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