Tasaday Tribe

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The Tasaday (tɑˈsɑdɑj) are an indigenous people of the Philippine island of Mindanao. They are considered to belong to the Lumad group, along with the other indigenous groups on the island. They attracted widespread media attention in 1971, when Western scientists reported their discovery, "stone age" technology and complete isolation from Philippine society. They again attracted attention in the 1980s when it was reported that the discovery had been an elaborate hoax, and doubt was raised about their isolation and even about being a separate ethnic group. The issues are still debated. The Tasaday language is distinct from that of neighbouring tribes, and linguists believe it probably split from the adjacent Manobo languages 200 years ago.

Background

Manuel Elizalde was the head of PANAMIN, the Philippine government agency created in 1968 to protect the interests of cultural minorities. He was the son of a wealthy father of Spanish lineage and an American mother. He was a known crony of the late Philippine dictator Marcos. He took credit for discovering the Tasaday, which he did on June 7,[timeframe?] shortly after a local barefoot Blit hunter told him of a sporadic contact over the years with a handful of primitive forest dwellers. He released this to the media a month later, and many excited people began the long task of clearing the thickest forest in the world. Weeks later, visitors were only three hours away when their way was blocked by the PANAMIN guards, who answered to Elizalde alone. Elizalde allowed only a handful of the "most important visitors" to meet them.

Introduction of the Tasaday

Elizalde brought the Tasaday to the attention of PANAMIN. With a small group including Elizalde's bodyguard, helicopter pilot, a doctor, a 19-year-old Yale student named Edith Terry, and local tribespeople for interpreting attempts, Elizalde met the Tasaday in an arranged clearing at the edge of the forest in June 1971.
In March 1972, another meeting occurred between the Tasaday, Elizalde, and members of the press and media including the Associated Press and the National Geographic Society, this time at the Tasaday's secluded cave home site. This meeting was popularly reported by Kenneth MacLeish in the August 1972 issue of National Geographic, which featured on its cover a photograph by photojournalist John Launois of a Tasaday boy climbing vines.
Since these first meetings and reports, the group was subject to a great deal of further publicity, including a National Geographic documentary, "The Last Tribes of Mindanao" (shown December 1, 1972). The Tasaday became so popular as to attract such famed visitors as Charles A. Lindbergh and Gina Lollobrigida.

Badjao or Bajau

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Badjao or Bajau means man of the seas, this tribal group is known as the Sea Gypsies because they move with the wind and the tide on their small houseboats called vintas, they can be found in many coastal settlements and inhabit the waters and shores of the Sulu archipelago.

 A legend tells that these boat dwellers came from the shores of Johore in Indonesia, Princess Ayesha of Johore was betrothed to a Sulu Sultan but she really wanted to marry the Sultan from Brunei. One day, a large fleet of war boats escorted the Princess to Sulu, the fleet was intercepted by the man she really loved, the Sultan from Brunei, who kidnapped her and set sail back to Brunei. The escorting fleet could not return without the Princess and kept on sailing the seas, only mooring at uninhabited islands; some of them turned to piracy and roamed the seas to search for fortune and glory. Others only searched for food and became fishermen, the Sulu Sea had an abundance of fish that helped to sustain their livelihood, and most of the daily catch was bartered with other tribes that lived along the shores and beaches. The Badjao still live in houseboats, clustered near the coastline of Southern Mindanao. But they also built stilt houses near fertile fishing grounds; these houses are a temporary refuge during times that these boathouses needed repairs. These wanderers of the Southern seas are born on the water, live on their boats and say they will only set foot on land to die.

Although that their ancestors were once feared by many in the Mindanao region, the Badjao are primitive and friendly, they are believed to be world's most peace-loving people and consider themselves as a non-aggressive tribal community. Conflict with other tribes is often dealt with by fleeing to other places like the sea. Other tribes looked down on these fisher folk and did refer to them as palao or lumaan (God forsaken), the Badjao were influenced by Islam, but the continuous pressure put on by other Muslim tribes forced them to move to the sea, which gave them greater chances of escape in the case of an attack by hostile tribes. Eventually the sea moulded the attitude and appearance of the Badjao, this rough environment and way of living shaped their typical physical features, the bronze coloured hair and dark brown skin clearly distinct them from other tribes. 

