(Blogger’s note: The following is an excerpt from Defending the Land: Lumad and Moro People’s Struggle for Ancestral Domain in Mindanao, specifically pp. 111–12. The publishers welcome and even encourage the reproduction of the book in part or in its entirety, so I am posting this excerpt here without prior permission. Not a single word has been changed, and the style of the text as they appear on the book has been preserved. For citation details about the book, see Webliography.)
Marital arrangements among the Kulaman Manobos are similar to those of other Lumad and Moro tribes, but they mostly differ in wedding rite practices.
The Kulaman Dulangan Manobo parents arrange the future marital alliances of the offspring—be they adolescents or as young as five years old. They may pair a little girl with an older male, married or unmarried. This explains why Manobas hardly reach fourth year high school, if they ever go to school. Many times, girls simply drop school in the middle of their second year to marry their betrothed.
A balyan or a datu traditionally officiates the wedding. Today, however, with the balyan getting less recognized and functional, marriages are commonly officiated by the datu. The datu also acts as an antang-antang for the setting of the dowry consisting of a few heads of horses, carabaos, agongs, kampilan, spears, and a mosquito net. The number of items depends on the capacity of the groom’s party to pay.
The datu or some relatives of the groom may offer to give items that the groom’s family can not afford. The groom becomes indebted to both the datu and the relatives and promises to pay in the future. Otherwise, he volunteers to perform tasks in the household of his patrons until he pays the debt.
In a wedding ceremony, a mast is spread in the center of the room. The bride and groom sit on pillows set facing each other. In the corner of the mat they put food in two plates. The groom gets a small quantity of food from the plate and offers it to the bride, then the bride does her turn. Finally, the balyan or the datu lightly holds their heads and lets their foreheads touch a number of times, signifying oneness. The ceremony ends with the balyan’s blessings for the couple.
The bride’s family, with help from the groom’s party, prepares the food for the reception. The menu generally consists of chicken and pork. When wild pigs were abundant, this was a special offering. The servers offer food to the datu or the balyan first, then to the newly wedded couple, and finally to the guests.
The Lebak Dulangan Manobo parents also arrange the marriages of their children. Even at an early age, engagement follows an agreement between parents. A common practice of arranging marriages involves the offering of Sunggod (bride price or dowry) which both parents settle before the engagement of the couple.
Parents usually negotiate for seven items as bride price, and the groom must agree to give them the items. These usually consist of musical instruments such as an agong, working animals such as a horse, weapons such as kris, patakya, bangkong, tabas, panan, and other treasures.
An engaged girl must not allow courtship from another man as the parents prepare for the eventual wedding of the engaged couple. If an engaged individual dies, the family provides for a substitute. Substitute marriage is still prevalent among the Lebak Dulangan Manobo.
As a tradition, the Lukes (elders) or a known Datu solemnizes the marriage. A simple ceremony includes feeding one another from a single plate and drinking from a single cup while kneeling on a mat. After some incantations, the ritual ends. Often, the couple holds the wedding rite at the bride’s place. After the wedding, the newlywed transfers to the house of the groom where they will eventually settle with the groom’s relatives.
Kinship institution in Dulangan Manobo society is extremely close and nuclear. A basic family consists of the mother, father and children, with elders often living with them. Extended families evolve as a married couple starts to establish their own family and live independently from other parents.
Inter-marriage among clans is also the basis of an extended family set-up. It also became the vital factor in strengthening and consolidating the integrity of the clan and community. In most cases, they settle conflicts between clans by marrying their respective children.
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