The Bagobo Tribe of Davao del Sur
Amor, Jay Niel
Balboa, Jessa
Cabizares, Joan
Cadampog, John Brackly
Calsada, Normea
Dayanan, Cristine Mae
Elogsong, Zhella Marie
Palang, Camille Mae
Romero, Ericka Salado
ORIGIN AND HISTORY
In the 19th century, the Bagobo were a self-sufficient and autonomous people, although
they had trading relationships with outsiders, and they were nominally under the rule of the
Maguindanao sultanate. However, in 1838, Datu Ongay, a Maguindanaon, aroused the ire of
the Spanish colonial government when he attacked a Spanish ship. In 1845, the Maguindanaon
sultan entered a treaty with Spain in which he gave the latter control over the region stretching
between Davao Gulf and Sarangani Bay, which was Bagobo land.
The Bagobo were the first ethnic group in Mindanao encountered by the Spaniards at
the end of the 19th century. Brisk trade already existed among the various groups and tribes.
Horses were used to transport goods to the coast. The Bagobo were excellent riders and showed
their pride in this skill by adorning their horses with beads and bangles. Their main trade items
were rice, armaciga (resin), and beeswax, which they exchanged for lowland goods like salt,
fish, clay pottery, and the lumbang fruit, which was their source of fuel. They bartered with the
Muslims for iron and with the Chinese for pots, beads, and other ornaments. The most valuable
item of exchange was the agong (knobbed gong), which, together with slaves, horses, cows,
and abaca cloth, was given as bride-price or as payment for a crime or transgression committed.
The bagobo tribe is one of the largest groups in Southern Mindanao. They live in the
surrounding areas of Mt. Apo. The name bagobo is derived from the word bago meaning new
and obo meaning growth so that bagobo means "new growth". They've practice agriculture as
well as hunting and fishing. Their origins can be traced back to the early Malay peoples who
came from the surrounding islands of Southeast Asia. They are composed of three sub-groups
namely the Tagabawa, the Ubo Manuvo and the Janga. Tagabawa means "people of the south,"
from bawa, which may actually mean either "south" or "north". The Ubo Manuvo call
themselves manuvo meaning "people", the manuvu are more known as Obo Manobo and Obo
Bagobo. Jangan means "forest" and the jangan are calledby various names by neighbouring
groups. A fourth group, the Matigsalug, is linguistically most closely related to the Ubo, but
may be the result of intermarriage and close interaction with the neighbouring Ubo of Baguio
District, Davao City. The Matigsalug call them Klata, meaning "to go through" because the
Matigsalug have to go through jangan territory to go to Davao to barter.
Bagobo identities have been portrayed minimally in dominant media, such as in small
segments of journalistic shows or as a source of inspiration for drama. One episode of the
popular drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya (Will You Remember), 2012, is “Bagobo Love,”
2012, about a Bagobo woman and an Ilonggo whose cultural differences get in the way of their
romance. The episode was shown to celebrate World Indigenous Day, held yearly on the 11th
of August.
PRACTICES
The Bagobos are one more minority bunch found in Davao del sur, and in certain
pieces of Davao de Norte and along the Sarangani Waterway. They live in houses based on the
slants of mountains. Such an area for a Bagobo is advantageous on the grounds that they can
without much of a stretch see the approach of enemies. The Bagobos have a basic existence;
family errands are finished by the mother and older daughters. Bagobos practiced kaingin
system. They move starting with one spot then onto the next looking for food. The Bagobos
regard a warrior with respect particularly when he has killed numerous foes.
The Bagobo tribe, indigenous to the Philippines' Mindanao island, follows a set of rich
customs and traditions. These practices include constructing raised bamboo houses, wearing
traditional clothing, engaging in unique tribal music and dance accompanied by traditional
instruments, adorning themselves with intricate tattoos and body art, and performing rituals
linked to their animistic beliefs and spiritual connection with nature. They also pass down their
culture through oral traditions, such as storytelling and epic poetry.
Food and Dishes
The common arrangement of endurance in Bagobo society is reflected in their food and
strategy for cooking. The native holder for cooking dishes is a bamboo tube, a cooking tool
most ethnic gatherings in the Philippines use. Bagobo dishes incorporate the additional kinds
of kamatis sa uwak (crow tomatoes) which look like cherry tomatoes however generally went
before these; ahos (bogus garlic), a plant whose leaves taste like garlic and has purple blossoms;
furthermore, kaningag or cinnamon bark that is squashed into a fine earthy colored powder.
