Dedaanum "who were small and black and had curly hair," but who had all
been killed by the Tugauanum. He was also informed that a numerous tribe
of very small black people called Tugniah lived on the headwaters of the
river Omiern, which flows north of the Libagawan. They were said to live
in trees, to plant nothing, and to subsist on sago flour. "Their bolos
are like sabers and they use lances, bows, and arrows."

The Governor classes the Tugauanum as Ata "since they speak the same
language" but he adds "they are probably the same race as the
Libabaoan." This latter people are elsewhere in his notes referred to as
Guibabauon or Dibabaoan. They live along the headwaters of the Tagum
river and are, he believes, a mixture of Ata and Mandaya.[96]

[96] The writer believes that the Libabaoan are probably the same as the
Divavaoan who are classed as a branch of the Mandaya. See p. 165.

From one source we learn that the Ata are small, in many respects
resembling the Negrito; that they are timid and are either nomads or
build their houses high in the branches of trees. Another writer tells
us that they are a superior type, with aquiline noses, thick beards, and
are tall. "They are very brave and hold their own with the Moro." We are
also told that they cultivate the soil and build good houses.

The estimates concerning their numbers are equally conflicting. Governor
Bolton gives the population as six thousand; the report of the
Philippine Commission for 1900 credits them with eight thousand, while
Father Gisbert believed that they aggregated "not less than twenty
thousand souls."

The divergent reports are due to the fact that up to the year 1886 only