The influence of the neighboring tribes and of the white man on the
Bagobo has been considerable. The desire for women, slaves, and loot, as
well as the eagerness of 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 religious 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 and settlement of the Spaniards in Davao. The newcomers were
then at war with the followers of Mohammed 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 soon 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 eight
hundred 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 were again merged with their wilder brothers. Naturally, they
carried with them new ideas as well as 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
fastnesses. 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 been 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 proving an immense factor in wiping out old tribal
lines and in introducing new ideas.
Beyond a few letters written by the missionaries[2] we find scant
reference to this tribe in history, but their own traditions and
genealogies are well known even by the younger generation.
[2] BLAIR and ROBERTSON. The Philippine Islands.
According to the tribal historians the human race sprang from a man,
Toglai, and his wife, Toglibon, who lived on Mt. Apo.[3] "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 too weak to make the journey from the drought-cursed land, and staid
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."
[3] See fuller account by author, in _Philippine Journal of Science_.
June 1911, Vol. VI, No. 3, pp. 128-9.
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[4] "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 boars, 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 of San Augustin. 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."
[4] Recorded by P. Juan Doyle, S. J.
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_[5] 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.
[5] The Moro name for chief or ruler. The Bagobo name is _lagaimoda_ or
_matanem_, but the Moro term is in general use.
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. 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 much the most powerful
among the several chiefs. Under the administration of Governor Bolton,
Tongkaling was officially recognized as head of the Bagobo, and with
this added prestige, he has finally succeeded 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 jealously guarded his people against outside
influences, so that they are much less affected than 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.