Surprisingly, the limokun (organic product dove), which figures noticeably in Manobo oral
practice as the sign bird, is the principal fixing in a Bagobo dish called tinadatad na limokun
(minced natural product dove). After it is dressed, the bird, alongside with its bones and bill, is
hacked finely and blended into a bigger measure of ground coconut before the entire
combination is full into the bamboo tube for cooking. Subsequently, the subsequent dish is all
the more precisely "ground coconut with minced natural product dove." For the tinadtad na
dadang, shrimp (dadang) is utilized in lieu of the pigeon (Tiu 2014).
Marriage Practices
Generally, marriage among the Bagobo is haggled through the guardians of the lady of
the hour and husband to be. Be that as it may, romance among other Bagobo people group can
likewise be unconstrained and chosen straightforwardly between the young lady and the kid.
On the off chance that the guardians of the young lady object, the kid attempts to prevail upon
them with gifts. Another Bagobo custom is to let the lady of the hour and husband to be meet
without limitation and bear a first kid prior to formalizing their marriage through a function.
Bagobo ladies are for the most part autonomous and solid willed. They can possess land and
keep up with proprietorship even after marriage, as property is moved exclusively from
guardians to youngsters and not from spouses to husbands.
Circumcision
Circumcision is finished through the pakang strategy. Here, the youngster sits on a
banana log where a piece of wood is wedged to work as an iron block. Recently circumcised
young men should not step over chicken compost or this will repress the recuperating system.
Young ladies should not look at an injured penis or it will enlarge like a kamatis (tomato).
Burial Practices
At the point when a Bagobo is dying, the face and body are scoured with fragrant leaves
as a safeguard against the blood soul buso. Upon death, the body is left on its sickbed and
covered with hemp or cotton material. A damag (passing watch) is doled out to watch the body
for two days before the internment. The Bagobo used to rehearse boat-final resting place
entombment. Other Bagobo people group cover their dead in caskets cut out of a segment of a
tree trunk or, among additional assimilated seaside networks, worked in the style of unfamiliar
final resting places. It is standard for family members of the departed to howl at the end of the
final resting place as the older lady in the family admonishes the soul of the dead until the
casket is nailed closed. Bubbled rice enclosed by banana leaves is put in a pack that will
likewise be covered with the dead for him to convey in eternity. One more entombment practice
recorded among Bagobo people group is going out and constructing another one for the group
of the departed. The family might decide to fabricate the new house close to the former one to
safeguard the body from the buso, or basically to remain close to a friend or family member
who has died.
Bagobo Traditional House
The conventional Bagobo settlement comprises of around ten individual farmhouses
spread around a water source. Each house remains in the house proprietor's developed fields,
making up a farmstead. Hence, the places of one settlement are scattered instead of
concentrated, with clearings, knolls, woods, slopes, individual trees, and undergrowth making
up the immense region on which one settlement is found. Individuals from a banod can move
as they wish, for they are not mutually dependent on their local area or their place of home.
While on an excursion, a man could happen upon a settlement and essentially choose to remain
there. Customarily, a man moves into his significant other's town, so in the event that he tracks
down somebody to wed while on an excursion, he would remain in his lady of the hour's town.
Bagobo Weaving
The Bagobo are most popular for their ikat - designed materials woven from the
filaments of abaca, which is a kind of banana plant that doesn't bear palatable organic product.
The Tagabawa call their abaca fabric inabal ("woven from the loom"); the Ubo Manuvu, inavo;
also, the Jangan, nawow. Bagobo material has just two tones: dark and dim red or maroon. The
dark color that the Bagobo use comes from the leaves and bark of the midnight tree (Diospyros)
called kinarum, though northern Luzon bunches utilize indigo for their dark color. The red
color comes from the sikarig (Morinda) palm root. The sheen of the undyed white strands gives
a sharp differentiation. The plan of the material is made with the pelangi (oppose color)
technique, otherwise called the splash-color process. The filaments are woven into longitudinal
strips with mathematical plans addressing nature and people. The themes, spaces, and balance
are reviewed from memory.
