The T'boli (Tagabili to lowlanders) are an animist ethnic group inhabiting highland areas in southwestern Mindanao, centering on Lake Sebu (TauSebu is another of the people's names). Their immediate neighbors are the Manobo and Bilaan, other animist upland peoples (with whom they are often in conflict). The T'boli rely on Muslim traders for contacts with the lowlands and maritime trade.
The T'boli (Tagabili to lowlanders) are an animist ethnic group inhabiting highland areas in southwestern Mindanao, centering on Lake Sebu (TauSebu is another of the people's names). Their immediate neighbors are the Manobo and Bilaan, other animist upland peoples (with whom they are often in conflict). The T'boli rely on Muslim traders for contacts with the lowlands and maritime trade.The Muslim Magindanao (who founded a powerful sultanate) raided for slaves among the T'boli; Muslims appear as villains in T'boli folklore. The resistance of Muslim lowlanders shielded the T'boli from Spanish political and cultural influence. This isolation ended with the imposition of American military control on Mindanao, completed in 1913. Since that time, Christian migrants from the Visayas and elsewhere have greatly increased the local population, pushing the T'boli from much of their traditional territory, a great part of which is also being appropriated by logging companies. Some protection and development aid has been offered by government institutions (such as the controversial PANAMIN) and Catholic missionaries. Adopting as a common designation "Lumad," the Cebuano term for "indigenous," the T'boli and other non-Islamized/non-Christianized ethnic groups in Mindanao are beginning to develop a collective identity and mobilize in their common interests.
PRACTICE
his paper is a brief descriptive study on the culture of the T’boli tribe. Culture is defined as a set of shared beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours, which are learned and passed on from one generation to the next (Ember & Ember 1995, p. 173).
FESTIVAL
Lemlunay or also known as T’Boli Tribal Festival is an annual celebration staged at Lake Sebu, South Cotabato in Philippines. It is celebrated every third week of September that features tribal rituals that start at early down amidst sounds of gongs and native music, culminating at the town plaza where cultural dances and ethic sports like horsefight are held.
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HOUSES
PRACTICE
FESTIVAL