Cotabato Manobo

ETHNONYMS: Dulangan, Tudag

Numbering 10,000 to 15,000 in 1981, the Cotabato Manobo inhabit the central portion of the southwest highlands of Cotabato on Mindanao Island in the Philippines. Through contact with the neighboring Magindanao and Christian Filipinos who have settled in the region, much of the traditional culture has disappeared. Cotabato Manobo is classified in the Hesperonesian Group of the Austronesian Language Family. Settlements are generally composed of five to eight households. Houses are usually of bamboo and thatch, rectangular in shape, and raised 3 to 6 feet on piles. Major crops include rice, maize, bananas, sweet potatoes, taro, and vegetables. Agriculture is supplemented by trade, fishing, and hunting. Leadership is achieved, not ascribed at birth. The Cotabato Manobo believe in a high god and hold rituals honoring the rice spirit; many of the people have converted to Christianity.

Bibliography

Maceda, Marcelino N. (1975). "Cotabato Manobo." In Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, edited by Frank M. LeBar. Vol. 2, Philippines and Formosa, 45-46. New Haven: HRAF Press.