B'LAAN PEOPLE......B'LAAN DADTO IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE

B'LAAN PEOPLE AND THEIR CHANGES.......The B'laan people are proud of their culture. Traditionally music and dance play an important parts of the community. The B'laans play a variety of unique instrument called faglung with accompaniment of gongs to their traditional songs and dance of all occasions. The popular weaving with it's geometric patterns in a beautiful hand woven fabric, which takes several months to finished. With their embroidered costumed, bangles, bracelets and brass, and beaded belts, they are the most colorful of the Filipino indigenous groups......The B'laan people of Pula Bato, Tampakan, South Cotabato, are exceedingly timid, and are of peaceable disposition and are the most industrious of all the interior, they occupy. Their language is characterized by the possession of the letter "F". It was noted that the B'laans were the superior tribe because they were hospitable, cleanly, industrious and wealthy. B'laans are very superstitious people, few are Christians, most of them continues to believe in what they believe in the past, they want to preserve their culture and tradition of the tribe. Some believe in the spirits who live in several places in the natural environment. Cultural heritage is visible in their brass bangles and as part for their personal finery. Most ethnic communities, the B'laans possesses an ancient culture that distinguishes from other groups. Highland B'laans, each family live in the house at least one half mile from any other house. The B'laans like other indigenous group, seek and secure future and wish to raise their standard of living which can only be achieved by increasing income by improving housing, educations, and providing the means to ensure a stable subsistence base through sustainable agricultural practices. The B'laans are proudly independent people, who values their culture and traditions. Their fundamental law, "Help your neighbors, do good and give rice, do not steal, do not kill the ennocent, do something peacefully among themselves and their neighbors". To B'laans, the secret of long life is "Good and righteous living, to do good, God grants long life. For the B'laans, their culture and tradition preserved of their ethnic identities..........CHANGES OF B'LAAN PEOPLE..........Education is one important changes in the culture of B'laans. Technology and advancement, this things generated a big change to the B'laan people. They allowed their children to study in other schools. B'laan children were fortunate to have finished a college education through scholarship grants and leave their village and work elsewhere. Changes of younger B'laans, women wear something to cover their upper part of the body, not like before the're showing their upper part of the body. B'laans, second generation particularly, give their chance to choose whom to marry among other tribes or Christian people. B'laan women learn to adorn themselves from early childhood, they apply cosmetics and arrange their hair adoring with earrings, necklaces and other accessories. B'laan farming was changed by the used of new technology for the stability of food production....Some B'laans want to learned more alternative work to earn extra money, but mostly of the indigenous people still live like in the past. They still live in a traditional way, compared with how ancestors lived before. We should help them to continue the changing world........B'LAAN PRAYER......LORD, TEACH THE B'LAAN PEOPLE AND THEIR CHILDREN TO LOVE, TO RESPECT,AND TO BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER THAT THEY MAY LIVE WITH PEACE AND JOY. AMEN........IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE.......B'LAAN ADMASEL.......DWATA, FGARE DAD B'LAAN DADTO NEKU DAD NGA FARA DE AKSULI NAWA DE KRU E DADTO NEKU BEG AMGAMI FEW NAWA. AMEN....Photos of some B'laans in Pula Bato community.......PHOTOS POSTED ARE MY COLLECTIONS.....THE B'LAAN PEOPLE.......

B'LAAN RITUAL......DAMSO IN BLAAN LANGUAGE

B'LAAN RITUAL OR DAMSO IS TO PROTECT THE CROPS AND HARVEST........ This ritual consists of a food offering, which is prepared prior to the commencement of planting. A small hut is constructed in order to house offering. offerings are varied, but usually consist of rice and betel nut. When planting has been completed,

a portion of the food offering is removed from the small hut and consumed by the family. However, the remainder of the offering is retained within the small hut for approximately one month. It is believed that the guardian spirits consume the food offerings at night........

