimes employed, is to fill the opening with small round sticks adding more from time to time, until the desired result is obtained.The plugs worn by the women are of wood,the fronts of which are connected by strands of beads passing under the chin. Large wooden ornaments are also worn by the men, but more prized are large ivory ear plugs made like enormous collar buttons. These are very rare, since the ivory for their manufacture must be secured from Borneo,and by the time it has passed through the hands of many traders it has assumed a value which limits the possession of articles made from it to a very few wealthy men. A further method of ear adornment, frequently seen among the women, consists of beads sewed into a number of holes which have been pierced through the helices of the ears.
Both men and women file and blacken the teeth. When a boy or girl has reached the age of puberty, it is time that this beautifying should be done. There is, however, no prohibition to having it performed earlier if desired. The candidate places his head against the operator and grips a stick of wood between his teeth while each tooth is filed so as to leave only the stump, or is cut or broken to a point. When this has been successfully accomplished, what is left of the teeth is blackened.
The color is obtained in two ways. The more common method is to place a piece of metal on one end of a bamboo tube, the other extremity of which rests on glowing coals. The smoke from the charring bamboo is conducted through the tube to the cold metal on which it leaves a deposit or "sweat." This deposit is rubbed on the teeth, at intervals, for several days until they become a shiny black. A second method is to use a powder known as tapEl [sic] which is secured from the lamod tree.The writer did not see this tree but, from the description given of it, believes it to be the tamarindus. The powder is put on leaves and is chewed. During the period of treatment the patient is under certain restrictions. He may neither drink water,cook or eat anything sour, nor may he attend a funeral. Should he do so his teeth will have a poor color or be "sick." When the teeth have been properly beautified the young man or woman is considered ready to enter society.
Boys run about quite nude until they are three or four years of age.Until about the same age the girls' sole garment is a little public shield, cut from a coconut shell and decorated with incised lines filled with lime. Not infrequently bells are attached to the sides of this "garment." When children do begin to wear clothing their dress differs in no respects from that of their elders.
**************************************************************************************************************
At a later date I will continue with Cole's entry on the Bagobo.When I do it will be an entry entilted,"History of Mindanao,Part III:The Bagobo Lumad, Circa 1910, Part 3."
Chapter I: The Bagobo (continued):
The genealogy of the Bagobo rulers is traced back through ten generations. The first ruler of whom there is record was Salingolop, during whose reign it seems, the Spaniards first came to the Philippines. According to the tale "Salingolop was a man of great and prodigious force, and as tall as the Lauan, which is the tallest tree in these forests. He had three sons called Bato, Sipongos, and Calisquisan, and a daughter named Panugutan. When the Spaniards arrived at Manila, and found that there existed a man so tall and powerful, they sent a battalion of soldiers. They disembarked on the shore of Bimigao near Daron, and ascended the mountain where Salingolop lived. He was not found, because at the time he was on the other side of the mountain hunting wild boar, and the soldiers returned to the shore, taking Panugutan as a hostage. Salingolop, having found out what had happened descended the mountain alone to fight the soldiers which were there. These fired on him, but in vain, because the balls could make no impression. On seeing this, they dropped their rifles and with bars of iron they struck him on the legs, trying to overthrow him. As he fell on the side towards the sea, the noise of the waves, it is said, reached to the Cape San Agustin. They cut off his head and, as he lay dead, they cut off his legs that he might not arise again. The Spaniards returned to Manila, taking with them Panugutan; she married in Manila a Spaniard, by whom she had two children, who later returned to these parts and were well received, being considered not only as friends but as brothers of the Bagobo. (THE PRECEDING FROM THE WRITINGS OF THE JESUIT MISSIONARY FR.JUAN DOYLE)
Salingolop was succeeded by his son Bato who, in turn, was followed by Boas, Basian, Lumbay, Banga, Maliadi,and Taopan. Until we come to this last mentioned ruler we learn little more of importance, but at the beginning of his rule, we learn that the Bagobo had become a powerful people. Under his leadership they made frequent forays into neighboring districts and returned with many slaves and rich loot. The datu* was noted as a brave warrior, but in addition to this he was a wise and just ruler greatly beloved by all his people. When he died more than one thousand of his subjects attended the funeral which lasted ten days. On the last day the house was decked, inside and out, with red and yellow flowers; many valuable gifts were placed beside the corpse, and the place was then abandoned. (*THE AUTHOR NEN IN GENERAL USE WAS THE CORRUPTED MALAY"DATU,"AN AFFECTATION OF THE NEIGHBORING ISLAMICISED TRIBES.THE TRADITIONAL BAGOBO TERMS ARE"LAGAIMODA"AND"MATANEM")
He was succeeded by his son Pangilan,whose administration,like that of his father,was firm and just.Upon his death he bequeathed the leadership of a united people to his son Manib.The new datu did not prove to be a great warrior and his decisions in matters of dispute were not always just,so that bad blood arose between the people of Cibolan and Talun. (THE 2 MAIN BAGOBO POPULATION CENTRES INTO THE EARLY AMERICAN COLONIAL ERA IN DAVAO DISTRICT) He was unable to quell the disturbances,and finally open warfare broke out, petty chiefs of other districts throwing off his control and ruling as datu. This was the condition which confronted the present ruler, Tongkaling, when he found himself ruler of Cibolan.
The claims of leadership over all the Bagobo had never been relinquished,but the actual power of the datu outside his own district amounted to little.Tongkaling soon established his right to the name of a great warrior, and his people so prospered under his rule that upon the advent of the Americans he was very much the most powerful among the several chiefs. Under the administration of Governor Bolton, Tongkaling was officialy recognised as head of the Bagobo and with this added prestige,he has finally suceeded in gaining recognition from all the chiefs except those about Santa Cruz, but his actual control over them is still very slight. He has been a consistent friend of the Americans, but has jealousy guarded his people against outside influences,so that they are much less affected then those of other districts.For this reason we shall, in this paper, use Cibolan as a type settlement, but where radical differences occur in other districts they will be noted.
