14 THE MAN6B0S OF MINDANAO— GARVAN [m '"°!vo?x$iiE 



The most striking characteristic of the Mandaya is his fair color. It is not my intention to 

 give the impression that he is one of a "lost white tribe" or that he is entitled to be called white 

 in the sense in which we use the term when speaking of Europeans. But for a native of the 

 Philippine Islands he certainly may be denominated white, though his skin is not tawny white 

 like that of the Japanese or Chinese but has a peculiar ashy tint. I have seen a few individuals 

 that were very nearly as white as the average American, but who otherwise were not of a pro- 

 nounced Caucasian type. 



It is very difficult to explain the prevailing fairness of this tribe except by presupposing an 

 admixture of some other blood. The Manobo lives in as dark forests and on as lofty mountains 

 as those occupied by Mandayas. His manner of life is practically the same, and yet the average 

 tint of his skin is far darker, so much so that the Mandaya, in speaking not only of him but of 

 Mangguaflgan and even of Bisaya, spurns them all as being "black." 



THE DEBABAONS 



As to the Debabaons, I have not come in touch with a sufficient number of them to enable me 

 to make any general statements. The groups that I met in Moncayo, on the Salug where the 

 Baglasan River empties into it, and in the country extending some 10 kilometers to the west of 

 it, closely resemble the Mandayas in physical characters, and yet in language, general culture, 

 and religious belief, and by genealogy, they belong to the Manobo tribe. It is probable that they 

 are the result of intermarriage of Manobo men of Ba6bo and Ihawan origin with Mandaya 

 women of the lower Salug and Tagum Rivers. 



THE MAMANUAS 



The Mamanuas need little comment. They are full-blooded Negritos in every respect, 

 physical and cultural, like the Negritos of Mariveles, as Montano very explicitly states. The 

 Man6bos of the upper Tago River constantly intermarry with Mamanua women, as I had occa- 

 sion to observe on several visits which I made to that region. It is probable that the same thing 

 takes place on the Hubo, Marihatag, Lanusa, and Kantilan Rivers. In the vicinity of Lake 

 Mainit, a great many Mamanuas are reported to be half-breeds. 



THE BANUAONS 



I visited only one settlement of Banuaons, near the mouth of the Maasam River. I met 

 members of the tribe here and there along the Agusan between San Luis and Las Nieves, but my 

 observations of them were casual and superficial so that I am not prepared to make any state- 

 ments as to their physical characteristics. All reports, both of Man6bos and Bisayas and the 

 testimony of the Jesuit missionaries, state that they are a superior people. It is probable that 

 this group of people, known as Banuaon in the Agusan Valley, is a branch of the Bukidnons of 

 whom the celebrated missionary Urios and others make such commendatory mention, 7 the former 

 in one place going so far as to make the statement that the Bukidnons are fit to be kings of the 

 Man6bos. 



PHYSICAL APPEARANCE AS MODIFIED BY DRESS AND ORNAMENTATION 



The upper garment of both sexes among the Man6bos is a closed square-cut garment with 

 sleeves and with a sufficient opening on top to admit the head. It fits the body either closely or 

 fairly loosely. It is made of abakd fiber when imported cloth is not available. It is always 

 adorned with embroidery of imported red, white, blue, and yellow cotton, on the cuffs, on the 

 seams of the shoulders and the side, and on the neck and lower edges. The garment of the man 

 differs from that of the woman in being all of one color, except that across the back, over the 

 shoulders, and as far down as the breasts, are horizontal, parallel, equidistant lines of inwoven 

 blue cotton yarn. 



' Cartas de los PP. de la Compafila de Jes&s, passim. 



