Module 1 Lesson 1 - The T'boli Tribe PDF

Module 1: Lesson 1 THE T’BOLI TRIBE  The T’boli also known as Tiboli, and Tagabili, is an old indigenous people living in South Cotabato, where the southwest coast range and the Cotabato Cordillera merge to form the Tiruray highlands.  The Tiruray highlands is an area circumscribed by a...

Module 1: Lesson 1 THE T’BOLI TRIBE  The T’boli also known as Tiboli, and Tagabili, is an old indigenous people living in South Cotabato, where the southwest coast range and the Cotabato Cordillera merge to form the Tiruray highlands.  The Tiruray highlands is an area circumscribed by a triangle formed by the town of Suralla, Polomolok, and Kiamba.  Located within these boundaries are three major lakes which are important to the T’boli, namely: Sebu, the largest and the most culturally significant; Siluton, the deepest; and Lahit, the smallest.  A T'boli legend tells that the T'boli are descendants of the survivors of a great flood. A man named Dwata warned the people of an impending great flood.  But the tribe refused to listen, except for two couples, La Bebe and La Lomi, and Tamfeles and La Kagef. Dwata told them to take shelter in a bamboo so huge they could fit inside and, in this way, survive the flood.  The story tells that the first couple are the ancestors of the T'boli and other highland ethnic groups while from the second couple descended the other Filipino indigenous groups.  Anthropologists believed that the T’boli could be of Austronesian stock. It is believed that they were already, to some degree, agricultural and used to range the coasts up to the mountains.  There are a number of datus in the T’boli society with varying degrees of power, fame, and status achieved or ascribed by the datus to themselves and recognized by their followers.  The T’boli society is ruled by a datu who assumes several roles. He has social, economic, religious and political functions.  The position of datu is not hereditary. No datu enjoys primacy over the others, nor does he exercise specific jurisdictional control over specific areas or groups.  Other datu might accord deferential treatment to one of their members, but this is not a sign of his superiority over them.  The T’boli kesiyahan or marriage is a long process that may be conducted in three major stages: childhood, puberty, and adolescence, and the crowning celebration is called moninum.  Marriages are prearranged by the parents and may be contracted at any age, even immediately after the child’s birth. The moninum is a series of six feasts, hosted alternately by the families of the bride and the groom.  Done over a period ranging from 2 to 6 years, the moninum is an optional celebration which only wealthy T’bolis can afford. Each feast runs for 3 to 5 days and nights.  The T’boli society permits the practice of polygamy. A T’boli man can take as many wives as he can, as long as he can afford to pay the dowry and support his wives and children.  A T’boli man is looked up to and respected if he has more than one wife. For them, to have many wives is a status symbol.  The T’bolis do not regard death as inevitable, rather it is a trick played by the busao or evil spirits, or punishment inflicted by gods.  This is rooted in the belief that one’s spirit leaves one’s body when one is asleep, and one awakens the moment the spirit returns. Thus, should the spirit not return, death occurs.  The T’bolis’ supreme deities are married couple, Kadaw La Sambad, the sun god and Bulon La Mogoaw, the moon goddess. They reside in the seventh heaven.  They beget seven sons and daughters who end up marrying each other. Cumucul, the eldest son is given a cohort of fire, a sword, and shield. Cumucul is married to Boi Kabil Sfedat, the second is married to the second daughter, Bong Libun.  One of the most influential figures in the T’boli pantheon is the muhen, a bird considered the 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.  The T’boli also believe in busao, a malevolent spirits which wreak havoc on the lives of human beings, thus causing misfortune and illness.  Desu or propitiatory offerings of onuk bukay (white chicken) or sedu (pig) are made to placate or gain favors from these evil spirits.  The T’boli rites are normally presided over by a morally upright leader who is proficient in their tradition. Often enough, the datu themselves preside.  A dance in the T’boli tribe shows a lot of symbols with different meanings or even the dance itself is a symbol.  The gestures in the dance maybe used to attract or give an indication that he/she is interested in the opposite sex. Like the Kadal Heroyon dance which means dance of flirtation.  It is commonly performed by young adolescent T'boli girls eligible for marriage proposal. Gestures imitate high flying birds along with acts of beautification, which is of high importance to the T'boli.  The T’boli, with their embroidered costumes and beaded ornaments, bangles, bracelets, and brass link belts, are one of the most colorful of all Filipino groups.  They are renowned for their tie- dyed abaca cloth and metal industry, including intricate lost-wax brass casting.  The T'nalak, the T'boli sacred cloth, made from abaca is the best known T'boli craft and is one of the tribe’s traditional textile, this cloth is exchanged during marriages and used as a cover during births.  The T'boli women are named dreamweavers, legend tells that the T'nalak weaving was taught by a goddess named Fu Dalu in a dream and that women learn this ethnic and sacred ritual through their dreams.  The weaving is a very tedious job and requires much patience, a lot of creativity and a good memory to remember the particular designs.  Men are not allowed to touch the chosen abaca fiber and materials used in the weaving process and the weaver should not mate with her husband in the time the cloth is woven, for it may break the fiber and destroy the design. The Traditional Weaving The Brass Casting The Beads Works