Physical Type: (I WILL OMIT THE HIGHLY ACADEMIC PORTIONS RELATING TO CEPHALIC INDICES,CRANIUM MEASUREMENTS AND THE LIKE) The maximum height of the males was found to be 164.8 cm.; minimum 149.9 cm.; with an average of 158.6 cm. For the women the maximum was 152.8 cm.; minimum 141 cm.; average 147.3 cm.
The face is long, moderately broad, and the zygomatic arches are seldom prominent. The forehead is high and full with supra-orbital ridge slightly developed. The crown and back of the head are rather strongly arched. The people are seldom prognathous, yet individuals are met with who are markedly so.
The lips are full and bowed; the chin is round and well formed. The root of the nose is depressed; the ridge broad and generally inclined to be concave,although straight noses are not uncommon.The nasal wings are moderately broad and arched or swelled. The eye slits are oblique and moderately open, showing dark or brown-black eyes. The hair is brown-black and generally slightly wavy or loosely curled, while in some cases it is found curled in locks. Women comb their hair straight back and plaster it with coconut oil, but even this does not prevent stray locks from creeping out. Both face and body hairs are scanty and are generally removed, yet occasionally a man is seem who has cultivated a few hairs into the semblance of a beard.
The Bagobo,while well nourished, are inclined to be of slight build,with very narrow waists. In color they are a light reddish brown with a slight olive tinge which is more pronounced in the women than in the men.
In a brief summary, we can say that they are a short, slightly built, metasi-cephalic people, with wavy hair, long faces,and broad, full noses and lips. Individuals are met with who exhibit many of the physical characteristics of the Negrito; while still others, both in color and facial lines, are comparable to the Chinese.
Dress-Personal Adornment: No wild tribe in the islands gives more attention to dress than does the Bagobo. By an intricate process hemp us colored and woven into excellent garments, which, in turn, are decorated with embroidery, applique,or designs in shell discs and beads. The men wear their hair long and after twisting it around the head hold it in place with kerchiefs, the edges of which are decorated with beads and tassels.
A close fitting undershirt is often worn, and above this is an elaborately beaded or embroidered coat which generally opens in front. The hemp cloth trousers scarcely reach to the knee,and the bottom of each leg is decorated with a beaded or embroidered band.Two belts are worn,one to hold the trousers,the other to support the fighting or working knives which each man carries. In lieu of pockets he has on his back an elaborately beaded hemp cloth bag bordered with tassels and bells of native casting. Highly prized shell bracelets, worn as cuffs by some men,are made of a large, conical sea-shells,the base and interior spirals of which have been cut away. Necklaces made of rattan strips decorated or overlaid with alternating layers of fern and orchid cuticle are frequently seen, while many strands of beads and carved seeds surround the necks of both men and women. Both sexes also wear, above the calf of the leg, plaited or beaded leglets to some of which magical properties are ascribed.
The woman wears a jacket which is close fitting about the neck and reaches to the skirt, so that no portion of the upper part of the body is exposed. The cloth now used in this garment is generally secured in trade, and in recent years decoration in applique has begun to succeed the excellent embroidery seen on older garments. Frequently the two types of decoration are seen on the same jacket, and to these are added complicated designs in shell or metal disks, or beads.The narrow tube skirt is of hemp cloth and is made like a sack with both ends open. At the waist it is held in place by means of a cloth or beaded belt.
In addition to the many strands of beads which encircle the neck and fall over the chest, a broad bead band is often worn over one shoulder, passing under the opposite arm near the waist. Scarfs of colored cloth are also worn in this manner when the ladies are on dress parade. Leglets and brass anklets, made like tubes so as to enclose metal balls or with bells and rattles attached, are commonly worn. The women are fond of loading their arms with ornaments of shell or brass and one forearm is covered with separate rings of incised brass wire which increase in size from the center towards the ends, forming an ornament in the shape of an hour-glass. Their hair is generally cut so as to leave a barrow band in the front; this is brushed back, but often falls forward on the face or in front of the ears. Back of this the hair is kept well oiled and is combed straight to the back of the head, where it is tied in a knot. Into this knot is pushed a wooden comb decorated with incised lines filled with lime, or inlaid with beads. On festive occasions more elaborate combs, with plumes or other decorations attached, are worn. Aside from these ornaments the head is uncovered.
Men and women are seen who have their eyebrows shaved to thin lines. This is a matter of individual taste and is done only for beauty.
Neither sex makes use of tattooing, nor do they mutilate their lips or their nose, but what they lack in these respects they make up for in ear ornaments.
When a child is very young a small hole is pierced in the ear lobes, and into this opening a piece of twisted banana or hemp leaf is placed. This leaf acts as a spring, continually enlarging the opening until the ear plugs can be inserted. Another method, sometimes employed, is to fill the opening with small round sticks adding more from time to time, until the desired result is obtained.The plugs worn by the women are of wood,the fronts of which are connected by strands of beads passing under the chin. Large wooden ornaments are also worn by the men, but more prized are large ivory ear plugs made like enormous collar buttons. These are very rare, since the ivory for their manufacture must be secured from Borneo,and by the time it has passed through the hands of many traders it has assumed a value which limits the possession of articles made from it to a very few wealthy men. A further method of ear adornment, frequently seen among the women, consists of beads sewed into a number of holes which have been pierced through the helices of the ears.
Both men and women file and blacken the teeth. When a boy or girl has reached the age of puberty, it is time that this beautifying should be done. There is, however, no prohibition to having it performed earlier if desired. The candidate places his head against the operator and grips a stick of wood between his teeth while each tooth is filed so as to leave only the stump, or is cut or broken to a point. When this has been successfully accomplished, what is left of the teeth is blackened.
The color is obtained in two ways. The more common method is to place a piece of metal on one end of a bamboo tube, the other extremity of which rests on glowing coals. The smoke from the charring bamboo is conducted through the tube to the cold metal on which it leaves a deposit or "sweat." This deposit is rubbed on the teeth, at intervals, for several days until they become a shiny black. A second method is to use a powder known as tapEl [sic] which is secured from the lamod tree.The writer did not see this tree but, from the description given of it, believes it to be the tamarindus. The powder is put on leaves and is chewed. During the period of treatment the patient is under certain restrictions. He may neither drink water,cook or eat anything sour, nor may he attend a funeral. Should he do so his teeth will have a poor color or be "sick." When the teeth have been properly beautified the young man or woman is considered ready to enter society.