The native religion from these water people is a form of ancestor worship, spirits, deceased ancestors and other relatives are asked for favours during frequent cemetery visits. They offer cigarettes and food and sweet smelling tonic is used for sprinkling the corners of the graves. These spirits are still part of the family; the seafarers of the Philippine South want these sprits to be as happy as the living and will therefore comfort them as much as they can. Some of the traditional pre-Islamic beliefs are offerings made to the God of the Sea, the Omboh Dilaut, whenever a large catch of fish is brought in and by setting a "spirit boat" adrift in the open sea, , mediums are also called upon to remove illness causing spirits from this boat-dwellers community in times of epidemics.

 By tradition, the hardworking and proud Badjao people are sea nomads, travelling by boat from one island to the other in search of fishing harvest. This tribe have sailed the seas for more than a thousand years, but because of over fishing by other groups using everything from high-tech fishing trawlers and even dynamite fishing, threatened by soaring costs for fuel and repairs, their life in the open waters is drying up. These Bedouin of the sea no longer live on boats, they live in thatch-roofed houses on bamboo stilts on a small strip of land that nobody else wanted, somewhere along the coastline of Sarangani. With small, family owned bancas they continue to roam the waters, fighting the current to follow schools of fish, hunting for the bounty of the ocean, trying to make a living and find refuge in the vastness of the deep blue sea.

 Despite the romantic portrayals of the tribe, the Badjao never really had an easy live, when they were still living at sea, they were at least free from the everyday rejection and hardship brought upon by other tribes that live on land. These guardians of the sea have experienced themselves that times are tough on the water, but worse on land. At present the Badjao are the most marginalized ethnic group and one of the poorest tribes in the Philippines, a Muslim tribe that is shunned by almost everyone, still gypsies, but also, unfair and unjustifiable named tramps and thieves. Their vibrant nomadic lifestyle, the way of life bequeathed to them by their ancestors has vanished in most parts of Mindanao. For centuries the Badjao have been a resilient tribal group, they firmly pushed away modernity with both hands, but tossed by modern winds they will have to find ways to maintain their unique lifestyle and culture, otherwise they will remain Godforsaken.

B’laan Tribe

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In Mindanao there are 18 tribal groups. The most well-known indigenous groups are the T’boli and B’laan. The B’laan culture is peculiarly fascinating in the differentiation of patterns that totally continue its psycho dynamics. The extent of practice rests in cultural homogeneity, the interaction of the B’laan with other ethnic groups or the christian culture. In this respect the elder B’laans are more cohesive in their ways and the young, greatly influenced by outside elements, traditional beliefs and value systems other impede or enhance developmental possibilities depending on the strategic interplay of factors in the environment, socio economic, political technological and etc. Culture change as also affected by geography and physical conditions. The following are cultural values of major impact to the B’laan existing way of life and the road ahead for them.
The B’laan is one of the major indigenous cultural communities in Koronadal and Gensan. Their name could have derived from ” bla” meaning “opponent and the suffix “an” meaning people.Other terms used to refer to this group are B’laan,Bira-an,Vilanes,and Bilanes. B’laans have rituals for everything that they do,from selecting a place from a farm planting,harvest and post harvest because of their belief on the supremacy of the great creator. B’laan religious belief and practice range between customs and traditions directly associated with the established christian churches in the areas to highly traditional animistic beliefs which encompass both natural and supernatural elements from the environment in which they live. Evidence of syn-creation of christian and traditional B’laan beliefs and practice appear evident in some instance; many similarities between the following indigenous creation myth and the Biblical account of creation can be seen.
According to the B’laan myth or legend about creation, the first man (To) was created by God (Dawata). One day, lightning flashed in the sky and the heaven were shaken and the rains fill and watered the face of the earth, from the wet ground. God (Dawata) molded the first man, but God saw that man was tough and rugged and decided to make another one. He again took a portion of the ground and mold it and mold a finer and fairer one and was created the first woman from the two, all tribes descended.

