The T'boli, also known as the Tiboli or Tagabili, are among the indigenous

peoples of SOCCSKSARGEN. Their traditional lands are located in the highlands between and including
the municipalities of Surallah, Kiamba and Polomolok, including the municipality of TBoli. This area
includes the three lakes important to the T'boli: Lake Siluton, Lake Lahit, and Lake Sebu, located in the
municipality of Lake Sebu.diamond buyer
Some sources state that the term "T'boli" comes from "Tau-bili"; "tau" meaning "small human creature"
and "bili" meaning "fruit of the wild vine". Others state that Christian settlers called the tribe "taga-bili"
(buyers) in the course of their barter trade.
History
According to their folklore and traditions, the Tboli are descendants of the survivors of a great flood, who
were saved by their deity Dwata. Two couples, warned by Dwata to take precautions, took refuge in a
huge bamboo and rode pacquiao vs marquez out the flood. From the first couple descended the Tboli
and the other highland ethnic groups, or Lumads, of Mindanao, as well as the Muslim tribes. The second
couple were the ancestors of the other Filipino ethnic groups who became Christianized.
Muslim oral accounts, or tarsila, state that the Tboli and other highland groups originally occupied part of
the lowlands of SOCCKSKSARGEN and the Cotabato Valley area. However, with the advent of Islam in
the 14th century, the Tboli resisted the attempts of the Muslims to convert them and retreated to the
safety of the mountains. Subsequently, the Muslim tribes raided the upland tribes and enslaved those
they conquered, resulting in conflict between the two outdoor fountainsgroups. As a result, Tboli folk
literature often portrayed the Muslims as villains. Muslim resistance to Spanish invaders prevented the
Spaniards from penetrating the Tboli lands, so that Spanish influence did not reach the highland tribes. It
was only in the American era that Christian elements pacquiao vs marquez ticketsentered the area.
Culture
Agriculture
The T'boli practice "slash and burn" agriculture to grow rice, cassava and yams. They clear a part of the
forest by cutting the big trees and burning the lower and smaller trees and bushes, after which they use
the cleared plots as arable land for some years without any fertilization. They may also go hunting or
fishing for additional food.
Religion and Beliefs
The Tboli believe in a pantheon of deities, supreme among which are Kadaw La Sambad, the sun god,
and Bulon La Mogoaw, the moon goddess, who reside in the seventh heaven. They have seven sons and
seven daughters who end up marrying each other and who become the lesser deities. They consider a
bird called muhenthe god of fate, whose song is believed to cause misfortune. Aside from these deities,
the Tboli believe that everything has a spirit which must be propitiated for favorable fortune. Busao, or
malevolent spirits, can wreak havoc on humans, causing misfortune or illness.
Performance Arts
The Tboli have a rich musical culture with a variety of musical instruments ranging from percussion
(tnonggong (a deerskin drum); agong (large gongs) and klintang(set of gongs)) to woodwind
(sloli (bamboo flute); kubing (bamboo jews harp) and few (small horn)) to string (sludoy (bamboo zither)
and hagalong (two-string guitar)). They have a wide repertoire of songs and dances for all occasions.
Among the T'boli dances are:
the courtship dance
kadal herayon or wedding dance
flaggey libon or flaggey bird dance
kadal onuk or onuk bird dance
s'laong k'nebang or head gear dance
tao soyow or mock combat dance
kadal temulong lobo or victory dance
kadal hegelung or broken heart dance
kadal be hegelung or harvest dance
kadal iwas or monkey dance
kadal blelah or bird dance
Male Clothing
Tboli men ordinarily wear shirts and trousers like many rural Filipinos. They wear their
traditional costumes only on special occasions.
Kgal saro- a long-sleeved, tight-fitting collarless jacket made of abaca.
Sawal taho - a knee or ankle-length pair of pants the waist-section of which extends up to
the shoulders, secured with an abaca band along the waist and made to fall, like a small
skirt, covering the hips and upper thighs.
Olew simple turban.
Slaong naf - conical but very flat hat decorated with simple geometric designs in black and
white, done on woven bamboo strips and topped by a fundu or decorative glass or brass
knob. The inside lining is woven rattan.
Slaong fenundo - less flat than the slaong naf, with a cross section resembling a squat tudor
arch; it is made of straw-colored, even thread-thick, nito-like material sewn down in black,
minute, even stitches.
Hilot - belt from which the Tboli males kafilan (sword) is suspended.
Angkul - sash of thick cloth worn by a datu as a mark of authority.
Crafts
Metalwork
Sudeng swords.
Lanti sword whose brass hilt is ornamented with geometric designs and 5-cm lengths
of chain with tnoyong or hawkbells attached to their ends.
Tedeng plain sword with no decoration.
Kafilan - bolo-like sword.
Tok richly decorated ritual sword; it has a 60 to 70 centimeter single-edged blade
decorated with geometric designs, and a richly ornamented hilt with 5 cm lengths of
chain attached to its edge, with hawkbells at their ends. Its wooden scabbard, held
together by three to four metal bands, has a geometric design etched on the black
surface, which is highlighted by the wood's natural light color.
Kabaho - knives, as richly decorated as the tok, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Tboli figurines made using the cire perdue or lost wax method, these 7.5 to 10 centimeter
statuettes portray Tboli men and women in their characteristic attires, and engaged in
typical chores.
Brass bracelets and chains used by the T'boli women.
Tnoyong or hawkbells which are attached to almost all other T'boli craftworks.
Weaving

