The Manóbos of Mindanáo | Page 5

derivation, however, appears to be more consonant with the
principles upon which Mindanáo tribal names, both general and local,
are formed. Thus Mansáka, Mandáya, Mañgguáñgan are derived, the
first part of each, from man ("people" or "dwellers"), and the remainder
of the words, respectively, from sáka ("interior"), dáya ("up the river"),
guáñgan ("forest"). These names then mean "people of the interior,"
"people that dwell on the upper reaches of the river," and "people that
dwell in the forest." Other tribal designations of Mindanáo races and
tribes are almost without exception derived from words that denote the
relative geographic position of the tribe in question. The Banuáon and
Mamánua are derived from banuá, the "country," as distinguished from
settlements near the main or settled part of the river. The Bukídnon are
the mountain people (bukid, mountain); Súbanun, the river people
(súba, river); Tirurái, the mountain people (túduk, mountain, etéu,
man);[6] Tagakaólo, the people at the very source of a river (tága,
inhabitant, ólo, head or source).
[3] Blair and Robertson, 41: 153, 1906.
[4] The author refers to the mountains in the vicinity of Líano, a town
that stood down the river from the present Veruéla and which was
abandoned when the region subsided.
[5] Fr. Jacinto Juanmarti's Diccionario Moro Magindanáo-Español
(Manila, 1892), 125.

[6] My authority for this derivation is a work by Dr. T. H. Pardo de
Tavera on The Origin of Philippine Tribal Names.
The derivation of the above tribal designations leads us to the opinion
that the word Manóbo means by derivation a "river-man," and not a
"naked man."
A further alternative derivation has been suggested by Dr. N. M.
Saleeby,[7] from the word túbo, "to grow"; the word Manóbo,
according to this derivation, would mean the people that grew up on the
island, that is the original settlers or autochthons. The word túbo, "to
grow," is not, however, a Manóbo word, and it is found only in a few
Mindanáo dialects.
[7] Origin of Malayan Filipinos, a paper read before the Philippine
Academy, Manila, Nov. 1, 1911.
Father F. Combes, S. J.,[8] says that the owners, that is, the
autochthonic natives of Mindanáo, were called Manóbos and
Mananápes.[9] In a footnote referring to Mananápes, it is stated, and
appears very reasonable and probable, that the above-mentioned term is
not a tribal designation but merely an appellation of contempt used on
account of the low culture possessed by the autochthons at that time.
[8] Historia de Mindanáo y Jolo (Madrid, 1664). Ed. Retana (Madrid,
1897).
[9] The word mananáp is the word for animal, beast in the Cebu
Bisáya, Bagóbo, Tirurái, and Magindanáo Moro languages. Among
some of the tribes of eastern Mindanáo, the word is applied to a class of
evil forest spirits of apparently indeterminate character. It is noteworthy
that these spirits seem to correspond to the Manubu spirits of the
Súbanuns as described by Mr. Emerson B. Christie in his Súbanuns of
Sindangan Bay (Pub. Bur. Sci., Div. Eth., 88, 1909).
Hence there seems to be some little ground for supposing that the word
Manóbo was originally applied to all the people that formerly occupied
the coast and that later fled to the interior, and settled along the rivers,

yielding the seashore to the more civilized invaders.
The following extract from Dr. N. M. Saleeby[10] bears out the above
opinion:
[10] The Origin of the Malayan Filipinos, a paper read before the
Philippine Academy on Nov. 1, 1911.
The traditions and legends of the primitive tribes of the Philippine
Archipelago show very clearly that they believe that their forefathers
arose in this land and that they have been here ever since their creation.
They further say that the coast tribes and foreigners came later and
fought them and took possession of the land which the latter occupy at
present. When Masha'ika, the earliest recorded immigrant, reached
Súlu Island, the aborigines had already developed to such a stage of
culture as to have large settlements and rajas or datus.
These aborigines are often referred to in Súlu and Mindanáo as
Manubus, the original inhabitants of Súlu Islands, the Budanuns, were
called Manubus also. So were the forefathers of the Magindanáo Moros.
The most aboriginal hill tribes of Mindanáo, who number about 60,000
souls or more, are called Manubus.
[Transcriber's note: Both of the above paragraphs comprise the
quotation.]
The idea that the original owners were called Manóbos is the opinion of
San Antonio also, as expressed in his Cronicas.[11] Such a supposition
might serve also to explain the wide distribution of the different
Manóbo people in Mindanáo, for, besides occupying the regions
above-mentioned, they are found on the main tributaries of the Rio
Grande de Kotabáto--the Batañgan, the Biktósa, the Luan, the
Narkanitan, etc., and especially on the River Pulañgi--on nearly all the
influents of the last-named