The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao - The R. F. Cummings Philippine Expedition by Fay-Cooper Cole
page 112 of 211 (53%)
page 112 of 211 (53%)
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The material here presented was gathered from the people of Labau, the Malalag cogon, and those living near the headwaters of the Ma-al and Padada rivers. Formerly a neutral, uninhabited belt extended between them and the coast people, and at stated intervals they went to recognized trading points in this territory to exchange their agricultural and forest products for salt, fish, and other articles of barter. Beyond this trading and an occasional fight, they had few dealings with the coast people and seem never to have encountered the Spaniard. They are almost unknown to history, for aside from two or three short accounts,[55] based mostly on hearsay, we find no mention of them. The coast natives who knew them by name only had many stories concerning their life and prowess, and one still hears that "the Bila-an are of small stature but agile like monkeys. One may wander for days through their territory without encountering a person and then when in a bad place suddenly see the little people in hundreds swarming down the sides of impassable cliffs. They are always in such numbers that, while they use only the bow and arrow, they are almost sure to exterminate the intruders." As a matter of fact, the Bila-an compare in stature with the coast natives and differ little from them in color, although a few individuals of decidedly lighter cast are met with. [55] BLAIR and ROBERTSON The Philippine Islands, Vol. XLIII, pp. 239, 282-283. Census of the Philippine Islands, 1905. Observations were made on thirty-eight men, but no women could be induced to submit to being measured. The maximum height of the men was |
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