The LUMADs’ of MINDANAO

Ang Lumad ay isang pangkat ng mga katutubong tao ng katimugang Pilipinas. Ito ay salitang
Cebuano na nangangahulugang "katutubo". May 17 pangkat Lumad sa
Pilipinas: Atta, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Mang
uwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray, at Ubo. Ayon sa Lumad Development
Center Inc., may 18 pangkat Lumad sa 19 lalawigan ng Pilipinas. Ito ay binubuo ng 12 hanggang 13
milyong tao o 18% ng kabuuang populasyon ng Pilipinas. Ito ay mahahati sa 110 pangkat
etnolingguwistiko. Sila ay itinuturing na "marurupok na pangkat" na nakatira sa mga kagubatan at mga
baybayin.

The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is
a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally:
"indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopted by the delegates of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples
Federation (LMPF) founding assembly on 26 June 1986 at the Guadalupe Formation Center,
Balindog, Kidapawan, Cotabato, Philippines. It is the self-ascription and collective identity of the
indigenous peoples of Mindanao.

HISTORY
The name Lumad grew out of the political awakening among tribes during the martial
law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. It was advocated and propagated by the members and
affiliates of Lumad-Mindanao, a coalition of all-Lumad local and regional organizations which formalized
themselves as such in June 1986 but started in 1983 as a multi-sectoral organization. Lumad-Mindanao’s
main objective was to achieve self-determination for their member-tribes or, put more concretely, self-
governance within their ancestral domain in accordance with their culture and customary laws. No other
Lumad organization had the express goal in the past.[1]
Representatives from 15 tribes agreed in June 1986 to adopt the name; there were no delegates from
the three major groups of the T'boli, the Teduray. The choice of a Cebuano word was a bit ironic but
they deemed it appropriate as the Lumad tribes do not have any other common language except
Cebuano. This marked the first time that these tribes had agreed to a common name for themselves,
distinct from that of the Moros and different from the migrant majority and their descendants.
ETHNIC GROUPS
The Lumad are the un-Islamized and un-Christianized Austronesian peoples of Mindanao. They
include groups like the Erumanen ne Menuvu', Matidsalug Manobo, Agusanon Manobo, Dulangan
Manobo, Dabaw Manobo, Ata Manobo, B'laan, Kaulo, Banwaon, Bukidnon, Teduray, Lambangian,
Higaunon, Dibabawon, Mangguwangan, Mansaka, Mandaya, K'lagan, Subanen, Tasaday, Tboli,
Mamanuwa, Tagakaolo, Talaandig, Tagabawa, Ubu', Tinenanen, Kuwemanen, K'lata and Diyangan.
Considered as "vulnerable groups", they live in hinterlands, forests, lowlands and coastal areas.
The term lumad excludes the Butuanons and Surigaonons, even though these two groups are also native
to Mindanao. This is due to their Visayan ethnicity and lack of close affinity with the Lumad.
The Moros like the Maranao, Tausug, Sama-Bajau, Yakan, etc. are also excluded, despite being also
native to Mindanao and despite some groups being closely related ethnolinguistically to the Lumad. This
is because unlike the Lumad, the Moros converted to Islam during the 14th to 15th centuries. This can
be confusing, since the word lumad literally means "native" in the Visayan languages.

BAGOBO
Scattered throughout the Southern Philippine Archipelago slowly disappearing tribes untouched
by neither time nor colonization still exist in present time. Along the desolate eastern coast of the Davao
Gulf, centuries ago, new migrants mixed with the native population, forming a new community that was
given the name Bagobo. This tribe traces its origin from the people who brought Hinduism to Mindanao,
its name was derived from the words bago meaning new and obo meaning growth. Throughout
centuries a strong social structure has enabled these native groups to blend well with the original
population, retaining their indigenous customs, beliefs and values.

The mountainous region between the upper Pulangi and Davao rivers is the homeland of the Upland
Bagobo, the coastal Bagobo once lived in the hills south and east of Mount Apo, where according a
legend, their supreme god and common ancestor Apo Sandawa ruled as God. Mount Apo is the Bogobo
ancestral domain and their sacred place of worship.

