Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Doon Po sa Amin Matatagpuan ang Tirahan ng mga Bagobo


Davao del Sur is home to a host of ethnic groups and culture and way of life have been preserve . One of this are the Bagobos, who are the most popular tribes here in Davao.
The name "Bagobo" was derived from the words "bago" which means "new" or "recent" and "obo, obbo, uvu" meaning "grow" or "growth". This refers to a recent formation of people that dwells along the Davao Gulf Coast.
Bagobo people have light brown complexion, brown or brownish-black hair, ranging from wavy to curly, their eyes are dark and widely set, has a ridge broad nose and rounded lips. Men stand about 158cm tall and women stand about 147cm.
It is said that the Bagobos were the first ethnic group in Mindanao. Before, they were geographically separated, namely as the Upland Bagobo and the Coastal Bagobo. The Upland Bagobo live in the region between the upper Pulangi and Davao Rivers in Mindanao. While the Coastal Bagobo once lived in the hills of south and east of Mt. Apo until they were influenced by Christianity, plantations, resettlement's among coastal Bisayan. Now, they are living either with the Upland Bagobos or with the Bisayans.
Bagobo considered as the most colorful in the Philippines, heavily embroidering their abaca clothing with beads and stitch works ( as you can see at the above pictures ). They also have ornament traditions in weaponry and other metal arts. They are also known for their betel boxes and for their long epic poems. Bagobos are also a good dancers and musicians. They played different folk instruments like kulintang and they dance gracefully. The dance which they clean the body and soul of their great warriors is called Gin-um and Kasal sa Banig for wedding ceremony.
Just like the other Filipino, Bagobo are also afraid of bad spirits. They are afraid to Mikohawa, a big bird whose feathers is sharp as the sword, also to Omayan, a very small person that you can hardly see, and to Tahamaling, a beautiful maiden who has a red complexion that lived in balete tree.
Bagobos have their own beliefs. They believe in afterlife, or the life after death. For them, a person who died in an accident will either go to a particular heaven or to a particular hell. And to be able to proceed to the next level, they must have a self improvement. The Bagobo also believe, that every person have a right-hand soul and left-hand soul. The right-hand soul is the good part, where you can go to heaven, while the left-hand soul is the bad part, where you can go to hell. Bagobos also have their own god whom they called Manama. Manama lived in Mt. Apo. They believed that Manama showered blessings to the sulphuric deposits of the volcano.

Courtesy:

http://www.everyculture.com/East-SoutheastAsia/Bagobo.html
http://litera1no4.tripod.com/bagobo_frame.html
http://class.csueastbay.edu/anthropologymuseum/virtmus/Philippines/Peoples/Bagobo.html
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Bagobo
http://www.finetravel.com/travel_info/english/philippine-info/davao.html
http://www.seasite.niv.edu/Tagalog/Cynthia/dances/tribal_dances.html