Tnalak or tinalak the best known Tboli craft, the Tboli sacred cloth made from abaca.
Tboli tradition and legend states that tnalak weaving was taught to their ancestors by their
goddess Fu Dalu in a dream, and that women learn their cloth patterns through their
dreams. As a result,t'nalak is often referred to by non-T'boli as "dreamweave" and the T'boli
women have been dubbed "dreamweavers". Tnalak products have also become the
signature product of the province of South Cotabato. Lang Dulay, a Tboli weaver, has
received the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Award by the National Commission for Culture
and the Arts in recognition of her role as a traditional artist in preserving and pos
software developing the indigenous artistic heritage.




Accessories
Tboli women learn to adorn themselves from early childhood. They apply cosmetics and arrange their
hair, adorning it with traditional combs which have dangling strings of colored beads. For them, more is
better when it comes to accessories; they do not wear just one of each type of accessory, but put on all
that they can accomodate.
Some of the Tboli womens accessories are:

Decorative Combs
Suwat Blakang made of bamboo.
Suwat Tembuku decorated with a mirror.
Suwat Lmimot decorated with colored glass beads.
Suwat Hanafak made of brass.
Earrings
Kawat simple brass rings.
Bketot round mirror surrounded by colored beads.
Nomong chandelier type earrings made of brass links and beads.
Bkoku made of triangular shells.
Kowol or Beklaw combination of earring and necklace.
Necklaces
Hekef choker of red, white, yellow and black beads.
Lmimot multi-stranded necklace with red, white and black beads in graduated sizes.
Lieg brass with beads and hawkbells.
Girdle
Hilot chain-mail brass belt with square buckles. It has a width of 5 to 7 centimeters with an
additional 10 centimeters length of brass chains suspended side by side around its entire lower edge,
each chain ending in a brass hawkbell. One belt can weigh about 2 to 3 kilograms.
Hilot Lmimot Different from the ordinary hilot in that the dangling strands are not brass chains but
strings of beads.
Bracelets
Blonso - around 6 centimeters thick and 8 millimeters in diameter, usually worn loosely, 15 to 20 to a
wrist.
Kala - thicker than the blonso, worn tightly, five to an arm.
Anklets
Tugul - 5 cm flat black bands worn tightly on the calves.
Singkil linti - 10 cm in diameter and 6-10 mm thick with simple geometric ornamentation, worn
loosely.
Singkil babat - a more ornately decorated version of the singkil linti, using cord and zigzag designs in
high relief along the outer edge, worn loosely.
Singkil slugging - 15 mm thick but hollow and filled with tiny pebbles which make it rattle softly, also
worn loosely.
Rings
Tsing - worn insets of five on each finger and toe, often with the brass rings alternated by carabao-
horn rings. The rings can be plain or compound bands with simple triangular ornamentation



Costumes
The T'boli have different attire for different occasions. They wear simpler versions of their traditional
costumes on ordinary days, and sumptuously decorated ones for special occasions.
Female Clothing
For working in the fields
Kgal taha soung plain black or navy blue blouse with long sleeves and no collar. It is tight fitting
and waist length.
Luwek ankle length tube skirt, like the malong worn by the Muslim tribes.
Slaong kinibang - round salakot (wide-brimmed hat) 50 cm in diameter woven with bamboo strips
and entirely covered by a geometric patchwork or red, white, and black cloth, each hat always
unique and original. Underneath, it is lined with red cloth that hangs down along the sides and
back when worn, to protect the wearer from the sun's glare.
For everyday wear
Kgal bengkas - long-sleeved blouse open at the front, with 3-cm wide red bands sewn crosswise
onto the back and around the cuffs and upper sleeves.
Kgal nisif - a more elaborately decorated blouse, embroidered with cross-stitched animal or
human designs, and geometric patterns rendered in red, white, and yellow, with bands of zigzag
and other designs.
Fan de - a skirt of red or black cloth, nowadays bought from the lowlanders.
Formal occasions
Kgal binsiwit, an embroidered blouse with 1-cm triangular shell spangles, usually worn during
weddings.
Tredyung - a black pinstripe linen skirt worn with the kgal binsiwit.
Bangat slaong version of slaong kinibang decorated with two long bands of fancy beadwork
with horsehair tassels at the ends, worn on special occasions.