Sibulan is an ancient settlement of the Bagobo, located at the foot of a dormant volcano Cuernos de
Negros, meaning the Horns of Negros but also known to the natives as Magaso.Sibulan was the center
of all the Bagobo tribes when the Spaniards try to conquer the island of Mindanao at the end of the
nineteenth century. The Spaniards gave this region its name; the Land of Sibuls or land of numerous
springs. Long time ago a group of Spanish soldiers met a group Bagobo women carrying bamboo tubes,
tools they used to fetch water from the many springs in the area. None of the women understood the
soldiers when they were asked what the name of the place was. The women thought the Spaniards
were asking them for the source of the water, so they replied, Sibuls, meaning spring.

The Bagobo are by origin a nomadic tribe, they travelled from one place to the other by hacking their
way through the virgin forests. The region was abundant with cogonal land with tall trees and had a
wide area of hunting grounds. The bow and arrow were used both in hunting wild boar, deer or
monkeys and fishing in crystal pure waters gushing from the slopes of Mount Apo. Apo means
grandfather of all mountains and is the highest mountain peak in the Philippines. The land was also
cultivated with various crops, but left behind after harvest time in search of a better place to cultivate.

The inhabitants in the early settlements feared the Anitos, spirits, which include deceased ancestors and
nature-spirits or diwatas, who could grant their desire through offering of sacrifices. Their religion is an
array of innumerable gimokods (spirits) who have to be shown respect. The Bagobo also believe in a
supreme being who inhabits the sky world, as well as a deity, a supernatural immortal being who will
brings sickness and death to incestuous couples. The principal Spirit is the great creator
named Eugpamolak Manobo or Manama.

The knowledge of spirits and ancient legends resides in old tribal women, better known
as mabalian, often they tell story of Tuwaang, a brave and strong warrior with different powers. One
legend recalls the fight between Tuwaang and a giant from the land of Pinanggayungan. A maiden of
the Buhong Sky who was fleeing from the giant of Pangumanon came across Tuwaang who was riding
the sky on lighting. Tuwaang and the giant fought for the maiden, the giant used his magical powers and
threw a flaming bar at Tuwaang. He was able to escape this ordeal by using his own magical ability and
call the wind to fan the fire and let the giant be engulfed by his own flames.

The mabalian are also the ritual practitioners which include healing, they are also skilled as weavers. The
women weave abaca cloths with earthly tones, heavily embroidering it with beads and stitch work. They
are known for their inlaid metal betel boxes, finished with bells and baskets that are trimmed with
multi-colored beads, fibers and horse’s hair. The never-ending jingling of the many tiny brass bells
woven into the clothing became a Bagobo symbol. It is not rare that the heavily ornamented Bagobo are
considered the most colourful people of the Philippines.

Some Bagobo people have abandoned their tribal roots and embraced modern life, but most of the
tribe's members remain proud of their heritage, traditions and their native cultural identity. They still
wear their colorful costumes and play their ritual music with gongs and kulintangs, they dance their
indigenous dances, stomping their feet on the ground and sing their harvest rituals in solemn chants.
They will pass on their skills and knowledge to preserve their living, ethnic culture, a culure that is built
to endure throughout generations to come.

MANOBO
The Manobo are an Austronesian, indigenous agriculturalist population who neighbor the
Mamanwa group in Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur (Garvan, 1931). They live in barangays like the
Mamanwa; however, population size is dramatically larger in the Manobo settlements in comparison to
those of the Mamanwa.
The two groups interact frequently although the amount of interaction varies between settlements and
intermarriage is common between them (Reid, 2009).
Manobo is the hispanicized spelling of Manuvu. Its etymology is unclear; in its current form it
means 'person' or 'people'.
The Manobo are probably the most numerous of the ethnic groups of the Philippines in the
relationships and names of the groups that belong to this family of languages. Mention has been made
of the numerous subgroups that comprise the Manobo group.
The total Manobo population is not known, although they occupy core areas from Sarangani
island into the Mindanao mainland in the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Davao provinces, Bukidnon, and
North and South Cotabato. The groups occupy such a wide area of distribution that localized groups
have assumed the character of distinctiveness as a separate ethnic grouping such as the Bagobo or the
Higaonon, and the Atta. Depending on specific linguistic points of view, the membership of a dialect with
a supergroup shift.
The Manobo are genetically related to the Denisovans, much like the Mamanwa.
 Manobo, the name may come from Mansuba from man (person or people) and suba (river),
meaning river people. The first Manobo settlers lived in northern Mindanao, at present Manobo tribes
can be found at the hillsides and river valleys of the northeastern part of Cotabato.

