V. ATA.

The people classed under this name are the least known of any of the
wild inhabitants of Mindanao. They probably receive their name from the
word _atas_ which signifies "those up above" or "the dwellers in the
uplands." It does not appear that they form a single tribe, or that they
are even of uniform type.

The writer did no intensive work with them, and the following notes make
no pretense of being first-hand knowledge. I have drawn on all possible
sources for this scanty information, but am mostly indebted to the
letters and reports of the late Governor Bolton, who, without doubt,
knew more of this people than any other white man.

I am thus compelled to make my descriptions vague; indeed, my one excuse
for dealing with the Ata is to bring together such information as we
possess in the hope that it may be of value to some other worker who may
later take up the task of studying this little known people.

According to Governor Bolton, the Ata inhabit the regions west and
northwest of Mt. Apo, the headwaters of the Davao river--north and west
of the Guianga--as well as the headwaters of the Lasan, Tuganay, and
Libagawan rivers. In all these regions they extend over the watershed,
converging toward the center of the island at the headwaters of the
Pulangi river.

It should be noted at the outset that the Eto or Ata, living between the