Boys run about quite nude until they are three or four years of age.Until about the same age the girls' sole garment is a little public shield, cut from a coconut shell and decorated with incised lines filled with lime. Not infrequently bells are attached to the sides of this "garment." When children do begin to wear clothing their dress differs in no respects from that of their elders.
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At a later date I will continue with Cole's entry on the Bagobo.When I do it will be an entry entilted,"History of Mindanao,Part III:The Bagobo Lumad, Circa 1910, Part 3."
Friday, June 17, 2011
History of Mindanao, Part III: The Bagobo Lumad, Circa 1910, Part 1
The following excerpt is taken from the very well known book,"The Wild Tribes of Davao District" by the great American anthropoligist Fay-Cooper Cole. Mr.Cole was at the time of publication, working at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois in the United States. He had come to Mindinao in his capacity as the Assistant Curator of Malayan Ethnology with the R.F.Cummings Expedition, under the supervision of George A.Dorsey. The book was originaly published in 1913, by the Museum and in Mr.Cole's lifetime received far too little recognition. That seems to be an unwritten rule of sorts, anything great will go unrecognised until long after its innovator's passing.
Chapter I: The Bagobo
Synonyms: (a) Guianga, Guanga, Gulanga
(B) Obo
(C) Tigdapayad
(D) Eto
Habitat: The west coast of Davao Gulf between Daliao and Digos is dotted with small villages, the inhabitants of which are largely Bagobo who have been converted to the Christian faith and have been induced to give up their mountain homes and settle in towns. Back of this coastline rise densely timbered mountain peaks, lateral spurs from which often terminate in abrupt cliffs overlooking the sea. From other peaks extensive grass covered plains slope gently down to nearly the water's edge. Deep river canyons cut between these mountains and across the plains, giving evidence of active erosion for a long period of time. If these mountain chains and river courses are followed back it is found that they all radiate from one stupendous mass, the center of which is Mt.Apo, the highest mountain in the Philippines and reputed to be an active volcano. Near to its summit is a deep fissure from which, on clear mornings, columns of smoke or steam can be seen ascending, while the first rays of the rising sun turn into gold, or sheets of white, the fields of sulphur which surround the cone.
Along the lower eastern and southern slopes of this mountain and its tributary peaks live the wilder branch of this tribe, whose traditions, religious observances, and daily life are closely related to the manifestations of latent energy in the old volcano.
Number: The exact number who fall under this classification is not known. Governor Bolton, who was intimately acquainted with the wild tribes of the District, estimated their number at sixty-five hundred (6,500) but this count did not include the sub-division given here as Obo. One enumeration made by a Jesuit missionary, places the population at fifteen thousand, while the Government report of 1900 gives them eighteen thousand four hundred. The latter estimates are certainly excessive. It is probable that they were determined by compiling the population of villages reported to exist in the interior. The wilder members of this tribe are, to a certain extent, migratory, moving their villages from one location to another according to the demands of their mode of agriculture. Their rice fields are made in mountain-side clearings, and as the ever present cogon grass begins to invade the open land they substitute sweet potatoes or hemp. In time these lusty plants give way to the rank grass, and the people find it easier to make new clearings in the forest than to combat the pest with the primitive tools at their command. This results in some new fields each year, and when these are at too great a distance from the dwellings the old settlements are abandoned and new ones formed at more convenient locations.
It is probable that the total number belonging to this tribe does not exceed ten thousand persons.
Influence of Neighbors-History:
The influence of the neighboring tribes and of the white man on the Bagibo has been considerable. The desire for women, slaves, and loot, as well as individual warriors for distinction, has caused many hostile raids to be made against neighboring tribes. Similar motives have led others to attack them and thus there has been, through a long period, a certain exchange of blood, customs, and artifacts. Peaceful exchange of commodities has also been carried on for many years along the borders of their territory. With the advent of the Moro along the sea coast a brisk trade was opened up and new industries introduced. There seems to have been little, if any, intermarriage between these people, but their relations were sufficiently close for the Moro to exert a marked influence on the religioud and civil life of the wilder tribe, and to cause them to incorporate into their language many new words and terms.
The friendly relations with the Moro seem to have been broken off upon the arrival of and settlement of the Spaniards in Davao. The newcomers were then at war with the followers of Mohammad and soon succeeded in enlisting the Bagobo rulers in their cause. A Chinese plate decorated with the picture of a large blue fish was offered for each Moro head the tribesmen presented to the Spanish commander. The desire for these trophies was sufficient to start a brisk trade in heads, to judge from the number of these plates still to be seen among the prized objects of the petty rulers.
After the overthrow of Moro power on the coast, Jesuit missionaries began their labors among the Bagobo, and later established their followers in several villages. In 1886 Father Gisbert reported 800 converts living in five coast towns. Following the conflict between Spain and the United States,and during the subsequent insurrection, these villages were left without protection or guidance. As a result, large numbers of the inhabitants retired to the hills where they again merged with their wilder brothers. Naturally they carried with them new ideas as well as new material objects. With the re-establishment of order under American rule many returned to the deserted villages while others were induced by Governor Bolton to form compact settlements midway between the coast and the mountain fastness. The influence of the Government has become stronger each year, and following the human sacrifice at Talun in 1907, that powerful village and several of the neighboring settlements were compelled to move down near to the sea where they could be more easily controlled.
Schools have opened in some localities and these, together with the activities of Catholic and Protestant missionaries,are causing a rapid change in the life and beliefs of the tribe.
The presence of American hemp planters, with the consequent demand for laborers, is also providing an immense factor in wiping out old tribal lines and in introducing new ideas.
Beyond a few letters written by the missionaries we find scant reference to this tribe in history, but their own traditions and genealogies are well known even by the younger generation.
