bagobo by: Archee Lou Garcia
			“Bagobo” comes from “bago” meaning “new, recent” and “obo/obbo/uvu” meaning “growth, grow,” so that the term refers to a recent formation of people along the coast of the Davao Gulf. When the Hinduized people from the south brought in Hindu culture during the Sri Vijayan and Majapahit penetration of Mindanao, these migrants mixed with the native population, forming a new society reflected in the name “Bagobo.” The term may loosely apply to the coastal people of Davao Gulf, especially those native groups on the western shores of southeastern Davao. These groups include several ethnicities, such as the Tagabawa, Jangan or Attaw, and Tagacaolo. Spanish missionaries and early ethnographers tended to identify them all as one group because they had common articles of material culture, such as dress and ornaments, tools, blades, and musical instruments. Immigrants from other places also tended to include the Manuvu among the Bagobo groups. The ascription is erroneous, for the Manuvu live in the upland areas northwest, north, and northeast of Mt. Apo in interior Mindanao. Furthermore, all the above named ethnic groups speak mutually unintelligible languages. The Bagobo are light brown in complexion. Their hair is brown or brownish black, ranging from wavy to curly. The men stand about 158 cm tall, the women 147 cm. Although the face is wide, the cheekbones are not prominent. The eyes are dark and widely set, the eye slits slanting. The eyebrows are deliberately shaved to a thin line by both male and female. The root of the nose is low, the ridge broad. The lips are full, the chin rounded. Population estimate of the Bagobo in 1988 was 80,000 (NCCP-PACT 1988).