Tribal Clothing and Attire
The Bagobo conventional attire is called ompak (dress), which is generally lavish and
imaginative. The lady's two-board sonnod (tube skirt) may have stripes or other ikat plans, for
example, rotating thin and wide examples on an all-red base called linombos. An exceptional
and remarkable inabal, as a result of its kind of weave, is the dua talian. Its example isn't
accomplished through the splash-color process however through a profoundly perplexing twill
weave; thus it is called binubbud ta kamayway (attached to an edge). It is achieved exclusively
by the most in fact gifted weaver. A lady's most loved belonging is the ginayan or panapisan,
a cylinder skirt with three boards, called ine or ina (mother) boards. These are colored utilizing
the sinake strategy, in which a board is colored two times, consistently, to make designs from
the two Bagobo tones, red and dark.
Bagobo Earthenware and Blacksmithing Traditions
The Bagobo likewise have particular pottery customs. Pots are shaped out of earth
through methods called winding and demonstrating. he Bagobo produce has roars that comprise
of two chambers called piopa, which are made from little tree trunks, and ploppok (cylinders)
ringed with chicken quills. The piopa are fitted with bamboo outlets called tayhop close to the
base, which lead to a stone repository that channels the draft into the hat crowd bok or subhanan
(fire). To cut the metal, the tarauman (smith) utilizes a maso (a sledge used to straighten metal);
a buntok (a sledge used to shape metal); a hopet or kumpit (utensils); furthermore, a bunch of
bolos.
Bagobo Tribe Riddles and Poetry
Bagobo people writing is inseparably connected to their strict services and critical
stages in their lives. An exemption for this, be that as it may, is the Bagobo riddle, which
requires no unique or strict event. Riddling in Bagobo society might begin nearly whenever
and anyplace: during play, while sitting away the hours in discussion, during work, or after
lunch. It as a rule begins with the more youthful individuals from the local area, however it
effectively enrolls the interest and investment of the more seasoned people. There is,
notwithstanding, one period while riddling is deterred, and this is at evening. The Bagobo
accept that malicious spirits might join the riddling meeting around evening time.
Bagobo Tribal Dances
Dances are entwined into Bagobo customary exercises. There are moves in the home
of the lady of the hour at night and second morning after the panalugan or pamalugo (cleansing
of the lady of the hour and lucky man). During the garuzza (love) where Bagobo mores direct
that the dance be started exclusively by the magani, the men dance irregularly to the gindaya
during the gin-em.
Bagobo Tribe Rituals
Ritual drama portrays the main strict function of the Bagobo public. The gin-em or
ginum is a four-day festivity that initially finished in the contribution of a human penance, a
training that went on until the early long periods of American colonization in distant regions
however has now been supplanted by creature penance. Gin-em alludes to the stately drinking
of balabba or sugarcane wine. It represents the drinking of the conciliatory blood by the divine
beings. This function is held to respect the divine beings and pacify the evil presences, forestall
disaster like plagues and regular catastrophes, and guarantee success. It is held at the datu's
home, which is the biggest in the settlement.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THEIR CULTURE
The Bagobo tribe, numbering around 60,000 in Davao, Philippines, holds significant
cultural and historical importance. This study analyzes their folk speech, particularly their
proverbs and riddles, with the aim of preserving this important aspect of their culture. The
researcher classified 90 proverbs and 97 riddles into various categories to better understand
their cultural significance. The findings reveal that the Bagobo people have a rich and varied
folk literature, making up a vital part of Philippine national literature. This study contributes to
the preservation of Bagobo Tagabawa cultural materials and aims to make their folk speech
more accessible and appreciated by non-Bagobo Filipinos and the wider world.
Additionally, the study highlights the role of folk speech, including riddles and
proverbs, in preserving indigenous culture and passing down knowledge from one generation
to the next. These forms of folklore play a significant role in educating succeeding generations
and maintaining the indigenous people's cultural identity. The Bagobo's proverbs emphasize
the importance of life, love, peace, family, and moral values, while riddles provide insights into
their natural surroundings, daily life, and cultural beliefs. Furthermore, the study suggests that
preserving and understanding the Bagobo Tagabawa folk speech can help the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples promote, protect, and recognize the culture of indigenous
peoples in Mindanao.
The Bagobo's use of metaphors in their proverbs and riddles adds depth to their cultural
expressions. These metaphors convey important lessons and values, such as the dangers of
hubris, the importance of honesty, and the significance of being presentable and fragrant. The
study also indicates that the Bagobo people maintain their traditional clothing and jewelry,
adding to their cultural identity. In conclusion, the Bagobo tribe's folk speech, particularly their
proverbs and riddles, serves as a valuable repository of cultural knowledge and values.
Preserving and studying these elements is essential for understanding and appreciating the
Bagobo's rich cultural heritage and the broader tapestry of indigenous cultures in Mindanao.
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