According to an oral tradition, the Manobo's were led by two brothers: Mumalu and
Tabunaway, they lived by the Banobo creek, which flowed into the Mindanao River near the present site
of Cotabato City. In the 14th century Sharif Kabungsuan, a muslim missionary, arrived from Johore, to
convert the people of Mindanao. Tabunaway did not want to convert to Islam but told his younger
brother not to reject the Muslim Faith. Tabunaway and his followers moved up the Pulangi River to the
interior of Cotabato, they decided to part ways and, in the years, to come established their own tribes.
These groups retained their indigenous beliefs, practices and the name of their original site, Banobo,
which eventually became Manobo, the descendants of Mamalu became the Maguindanao.

Despite the fact that the various Manobo communities have been separated there is one
common threat that binds them together, each tribal group culture believes in one Great Spirit. usually
viewed as the creator figure. The Manobo also believe that there are many unseen spirits who can
intrude in the lives of humans to accomplish their desires. These spirits are both good and evil in nature
and can raise anger and pleasure. There is a common believe that a Manobo hunter will be killed by his
own dogs or prey if he does not ask for permission first from Lalawag, the god of all forest games, before
going on a hunting trip.

The Samayaan is a native ritual in which omens are read in connection with the various stages of
the farming cycle: clearing, planting, growing, and harvesting. The first day of the planting season marks
the beginning of the Manobo year, the last day of harvesting is the ending. Cultivating rice and corn has
been and still is a part of the Manobo way of living, some Manobo villages have shifted to the cultivation
of coconut for copra export. Corn and rice are planted in the month of February, the corn is harvested in
July but rice takes longer to grow and is harvested four months later. When the trees start to bloom,
the Manobo hunter will wait for the coming of the bees that will led him to their bee hives. The hunt for
bees is the basis of the traditional bee-hunting dance. To pray for a successful hunt only bee hunters are
allowed to sing a traditional song titled Manganinay , this hymn is sung in honor of Panayangan, the god
of the bee hunt. The song must be proclamed outside the house, singing it inside will cause the house to
burn down.

Throughout the year, the elders of the Manobo tribe are looking for the star-lit sky to determine
the season of planting, harvesting, fishing and hunting. Each star can bring a different message and will
guide the tribal group in their traditional way of living. This practice is called Pamiteun, the Manobos'
indigenous way of understanding the stars. Nowadays only the members of the older generation of
farmers will continue to use the Pamiteun but they are passing the knowledge to the present
generation, to learn the old way of living, keep their culture and traditions alive and deepen their
consciousness about their own culture

A Manobo community is mostly male dominated, the man is considered as the head of the
family and he is the one who will make the family decisions. Only a Royal, a Datu can practise polygamy,
only with the consent of the first wife and her parents. The first wife will remain the head wife. The Datu
or Chief must also have proven his bravery and leadership in battle as a bagani. This postion can be
passed on to a Datu's children, as long as they have the necessary qualifications. Village member are
expecting help in any way from their kinship group or persons related by marriage, this relationship is
named upakat or reciprocity.

The Manobo are both strong in mind and spirit, their cultural identity is firmly rooted in the land
and its nature. It is maintained through storytelling, language, family and the passing on of traditional
skills and arts. The traditional way of life has not ended for most Manobos, like any other tribal
community in Mindanao, the Manobo have faced many cultural challenges in their past and will
encounter even more in the future. They strive to uphold their values and traditions even while living in
a modern society, faced with new realities, ready to compete in the modern economic world instead of
the world of nature.

