TAGBANUA TRIBE INTRODUCTION The Tagbanua tribe, one of the oldest tribes in the

Philippines, can be mainly f ound in the central and northern Palawan. Research
has shown that the Tagbanua a re possible descendants of the Tabon Man; thus, ma
king them one of the original inhabitants of the Philippines. They are brown-ski
nned, slim and straigh-haired ethnic group. The tribe has two major classificati
ons based on the geographical location where they can be found. Central Tagbanua
s are found in the western and eastern coast al areas of central Palawan. They a
re concentrated in the municipalities of Abor lan, Quezon, and Puerto Princesa.
Calamian Tagbanua, on the other hand, are foun d in Baras coast, Busuanga Island
, Coron Island and in some parts of El Nido. Th ese two Tagbanua sub-groups spea
k different languages and do not exactly have th e same custom. Tagbanua live in
compact villages of 45 to 500 individuals. In 1987, there are 1 29, 691 Tagbanu
as living in Palawan. At present, Tagbanua tribe has an estimated population of
over 10,000. Of which, 1,800 are in the Calamianes. History According to folk hi
story, the Tagbanua had an early relationship with Brunei, w ith the first sulta
n of Brunyu, from the place called Burnay. Formal history of the Tagbanua tribe
began in 1521 when Magellan's ships docked in Palawan for provisions. Antonio Pi
gafetta, Magellan's chronicler, recorded th at the Tagbanua practiced the ritual
of blood compact, cultivated their fields, hunted with blowpipes and thick wood
en arrows, valued brass rings and chains, be lls, knives, and copper wire for bi
nding fish hooks, raised large and very tame cocks which they pitted against one
another and laid bets on, and distilled rice wine Until the latter part of the
17th century, southern Palawan was under the jurisd iction of the Sultan of Brun
ei, leading to friction between Spaniards and the Su ltan. During this time, and
for almost three hundred years, the Spaniards and th e Muslims of Sulu, Mindana
o, Palawan, and north Borneo were at war. In the 19th century, the Tagbanua cont
inued to believe in their native gods. Eac h year, a big feast is celebrated aft
er each harvest to honor their deities. When the Spanish regime ended and the Am
ericans occupied the Philippines, some c hanges came to the island of Palawan, a
nd to the Tagbanua. In 1904, Iwahig becam e the site of a penal colony, which di
splaced the Tagbanua as it expanded. In 19 10, the Americans put up a reservatio
n for the Tagbanua. In succeeding years, in ternal migration from the Visayan is
lands and from Luzon, the dominance of the C hristian religion, and the absorpti
on of the island into economic and political mainstream marginalized the Tagbanu
a people. Ancestral domain In 1998, the Tagbanua of Coron Island were awarded a
Certificate of Ancestral Do main Claim (CADC) over more than 22,000 hectares of
land and sea. CADC is the ti tle to the land and the sea that have sustained the
community for centuries. It gives the Tagbanua the right to manage the area and
preserve its rich marine and land resources. Culture Language The Tagbanua peop
le has its own native language, however, they are also proficie nt in speaking t
he Palawano language and several other dialects like Tandulanon, Silanganon, and
Baras in each locality, while a significant number of them can comprehend Tagal
og, Batak, Cuyonon, and Calawian languages. Religion The Tagbanua's relationship
with the spirit world is the basis for their rituals , celebration, and dances.
The many ceremonial feasts punctuating Tagbanua life are based on a firm belief
in a natural interaction between the world of the liv ing the world of the dead
. These ceremonies and rituals takes place on all level s, ranging from rituals
perform within the family, to those which are led by the community's leader on b
ehalf of the people. Such celebrations call for special structures to be built,
such as ceremonial platforms and rafts. Rituals offering

include rice, chicken and betel nut. The Tagabanua tribe has four major deities.
