district, and there seems to be no remembrance of a time when any of the
Bagobo rulers held authority over the Guianga. Physically and culturally
they do not seem to be far removed from the Bagobo, while their language
is so closely related that individuals of the two divisions, meeting for
the first time can carry on a conversation. There is, however,
considerable variation between the dialects, both in intonation and
vocabulary.

Further study may result in raising this branch to the dignity of a
tribe, but the information at hand does not justify us in considering
them other than a dialect group of the Bagobo.



II. BILA-AN.

SYNONYMS.

(a) TAGALAGAD--"dwellers in the back country" is the name generally
applied to this tribe by the coast natives.

(b) TAGKOGON--"dwellers in the cogon"--The group living on the grass
plains west of Malalag.

(c) BULUAN, BULUANES--The members of this tribe dwelling near to Lake
Buluan. This group is sometimes identified with the Tagabili or Tagabulu
who also reside in that region.

(d) BIRA-AN, BARA-AN--Synonym for BILA-AN, often used by the neighboring
Bagobo.