September, 1913- Wild Tribes of Davao District — Coee. 167 



by chewing the roots of the anmon vine and applying to the teeth the 

 "sweat" caught on a steel blade, held above burning bark of the magawan 

 tree. This practice seems to have no significance other than that of 

 beautifying the person and saving the youth from the ridicule of his 

 fellows. To keep the teeth black, tobacco treated with lemon juice 

 which has stood on rusty iron is chewed frequently. 



Despite constant statements to the effect that the members of this 

 tribe are light-colored and the assertion of one writer 1 that at least one 

 division is white, observations made with the V. Iyuschan color table 

 on more than fifty individuals showed that while certain persons are 

 somewhat lighter than their fellows, as was also the case in other tribes, 

 there is not an appreciable difference in color between this tribe and the 

 others of the Gulf region. 



CLOTHING. 



The ordinary man of the tribe wears a loosely fitting shirt and wide 

 trousers made of white or blue cotton cloth. (Plate LXIX-LXX). 

 These garments are frequently decorated with embroidered designs 

 and are finished at the shoulders and knees with a cotton fringe. The 

 trousers are supported at the waist by means of a belt, and below reach 

 nearly to the ankles. 2 An incised silver disk is attached to the front 

 of the jacket, while ornaments of beads, seeds, and alligators' teeth 

 encircle the neck. 



When on the trail the man covers his head with a little palm bark 

 hat (Fig. 47). This is sometimes conical, but more frequently is 

 narrow and turned up at the front and back. Painted designs, betel 

 wings, and chicken feathers make the hat a striking decoration which 

 compensates for its lack of utility. 



A class of warriors known as bagam 3 dress in red and wear turbans 

 of the same hue, while women mediums, bally an* may also make use 

 of red cloth. 



Other women wear blue cotton jackets, in the fronts and back of 

 which are many artistic embroidered designs. Their hemp cloth 

 skirts, like those of the Bagobo, are made tube-like and are held at the 

 waist by means of belts. They are very careless about the hang of 



1 Landor, The Gems of the East. It should be noted that the district from 

 which the white tribe was reported is now fairly well known and there seems to be no 

 reason to believe that the people residing there differ materially in color from the 

 other natives of the island. 



2 Along the coast this type of garment is now seldom seen, for the men are 

 adopting the close-fitting dress of the Moro. 



3 See p. 180. 



4 See p. 174. 