The B’laan believe in the existence of a supreme being known as God (Dawata). He is the planters (Mele) of heaven (langit) and earth (tana) and everything thereof. Under Him and other supernatural beings with lower ranks of power or authority- the guardian spirit (L’nilong). To the B’laans nature is entrusted for safekeeping. The guardian spirit are not creator, since creator belong to God. As guardians (snalig), they are often referred as the owner of nature (M-fun). Thus, there is the owner of the sea (M’fun mabin), with owner of the forests (M’fun D’lag), God is the creator and the guardian spirit are guardians and man as the user (occupier).
One B’laan explain…..The highest spirit is God (Dawata). The Lord when we praise, take mercy on us and make us healthy. God is his name. God is God. God is the strongest of them all. He is higher than them all. He is good, we all pray to him and he help us. His children will get angry with us, but he created everything. He created everything when he come down from heaven (langit). Heaven is God’s place where there are many houses.. Their livelihood are farming,weaving(the males weave, baskets and females weave,mats),fishing,hunting,food gathering and tool-land weapon making. 

The plain red and white bands are not traditional Blaan Tabih design or motif. The only ikat weave here are the black and white lizard looking motif in between the plain red, white and black strands. This is a customized order from Lamlife

The indigenous peoples of Mindanao rely on their traditional crafts-weaving, not only for cultural expression but also for helping address the economic needs of the community.

Blaan Tribal Blouse

Matigsalug Tribe

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The Matigsalug are mostly small in stature with dark brown complexion and curly hair. Traditional wear is a long sleeved jacket with knee length pants and head gears embellished with horse's hair and beads for men. Women wear mid-length blouses with a skirt and strands of beads attached to wooden disks on their ears. Their clothes are colorfully embroidered with geometric patterns.
The life of an animistic revolves around a spirit world. They maintain that spirits live in water, land, trees, and rocks. Tragedies like illnesses, drought and death are caused by angry spirits. Events like planting crops and revenge-taking (called "pangayaw") are preceded by rituals. Life is preoccupied with appeasing the spirits by offering sacrifices. Eggs, rice, corn, coins bracelets, anklets and betel nuts are placed on an altar, and the Datu, while calling on the spirits, slits the throat of a chicken and offers the blood. It is very difficult to convince people who been practicing such things for many generations that it is wrong.
The name "Matigsalug" is a construction of Matig and Salug. Matig means from (a place of origin or residence) in various Filipino languages, followed by the specific place of origin or residence. Hence, Matigsalug means from Salug (River). The Matigsalug epic Ulod, provided a definite identity of these IPs which was documented by Manuel(1956).

Matigsalug literally means “people along the Salug River”, where Salug River is the present day Davao River. They are a distinct subgroup of the Manobo tribe and one of the seven lumad groups in Bukidnon. Presently, they can be found in the mountain ranges of central Mindanao and Bukidnon.

Tausog People

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"Tausug" means "the people of the current", from the word tau which means "man" or "people" and sūg (alternatively spelled sulug or suluk) which means "[sea] currents".The term Tausūg was derived from two words tau and sūg (or suluk in Malay) meaning "people of the current", referring to their homelands in the Sulu Archipelago. Sūg and suluk both mean the same thing, with the former being the phonetic evolution in Sulu of the latter (the L being dropped and thus the two short U's merging into one long U). The Tausūg in Sabah refer to themselves as Tausūg but refers to their ethnic group as "Suluk" as documented in official documents such as birth certificates in Sabah, which are written Malay.