The first, the lord of the heavens, was called Mangindusa or Nagabacaban, who s
its up in the sky and lets his feet d angle below, above the earth. The god of t
he sea was named Polo and was deemed a benevolent spirit. His help was invoked i
n times of illness. The third was the god of the earth named Sedumunadoc, whose
favor was sought in order to have a go od harvest. The fourth was called Tabiaco
ud, who lived, in the deep bowels of th e earth. For these gods, the Tagbanua ce
lebrated a big feast each year, right after harve st, when there is much singing
, dancing, courting, and conclusion of blood compa cts. The babaylan (shaman) ca
lled for the people to converge at the seashore, ca rrying food offering of all
kinds. The babaylan took the chickens and roosters b rought for the ceremony, an
d hung them by their legs on tree branches, killing t hem by beating with a stic
k. They were allowed only one blow for each animal, an d those who survive went
free, never to be harmed again, because Polo, the sea g od, took them under his
protection. The fowl that died were seasoned, cooked and eaten. After eating, th
ey danced and drank rice wine. At midnight, as Buntala, a heavenly body, passsed
the meridian, the babaylan entered the sea waist dipped , all the while dancing
and pushing a raft made of bamboo, which had offering on it. If the offering wa
s returned to the shore by waves and winds, it meant the sea god refused the peo
ple's offering. But if the raft disappeared, there was re joicing. Their offerin
g was accepted and their year would be a happy one. Other spirits inhabit the fo
rests and environment, and belief in their existence necessitates rituals to pla
cate them or gain their favors. The babaylan perform s rituals of life, from bir
th to death. It is believed that there is a deity who accompanies the soul of th
e dead to its final destination. Hunters invoke the a ssistance of the spirits o
f the dead relatives in asking the owners of the wild pigs to allow their huntin
g dogs to locate the prey. A mutya (charm) is commonly used to help its possesor
succeed in the hunt. The Family Structure The basic social unit of the Tagbanua
s is their nuclear family composed of a mar ried couple and their children. They
are monogamous. They live in houses that ar e made up of bamboo and wood for a
strong frame, anahaw leaves for roof and wall s, and bamboo slats for the floori
ng. Visual Arts and crafts The traditional costumes of the Tagbanua were fashion
ed from the bark of trees, particularly the salugin. The preparation of this bar
k was unique. After being f elled, the tree would be cut around the trunk, the o
uter bark stripped off to ex pose the inner layer. A mallet would beat the layer
, until it is soft to hang lo ose from the bole. This is washed and dried under
the sun. In the past, menfolk wore simple loincloths, supported by a woven ratta
n waistband called ambalad, wh ile women wore only brief wraparound skirts made
from bark. The Tagbanua later a dopt some articles of Muslim clothing. At presen
t, while many Tagbanua still wea r their traditional apparel, western-type cloth
ing has found its way among the p eople. In the past, when both men and women wo
re their hair long, they filled and black ened their teeth, and carved earplugs
from the hardwood bantilinaw. The Tagbanua also carved wooden combs and bracelet
s. They strung bead necklaces to be used i n covering women's necks. Anklets of
copper and brass wire were also crafted and worn by women. Tagbanua women wear b
right body ornament and brightly colored clothes. They dres s just like the nontribe lowlanders but some elder men prefer to use G-strings for comfort while ti
lling the field or going fishing. Baskets and woodcarvings are the more notable
products of Tagbanua artistic craf ts today. They excel in the number of designs
which they apply to their tingkop (harvest basket) made of hard strip bamboo. T
hese baskets are made of blackened and natural bamboo, which makes the designs s
tand out. The cone-shaped type of b asket is another fine example of Tagbanua sk
illed artistry. Using black and natu ral color designs outside, the center of th
e cone has the bamboo strip skived sl ightly smaller, creating even holes for th
e screen. The funnel effect is accompl

ished through a close weaving of the bamboo strips towards the top. The soft ric
