2. Location
• The Mandaya indigeneous cultural
communities are situated in Davao
Oriental, a province mostly
charactrized by rough terrain.
3. • has the oldest municipality in
Eastern Mindanao, Caraga.
4. Who are the Mandayas?
According to John M. Garvan, there are four branches
of Mandayas.
The Tagum branch
- occupies the area from the mouth of the
Tagum river to the confluence of the Salug and
Libuganon rivers, or perhaps a little farther up the
two rivers.
5. The Agusan Valley branch
- is believed to be from the areas ranging from
Gerona to Compostela. Gerona is presently part of
the civil province of Agusan del Sur and
Compostela, the second farthest town upriver of the
Agusan river in the province of Davao del Norte.
The town near the headwaters of Agusan is
Maragusan, now called the town of San Mariano.
6. Garvan believes that these people
call themselves Mandayas due to
the desire to be taken as Mandaya
for various reasons.
7. The Pacific Coast branch
- occupies those areas along the
following big rivers and their tributaries:
Katiil, Bunganga, Manarigao, Karaga,
Manai, Kasauman and the upper reaches of
Mati.
8. Katiil isCateel today; Manai is Manau in Davao
Oriental. Marasugan and Salug are rivers in or near
the boundary of Davao del Norte.
The mandays who were christianized by the
Spaniards in the 1870's now called themselves
"Davawenyos" or "Dabawenyos", meaning
residents of Davao.
9. The Gulf of Davao branch
- occupies the reaches of all rivers in the east
side of the Gulf of Davao, from Sumlug to the
mouth of the hiijo river, the source of which is near
Agusan river. These Mandayas call themselves
Mansakas.
10. Mandyas are inhabitants of the land in the upriver
from Tago until Mati, and from Gandia to the
springs of Agusan, and around the sectors below
the Salug.
Mandays are "offspring of the Malay - Manobo
union".
Kamayu - a Mandaya word meaning "yours" is
commonly used by immigrants to refer to the native
Mandayas in disparaging, sarcastic or jesting tones.
11. Pastells also described the Mandaya as
"honorable, amiable, peaceful, patient, and good-
looking. They are considered by other non-
Christians as the oldest and most illustrious of the
peoples."
Recaords also reveal that the tribe is the largest
among the indigenous groups.
Mandayas are the greatest and best tribe in
Eastern Mindanao.
12. • The Dabawenyos' denial of their being
Mandayas could be the result of the latter's
inferiority vis-a-vis the former's lack of
historical awareness and the Cristiano
"syndrome" implanted by long years of
colonization.
13. Politics
The early political structure of the Mandaya varied
depending on the size of the area of followers
covered. A compact settlement ofr "community" did
not exist since dwellings were located the swidden
farms were sporadically situated. Clusters of three
to five houses usually boelonged to the ruling
authority like the bagani or likid.
Slavery was common.
14. Likid - also reffered to as matadong or pasado. As a
symbol of power, he donned a pudong (turban)
colored with binaning (yellow dye).
The council of elders or bawukan whose members
wore a red pudong.
The bagani had to be consumate warrior who could
head a group of combats reffered to as maniklads,
equivalent to junior officers.
15. Bagani - had thre power to rule in smaller
groupings.
Maguyantok - were the foot soldiers.
Kalagtuan - consisted of the rest of the group or
commoners.
Maniklad - served as the messenger of the bagani
and the likid.
16. To become a bagani:
A Mandaya warrior should have killed 7 to 10 persons.
Bagani took slaves from other settlements by means of a
bukad or a surprise raid by the bagani, together with his
maniklad and maguyantok.
Bagani was to believed to be able to demolish five persons in
an instantaneous attack using his pangayaw (spear) and
bayadaw (a long sword, usually double bladed). His
followers also used the busog (bow and arrow).
17. Teh council of elders consulted by the bagani on
the following matters:
A review of petitions from commoners concerning the
desire to redress a mistake or take revenge against
another outside the domain by means of pangayaw
(warfare).
The size and strength of a war party to get captives
and /or valuables or to acquire additional choice
areas of forest.
18. The hearing arbitration, and settlement all the intra-
domain disputes caused by the theif, adultery,
violence, rape, murder, etc.
The selection of a bagani successor among the
sons of the bagani's first wife if the presetn warrior
chief was unable to rule or had passed away.