History
The history of Sulu begins with Karim-ul Makhdum, a Muslim missionary, who arrived in Sulu in 1380. He introduced the Islamic faith and settled in Tubig Indangan, Simunul, until his death. The Mosque's pillars at Tubig-Indangan, which he built, still stand.
In 1390, Rajah Baguinda Ali landed at Buansa, and extended the missionary work of Makhdum. The Johore-born Arab adventurer Sayyid Abubakar Abirin arrived in 1450, married Baguinda's daughter, Dayang-dayang Paramisuli. After Rajah Baguinda's death, Sayyid Abubakar became Sultan, thereby introducing the sultanate as a political system (the Sultanate of Sulu). Political districts were created in Parang, Pansul, Lati, Gitung, and Luuk, each headed by a panglima or district leader.
After Sayyid Abubakar's death, the sultanate system had already become well established in Sulu. Before the coming of the Spaniards, the ethnic groups in Sulu — the Tausug, Samal, Yakan, and Bajau - were in varying degrees united under the Sulu sultanate, considered the most centralised political system in the Philippines. Called the "Spanish–Moro conflict", these battles were waged intermittently from 1578 till 1898, between the Spanish colonial government and the Bangsamoro people of Mindanao and Sulu.
In 1578, an expedition sent by Gov Francisco de Sande and headed by Capt Rodriguez de Figueroa began the 300-year warfare between the Moro Tausūg and the Spanish authorities. In 1579, the Spanish government gave de Figueroa the sole right to colonise Mindanao. In retaliation, the Moro raided Visayan towns in Panay, Negros, and Cebu for they know the Spanish will get foot soldiers in this areas. These were repulsed by Spanish and Visayan forces. In the early 17th century, the largest alliance composed of the Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausūg, and other Moro and Lumad groups, was formed by Sultan Kudarat or Cachil Corralat of Maguindanao, whose domain extended from the Davao Gulf to Dapitan on the Zamboanga peninsula. Several expeditions sent by the Spanish authorities suffered defeat. In 1635, Capt Juan de Chaves occupied Zamboanga and erected a fort. In 1637, Gov Gen Hurtado de Corcuera personally led an expedition against Kudarat, and temporarily triumphed over his forces at Lamitan and Iliana Bay. On 1 January 1638, de Corcuera, with 80 vessels and 2000 soldiers, defeated the Moro Tausūg and occupied Jolo mainly staying inside captured Cottas. A peace treaty was forged. The victory did not establish Spanish sovereignty over Sulu, as the Tausūg abrogated the treaty as soon as the Spaniards left in 1646. But later Sultanate of Sulu totally gave up its rule over south Palawan to Spain in 1705 and over Basilan in 1762. In the last quarter of the 19th century Moros in the Sultanate of Sulu formally recognised Spanish sovereignty, but these areas remained partially controlled by the Spanish as their sovereignty was limited to military stations and garrisons and pockets of civilian settlements in Zamboanga and Cotabato (the latter is under Sultanate of Maguindanao), until they had to abandon the region as a consequence of their defeat in the Spanish–American War.
In 1737, Sultan Alimud Din I for personal interest, entered into a "permanent" peace treaty with Gov Gen F. Valdes y Tamon; and in 1746, befriended the Jesuits sent to Jolo by King Philip. The "permission" of Sultan Azimuddin-I (*the first heir-apparent) allowed the Catholic Jesuits to enter Jolo, but was argued against by his young brother, Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan (*the second heir-apparent). Datu Bantilan did not want the Catholic Jesuits to disturb or dishonor the Moro faith in the Sulu Sultanate kingdom. The brothers then fought, causing Sultan Azimuddin-I to leave Jolo and head to Zamboanga, then to Manila in 1748. Then, Raja Muda Maharajah Adinda Datu Bantilan was proclaimed as Sultan, taking the name as Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin.
Sultan Bantilan Muizzuddin was a "saviour" to the Sulu Sultanate kingdom in 1748. If he had not fought against his brother for permitting the Catholic Jesuits to enter Jolo and spread their "Catholic Doctrine" throughout Sulu, it might have become a Catholic area today.
In 1893, amid succession controversies, Amir ul Kiram became Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, the title being officially recognised by the Spanish authorities. In 1899, after the defeat of Spain in the Spanish–American War, Col. Luis Huerta, the last governor of Sulu, relinquished his garrison to the Americans. (Orosa 1970:25-30).
Prior to modern times, the Tausūg were under the Sultanate of Sulu. The system is a patrilineal system, consisting of the title of Sultan as the sole sovereign of the Sultanate (in Tausūg language: Lupah Sug, literally: "Land of the Current"), followed by various Maharajah and Rajah-titled subdivisional princes. Further down the line are the numerous Panglima or local chiefs, similar in function to the modern Philippine political post of the Baranggay Kapitan in the Baranggay system.
Of significance are the Sarip (Sharif) and their wives, Sharifah, who are Hashemite descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. They are respected as religious leaders, though some may take up administrative posts.