According to the tribal historians the human race sprang from a man, Toglai,and his wife,Toglibon, who lived on Mt.Apo. "They were there from the beginning, at a point near to the present settlement of Cibolan. Many fruits grew on the mountains and the forests abounded in game so that it was easy for them to secure food. There were born to them children, who when they grew up, married. One day Toglai and Toglibon told their oldest boy and girl that they should go far away across the ocean, for there was a good place for them. So the two departed and were seen no more until their descendants, the white people, came back to Davao. The other children remained with their parents and were happy and prosperous until Toglai and Toglibon died and went to the sky, where they became spirits. Soon after their death the country suffered a great drought. This finally became so severe that the water in the rivers dried up and there was no more food in the land. At last the children were forced to leave their home and seek out new habitations in other parts. They traveled in pairs, in different directions, until they came to favorable locations where they settled down. From them have sprung all the tribes known to the Bagobo. One pair was far too weak to make the journey from the drought-cursed land, and stayed at Cibolan. One day the man crawled out into the ruined fields to see if he could not find some one thing alive, and when he arrived there he saw, to his amazement, a single stalk of sugar cane growing lustily. He cut it with his knife, and water began to come out until there was enough for the couple to drink. The flow did not cease until the rains came again to refresh the land. From these two the tribe has again grown until it numbers its members in the thousands. The people have remained true to their belief in the spirits, and each year has found them stronger in numbers, and richer in houses, land, and slaves.
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I will continue with more of this chapter in my next entry, "History of Mindanao, Part III: The Bagobo Lumad Circa 1910, Part 2".
Chapter I: The Bagobo
Synonyms: (a) Guianga, Guanga, Gulanga
(B) Obo
(C) Tigdapayad
(D) Eto
Habitat: The west coast of Davao Gulf between Daliao and Digos is dotted with small villages, the inhabitants of which are largely Bagobo who have been converted to the Christian faith and have been induced to give up their mountain homes and settle in towns. Back of this coastline rise densely timbered mountain peaks, lateral spurs from which often terminate in abrupt cliffs overlooking the sea. From other peaks extensive grass covered plains slope gently down to nearly the water's edge. Deep river canyons cut between these mountains and across the plains, giving evidence of active erosion for a long period of time. If these mountain chains and river courses are followed back it is found that they all radiate from one stupendous mass, the center of which is Mt.Apo, the highest mountain in the Philippines and reputed to be an active volcano. Near to its summit is a deep fissure from which, on clear mornings, columns of smoke or steam can be seen ascending, while the first rays of the rising sun turn into gold, or sheets of white, the fields of sulphur which surround the cone.
Along the lower eastern and southern slopes of this mountain and its tributary peaks live the wilder branch of this tribe, whose traditions, religious observances, and daily life are closely related to the manifestations of latent energy in the old volcano.
Number: The exact number who fall under this classification is not known. Governor Bolton, who was intimately acquainted with the wild tribes of the District, estimated their number at sixty-five hundred (6,500) but this count did not include the sub-division given here as Obo. One enumeration made by a Jesuit missionary, places the population at fifteen thousand, while the Government report of 1900 gives them eighteen thousand four hundred. The latter estimates are certainly excessive. It is probable that they were determined by compiling the population of villages reported to exist in the interior. The wilder members of this tribe are, to a certain extent, migratory, moving their villages from one location to another according to the demands of their mode of agriculture. Their rice fields are made in mountain-side clearings, and as the ever present cogon grass begins to invade the open land they substitute sweet potatoes or hemp. In time these lusty plants give way to the rank grass, and the people find it easier to make new clearings in the forest than to combat the pest with the primitive tools at their command. This results in some new fields each year, and when these are at too great a distance from the dwellings the old settlements are abandoned and new ones formed at more convenient locations.
It is probable that the total number belonging to this tribe does not exceed ten thousand persons.
Influence of Neighbors-History:
The influence of the neighboring tribes and of the white man on the Bagibo has been considerable. The desire for women, slaves, and loot, as well as individual warriors for distinction, has caused many hostile raids to be made against neighboring tribes. Similar motives have led others to attack them and thus there has been, through a long period, a certain exchange of blood, customs, and artifacts. Peaceful exchange of commodities has also been carried on for many years along the borders of their territory. With the advent of the Moro along the sea coast a brisk trade was opened up and new industries introduced. There seems to have been little, if any, intermarriage between these people, but their relations were sufficiently close for the Moro to exert a marked influence on the religioud and civil life of the wilder tribe, and to cause them to incorporate into their language many new words and terms.
The friendly relations with the Moro seem to have been broken off upon the arrival of and settlement of the Spaniards in Davao. The newcomers were then at war with the followers of Mohammad and soon succeeded in enlisting the Bagobo rulers in their cause. A Chinese plate decorated with the picture of a large blue fish was offered for each Moro head the tribesmen presented to the Spanish commander. The desire for these trophies was sufficient to start a brisk trade in heads, to judge from the number of these plates still to be seen among the prized objects of the petty rulers.
After the overthrow of Moro power on the coast, Jesuit missionaries began their labors among the Bagobo, and later established their followers in several villages. In 1886 Father Gisbert reported 800 converts living in five coast towns. Following the conflict between Spain and the United States,and during the subsequent insurrection, these villages were left without protection or guidance. As a result, large numbers of the inhabitants retired to the hills where they again merged with their wilder brothers. Naturally they carried with them new ideas as well as new material objects. With the re-establishment of order under American rule many returned to the deserted villages while others were induced by Governor Bolton to form compact settlements midway between the coast and the mountain fastness. The influence of the Government has become stronger each year, and following the human sacrifice at Talun in 1907, that powerful village and several of the neighboring settlements were compelled to move down near to the sea where they could be more easily controlled.
Schools have opened in some localities and these, together with the activities of Catholic and Protestant missionaries,are causing a rapid change in the life and beliefs of the tribe.
The presence of American hemp planters, with the consequent demand for laborers, is also providing an immense factor in wiping out old tribal lines and in introducing new ideas.
Beyond a few letters written by the missionaries we find scant reference to this tribe in history, but their own traditions and genealogies are well known even by the younger generation.