TASADAY

The Tasaday is a group of about two dozen people living within the deep and mountainous
rainforests of Mindanao, who attracted wide media attention in 1971 when they were first "discovered"
by western scientists who reported that they were living at a "stone age" level of technology and had
been completely isolated from the rest of Philippine society. They later attracted attention in the 1980s
when it was reported that their discovery had in fact been an elaborate hoax, and doubt was raised both
about their status as isolated from other societies and even about the reality of their existence as a
separate ethnic group. The question of whether Tasaday studies published in the seventies are accurate
is still being discussed.

11 July 2017
(http://www.ethnicgroupsphilippines.com/2017/07/11/tasaday-people-are-they-or-arent-they/)
Koronadal – In 1971, worldwide attention was turned to a remote island in Mindanao. The Tasaday tribe
living in an isolated section of rainforest in the Philippines was just unveiled. The revelation came after a
hunter accidentally discovered the group living in a cave, oblivious to modern civilization. Manuel
Elizalde, a politician and then in charge of all Philippine tribal peoples, introduced them to the world.
Approximately 26 individuals were located in a cave in the province of South Cotabato. They subsisted
on wild bananas, roots, and fish. Anthropologists, scientists, and scholars flocked to the area and
examined the tribe, who subsequently gained popularity due to their collective naïve and tranquil
demeanor. Various publications and images about this Stone Age people circulated across many
countries until the tribe’s territory was closed to the public in 1976 via a decree from President Marcos.
The Tasaday yet again made headlines after a foreign journalist visited the tribe’s site in 1986. In stark
contrast to their appearance when they were first sighted, the group were dressed in normal clothing
and living in regular houses. Following the encounter, Swiss journalist Oswald Iten asserted that the
Tasaday was a fake tribe. These allegations quickly became known throughout the international
community. For years, this has raised questions from people around the world, especially after the
Tasaday were featured on the cover of the National Geographic magazine in 1972.
The Tasaday According to Scholars
The Tasaday is an ethnic group that is considered to be part of the Lumad, a group of natives from the
southern Philippines. Linguists classified the language of the Tasaday as related to that of the Manobo,
which is widely spoken by neighboring inhabitants. Roughly 80% of the tribe’s vocabulary is similar to
the Manobo languages.
In an investigative report by a local television crew, one of the Tasadays revealed that their ancestors
were forced to move into the forest due to a serious illness that nearly wiped out the entire tribe. The
forest has always been their home since time immemorial. It provided them both shelter and refuge.
Anthropologist Thomas Headland mentioned in 1993 that data in fact indicated that the Tasaday were a
tribe of hunter-gatherers that settled during the first half of the 20th century, same as the other hunter-
gatherer groups in Southeast Asia. Although the Tasadays lived apart from the other tribes, they
occasionally traded supplies with the Manobo farming groups who live in close proximity.
Headland further added that the Tasadays were descendants of the Manobo who moved deeper into
the rainforest a century ago because of a disease. This evaluation from Headland seems to agree with
the Spanish health records in 1871, which reported an outbreak of smallpox that spread across
Cotabato, at around the same time that the Tasadays said they fled to escape from an illness that killed
most of their members.
Today, numerous people across the globe are still uncertain of the tribe’s authenticity and many still
wonder whether the Tasadays as an ethnic group really existed or were merely a hoax. Recognizing this
tribe is vital to sustain their ethnic traditions for the succeeding generations. Nowadays, most of the
Tasadays intermarry with the Manobos.
LANGUAGES

Manobo languages, Chavacano (in Zamboangaregion), Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Filipino, English

The Lumad peoples speak Philippine languages belonging to various branches. These include:

