The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao | Page 4

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[1] we find scant
reference to this tribe in history, but their own traditions and
genealogies are well known even by the younger generation.
[1] 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.[2] "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."

[2] 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[1] "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