According to the tribal historians the human race sprang from a man, Toglai,and his wife,Toglibon, who lived on Mt.Apo. "They were there from the beginning, at a point near to the present settlement of Cibolan. Many fruits grew on the mountains and the forests abounded in game so that it was easy for them to secure food. There were born to them children, who when they grew up, married. One day Toglai and Toglibon told their oldest boy and girl that they should go far away across the ocean, for there was a good place for them. So the two departed and were seen no more until their descendants, the white people, came back to Davao. The other children remained with their parents and were happy and prosperous until Toglai and Toglibon died and went to the sky, where they became spirits. Soon after their death the country suffered a great drought. This finally became so severe that the water in the rivers dried up and there was no more food in the land. At last the children were forced to leave their home and seek out new habitations in other parts. They traveled in pairs, in different directions, until they came to favorable locations where they settled down. From them have sprung all the tribes known to the Bagobo. One pair was far too weak to make the journey from the drought-cursed land, and stayed at Cibolan. One day the man crawled out into the ruined fields to see if he could not find some one thing alive, and when he arrived there he saw, to his amazement, a single stalk of sugar cane growing lustily. He cut it with his knife, and water began to come out until there was enough for the couple to drink. The flow did not cease until the rains came again to refresh the land. From these two the tribe has again grown until it numbers its members in the thousands. The people have remained true to their belief in the spirits, and each year has found them stronger in numbers, and richer in houses, land, and slaves.
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I will continue with more of this chapter in my next entry, "History of Mindanao, Part III: The Bagobo Lumad Circa 1910, Part 2".
Sunday, June 5, 2011
GPH-NDFP Peace Process,Second Quarter of 2011,Part III:Focus Forums are the Flavour of the Day
In the Summer of 2008 the Government of the Philippines (GPH) came within a milimeter of finally bring at least a temporary intermission to the nation's then 36 year old Islamic Insurgency.That this brief reprieve would have ended up tearing the nation asunder mattered little to then President Gloria M.Arroyo who only operated out of avarice and egotism,in that order.Since coming to power in a coup in 2001 Madame Arroyo had obsessed over the Islamic Separatism that has left Mindanao the poorest region in an incredibly poor nation.The"solution"was a document now known as the MoA-AD,or Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
Non-Muslim warlords on Mindanao got wind of a very low key set of under the table negotiations taking place in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia.Moreover they were informed that the Arroyo Government was just about to sign away the bulk of non-Muslim lands in Central and Western Mindanao.These powerbrokers,Mayors Celso Lobregat (Zamboanga City),Lawrence Cruz (Iligan City),and Vice Governor Emmanuel"Manny"Pinol of North Cotabato Province pulled strings in Manila and got the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the signing of the document pending Supreme Court Review.
When the Court finally considered the MoA-AD they Ruled that it was Unconstitutional and that was that.Of course I am omitting a lot of other issues involved,especially the bloody 2 year war it precipitated,but sufficient to say for my purposes in this entry,one of the Constitutional issues cited was the lack of proper disclosure,especially vis a vis GPH and concerned stakeholders...like those aforementioned local warlords.Ergo the GPH-NDFP Peace Process isn't taking any chances.Both sides are taking a proactive stance with regard to stakeholder forums in which the respective Peace Panels jointly present their work to date followed by a Q and A (Question and Answer) Session with the audience.
On April 12,2011 both Panels fielded representatives for a lowkey unofficial forum.Fidel Agcaoli,labeled Vice Chairperson of the NDFP Peace Panel,did the honours for his organisation at Davao City's Mandaya Hotel.Among other things he took great pains to explain that the GPH Concessions given after Hong Kong (December,2010) and before Round I in Oslo (February 15 through 27,2011) weren't Concessions at all but rather were the CPP/NPA/NDFP's just rewards.Agcaoli noted that the Government is party to legally signed bilateral Agreements and as such doesn't have any choice BUT TO put up or shut up.Naturally he segued directly into a spiel about JASIG,the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees.As I have noted in at least 2 other recent CPP/NPA/NDFP entries the NDFP has been less than satisfied with GPH performance with regard to this Agreement.As Agcaoli noted,if the GPH fails to put out on this very simple and incredibly basic document,what hope is there that the CPP/NPA/NDFP could ever see the Philippine Government keep its word about anything.
Predictably,since the forum was being held in Davao City,GPH Panel Member Ednar Dayanghirang spoke at length as well.Mr.Dayanghirang is a native of neighbouring Davao Oriental Province where he splits his time farming mangoes and hosting a local cable access show devoted to local current events.As luck would have it he happened to have hosted that show on a Davao City-based cable television system so that he should be familiar to at least some of the attendees.
Between the 2 Panel Members they covered the entire 4-part Framework for the Final Peace Agreement.Revealingly the extremely verbose Dayanghirang told his audience that it was the NDFP itself that originally suggested that University of the Philippines (UP) Law School Dean Alexander"Alex"Padilla Chair the GPH Peace Panel.Though Padilla was serving the governmeent in addition to his academic position he is well known to the NDFP because he is in fact a former member.In the Marcos Era Padilla regularly provided captured CPP and NPA members with legal counsel.The quotation incorrectly attributed to Churchill comes to mind,"A man who isn't a Socialist by age 20 hasn't a heart.A man who hasn't rejected Socialism by age 40 hasn't a brain."
That the first forum went so well is suprising given the drama that had transpired just the day before,April 11th.Fidel Agcaoli went ballistic when he learned of recent comments made by Alex Padilla.In a radio interview the week before Padilla was asked to offer his take on the chances for success in the GPH-NDFP Peace Process.Amazingly Padilla said that he believed those chances to be very strong given the technological advances experienced in recent years.Asked to clarify his answer Padilla remarked that where as in the Marcos Era rebelliousness only found an outlet in deeds today's youth can vent on Facebook,Friendster and MySpace.Continuing in what has to be the best example of verbal dhiarrea seen in a long while Padilla said that Social Media will put an end to groups like the NPA.Aaaaah,if only it were true Alex,only if...