 Mindanao languages
o Manobo languages- The Manobo languages are a group of languages spoken in the Philippines.
All go by the name Manobo or Banobo. Their speakers are primarily located around Northern
Mindanao, Central Mindanao (presently called SOCCSKSARGEN) and Caraga regions where they
are natively spoken. Some outlying groups make Manobo geographically discontiguous as other
speakers can be located as far as the southern peninsula of Davao Oriental, southern parts
of Davao del Sur and coastal areas of Sultan Kudarat. The Kagayanen speakers are the most
extremely remote and can be found in certain portions of Palawan.
o Subanon language-The Subanen language (also Subanon and Subanun) is an Austronesian
language belonging to the Greater Central Philippine languages. It is typically considered
by linguists as a dialect cluster more than a monolithic language. Subanon is spoken in various
areas of Zamboanga Peninsula namely the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del
Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, and in Misamis Occidental of Northern Mindanao. There is also a
sizeable Subanon community in Misamis Oriental. Most go by the name
of Subanen, Subanon or Subanun, while those who adhere to Islam refer to themselves
as Kalibugan.
 South Mindanao languages-The South Mindanao or Bilic languages are a group of related
languages spoken by the Bagobo, B'laan, T'boli, and Tiruray peoples of the southern coast of
Mindanao Island in the Philippines. They are not part of the Mindanao language family that covers
much of the island. The languages are:

 Mansakan languages- The Mansakan languages are a group of Austronesian languages

spoken in the Philippines. Davawenyo is the principal native language of the Davao region;
however, there is a high degree of bilingualism in Cebuano among their speakers.
 Mamanwa language- The Mamanwa language is a Central Philippine language spoken by the
Mamanwa people. It is spoken in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte in the
Lake Mainit area of Mindanao, Philippines. It had about 5,000 speakers in 1990.
 Sangiric languages- The Sangiric languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages
spoken in North Sulawesi, Indonesia and several small islands to the north which belong to the
Philippines. They are classified as a branch of the Philippine subgroup.

MUSICAL HERITAGE

Most of the Mindanao Lumad groups have a musical heritage consisting of various types
of Agung ensembles – ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held,
bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.

