photo courtesy of: Patricia Araneta

T'boli of the Lumad

Geography

The T'boli people mainly reside in South Cotabato, South Western Mindanao. They occupy an area about 750 square miles where the Southern ends of the Southwest Coast Range and the Cotabato, also known as the Tiruray Highlands, merge.

The culture center is roughly located at the central part of a triangle formed by the communities of Surallah, Polomolok, and Kiamba. Three large lakes are present inside this triangle, namely: Lake Sebu, Lake Siluton, and Lake Lahit. The T'boli people reside along the shores of Lake Sebu in a remote and mountainous are of Mindanao wherein its location is teeming with flora and fauna. Houses are sparingly distributed across the T'boli region. Because of the strong connection between relatives, they appear in discrete groups of three or four. The home is raised six feet or more above the ground, with the side never rising more than three feet. T'boli homes are erected hillcrests to defend against enemies with slash-and-burn crops filling the slopes below. Houses are only semipermanent due to the necessity to create fresh fields and vacate a house when a person dies.

Worldview

Death, according the the T'bolis, is a trick perpretated by the busao or bad sprits, or a punishment given by gods. This is based on the notion that while a person is asleep, their spirit leaves the body and they awaken when the spirit returns. As a result, if the spirit does not return, death happens.

The T'boli also believe in busao that cause chaos in people's life, inflicting misfortune and disease. They believe in and worship natural spritis like D'wata, the god of creation, and Fun Koyu, the spirit of the forest. The T'bolis' supreme deities are the married couple, Kadaw La Sambad and Bulon la Mogogaw, the sun god and the moon goddess, respectively. Some other deities that they worship are: Cumucul, Sfedat, Litik, Blanga, Teme Lus, Tdolok, and many more.

For a good health or safe journey, they pray to the gods of the moon, sun and stars. They also believe that after they pass away, their spiritis will trave to the afterlife through a boat. They also believe that their illnesses are often the result of their angry gods, and that they must perform rituals and offer densu to satisfy the tspirites. They think that they are penalties since they go against traditional methods of meddling with nature.

Material Culture

T'boli's material culture is associated with Glinton, the god of metalwork who holds a prominent position in the T'boli mythology. Bracelets and solid anklets are examples of T'boli craftmanship. The T'boli figurine is a more contemporary product of the metalwork heritage. Their traditional cloth, the t'nalak, is constructed with krungon (abaca fiber) extracted from the mature fruit bearing, wild abaca and Fu Dalu gifts patterns weavers in their dreams, they use sophisticated patterns which are never repeated in any T'boli dress.

T'boli women have outfits beautifully woven in multicolored threads of red, white, and black. Even young ladies understand how to apply make-up and dress in their T'boli clothing, which features the k'gal (T'boli dress), and various colorful accessories that are made of brass, glass beads and shells namely: nomong (earrings), lieg (necklace) - most priceless heirloom of a T'boli woman, hilet (girdles/belt), blusu (bracelets), singkil (anklets), tising (rings) and sweat (combs). Ulew is a head turban usually worn by men. Tattoos display hakang (human), bekong (animal), and ligo bed (zigzag) geometric designs on T'boli people's bodies and forearms.

The T'boli language is classed internally as a Billic language, which is one of the Philippines microgroups. It is considered to have unique linguistic characteristics such as a seven vowel system and inital consonant clusters and this belongs to the Western Malayo Polynesian Austronesian language family.

Social and Cultural Organization

T'boli community is governed by a datu who plays several functions. He serves social, economic, religious, and political purposes. There are several datus in T'boli culture, each with various degrees of authority, renown, and prestige attained or attributed themselves by the datus and acknowledged by their followers. Datu is not a hereditary status.

T'boli people are derived from the ancient barangay system, in which a tribe chief governs the community and a council of wise men oversees decision and the application of customary rules. To resolve disputes and disagreements, the T'boli political system utilizes strict jurisdiction laws: s'bot meso/halay (submerging of rice) for adultery cases, The t'mogo hekodok nga onuk b'notu (cooking or boiling of egg) is the trial for stealing, s'beles (revenge) for murder cases where the person must be killed.

T'boli families also have the notion of friendship pacts or Sebila, in which two families might solidify their relationshps by performing a sinum lito (blood compact).

Kesiyehen or arranged marriage is prevalent among the T'boli. Prior the the actual wedding, they also conduct marriage rituals and courting practices. Groom often plan dowries and bride prices for their brides. Polygamy is acceptable in the T'boli culture and divorice is allowed. Partners must go before a datu and voice their problems which may include sterility, incompatibility, or adultery.

Issues Confronting the Group

- When homesteading began in 1938, lowland farmers wanting agricultural land, foreign and local businesses looking to exploit natural resources, and migrants with commercial ranching mining and logging interests infringed on T'boli territory armed with land grants and forestry licenses.
The pristine environment is being encroached upon by modernization and development. The tranquil lake is being encroached upon by migrants its banks now studded with businesses and resorts, and its water crisscrossed by fish cages.
- The Philippine Constitution states that the state has complete control and supervision over natural resources, and that it may explore, develop, and use all public domain lands, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other natural resources except agricultural land.
- This State-imposed system of resource governance to a people who have governed their lands for generations can only be characterized capitalist, exploitation and internal colonialism in which the T'boli have been forced to conform with foreign rules affecting their ancestral territory.

Media

An infographic of the contents here about the T'boli by Thomas Badiola, and Hannah Sarilla - University of the Philippines Baguio

References

Talavera, Manalo, Baybay, Saludario, Dizon, Mauro, Porquerino, Novela, Yakit, Banares, Francisco, Inocencio, Rongavilla, Cruz(2013). The Tboli: Songs, Stories and Society. University of the Philippines.
Clariza, M.E. (2019). Sacred Texts and Symbols: An Indigenous Filipino Perspective on Reading.
Tejero, C.C. (2015,, October 26). The T'boli: A story of massive land-grabbing through the centuries. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/210932/the-tboli-a-story-of-massive-land-grabbing-through-the-centuries/
Clark J. (2016, March 5). T'boli Myths and Deities | Beliefs of the Philippines. The Aswang Project. https://www.aswangproject.com/tobli-deities-myths/
Manzano, L.C. The T'boli National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved from: https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncaa-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-communities-andtraditional0arts0sccta/central-cultural-communities/the-tboli/
Domingo, M.Z. (2004). Indigenous leadership and governance. Philippine Journal of Public Administration, XL VIII (1&2). https://pssc.org.ph/wp-content/pssc-archives/Philippine%20Journal%20of%20Public%20Administration/2004/Num%201-2/05Indigenous%20Leadership%20and%20Governance.pdf
Tboli. "Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/tboli