On April 19,2011 Mr.Dayanghirang was back on Luzon where he joined Sr.Military Advisor the GPH Peace Panel,Brigadier General Reynaldo"Rey"Ordonez in a briefing given to students at NDC (National Defense College) on the grounds of Camp Aguinaldo,the AFP General HQ (Headquarters) in Metro Manila's Quezon City.The students,all in the MNSA (Masters in National Security) Track weren't impressed,to say the least.
To a tee they all doubted the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity.Showing his inexperience Dayanghirang tried to debate the students but only came off looking naïve at best.Luckily BGen.Ordonez stepped in and like an able tactician (rare in the AFP) explained that the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity,or insincerity,is irrelevant.The fact that they are at the Table at all for the first time in nearly 6 years is progress enough for the moment.With that the students were brought to heel and what little time remained in the Briefing went a whole lot smoother.
The Davao City and NDC Talks were just warmups with the bulk of the forums to be held from April 27th to May 6th.
The first one,on April 27th took place in the municipality of Lacub,in Abra Province in Northern Luzon.Entitled"Addressing the Roots of the Armed Conflict Towards a Just and Lasting Peace"it was sponsored jointly by the CPA and the Party List organisation KATRIBU so should have added,"As Long as it Spells Victory for the NPA"as a subtitle.Taking place on the final day of a 3 day festival,the annually held Cordillera Day,the forum took a unique direction by directly inviting not only social and religious leaders but a representative of each of the Cordilleran Provinces who were tasked with representing the views and concerns of the hilltribes within their respective province.While Mindanowan hilltribes are known collectively as"Lumad,"Cordillerans are known either as"Igorot"or as"Tinggurian."Like the Lumad the Igorot/Tinggurian are at the bottom rung of their respective social and cultural ladder.Likewise they also are identical to Lumad in the respect that they are the most vulnerable to NPA/AFP recruitment and violence.Just as on Mindanao they must deal with extra-fierce Developmental Aggression from a government that has never given them a single ounce of respect or assistance.Used by both the Government and the NPA they continue to suffer,caught perennially in the middle.
Cordillera Day is sponsored by the CPA,the Cordillera Peoples Alliance,an umbrella entity founded in 1984 to unite the disparate Leftist groups either under or more usually un-represented by the national Leftist umbrella the NDF,or National Democratic Front (now known as the NDFP since adding"Philippines"to its moniker).Held in a different Cordilleran locale each year the 2011 festival is the 27th and attracts thousands of visitors.Suprisingly then,when Lacub officials learned that the Forum would also be held they suddenly got cold feet for the festival and begged off citing logistical,infrastructural AND security concerns.Festival AND forum organisers weren't about to be shunted aside and so revealed that Lacub's mayor had given the go ahead weeks in advance.
On the day in question the GHP Panel was represented by Peace Panelist Ednar Dayanghirang who concurrently Chairs the Panel's RWC-SER (Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms).Since the forum is only dealing with CASER,or the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms,this made him the best man for the job,besides his being the only Panelist willing to stump for the team.More over Mr.Dayanghirang is himself a Lumad,a Mandaya Tribesmen (how fitting then the locale of the Davao City Forum at the beginning of this entry).Joining him was Father Albert Alejo,Member of that same RWC-SER,and Jimmid Mansayag.Mr.Mansayag is also a Lumad,an Aroman Manobo Tribesman from the upper North Cotabato plateau in Central Mindanao.He is serving as a Resource Person (Consultant) on the RWC-SER with regard to IP (Indigenous People,in this sense Lumad,Igorot and Tinggurian).Sadly one never sees Negritos even mentioned and yet who could be any more"indigenous"than these first Filipinos?Neither Lumad nor Christian and as far as one can get from being Muslim,this demographic is truly the least served of all Filipino demographics.
For the NDFP Panel none other than Rafael Baylosis himself took the honours.Baylosis is a Consultant to the Panel and serves as a Member of its RWC-SER.It will be recalled that My.Baylosis,who is also the Secretary General of the CPP,or Communist Party of the Philippines,was incarcerated until released just prior to Round I,per GPH concession despite his holding immunity under JASIG.Conveniently joining Mr.Baylosis was Beverly L.Longid who not only serves the NDFP Peace Panel as its IP Resource Person but who co-incidentally sits as President of KATRIBU.
The representatives of each Cordilleran Province:
1) Abra
2) Apayao
3) Ifugao
4) Kalinga
5) Mountain
6) Benguet
all voiced the same wish list with very little differentiation.I will spare the Cordilleran-specific issues since I limit my focus to Mindanao but sufficient to say that some concerns were in fact universal.Issues like Global Warming,support for small scale agriculture,the desire for de-militarisation,rehabilitation of the Mining Act of 1995 as well as of IPRA (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act) and its pursuant CAD and CADT (Certificate of Ancestral Domain and CAD Title) all scored highly as chief concerns.
Non-Muslim warlords on Mindanao got wind of a very low key set of under the table negotiations taking place in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia.Moreover they were informed that the Arroyo Government was just about to sign away the bulk of non-Muslim lands in Central and Western Mindanao.These powerbrokers,Mayors Celso Lobregat (Zamboanga City),Lawrence Cruz (Iligan City),and Vice Governor Emmanuel"Manny"Pinol of North Cotabato Province pulled strings in Manila and got the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the signing of the document pending Supreme Court Review.
When the Court finally considered the MoA-AD they Ruled that it was Unconstitutional and that was that.Of course I am omitting a lot of other issues involved,especially the bloody 2 year war it precipitated,but sufficient to say for my purposes in this entry,one of the Constitutional issues cited was the lack of proper disclosure,especially vis a vis GPH and concerned stakeholders...like those aforementioned local warlords.Ergo the GPH-NDFP Peace Process isn't taking any chances.Both sides are taking a proactive stance with regard to stakeholder forums in which the respective Peace Panels jointly present their work to date followed by a Q and A (Question and Answer) Session with the audience.