The transmission of the demands, needs, and
grievances of commoners in a domain to their ruling
bagani.
19.
20. The Mandayas have since fully adopted the
political system and governace established
bt the Americans. e.g. democracy.
21. Economy
was basically agriculture.
Gathering was commonly practiced, along with
hunting, using various kinds of traps, blowguns,
spears, and bows and arrows.
A-uyon or cooperative labor made it possible to
establish large farms. Farmers usuaaly helped one
another in planting and harvesting crops.
22. crop rotation was practiced.
rites and rituals were considered esssential to the
cultivation process.
farms were opened after panawagtawag (offering)
ritual, while planting was never done w/o a
ta'ugbini or a rite for abundant harvest.
rice, which was the staple food, was palnted
annually.
23. A p'yagtataan or thanksgiving feast, during which
b'ya-is (wine from sugar cane) was drunk and honey
and other foods were consumed, was also
celebrated.
white corn and other crops were palnted after the
harvest
excess crops were bartered with neighbors and
trades who come by boat for other goods.
in 1910, Mandayas started growing abaca as a cash
crop.
24. it made available more imported goods like food,
wine and mascada (tobacco), and eased
transactions.
in 1550s, abaca suffered from diseases locally
known as "mosaic" and "alkohires" that almost
wiped out plantations.
coconut - gained prominence as the new
commercial crop after the war beacuse of its
various uses.
25. fishing
there is no Mandaya who is not engage in fishing.
is done by individuals or in groups, for each kind of fish, a
corresponding method of catching exists.
e.g. the hakad ng dapog, or the breaking oif a pile os
stones in the river in an upstream direction was
undertaken where a tangi was placed to catch fish.
hubas - was a fun-filled method of fishing. It entailed
emptying the pond of water, while children and adults
played and caught fish.
26. poisoning or stunning, fishes was also
practiced using aliskub, lagtang, tuble
or digaw.
deep-sea fishing using rigged bancas or
canoes (lipang) was done to supplement
freshwater fishing.
27. Marriage and Family
betrothal was practiced.
the selection of a spouse was based on kinship
considerations, domain affiliation, and personal
characteristics.
the process of courtship was exhausting.
it is done with the help of the man's parents.
28. pakisayod - was made through the use of a bayok, a
figurative or poetic chanting involving the
representatives of the families of the boy and girl, with
mama (a combination of betel nut, lime and buyo leaf)
as affering.
the date of the formal presentation was set during which
the pamuka (dowry) was negotiated and accepted.
merry-making was always accompanied each activity,
enlivened by the chanting of the dawot, the bayok, and
story-telling.
29. pagtawas - whereby the bot rendered service to the
girl and her family followed.
a reunion of the families or kasamongan was held,
and the dowries delivered to the parents and relatives
of the bride.
marriage ritual - the groom appeared in his best
pantot and embroided dagum (linangaw of crocodile
teeth).
bride - was bedecked with native jewelry from the
head down the ankle.
30. Tungkaling – belt of smallbells completed her
costume.
Wedding rite – was held at noon or sundown
officiated by a likid or nay respected man in the
settlement. No special place was selected for the
wedding. The celebration could last amywhere from
three days to a week.
The couple first stayed with the bride’s family where
they shared a bed only after three days.
31. Since the couples were still young, they stayed with the
bride’s family or in the groom’s house until they were old
enough to live independently.
The wedding involving a second wife or later wives did not
equal the firsts in the lavishness of preparations.
Only the bride price was tendered to the parents of the girl.
32. Only the man could take on as many wives as he could
afford.
A wife who had two husbands would be meted a severe
penalty, sometimes death for both offending parties.
All wives were expected to submissive to their
husbands.
33. The nobility of the girl
Was measured by her ability to weave
abaca cloth (dagmay), as the tedious
and complicated process of doing so
required outmost patience.
34. Two types of families:
Nuclear family – composed of the married couple and
their unmarried children.
Polygamous family – consisting of husband and two or
more wives and their children.
All polygamous families lived in harmony.
Polygamy virtually became a thing of the past when the
Spanish colonizers introduced the solemn exchange of
vows.
35. The process remained traditional but was followed by
formal wedding rites in the church.
Polygamy became taboo as the Mandayas adopted
the monogamous family system and as polygamy
was outlawed by government.
