Bagobo people of the Philippines
The origin of the term “Bagobo” is uncertain
It’s not clear where the word “Bagobo” came from, but it might have come from the words “new” (bago) and “person” (obo or uvu). The name was first used for the people who lived along the coast of the Davao Gulf, especially the native people who lived on the western shores of southeast Davao. But these groups were made up of the Tagabawa, the Ubo Manuvu, and the Jangan, who all spoke different languages that couldn’t be understood by each other before acculturation and marriage. The language of a fourth group, the Matigsalug, is most similar to that of the Ubo, but this may be due to marriage and close contact with the Ubo in Davao City’s Baguio District.
Tagabawa means “people of the south,” which comes from the word bawa, which could mean “south” or “north.” The Ubo Manuvu call themselves “people,” which is what Manuvu means. But so that they don’t get mixed up with the Manobo groups that live in different parts of Mindanao, the Manuvu are more often called Obo Manobo and Obo Bagobo. The word “Jangan” means “forest,” and different groups call the Jangan by different names. The Matigsalug call them Klata, which means “to go through,” because they have to go through Jangan land to trade in Davao. The Tagabawa and Ubo call them Eto or Attaw, which is a form of the words “people,” which are tao, utaw, and tawo. Because of how the Spanish language is written, “Jangan” is written as “Guiangan” in Spanish records. Older Jangan people call themselves “Jangan,” but the younger generation prefers to be called “Klata,” and they call “Jangan” the forest that has always been their home. Early Spanish missionaries and anthropologists often lumped them all together as one group because they shared things like clothes, jewelry, tools, blades, and musical instruments.
The traditional home of the Tagabawa is where Davao City is now and the slopes of Mount Apo. The traditional home of the Ubo Manuvu is southern Bukidnon, northeastern Cotabato, northwestern Davao, and the northeast slope of Mount Apo. The traditional home of the Jangan is Davao City, Davao del Sur province, and the eastern slopes of Mount Apo. At the moment, these Bagobo groups live in Calinan, Toril, and Baguio District in Davao City; some towns in Santa Cruz and Bansalan as well as Digos City in Davao del Sur; and Makilala, Magpet, Tulunan, and Kidapawan in North Cotabato. Their most important center is in Tudaya, Davao del Sur. In 1996, the Davao City Health Office counted 363,224 people in Davao City, Davao del Sur, and South Cotabato. This number was made up of three subgroups: 47,392 Jangan in Davao City, 102,266 Tagabawa in Davao City and 60,037 in Davao del Sur, and 100,018 Obo in Davao City and 53,511 in South Cotabato. In 1988, there were 80,000 people living there. As of 2010, there were 484,467 Bagobo people.
Bagobo History
Even though they were technically under the rule of the Maguindanao sultanate, the Bagobo were a self-sufficient and independent people well into the 19th century. They did trade with people from other places, though. But in 1838, a Maguindanaon named Datu Ongay attacked a Spanish ship, which made the Spanish colonial government angry. In 1845, the sultan of Maguindanao signed a treaty with Spain. In the treaty, he gave Spain control of Bagobo land, which was the area between Davao Gulf and Sarangani Bay. Jose Oyanguren was named governor of the Davao region by Governor-General Narciso Claveria. Oyanguren had not yet gotten rid of the Muslims who lived in the area. They were led by the Maguindanaon Dato Bago and were fighting back. In April 1848, though, Oyanguren had already started to settle Davao.
Sibulan is where the Bagobo used to live. When the Spaniards came, it was the center of all Bagobo settlements. Datu Manib was the leader of the village of Sibulan. He could trace his family tree back 11 generations to Saling-olop, a legendary cultural hero. So, he was the most important datu out of all the others. When the Spaniards first came to Sibulan, he was between 45 and 50 years old. Even though he welcomed the Spaniards with open arms when they arrived, he was later locked up because he ignored the Spanish ban on human sacrifices and refused to help them catch a fugitive Bagobo.
Bagobo Economy
At the end of the 19th century, the first people the Spaniards met in Mindanao were the Bagobo. There was already a lot of trade going on between the different groups and tribes. Goods were taken to the coast on horseback. The Bagobo were great riders, and they were proud of this skill by putting beads and bracelets on their horses. Their main items of trade were rice, armaciga (resin), and beeswax, which they traded for salt, fish, clay pottery, and lumbang fruit, which they used as fuel. They traded iron with the Muslims and pots, beads, and other decorations with the Chinese. The agong (knobbed gong) was the most valuable thing to trade. Along with slaves, horses, cows, and abaca cloth, it was given as a bride price or as payment for a crime or mistake.
The main way to get food was through swidden agriculture. On a sloped land, rice and corn were rotated. Instead of plowing and furrowing, the Bagobo used todak, which are pointed bamboo sticks, or dibble sticks to make holes for the seeds and stop erosion. The pagakpak (clapper) on the todak’s handle made a rhythmic sound that helped people sow seeds in the field at the same time. Close behind them, the women dropped grains into the holes, which they quickly covered with a sweep of their foot.
Copra, coffee, cacao, fruits, and vegetables were also made there. The traditional economic system made sure that every household could take care of itself, making not only rice, which was their main food, but also clothes, tools for farming and housework, and weapons. There was no clear way to divide work, except for the blacksmith, the warriors (magani), and the mabalian (priestesses).