The Fluidity of T'Boli.
Gender Norms & Racial Bias in the Study of the Modern "T'Boli"
The Tboli people are one of the indigenous peoples of South Cotabato in Southern Mindanao. The body
of ethnographic and linguistic literature on Mindanao, they are variously known as Tboli, T'boli, Tböli,
Tagabili, Tagabilil, Tagabulul and Tau Bilil. They term themselves Tboli. Their whereabouts and identity
are somewhat imprecise in the literature; some publications present the Tboli and the Tagabili as
distinct peoples; some locate the Tbolis to the vicinity of the Lake Buluan in the Cotabato Basin or in
Agusan del Norte. The Tbolis, then, reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upper Alah
Valley and the coastal area of Maitum, Maasim and Kiamba. In former times, the Tbolis also inhabited
the upper Alah Valley floor. After World War II, i.e., since the arrival of settlers originating from other
parts of the Philippines, they have been gradually pushed onto the mountain slopes. As of now, they are
almost expelled from the fertile valley floor.
Like their immediate tribal neighbors, the Úbûs, Blàan, Blit, Tàú-Segél, and the Tasaday, they have been
variously termed hill tribes, pagans, animists, etc., as opposed to the indigenous Muslim peoples or the
Christian settlers. In political contexts, however, the term Lumad groups has become popular as a
generic term for the various indigenous peoples of Mindanao.
Musical
The Tboli 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.
Other instruments include the hegelung.
Indigenous Tboli religion
The T'boli people believe in a highly-complex traditional religion that is unique to the region. Their
religion is regionally-complex and is composed of the life ways and belief systems inherent to the Tboli
psyche. However, in modern times, their religion has been degraded to a certain extent due to the
introduction of Roman Catholicism, Protestanism, and Islam. Nevertheless, some communities continue
to preserve and conserve the religion practices of their ancestors, which has been established thousands
of years ago.
Immortals
Bulon La Mogoaw: one of the two supreme deities; married to Kadaw La Sambad; lives in the seventh
layer of the universe
Kadaw La Sambad: one of the two supreme deities; married to Bulon La Mogoaw; lives in the seventh
layer of the universe
Cumucul: son of the supreme deities; has a cohort of fire, a sword and shield; married to Boi’Kafil
Boi’Kafil: daughter of the supreme deities; married to Cumucul
Bong Libun: daughter of the supreme deities; married to S’fedat; could not bear children
S’fedat: son of the supreme deities; married to Bong Libun; could not bear children; asked Bong Libun to
instead kill him, where his body became the land on which plants spout from
D’wata: son of the supreme deities; married to both Sedek We and Hyu We; placed the land-body of
S’fedat onto the sea
Sedek We: daughter of the supreme deities; married to D’wata
Hyu We: daughter of the supreme deities; married to D’wata
Blotik: son of the supreme deities; married to S’lel
S’lel: daughter of the supreme deities; married to Blotik
B’lomi: daughter of the supreme deities; married to Mule
Mule: son of the supreme deities; married to B’lomi
Loos K’lagan: son of the supreme deities; married both La Fun and Datu B’noling
La Fun: daughter of the supreme deities; married to Loos K’lagan
Datu B’noling: daughter of the supreme deities; married to Loos K’lagan
Children of D’wata and Hyu We
L’tik
B’langa
Temo Lus
T’dolok
Ginton
L’mugot M’ngay
Fun Bulol: the owner of wild animals
Children of D’wata and Sedek We
Kayung
Slew
S’mbleng
Nagwawang
Nga Hule
S’ntan
Fu: spirits that inhabit and own the natural environment
Fu El: the spirit of water
Fu El Melel: the spirit of the river
D’wata : the general term for the gods; guard lives and determine fate and destiny
Muhen: a bird god of fate whose song when heard is thought to presage misfortune; any undertaking is
immediately abandoned or postponed when one hears the Muhen sing
Glinton: the god of metalwork
References
External links
by Alan Geoghegan & Ursula Schloer