SOCIAL ISSUES OF THE LUMADS

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lumad controlled an area which now covers 17 of
Mindanao’s 24 provinces, but by the 1980 census, they constituted less than 6% of the population of
Mindanao and Sulu. Significant migration to Mindanao of Visayans, spurred by government-sponsored
resettlement programmes, turned the Lumad into minorities. The Bukidnon province population grew
from 63,470 in 1948 to 194,368 in 1960 and 414,762 in 1970, with the proportion of indigenous
Bukidnons falling from 64% to 33% to 14%.
Lumad have a traditional concept of land ownership based on what their communities consider
their ancestral territories. The historian B. R. Rodil notes that ‘a territory occupied by a community is a
communal private property, and community members have the right of usufruct to any piece of
unoccupied land within the communal territory.’ Ancestral lands include cultivated land as well as
hunting grounds, rivers, forests, uncultivated land and the mineral resources below the land.
Unlike the Moros, the Lumad groups never formed a revolutionary group to unite them
in armed struggle against the Philippine government. When the migrants came, many Lumad groups
retreated into the mountains and forests. However, the Moro armed groups and the Communist-
led New People’s Army (NPA) have recruited Lumad to their ranks, and the armed forces have also
recruited them into paramilitary organisations to fight the Moros or the NPA.[citation needed]
For the Lumad, securing their rights to ancestral domain is as urgent as the Moros’ quest
for self-determination. However, much of their land has already been registered in the name of
multinational corporations, logging companies and other wealthy Filipinos, many of whom are, relatively
speaking, recent settlers to Mindanao. Mai Tuan, a T'boli leader explains, "Now that there is a peace
agreement for the MNLF, we are happy because we are given food assistance like rice … we also feel sad
because we no longer have the pots to cook it with. We no longer have control over our ancestral
lands."
KILLING OF LUMADS
The Lumad are people from various ethnic groups in Mindanao island. Residing in their ancestral
lands, they are often evicted and displaced due to the Moro people's claim on the same territory. The
Lumad have lost parts of their ancestral land due to a failure to understand the modern land tenure
system. Some NGOs have established schools in their communities, purportedly to supply essential
knowledge for the tribe members that would protect their rights, property and culture.[37] However, the
Lumad communities are located in mountains that are distant from urban areas. These areas are also
the location sites of armed conflict between the New People's Army (NPA) and the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP). Caught in the conflict, the Lumad people's education, property, and security are
endangered because of the increasing amount of violent confrontations by the armed parties. In Surigao
del Sur, a barangay was evacuated to shelter sites in Tandag City due to increasing military and NPA
activity.
Manila-based activist groups claim that the Lumad territory were being militarized by the Armed
Forces of the Philippines and that community leaders and teachers were being detained by the military
on suspicion of being rebels.[39] They also say that alternative schools within the communities (aided by
NGOs and universities) face concerns of closing down or demolition of their property, with some
buildings converted by the military for their use.[40] They have staged demonstrations to gain the public's
attention, calling for the halt of the alleged militarization of Lumad communities. [41] Groups like
the Manilakbayan supported the movements through recruitment and the handing out of national
situationers to students to spread awareness about the Lumad's dilemma. [42] The Philippines'
Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has been investigating the incidents in regard to the 2015 murder
of Lumad leaders and a school official by a paramilitary group called Magahat/Bagani (in line with the
idea of CAFGU) created by the AFP to hunt for NPA members. The AFP denies the allegation and
attributes the killings to tribal conflict.[44] However, the AFP has admitted that CAFGU has Lumad recruits
within its ranks while asserting that the NPA has also recruited Lumad for the group.[45][46] There is also
delay of a decision on the CHR investigation due to the noncooperation of the Lumad group after the
interruption of the investigation by the spokesman of Kalumaran Mindanao, Kerlan Fanagel. Fanagel
insists that the group need not have another 'false' dialogue with the CHR since CHR has yet to present
the results/findings of the investigations from the past months when Lumad leaders were killed.
Because of the lack of data, CHR decided to postpone the presentation of their initial report to the
second week of December 2015.[47]
In December 8, the Karapatan group asked the United Nations to probe the killings, after
eight T'boli and Dulangan Manobo farmers were allegedly killed by members of the Philippine Army.[48]
[49]
 However, these accusations were refuted by some Lumad leaders who instead claim that it is
the NPA who are responsible for the killings and that none of the alleged "militarization" is actually
happening. Datu Malapandaw Nestor Apas of the Langilan Manobo people in Davao del Norte said,
"There are no armed government forces in the community. The NPA rebels are the ones occupying our
area to control indigenous peoples and seize ancestral lands. They also accuse protesters in Manila of
pretending to be Lumad by wearing Lumad clothing, denying that the Lumad participating in rallies in
Manila were members of Lumad tribes.[52] They have also held anti-NPA rallies in Mindanao.[53] There
have also been several assassinations on Lumad leaders sympathetic to the government blamed on NPA
members.[54] Some of which are acknowledged by NPA members.
In 2018, Duterte threatened to shut down or destroy NGO-funded community schools because of
suspicions that they radicalize Lumad students into joining the NPA communist rebels. This was
supported by some Lumad leaders, who also felt that they were being infiltrated by the NPA and their
children being exploited.
In August 9, Lumad evacuees in Surigao del Sur formally returned to their homes after days to months in
evacuation camps.
KADAYAWAN FESTIVAL
"Indak-indak sa kadalanan" or the Street
The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city
dancing competition, part of Kadayawan
of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly
greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", Festival celebration.
meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a
celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the Observed by Davao City
wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living. It
is held every third week of August. Type Thanksgiving / Cultural

Date Third Week of August

Higaonon Deities 2018 date August 10–19, 2018[1]

 Magbabaya (The Ruler of All) - The supreme god who has minor gods and goddesses beneath o
specific jobs and take care of certain things, he is also the god of the west.
 Domalondong – The god of the north.
 Ongli – The god of the south.
 Tagolambong – The god of the east.
 Ibabasok - He watches over the crops and their growth in a simple ceremony at the center of the
rice field.
 Dagingon – They worship this deity in an elaborated celebration complete with songs and dances
which will last for nine nights during planting and after harvest seasons.
 Bulalakaw - The spirit who watches the rivers and takes care of the fishermen's catch.
 Tumpaa Nanapiyaw or Intumbangol - Watches the base of the earth night and day lest it crumbles.