158 



THE NATIONAL CxEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



All of the native inhabitants of the 

 Philippines are assignable either to the 

 black race (the Negrito peoples) or to 

 the brown race (the peoples of Malayan 

 origin). So far as concerns the latter, 

 it should be added that the original Ma- 

 lay blood has in many instances been 

 materially modified by intermarriage 

 with Negritos, Mongolians, or Cauca- 

 sians, although a considerable number of 

 the mountain tribes have intermarried 

 little with Negritos, less with Mongo- 

 lians, and with Caucasians hardly at all. 

 Indeed, among the Bontoc Igorots in the 

 earlier days, when motherhood was some- 

 times forced upon the women by white 

 invaders, it was the custom promptly to 

 kill the resulting mestizo children. 



I have already described the Negritos, 

 Ilongots, Kalingas, Ifugaos, Bontoc Igo- 

 rots, and wild Tingians in the Septem- 

 ber, 1912, number of the Nationai. Geo- 

 graphic Magazine, devoting special at- 

 tention to their head-hunting customs ; 

 but as the convenience of having even 

 brief descriptions of all Philippine non- 

 Christian tribes included in one article 

 seems obvious, I venture here to record 

 some additional facts concerning these 

 peoples, and to restate some few of the 

 facts already set forth. 



Incidentally, I give a few references 

 to important publications, from which 

 those who care to pursue the subject fur- 

 ther can obtain many additional details. 



THE at AS (see picture, PAGE 1 1 67) 



This designation is derived from a 

 word meaning "high" or "on top of" 

 and is applied to the members of a nu- 

 merically rather unimportant group of 

 people inhabiting high mountains in the 

 interior of Mindanao back of the town 

 of Davao. 



We are still indebted to Jesuit mis- 

 sionary priests for practically all the re- 

 liable information which we have con- 

 cerning these people, and it is meager in- 

 deed. The Jesuits say of them, "The 

 Atas Inhabit the regions about Mount 

 Apo and to the northwest. They are of 

 a superior type, and this is especially 

 true of their chiefs, who have aquiline 

 noses, thick beards, and are tall. They 



are very brave and hold their own with 

 the Moros. Their probable number is 

 8,000." 



While I am inclined to doubt the pro- 

 priety of ranking these people as a dis- 

 tinct tribe, as this has heretofore been 

 done, and as I myself have seen them 

 but once, I here provisionally adopt the 

 decision of others who have had better 

 opportunities for investigation (see photo, 

 page I 167). 



THE BAGOBOS (see pictures, PAGES I161 

 TO I 163) 



The people of this interesting tribe, 

 who are said to number some 12,000, are 

 confined to the district of Davao, in 

 Mindanao, and more especially to that 

 portion of it in the vicinity of Mount 

 Apo. They are strong, robust, and rela- 

 tively tall, reaching a height of 1,750 

 millimeters (roughly, about 5 feet 9 

 inches). Many individuals are quite no- 

 ticeably light-colored. Their hair is not 

 infrequently wavy or slightly curled. 

 The Jesuits say of them that "their pro- 

 file is effeminate, the boys and girls be- 

 ing indistinguishable and the latter hav- 

 ing the vigor of the former." Not only 

 is this true, but I have noted that visitors 

 in looking over my collection of photo- 

 graphs very commonly mistake Bagobo 

 men for women. 



The dress of the Bagobos is especially 

 striking. The cloth which they use is 

 woven by them from carefully selected 

 and dyed fibers of Manila hemp, and is 

 subsequently treated with wax in such a 

 way as to make it very smooth and du- 

 rable. The subdued colors of this cloth 

 produce a pleasing effect, and it is orna- 

 mented in a most tasteful manner with 

 elaborate bead and mother-of-pearl work. 

 The men wear short, long-sleeved jack- 

 ets, often elaborately ornamented, trou- 

 sers which do not reach quite to the 

 knee and have beadwork around their 

 bottoms, kerchiefs or turbans on their 

 heads, and sashes or girdles at the waist, 

 into which are thrust their war-knives, 

 in peculiarly shaped double - pointed 

 sheaths. These sheaths are often elabo- 

 rately ornamented with beadwork and 

 with horse-hair plumes (see page 1161). 



