San Fernando Manobo Thrives

In San Fernando, Bukidnon, there are strong communities of lumad or the indigenous people. One of the lumad in San Fernando is the Manobo.

The Manobos have a strong belief system on paying respect to nature. They believe on Magbabaya, their God. Their lives depend on the gifts provided to them by Magbabaya. The flora and fauna are parts of the “Agpangan” or the creations of Magbabaya. Respecting the creations of Magbabaya is the way to ensure peace in the entire human race.

To show their gratitude, the lumad perform the pamuhat or their rituals. The Manobos have promised to uphold their customs, traditions and beliefs by doing them in their day-to-day lives, such as the pamuhat. They have chosen to preserve their tradition and culture to unite their tribesmen. One of the pamuhat done by the Manobos is the Panalawahig. Different tribal leaders within San Fernando participate for the Panalawahig. Prayer ceremonies are done near sources of water as gratitude for its goodness. Another ritual is the Sunggod Ta Kamanga which is done in preparation for the Pananom sa Panuig or sowing of the seeds. Farming tools are dipped in animal’s blood, which is usually the blood of a chicken, in a method that si called Padugo.

After harvest is done, they perform another ritual called Pamamahandi.One of the rituals is Magsakil, which is done by offering animal’s blood for a newly bought property or for any blessing they’ve received. All the prayers are officiated and performed by the baylan or the master of the rituals. There are another set of rituals involved in marriage as well.

There is the Paguthon, a prayer ritual, and then tehre’s the Pagsalo, which is the exchange of rice balls between the couple. Among the Manobo, before couples marry they have to discuss whether or not give bogay or dowry. And traditionally, a couple lives with the parents of the bride after their marriage. The Manobos also have a ritual for birth. The baylan performs the panlang for a woman who is about to give birth. The baylan drops chicken’s blood to a mother’s womb and prays for safe delivery. For the departed, they also have a set of rituals to perform. The tribe gathers at the house of the deceased and they’ll stay there through the night while they sing their songs and their elders narrate the history of their tribe, or the Pulaging. The practice is called damage or night watch. During the burial, they would recite the Panuban, which is a prayer for the soul to die peacefully and to never come back to the Earth again. Among the Manobos, they have a datu to lead their tribe. A datu cannot be replaced unless he is dead. The leadership of the datu is passed from father to son. If the former datu does not have any son, the elders of the tribe will then look for suitable candidates among their tribe. The datu needs to be a man with dignity, a man who can deal with the problems their tribe will come across with and a man who oes good things. Most importantly, he needs to have the will to protect and love his people.

The current datu of the Manobos in San Fernando is Datu Nelson Lingcuran. He former holds a seat in the municipal council of San Fernando as the representative of indigenous people and indigenous cultural communities. He has already been active in local politics since his youth. He used to serve as the KB Chairman, and now he’s also the SK Chairman. He serves as the voice of the lumad. Some of his projects for them include the tulugan para sa lumad, which is in Mibantang, San Fernando. These are for the lumad who are traveling through the mountains and need a place to rest. Ultimately, the goal for Datu Nelson is to raise awareness about his people and to re-shape most people’s perception about Manobos. The Datu champions advocacies for education and equality for the lumad.