On April 12,2011 both Panels fielded representatives for a lowkey unofficial forum.Fidel Agcaoli,labeled Vice Chairperson of the NDFP Peace Panel,did the honours for his organisation at Davao City's Mandaya Hotel.Among other things he took great pains to explain that the GPH Concessions given after Hong Kong (December,2010) and before Round I in Oslo (February 15 through 27,2011) weren't Concessions at all but rather were the CPP/NPA/NDFP's just rewards.Agcaoli noted that the Government is party to legally signed bilateral Agreements and as such doesn't have any choice BUT TO put up or shut up.Naturally he segued directly into a spiel about JASIG,the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees.As I have noted in at least 2 other recent CPP/NPA/NDFP entries the NDFP has been less than satisfied with GPH performance with regard to this Agreement.As Agcaoli noted,if the GPH fails to put out on this very simple and incredibly basic document,what hope is there that the CPP/NPA/NDFP could ever see the Philippine Government keep its word about anything.
Predictably,since the forum was being held in Davao City,GPH Panel Member Ednar Dayanghirang spoke at length as well.Mr.Dayanghirang is a native of neighbouring Davao Oriental Province where he splits his time farming mangoes and hosting a local cable access show devoted to local current events.As luck would have it he happened to have hosted that show on a Davao City-based cable television system so that he should be familiar to at least some of the attendees.
Between the 2 Panel Members they covered the entire 4-part Framework for the Final Peace Agreement.Revealingly the extremely verbose Dayanghirang told his audience that it was the NDFP itself that originally suggested that University of the Philippines (UP) Law School Dean Alexander"Alex"Padilla Chair the GPH Peace Panel.Though Padilla was serving the governmeent in addition to his academic position he is well known to the NDFP because he is in fact a former member.In the Marcos Era Padilla regularly provided captured CPP and NPA members with legal counsel.The quotation incorrectly attributed to Churchill comes to mind,"A man who isn't a Socialist by age 20 hasn't a heart.A man who hasn't rejected Socialism by age 40 hasn't a brain."
That the first forum went so well is suprising given the drama that had transpired just the day before,April 11th.Fidel Agcaoli went ballistic when he learned of recent comments made by Alex Padilla.In a radio interview the week before Padilla was asked to offer his take on the chances for success in the GPH-NDFP Peace Process.Amazingly Padilla said that he believed those chances to be very strong given the technological advances experienced in recent years.Asked to clarify his answer Padilla remarked that where as in the Marcos Era rebelliousness only found an outlet in deeds today's youth can vent on Facebook,Friendster and MySpace.Continuing in what has to be the best example of verbal dhiarrea seen in a long while Padilla said that Social Media will put an end to groups like the NPA.Aaaaah,if only it were true Alex,only if...
On April 19,2011 Mr.Dayanghirang was back on Luzon where he joined Sr.Military Advisor the GPH Peace Panel,Brigadier General Reynaldo"Rey"Ordonez in a briefing given to students at NDC (National Defense College) on the grounds of Camp Aguinaldo,the AFP General HQ (Headquarters) in Metro Manila's Quezon City.The students,all in the MNSA (Masters in National Security) Track weren't impressed,to say the least.
To a tee they all doubted the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity.Showing his inexperience Dayanghirang tried to debate the students but only came off looking naïve at best.Luckily BGen.Ordonez stepped in and like an able tactician (rare in the AFP) explained that the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity,or insincerity,is irrelevant.The fact that they are at the Table at all for the first time in nearly 6 years is progress enough for the moment.With that the students were brought to heel and what little time remained in the Briefing went a whole lot smoother.
The Davao City and NDC Talks were just warmups with the bulk of the forums to be held from April 27th to May 6th.
The first one,on April 27th took place in the municipality of Lacub,in Abra Province in Northern Luzon.Entitled"Addressing the Roots of the Armed Conflict Towards a Just and Lasting Peace"it was sponsored jointly by the CPA and the Party List organisation KATRIBU so should have added,"As Long as it Spells Victory for the NPA"as a subtitle.Taking place on the final day of a 3 day festival,the annually held Cordillera Day,the forum took a unique direction by directly inviting not only social and religious leaders but a representative of each of the Cordilleran Provinces who were tasked with representing the views and concerns of the hilltribes within their respective province.While Mindanowan hilltribes are known collectively as"Lumad,"Cordillerans are known either as"Igorot"or as"Tinggurian."Like the Lumad the Igorot/Tinggurian are at the bottom rung of their respective social and cultural ladder.Likewise they also are identical to Lumad in the respect that they are the most vulnerable to NPA/AFP recruitment and violence.Just as on Mindanao they must deal with extra-fierce Developmental Aggression from a government that has never given them a single ounce of respect or assistance.Used by both the Government and the NPA they continue to suffer,caught perennially in the middle.
Cordillera Day is sponsored by the CPA,the Cordillera Peoples Alliance,an umbrella entity founded in 1984 to unite the disparate Leftist groups either under or more usually un-represented by the national Leftist umbrella the NDF,or National Democratic Front (now known as the NDFP since adding"Philippines"to its moniker).Held in a different Cordilleran locale each year the 2011 festival is the 27th and attracts thousands of visitors.Suprisingly then,when Lacub officials learned that the Forum would also be held they suddenly got cold feet for the festival and begged off citing logistical,infrastructural AND security concerns.Festival AND forum organisers weren't about to be shunted aside and so revealed that Lacub's mayor had given the go ahead weeks in advance.
On the day in question the GHP Panel was represented by Peace Panelist Ednar Dayanghirang who concurrently Chairs the Panel's RWC-SER (Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms).Since the forum is only dealing with CASER,or the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms,this made him the best man for the job,besides his being the only Panelist willing to stump for the team.More over Mr.Dayanghirang is himself a Lumad,a Mandaya Tribesmen (how fitting then the locale of the Davao City Forum at the beginning of this entry).Joining him was Father Albert Alejo,Member of that same RWC-SER,and Jimmid Mansayag.Mr.Mansayag is also a Lumad,an Aroman Manobo Tribesman from the upper North Cotabato plateau in Central Mindanao.He is serving as a Resource Person (Consultant) on the RWC-SER with regard to IP (Indigenous People,in this sense Lumad,Igorot and Tinggurian).Sadly one never sees Negritos even mentioned and yet who could be any more"indigenous"than these first Filipinos?Neither Lumad nor Christian and as far as one can get from being Muslim,this demographic is truly the least served of all Filipino demographics.
