History of the Higaonon Tribe

The Higaonon 'Lumad' of Mindanao  |  Colonization of Mindanao  |  Tribal Oral History  Types of Higaonon  | The Customary Laws
Mindanao is one of the three main island groups (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) and is situated in the southern part of the Philippines. With a size of 94,630 km², it is second in size to Luzon and takes up 20% of the total Philippine population. Most of the mountainous islands used to be covered in tropical rainforests and are volcanic in origin. The country is also situated along the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific and is struck by about 19 typhoons per year. The lowest point is the Valley of Mindanao, in south-western Mindanao, and the highest point in the whole of the Philippines is Mount Apo, in the southern Mindanao ranges, with a height of 2,954 metres. In the middle of the 14th centuary, Islam spread from Malaya and Borneo to the Sulu Archipelago, and from there to Mindanao. The arrival of the Spanish in the late 16th cent. united the various Muslim groups in a holy war against the conquerors that lasted some 300 years.
It was eventually sold for a relitively small sum by the Spanish to the U.S. in 1898, following the Spanish-American War. The Moros likewise resisted American domination; fighting between U.S. garrisons and Muslim groups occurred early in the 20th century. In 1946, at the end of World War II, it attained total independence.

THE HIGAONON 'LUMAD' OF MINDANAO

Lumad means 'grown to a place'. This term generally refers to the 18 Non-Moro Indigenous Communities in Mindanao which, by force of colonization , were driven to the deepest hinterlands.

The Higaonon Indigenous Nation is among these, with an estimated minimum population today of 200-300,000 and who now reside largely in Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte and Camiguin.

On the whole, the Lumad of Mindanao, before being conquered, preserved their own lives. They clung to their communal views of the land, to their co-operative work exchanges, communal ritual, dances, songs and folklores.

They revered their own God. Their animistic worship, however, could not have persisted had it not been for the peaceful and non-imposing stance of Islam. A classic manifestation of this is the Non Islamization of the Tiruray and the Manobo, who were part of the common borders and in constant trade with the more socially cohesive Muslim Maguindanao.

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COLONIZATION OF MINDANAO

Several hundred years ago, the Spaniards, preoccupied with their desperate, but unsuccessful attempt on subduing the fierce and resolute Moro resistance, did little alter the developing non-Moro communities. Except for the dislocation of the Lumads in the north and north-eastern seaboards (Agusan del Norte, Surigao, Misamis Oriental, and Davao Oriental of Mindanao), the majority of Lumads were unaffected by Spanish colonization. The Higaonan were one on these Indigenous Peoples.

The Higaonon Indigenous Nation, which is currently estimated to total about 350,000-500,000 people, includes the Bukidnon and the Banwaon (similarity of lineage and history is proven by the same oral literature called 'Dasang' which can be recited in 8 days and 8 nights by a 'Dumalongdong', meaning sacred assembly).

They are distributed in Las Nieves, Sinakungan, San Luis, Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, Buenavista, Carmen, Butuan City, in the Province of Agusan del Norte, Magsaysay, Gingoog City, Salay, Balingasag, Medina, Claveria, Cagayan de Oro, Opol, Manticao, Naawan, Initao, in Misamis Oriental, Manolo Fortich, Impasug-ong, Baungon, Talakag, Libona, Malitbog, Malaybalay, Cabanglasan, Lantapan, and Valencia in Bukidnon Province, Iligan in Lanao del Norte and Camiguin.

Written accounts suggest that the term HIGAONON is a combination of the root words:
'HIGA' which means 'to live ' or to reside' or 'to lay in bed';
'GAON' which means 'mountain'; and
ONON which means 'people'.
Thus people who live in the Mountains - our Higaonon spiritual leaders and scholars - defined as "People in the Living Mountains".

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TRIBAL ORAL HISTORY

The Higaonon oral tradition discloses the Indigenous Population that traces their common roots from the mother of the post-deluge generation, 'Apo Entampil', Apo of all Apo - also known as Gahumon or Pinaiyak.


Original Roots:

Apo Entampil survived the deluge that was caused by the Creater to cleanse the Earth. Her husband, Panugatan, was drowned in the deluge. Apo settled in Kapayagan (now Mt. Kimangkil), situated in the hinterlands of Claveria, Misamis Oriental, bordering Manolo Fortich , Bukidnon.

Then pregnant, she vowed to make a husband out of her child if it was going to be a male, as recited in Dasang ...

"Ngani Kang Ko Bahi Sa Lumbay Ko, Panglipaklipak, Ko, Pulo, Ko Kakayo-A ngani Kang Ko Maama Sa Lumbay Ko, Pandayaon, Ag-Asawahon Ko".

          which means:

"If it's going to be a female, I'll just throw it to the forest or top of the tree but if it is going to be a male, I will make him my husband".

As she wished, Tagubon (also called Tahubon) grew to be man, becoming his mother's husband.


Direct Descendants:

They bore six children - making another three couples that later settled in different places in Northern Mindanao.

The couple, 'Liyangon-Lungyabon', settled in Agusan Provinces;
The couple, 'Lugong-Tubag Lugong,' settled in Bukidnon Province;
The couple, 'Kalitkit-Kabudakan', settled in Misamis Oriental Province.


