The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao - The R. F. Cummings Philippine Expedition by Fay-Cooper Cole
page 11 of 211 (05%)
page 11 of 211 (05%)
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tribe, and to cause them to incorporate into their language many new
words and terms. The friendly relations with the Moro seem to have been broken off upon the arrival and settlement of the Spaniards in Davao. The newcomers were then at war with the followers of Mohammed and soon succeeded in enlisting the Bagobo rulers in their cause. A Chinese plate decorated with the picture of a large blue fish was offered for each Moro head the tribesmen presented to the Spanish commander. The desire for these trophies was sufficient soon to start a brisk trade in heads, to judge from the number of these plates still to be seen among the prized objects of the petty rulers. After the overthrow of Moro power on the coast, Jesuit missionaries began their labors among the Bagobo, and later established their followers in several villages. In 1886 Father Gisbert reported eight hundred converts living in five coast towns. Following the conflict between Spain and the United States, and during the subsequent insurrection, these villages were left without protection or guidance. As a result, large numbers of the inhabitants retired to the hills where they were again merged with their wilder brothers. Naturally, they carried with them new ideas as well as material objects. With the re-establishment of order under American rule many returned to the deserted villages while others were induced by Governor Bolton to form compact settlements midway between the coast and the mountain fastnesses. The influence of the Government has become stronger each year, and following the human sacrifice at Talun in 1907, that powerful village and several of the neighboring settlements were compelled to move down near to the sea where they could be more easily controlled. |
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