The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao | Page 3

give up
their mountain homes and settle in towns. Back of this coast line rise
densely timbered mountain peaks, lateral spurs from which often
terminate in abrupt cliffs overlooking the sea. From other peaks
extensive grass covered plains slope gently down nearly to the water's
edge. Deep river canons cut between these mountains and across the
plains, giving evidence of active erosion for a long period of time. If
these mountain chains and river courses are followed back it is found
that they all radiate from one stupendous mass, the center of which is
Mt. Apo, the highest mountain in the Philippines and reputed to be an
active volcano. Near to its summit is a deep fissure from which, on
clear mornings, columns of smoke or steam can be seen ascending,
while the first rays of the rising sun turn into gold, or sheets of white,
the fields of sulphur which surround the cone.
Along the lower eastern and southern slopes of this mountain and its
tributary peaks live the wilder branch of this tribe, whose traditions,
religious observances, and daily life are closely related to the
manifestations of latent energy in the old volcano.
NUMBER.

The exact number who fall under this classification is not known,
Governor Bolton, who was intimately acquainted with the wild tribes
of the District, estimated their number at sixty-five hundred, but this
count did not include the sub-division here given as Obo. One
enumeration, made by a Jesuit missionary, places the population at
fifteen thousand, while the Government report of 1900 gives them
eighteen thousand four hundred. The latter estimates are certainly
excessive. It is probable that they were determined by compiling the
population of villages reported to exist in the interior.
The wilder members of this tribe are, to a certain extent, migratory,
moving their villages from one location to another according to the
demands of their mode of agriculture. Their rice fields are made in
mountain-side clearings, and as the ever present cogon grass[1] begins
to invade the open land they substitute sweet potatoes or hemp. In time
even these lusty plants give way to the rank grass, and the people find it
easier to make new clearings in the forest than to combat the pest with
the primitive tools at their command. This results in some new fields
each year, and when these are at too great a distance from the dwellings
the old settlements are abandoned and new ones formed at more
convenient locations.
[1] Imperata koenigii.
It is probable that the total number belonging to this tribe does not
exceed ten thousand persons.
INFLUENCE OF NEIGHBORS:--HISTORY.
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