Bagobo – largest subgroup of the Manobo people
- Formerly nomadic and farmed through kaingin methods
- Territory: Davao Gult to Mt. Apo
o Upland bagobo – mountainous region
o Coastal bagobo – hills south and east of Mount Apo
 Influenced by Christianity and have resettled
- Traditionally riled by chieftains (matanum), a council of elders (magani), and female shamans
(mabalian).
- Beliefs vary from region to region.
FUNDAMENTAL RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
The inhabitants in the early settlements feared the Anitos, spirits, which include deceased ancestors and naturespirits 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.
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They are polytheistic and believe in a pantheon of demons.
Revolve around unseen spirits interfering in the lives of humans
o Spirits can intrude on human activities and accomplish their desires
o Spirits have human characteristics
o Both good and evil
o the Bagobo believe that there exists a great company of powerful spirits who make their homes
in the sky above, in the space beneath the world, or in the sea, in streams, cliffs, mountains, or
trees.
As the various Manobo groups have been separated, the religious beliefs of other peoples have
influenced them somewhat. However, the Manobo have often incorporated these new practices
into their belief system, rather than abandoning their practices and being converted to new
religions.
Eugpamolak Manobo/Manama – creator of all
o First and greatest of the spirits
o His home is the sky so he can observe the doings of men
o Offerings should be white and placed at the center of offerings
o he is served by a vast number of spirits
 below these spirits are a horde of low and means spirits who annoy mankind, bring
sickness, and disaster to them
 Believed to inhabit cliffs, rocks, mountains, trees, rivers, and springs
 Buso – evil spirits who have some power to injure the living.
Patron spirits:
o Mandarangan and his wife, Darago – lives in the crater of the volcano
 Look after the fortunes of warriors
 Believed to demand sacrifices in return for a favor
 Distentions, disasters, and death will be sure to visit the people should they fail to make
the offering
 Every December, Balatik (Orion, a constellation) appears and a human sacrifices takes
place in some Bagobo settlements.
 Signal for celebration of the great yearly sacrifice and for making all things ready
for rice-planting
 Patron spirits are then called to eat the food and accept tools devoted to them
 Procedure:
 To be protected by Mandarangan and his wife, one must have taken at least two
human lives.
 Wear a peculiar chocolate-colored kerchief with white patterns
o If he killed 4  blood-red trousers
If he killed 6  full blood-red suit and sack of the same color (must be a
WARRIOR)
 Magani – man whose clothing marks him as a person of distinction and power in
the village
o Workers in iron and brass, the weavers, and shamans are UNDER THE PROTECTION of special
deities for whom they make ceremonies at certain times of the year.
Mambalian – can converse with spirits, make ceremonies and offerings to attract their attention, secure
their groodwill, or appease their wrath
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BODY-AND-SOUL PHILOSOPHY
o There is another life possible for man after death and that some people at least can gain it along
the path either of Lumabat or of Mebuyan (Mother of the Underworld).
o The Bagobo observed that the body falls victim to the “Elements” (Earth) and may believe that
something equivalent happens to the “whole” dead man who is partially invisible.
o Entails that the elements have a visibile and invisible activity.
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Gimokod – eight spirits that dwell in the head, the right and left hands and feet, and other parts not
specified
o In death:
 Datus – same rank in other life but go to same place as common people
 Evil men – their gimokod is punished by being crowded into poor houses
 Never return to dwell again on earth
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Limokon – how spirits communicated with mortals
BAGOBO TRIBE TODAY:
- Changes are observed due to influences of foreign cultures and Christianism.
- Armed conflicts have also forced them to adapt and these encounters may have drastically diminished
some of the traditions, beliefs, and practices of the Bagobo people
- Even today, they still have Baganis (warriors) in their community. Some are found in the rural areas,
while others have integrated into the city life.
- 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.