The material presented in this paper was obtained, for the most part,
during a stay of seven months among the tribes of Davao District in
Southern Mindanao of the Philippine Islands. Previous to this I had
spent a like period studying the Bukidnon, of the North-Central part of
the Island, and while thus engaged, had penetrated to within about fifty
miles of the Gulf of Davao. In order to trace migrations, relationships,
and trade routes, it was determined to continue the work from the Gulf
coast toward the interior. In pursuance of this plan I went to Davao in
July, nineteen hundred and ten.
All information to be secured from publications, settlers, or natives
was to the effect that there were at least fourteen distinct tribes to
be met with in the Gulf region. The preliminary reconnaissance of the
field made it plain that the earlier classifications were greatly at
fault. Several divisions recognized as tribes were found to be only
dialect groups, while others differing in no essential respects from one
another secured names from the districts in which they resided. It was
also found that in recent years there had been a considerable movement
of the hill people toward the coast, and that in some places they had
penetrated and established themselves in the territory formerly held by
other tribes.
The capture of slaves, intermarriage, and trade between the groups have
been powerful influences in obliterating tribal lines, thus adding
further confusion to the classification of the people.
The field offered so much of interest that I determined to make detailed
studies of the various tribes encountered. The work progressed
satisfactorily for seven months, when a severe illness caused me to
leave the tropics for a time, at least. As a result the work with the
Gulf tribes is still far from complete. The tribes living on or near the
upper waters of the Agusan river and north of Compostela were not
visited, and, hence, will not be mentioned here, while certain other
divisions received only scant attention. No attempt is here made to
treat of the Christianized or Mohammedanized people, who inhabit a
considerable part of the coast and the Samal Islands, further than to
indicate their influence on the wild tribes. Both have settled in Davao
District in historic times, and have taken many native converts into
their villages. From these settlements new ideas, types of garments, and
industries have spread toward the interior, while the extensive slave
trade carried on by the Moro has had a marked effect on all the tribes
with whom they have come in contact.
In the preparation of this paper I have, so far as possible, drawn on
the knowledge of others to fill in the gaps in my own notes. In spite of
this the information on certain groups is still so scanty that this can
be, at best, only a sketch. It is offered at this time in the hope that
it may serve as a help to other anthropologists who may plan to visit
this most interesting field.
I wish here to extend my thanks to the various civil and military
authorities who gave me valuable assistance; also to Captain James
Burchfield, H. S. Wilson, James Irwin, Otto Hanson, William Gohn, Henry
Hubbell, and Juan de la Cruz, planters, whose wide knowledge of, and
acquaintance with the interior tribes made possible my work in many
localities.
It is a pleasure and a duty to acknowledge the assistance rendered by my
wife, who accompanied me throughout my Philippine work. Her presence
made it possible to secure the complete confidence of the hill people,
and thus to gain an insight into their home life which otherwise would
have been impossible. A large part of the material here presented,
particularly that relating to the women, was gathered by her and many of
the photographs are from her camera.
The dialects spoken by the tribes of central and southern Mindanao are
to be dealt with in a separate publication, so that at this time I shall
merely give a brief description of the characters appearing in the
native names used in this paper. The consonants are pronounced as in
English, except _r_ which is as in Spanish. _c_ is used as _ch_ in
_church_, _ñ_, which occurs frequently, is a palatal nasal. There is no
clear articulation and the stop is not present, but the back of the
tongue is well up on the soft palate.
The vowels are used as follows:
_macron-a_ like _a_ in _father_
_macron-e_ like _a_ in _fate_
_macron-i_ like _i_ in _ravine_
_macron-o_ like _o_ in _note_
_macron-u_ like _u_ in _flute_
_a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_, short of the above.
[Transcribers' note: The macron-over-vowel orthographic symbols have
regretfully been irreproducible in this document.]
_E_ is a sound between the obscure vowel _e_, as _e_ in _sun_, and the
_ur_ in _burrow_.
The dipthongs[sic] are _ai_ like _ai_ in _aisle_, _au_ like _ou_ in
_mouse_, or final Spanish _ao_ as in _carabao_, _ei_ like _ei_ in
_eight_, _oi_ as in _boy_, also _Eu_, _eu_, etc.
FAY-COOPER COLE,
Assistant Curator of Malayan Ethnology.
CHICAGO, September, 1913.