148 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. XII. 



The language of this tribe, while quite uniform among its divisions, 

 varies considerably from that of any of their coast neighbors. There 

 is at once noticeable a more common use of obscure vowel and con- 

 sonant sounds, such as b, f, E, a, and k, in the beginning, end or even 

 in the body of the word; while the letter f, seldom found in Philippine 

 dialects, is here very common ; and finally, there is wide variation in 

 vocabulary. 



There are certain ill-defined tales to the effect that this tribe once 

 lived about Lake Buluan, and one writer 1 has attempted to show that 

 the tribal name is derived from that earlv home. Todav thev are still 





FIG. 42. 

 DESIGNS EMBROIDERED ON MEN'S CLOTHING. 



in considerable numbers in that region, and this together with the fact 

 that they are now, and have been since the advent of the white man, 

 primarily an interior mountain people, helps to give credence to the 

 belief that they have spread to their present homes from the lake 

 district. Their language is a further proof that they have long been 

 separated from the people of the Davao Gulf region, for it differs more 

 from all the other dialects studied than did any of these vary among 

 themselves. Despite the foregoing statement, this brief sketch has 

 shown that in material culture, religion, and even physical type this 

 tribe does not differ radically from the Bagobo. 

 1 Blumentritt, Smithsonian Report for 1899. 



