Bilaan



ETHNONYMS: Balud, Baraan, Bilanes, Biraan, Blann, Buluan, Buluanes, Tagalagad, Takogan, Tumanao, Vilanes


Together, the Koronadal and Sarangani Bilaan numbered about 175,000 in 1981. They live in south-central Mindanao, in the Philippines. Bilaan is classified in the Hesperonesian Group of Austronesian languages. Houses are dispersed and built adjacent to gardens. Rice, maize, and millet are grown in swidden gardens; sugarcane, bananas, and tubers are grown in kitchen gardens. Domestic animals include chickens, pigs, and dogs. Descent is bilateral.

Bilaanland was divided into several districts or domains, each ruled by a local datu. The datu was both judge and defender of his followers. War captives were taken as slaves and for human sacrifice. Bilaan religion was pantheistic.


Bibliography

LeBar, Frank M. (1975). "Bilaan." In Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, edited by Frank M. LeBar. Vol. 2, Philippines and Formosa, 61-62. New Haven: HRAF Press.

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