36. Religion
Aram Yengoyen wrote that the Mandaya religious
structure depicted an elaborate hierarchyof spirits and a
group af female shamans (balyan), whose generally
function was the interpretation of the supernatural and
how it related to man and nature
For the Mandayas, the Magbabaya ruled as a supreme
being. The Tagamaling owned the forests and nature,
while different kinds of spirits like the busaw and other
forms of magguya (spirit dwellers) had their respective
turfs.
37. This indigenous belief was described as animism.
Rites and rituals served several purposes such as
thanksgiving, marriage, farming, and healing, among
others.
Balyan – who could only be a woman, performed the
rituals. A male could only become a silag (healer).
38. Spaniards – with their might and power, effected
greatest change among the Mandays. They
introduced Christianity.
Baptism of converts – making it increasingly derisive
or debasing.
Every baptized Mandaya child had to take on a so-
called “Christian name”.
39. Native Mandayas names which were without family
names were considered pagan and therefore taboo.
After baptism – the child was called Criastiano and no
longer Mandaya.
Each church or chapel was assigned a patron saint
and a fiesta date.
40. The unbaptized, branded as infieles, were not allowed
to enter schools or transact business with
government. They were relegated to a lower status as
uneducated, uncivilized or simply ignorant. Thus,
education was instrumental to massive
Christianization.
The stigma of discrimination remains today.
42. Education
Oral tradition and indigenous arts started the informal
education of the Mandayas.
Practices, values, and weaving skills were taught to
both the young and the adults.
Respect for women especially by men was primary
and compulsory.
43. The convento was served as the first school.
The religious catechism was indispensable.
The creation of two groups: the Cristianos and
the Infieles.
The ability to speak English became a
“measure” of intelligence and superiority.
44. • Using banana leaves as paper or rice grains
to form letters, the Mandaya children attended
the nearest elementary schools, some
walking as far as six kilometers each time.
• As a result of religion and the educational
system of the representative Spaniards that
gave rise to a distinct ive Criastiano-infieles
imagery, the word “Mandaya” became a
linguistic symbol of disparagement implying
ignorance, illiteracy, and paganism.
45. • The commercialization of the present
instructional materials of the educational
system, such as reference books, magazines,
charts, visual aids, fliers, and so on, has
reached the Mandaya classrooms.
• The success of the Mandaya in the
educational field can be gauged via the
following statistics: an estimated two to three
percent of total elementary graduates finished
college from the 10 percent college enrollees.
46. • The pursuit of education among the
Mandayas almost totally depended on
the price and market for copra.
47. Health & Medicine
• Relied on silag (male healer).
• Balyan – regarded as priestess, summoned the spirits
to cure the sick whose ailments were not common.
• The discovery of new herbal medicines came in
various ways such as the observation of animals
through dreams or visions and by accident.
• Modern medicine as practiced by a Mandaya started
with the arrival of the Americans who introduced
vaccines, intravenous injections, pills, and ointments.
48. • The first vaccinations were conducted in
schools. As children experienced fever after
their innoculation, many parents complained
and hid their children.
• Treatments did not require parental consent.
49. Beliefs, Practices and Values
1. A sound of the limokan bird is a bad omen for
someone who is about to leave the house.
2. Children must be inside the house immediately after
the sunset because the budbud denizens are
already roaming around. Bumping into them will
make one ill.
3. When a deer passes under one’s houses, its owner
will die.
4. Killing a fat deer portends death to the hunter.
5. A house must be abandoned after one of the household
member dies in it.
50. 6. Outmost respect must be afforded to women. In the
early days, an offense against a woman was
punishable by death. The same respect should be
extended to the elders.
7. Decisions handed by the Matadong or Likid are
inviolable.
8. Respect for the household is obligatory. One’s
presence is made known, not by knocking,but by
whistling or uttering an “ehem” outside the house.
This respect is carried through to another’s property.
51. 9. Coveting another’s wife or husband is a capital
offense punishable by death or banishment from the
community. Any attempt of the banished offenders to
return will be met with a stern and fatal punishment.
10. A Palakub (clapping) of the caskets’ cover is done
before the remains of the dead are placed inside. The
loud thundering sound produced by the palakub
drives away the evil spirits might attempt to snatch
the body.
