Kitab Article III Section 1 The Dulangan Manobo

Article III. The Dulangan Manobo and their Cultural Practices

Section 1. The Dulangan Manobo

The Dulangan Manobo were known in the old days for eight siblings. Whenever they had enemies, they could not sleep. They had to attack the enemies’ territory. They were also known for the clothes and ornaments that they wore, such as tunggal, tising, plegkasin, kelo, sugot, basak, tikis, kegal, and eful. They had earrings. They had tattoos on their bodies, both male and female, as a sign of bravery (Tegefengayaw Agdaw). Their teeth were dark due to betel chewing, a custom that they inherited from their ancestors.

The Dulangan Manobo came from their ancestors Tomigel and her son Lumabet, who lived in Kulaman a long time ago. Her home was Ele-Uboh according to the tales of the elders. The tribe believes she is in heaven now.

Members of the tribe
(1) Etaw Dagel–Dulangan Manobo living in the headwaters of the river, with mellifluous speech, such as the ones in Kulaman and nearby areas
(2) Etaw Dibaba–Dulangan Manobo living downriver, angry-like in speech, such as the ones in Tubak, Dono, and Legodon, who speak the same way
(3) Etaw Dagat–Dulangan Manobo living near the sea, soft spoken, with sweetness on the final syllable of the word

(This post is a part of a series on Kitab, the customary law of the Dulangan Manobos. See my introductory post for the list of posts containing all the sections of the law. You may also see the original Filipino version on Scribd.)