e baskets, called bayong-bayong, are made with different unusual sha pes. These
have square bases and round tops. To produce interesting block and Vshapes, the
plain buri sides superimposed with colored buri. Color is woven into the Tagbanu
a basket with the used of dyed palm leaves. Blackened woodcarvings of animals, w
ith simple etched or incised features exposi ng the original whit grain of the w
ood, are the most well known examples of Tagb anua woodcarvings or sculpture. So
me of the objects carved are mammanuk (rooster), a ritual bowl, kiruman (turtl e
), kararaga (a native bird), dugyan (a small ground animal), lizards, and wild p
igs. Carved animals are used with rice, betel nut, and other offerings to attra
ct the deities and spirit relatives in the pagdiwata rituals. The turtles, for i
nstance, floats on grains of palay in an ancient Ming trade bowl. Others that a
r e not used in rituals become toys for children. Performing Arts Music Compleme
nting the rich Tagbanua rituals and social gatherings in the past was an assortm
ent of musical instruments. These included the aruding or jew's harp; th e babar
ak or nose flute; the tipanu or mouth flute; the pagang and tibuldu, two variati
ons of the bamboo zithers; the kudlung or boat lute; the gimbal or drum, whose t
op was made from the skin of the bayawak or monitor lizard; and the tirin g, com
posed of lengths of bamboo with openings of various sizes producing differ ent n
otes when struck with a stick. In addition, there were two generic types of gong
s obtained from the shallow babandil. The mouth flute is still in use, and the g
ongs and drums are still played during rituals. Modern acoustic type guitar and
the ukulele, which is fashioned from a half coconut shell, supplant the oth er i
nstruments. Dance The known dances associated with the rituals are the following
: abellano, also c alled soriano, a traditional dance performed by males; bugasbugasan, a dance fo r all participants of a pagdiwata, after they have drunk the
ceremonial tabad (r ice wine); kalindapan, solo dance by the female babaylan an
d her attendants; run say, ritual dances performed by the villagers on the seash
ore, where bamboo raft s laden with food offering are floated for the gods; saru
ngkay, a healing dance by the main babaylan as she balances a sword on her head
and waves ugsang or pal m leaf strip; tugatak and tarindak, dances perform by th
e villagers who attend a n inim or pagdiwata; tamigan, performed by male combata
nts using round winnowers or bilao to represent shields. The dancing accompanyin
g the runsay, performed about midnight and lasting until daybreak, is possibly t
he most moving of all Tagbanua dances, since it is a part of a sacred ritual tha
t takes place only once a year, and is performed on the b each from where the ri
tual raft has been launched towards the sea world. Guests who attend the albarka
ritual watch dances such as the busak-busak, the s pider dance; batak ribid, a
dance simulating the gathering of camote; bungalon, a showing off dance; bugsaybugsay, a paddle dance using fans; segutset, a court ship dance; and tarek, a tr
aditional dance. The andardi is a festival dance of t he Tagbanua in and around
Aborlan, perform at social gatherings. When dancing du ring a festival, the perf
ormers are dressed in their costumes, and hold in each hand a dried palm leaf ca
lled palaspas. The music of the andardi is composed of one part of twelve measur
es, played or sung continuously throughout the dance. D rum or gongs accompanies
the music and the song. Drama Drama in Tagbanua society is expressed in the mim
etic dances imitating animals, such as busak-busak, and those showing occupation
s, such as batak ribid and bugs ay-bugsay. But the most important mimetic forms
are the rituals where the priest ess is possessed by and plays the role of the d
eity to whom the offerings are be ing made. Economic activity They cultivate ric
e in swidden or kaingin field that is intercropped with sweet potato, corn, and
cassava. Those in the coastal areas indulge in fishing and exc

hange it with agricultural products for consumption. They also gather forest pro
ducts such as gum, rattan, and honey for cash. The highest potential source of
income for the Tagbanua are handicrafts particul arly woodworking, mat making an
d basketry, the raw materials for which are readi ly available to them.