The Lineage:
Below is an example of the Giling Lineage Records, as can be recited in Dasang:

Apo Entampil
Apo Kalitkit-Kabudakan
Apo Balayn
Apo Mulos Kilat
Apo Dumpilakan
Apo Dumadasal
Apo Magdantal
Apo Ayawon
**Apo Paboloson
Apo Mansalouyan Saldab
Apo Tuluyan
Apo Libokasan Agaolao
Apo Palaganding Tagkalbog
Apo Endulum
Apo Bangkawalan
Apo Kalingga
Apo Aliga
Apo Manampalo (Mandipensa of the 18th Century)
Apo Mendosa Mandahila (Mandipensa of the 19th Century)
Datu Efren Hospital Mandipensa (Mandipensa on the 20th Century)

Establishment of Customary Laws

Several generations later, the renowned **Apo Paboloson (Datu Paboloson) of Apo Kalitkit-Kabudakan's descent, gathered his people in a sacred assembly called 'Dumalongdong', to unite them in the noble virtues taught by Apo Entampil and her ancestors.

The Customary Laws, "Bungkatol Ha Bulawan Daw Nang Ka Tasa Ha Lana", which simply means "Love & Peace Law", was manifested and instituted in the first Dumalongdong. The social structure was likewise made clear to their understanding, and The Datu System was established with job description.

Datu means Chief or Caretaker of the teachings handed down from generation to generation. The tradition bearer and keeper of the Royal Lineage manifested according to River Clans.

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At present the Higaonon can be classified into three categories:

1. Those on the semi-primitive communal stage - still residing in the forest;
   
   
2. Those who have been assimilated into the ranks of the Non-Higaonon majority-residing in the edge of the forest; and
   
   
3. Those in between Categories 1 & 2 and who are undergoing the choice of being assimilated to either Category 1 and/or 2.

The Higaonon who belong to the Category 1 are those who strictly adhere to the Customary Laws - Bungkatol Ha Bulawan daw Nang Ka Tasa Ha Lana's teachings and discipline (Code of Conduct). They live in the thick forests in the semi-settled communities, subsisting on wild game, fishing, root crops, rice and trading (barter trade), of forest products and handicrafts. The social organization is still that social system instituted during the earliest Dumalongdong, with modification made to suit contemporary times. In spite of the fact of the semi-feudal system prevailing in the bigger Philippine Society, its influence cannot affect the distinct lifestyle which these Indigenous People are striving hard to develop and preserve.

Those Higaonon who fall into the Category 2 are slowly moving toward assimilation. Although-they still live by Bungkatol ha Bulawan teachings, the laws, tradition, culture and social system of the Majority Filipinos have exerted strong influence on their lives.

Category 3 are those who have assimilated into the Filipino majority. Some have become-professionals and hold positions in the government. But these people still identify themselves as Higaonon and in solidarity with their people in their struggle for self -determination.

Like all other Indigenous Peoples considered an ethnic minority, the Higaonon are victims of land-grabbing of their ancestral lands, Christian chauvinism, Government neglect, militarization, and other forms of exploitation and oppression.

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THE CUSTOMARY LAWS

Bungkatol Ha Bulawan Daw Nang Ka Tasa Ha Lana literally means 'Treasured Unity'and 'Code of Conduct'. This is the sacred bond that unites the entire Higaonon People who share the common root, language, history and culture and a code to guide the conduct of man for a good and just society. Sacred Teachings were taught in the form of 'Sacred Order', enumerated as follows:

Under the Bungkatol Ha Bulawan teachings, land is a loving gift of Magbabaya (Supreme Creator) for all Men. Because land produces life's nourishments, land is life in itself. It cannot be sold and or taken away by anyone. It has been kept under the stewardship of the great, great-great Ancestors whose spirits continue to keep watch so the land could be used for generation to generation. The Bungkatol Ha Bulawan also teaches brotherhood, equality and respect to the Higaonon Social System.

Since these are Customary Laws in a society where there is absence of contradicting interests of social classes, economic, political, cultural and military spheres of life are taken separately but rather come integrated in a traditional framework. So, Higaonon society is run not as a social organization per se but rather as a 'Big Family'.

The Datu leads not as ruler but as an administrator, with community as children assuming individual tasks based on one's capacity, experience and also maternal and paternal sanguinary lineage approved by the community. It is traditionally plain division of labor in a village. And for the entire Higaonon population, they do the allocation of tasks and responsibilities in a Dumalongdong - every task is defined and everyone is installed into a task in front of the assembly if she or he would be willing to accept and continue with the obligations and responsibilities inherent. It is also in Dumalongdong where garbs, tubao, (headdress), bronze bracelets and china pieces are given out as symbols of responsibility and capacity to serve the people.

Every common undertaking comes through ethnic ritual - dispensing of justice, launching military actions, hunting, building a hut, and cleaning a field. All gets done after a prayer ritual offered to deities over a sacrifice of blood - usually pig or chicken. It is always a man physically doing the work with the help of the blessings of the Ancestor's spirits.

Men committing misdeeds transgress the Bungkatol Ha Bulawan and the Community are always helped to rectify themselves by making an offering sacrifice to the deities in the presence of the community, sharing his sincerity to correct his mistakes for the entire community to witness.