For the NDFP Panel none other than Rafael Baylosis himself took the honours.Baylosis is a Consultant to the Panel and serves as a Member of its RWC-SER.It will be recalled that My.Baylosis,who is also the Secretary General of the CPP,or Communist Party of the Philippines,was incarcerated until released just prior to Round I,per GPH concession despite his holding immunity under JASIG.Conveniently joining Mr.Baylosis was Beverly L.Longid who not only serves the NDFP Peace Panel as its IP Resource Person but who co-incidentally sits as President of KATRIBU.
The representatives of each Cordilleran Province:
1) Abra
2) Apayao
3) Ifugao
4) Kalinga
5) Mountain
6) Benguet
all voiced the same wish list with very little differentiation.I will spare the Cordilleran-specific issues since I limit my focus to Mindanao but sufficient to say that some concerns were in fact universal.Issues like Global Warming,support for small scale agriculture,the desire for de-militarisation,rehabilitation of the Mining Act of 1995 as well as of IPRA (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act) and its pursuant CAD and CADT (Certificate of Ancestral Domain and CAD Title) all scored highly as chief concerns.
Monday, June 14, 2010
GPH-MILF Peace Process,Second Quarter of 2010:A Rough Week for Both Sides
June 3rd, 2010 marked the end of the last GHP (Government of the the Philippines) and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) "sit down"under the Arroyo Administration,with President Benigno"Nonoy"Aquino III taking office on July 1st. The meeting which took place in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia was a 2 day"no brainer'"and yet what could go wrong did go wrong.
Even before leaving Manila the GHP Peace Panel Chairman,Undersecretary Rafael Seguis,announced to the media that the meeting was merely a formality to mark the end of President Arroyo's effort to achieve peace with at least 1 of the 3 Islamic insurgencies in the Philippines.Asked if he expected the meeting to produce any tangible results,Chairman Seguis offered that he expected the talks to produce a"Closure Statement,"whatever THAT may be.What he and his MILF counterpart,Peace Panel Chairman Moagher Iqbal ended up producing though was a 2 page document containing 6 points.
Entitled,"Declaration on Continuity for Peace Negotiations,"the document basically offered nothing substantiative except for the 6th and final point and even that is pure"fluff."The"Points"are as follows (paraphrased):
I) Both sides will continue to seek out new formulas that permanantly respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Bangsamoro (as the MILF refers to all Filipino Muslims) for a just peace,freedom built upon parity,esteem,equal treatment,ethos,civil and human rights and the right to exercise self determination,with consent,per the agreed upon framework created by both parties (GHP and MILF).
II) In good faith and building upon prior consensual points,negotiations will continue without imposition as a reflection of each parties ongoing commitment to peace (in layman's terms there will be no requirement upon either side to pay attention to past agreements and progress made).
III) The ultimate goal of these continued talks being a permanant cessation of hostilities while at the same time addressing Bangsamoro grievances and concerns.
IV) The issue of Ancestral Domain* will be reframed to take into consideration the rights and issues of effected Lumad (the generic term used to refer to all Animist Hill Tribes on Mindanao) in accordance with the UN "Declaration on the Roghts of Indigenous Peoples."
V) Rehashing of the deficiencies in Ancestral Domain with regard to Lumad,and vowing to remedy these failings (in layman's terms,both this and the preceeding point are basically admitting that in past talks neither side paid much attention to the Lumad,the indigenous animist tribes on Mindanao).
VI) All previous Agreements and Texts will be collated into a compendium for easy frame of reference in future negotiations (all this is saying is that they will spend alot of money to produce a nicely bounc collection of all past agreements and memorandums,things both sides should have each time they meet in any regard,but that is how it is played).
* "Ancestral Domain"is the phrase used to describe land rights for Lumad and Bangsamoro though crafted primarily to address Bangsamoro concerns.
Even before leaving Manila the GHP Peace Panel Chairman,Undersecretary Rafael Seguis,announced to the media that the meeting was merely a formality to mark the end of President Arroyo's effort to achieve peace with at least 1 of the 3 Islamic insurgencies in the Philippines.Asked if he expected the meeting to produce any tangible results,Chairman Seguis offered that he expected the talks to produce a"Closure Statement,"whatever THAT may be.What he and his MILF counterpart,Peace Panel Chairman Moagher Iqbal ended up producing though was a 2 page document containing 6 points.
Entitled,"Declaration on Continuity for Peace Negotiations,"the document basically offered nothing substantiative except for the 6th and final point and even that is pure"fluff."The"Points"are as follows (paraphrased):
I) Both sides will continue to seek out new formulas that permanantly respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Bangsamoro (as the MILF refers to all Filipino Muslims) for a just peace,freedom built upon parity,esteem,equal treatment,ethos,civil and human rights and the right to exercise self determination,with consent,per the agreed upon framework created by both parties (GHP and MILF).
II) In good faith and building upon prior consensual points,negotiations will continue without imposition as a reflection of each parties ongoing commitment to peace (in layman's terms there will be no requirement upon either side to pay attention to past agreements and progress made).
III) The ultimate goal of these continued talks being a permanant cessation of hostilities while at the same time addressing Bangsamoro grievances and concerns.
IV) The issue of Ancestral Domain* will be reframed to take into consideration the rights and issues of effected Lumad (the generic term used to refer to all Animist Hill Tribes on Mindanao) in accordance with the UN "Declaration on the Roghts of Indigenous Peoples."
V) Rehashing of the deficiencies in Ancestral Domain with regard to Lumad,and vowing to remedy these failings (in layman's terms,both this and the preceeding point are basically admitting that in past talks neither side paid much attention to the Lumad,the indigenous animist tribes on Mindanao).
VI) All previous Agreements and Texts will be collated into a compendium for easy frame of reference in future negotiations (all this is saying is that they will spend alot of money to produce a nicely bounc collection of all past agreements and memorandums,things both sides should have each time they meet in any regard,but that is how it is played).
* "Ancestral Domain"is the phrase used to describe land rights for Lumad and Bangsamoro though crafted primarily to address Bangsamoro concerns.
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