THE MANGYANS OF MINDORO. 137 



the people. A brief, detailed statement, describing the location 

 of several of the settlements, will throw some light on the life 

 of the Mangyans. 



Dangas,- about five hours' walk from Bulalakao, is reached 

 by traveling over a hilly country gradually rising until the last 

 half-hour of the journey, when the trail becomes so steep in 

 places as to be almost a cliff. A gently sloping ground, where 

 there are 5 houses, is found above this cliff. About 20 people 

 live hei'e. One hour beyond Dangas is another small settlement 

 of 5 houses and about 30 people. The trail from Dangas leads 

 up the ridge of a long, steep hill, across a narrow valley, and 

 part way up the opposite slope. The houses are on a small, 

 flat spot on the hillside. Budburan, a settlement of 3 houses, 

 is located in a rolling country about 3 kilometers from the ocean 

 and five hours' travel on foot from Bulalakao. Here there is 

 a large area, alternating between grass-covered and wooded 

 country, where thousands of people might live. 



In the interior of Mindoro I saw no groups of houses nor 

 even two houses in sight of each other. The majority of the 

 few houses which I saw were located at points on steep hillsides 

 where the slope was a little more gentle and offered space for 

 a small house. The cultivated fields were close by. I saw a 

 few little hovels, built near small streams, just high enough 

 above the stream to be safe in time of high water. These hovels 

 appeared to be temporary, the more permanent homes being on 

 the hillsides far above the streams. 



Near Abra de Hog many of the Mangyans live in isolated 

 houses built high on steep hillsides like those in the interior of 

 the island. Here, too, as well as along the Bako River and on 

 the shores of Lake Nauhan, there are small groups of houses 

 hidden away in the forest near the clearings and usually near 

 a small stream. 



HOUSES. 



The houses in which the Mangyans near Bulalakao live are 

 like those built by their Christian neighbors. When they are 

 new they are neat and attractive, but they are allowed to deterio- 

 rate, although people continue to live in them as long as they 

 are at all habitable. They are built from 1 to 2 meters above 

 the ground. The roof and the sides are usually of nipa or buri 



^ Lisboa Vocabulario de la lengua Bicol, gives: Angas=zAngpds, steep 

 cliff; Parangasan, open place which the (prevailing?) wind strikes from 

 the front. 



