September, 19 13. Wild Tribes of Davao District — Coee. 159 



At some unrecorded date a considerable portion of the tribe migrated 

 to the east side of Davao Gulf, and settled near Cape San Agustin, 

 where, it is said, they now number more than two thousand. 



The name Tagakaolo signifies "those who dwell at the head of the 

 river," and is applied to all the hill people living between the coast and 

 the country of the Bila-an. They have always been broken up into 

 small groups, often at war with one another, yet they appear to be 

 quite uniform in type, language, and religious beliefs. In recent years 

 many of them have been induced to come down to the coast plantations, 

 but the great majority still remain in the mountains. They are of a 

 turbulent, warlike disposition, and have been a constant source of 

 trouble to the Spanish and American authorities. 1 At the time of the 

 writer's visit they had joined with the Kulaman in raiding the coast 

 settlements, and, as a result, were being vigorously pursued by the 

 American troops; for this reason it was only possible to gain information 

 from those remaining on the plantations. 



The total number of persons making up the tribe is estimated at six 

 thousand, but this is at best a mere guess. 



There is scarcely any variation in physical type between the Kagan 

 branch and the Tagakaolo proper, while for the whole tribe there is less 

 variation between its members than in any group so far discussed. 



The following results were obtained by measurements on twenty- 

 seven men: 



Maximum height 166.6 cm.; minimum 15 1.3 cm.; average 157.4 cm. 



Cephalic indices — Maximum 89.7; minimum 76.3; average 81.5. 



Length-height indices — Maximum 79.0; minimum 63.1 , average 70.0. 



These tables show that aside from being more short-headed, this 

 tribe differs little from the Bagobo, Bila-an, and Kulaman. Like the 

 Kulaman, they have high foreheads, often full and vaulted but quite 

 as frequently retreating from well-marked supra-orbital ridges. They 

 are slightly more prognathous than the Kulaman, and in the majority 

 of cases the hair is curled in locks. The teeth are usually mutilated 

 and blackened, while shaving of the eyebrows and tattooing of the left 

 forearm and breast are quite common. 



The historians of. the tribe tell us that all the Tagakaolo are de- 

 scended from Lakbang, MLEngEdan, and his wife Bodek. In the 

 beginning these three persons lived on a small island in the sea. Two 

 children, Linkanan and Lampagan, were born to them and they in 

 turn were parents of two birds — the kalau and sabltan. These birds 

 flew away to other places and returned with bits of soil which their 



1 Members of this tribe were responsible for the murder of Governor Bolton. 