B'LAAN AGRICULTURE AND RITUAL.......B'LAAN MELEH NE DAMSO IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE

AGRICULTURE OR MELEH in the high region, are still preserved and practiced among the Highland B'laan. These activities are closely associated with the strong and continuing association between the Highland B'laan and the spirit realm.....B'laan women plays a large part in subsistence activities, particularly in respect to agricultural practices upon female labor. B'laan women are largely responsible for kamlo or clearing the field, amla or planting and muko or harvesting. A B'laan man who possesses numerous wives is greatly advantaged, a man with multiple wives might delegate nearly all the agricultural activities to his wives......THE HIGHLAND B'LAAN FOLLOW THEIR CALENDAR FOR THEIR AGRICULTURAL CYCLE..........Salel refers to the time of clearing the kaingin or alnigo. The period is usually last for one month. The following activities were said to occur during the period....Planting or amla, Hrvesting or muko, Kaingin or alnigo, Burning or amtem, and Amnulok or removing of unburned trees and cogon grass.....Lamklong, refers to the time of burning....Tobung refers to the time of planting.....Fongol adket refers to weeding.....Dangan kamto refers to the time of harvesting........BEFORE THE ACTUAL HARVESTING, ONE B'LAAN MAN PERFORMED THE RITUAL.........As part of this ritual, a B'laan man

bundles several stalks of rice. Some grains from this bundle are then mixed with rice, which is being cooked. The B'laan believe that this will increase the quantity of the rice that will subsequently be cooked as well as the rice that will be harvested. It is believed that if anyone, other than the owner of the rice bundle, touches it, they are likely to become ill. Even the slightest touch of another's rice bundle could result in blindness, sickness, or stomach bloating. The next activity after harvesting is building of a fol or rice granary in the middle of the rice field. A wheel-like mechanism is installed at the posts of the fol. This mechanism is to prevent rats from climbing into fol......After harvesting, B'laan family left or vacate and transferred to another area.........

MOUNTAIN........BOLOL IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE

MOUNTAIN OR BOLOL, an area of land that rises very high above the land around it that is higher than a hill. A mountain is very large amount of rocks raised portion of the earth's surface can form an active volcano......THERE ARE NUMEROUS KNOWN MOUNTAINS IN PULA BATO .........Bolo Kleb the hunting ground, where B'laan hunters made offerings before entering the forest.....Bolol Atdo Almugan, a significant mountains to the B'laan in Pula Bato bong banwu or big community.....Bolol Klutang, a significant mountains, with Gumna Busay in Pula Bato bong....Mt. Matutum or Amtutung, sacred mountain among the Highland B'laans........OTHER KNOWN MOUNTAINS FOUND IN THE PULA BATO MOUNTAINS.......Bolol GO marong, Kanlang Bolol, Bolol B UN, Bolol Lam Mal, Bolol Lam Kwa in Pula Bato, Bolol Lumot, Bolol Flaback,and many

other mountains.......PHOTOS POSTED ARE MY COLLECTIONS.......

FROG...... FAK IN BLAAN LANGUAGE

A frog or fak is an amphibian with strong long legs, short arms, moist skin, webbed feet for leaping and no tail when fully grown. Frogs mostly spends more of its time in water, but some species such as tree frogs, live on land. The river and creek systems of the highlands provide B'laan of this region with a supply of frogs which are considered to be delicacies among the B'laans, are usually caught by young men during the time of the new moon or falmi aksot bolum. The frog or fak is usually caught, using only the bare hands of the B'laan hunters, along the river bank. Occasionally, the bow and multi-prolonged arrows are used to catch the frogs. Catching of frogs are usually consumed by

the B'laan people of Pula Bato community........

BOW AND ARROW......SEGTI IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE

BOW AND ARROW OR SEGTI consist of a carved body and has strings to store energy when pulled back to launch a long projectile typically with head at fast speeds of potentially great accuracy. Bow and arrow is a weapon of B'laan men consisting of arrow and the bow to shoot wild animals during hunting. Bow is composed of a curved piece of resilient wood with a taut cord to propel the bow. The arrow consist of bamboo shaft with a steel head. This head, fastened to the bamboo shaft by layers or wooden rattan vine. Often, a double stringed steel head was placed on arrow used for bird hunting. The bamboo as given additional strength and flexibility by the placement of the woven rattan vine straps located approximately 5 cm. along the length of the bow. The bow string of the nito consist of a single strip of bamboo is finely attached to the base of the arrow. The top of the string, however, is formed into a woven loop which easy fits into a notch.......

COIN TOSS GAME......STALONG IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE

The B'laan of Pula Bato, play coin toss game that be described as three coins. Toss game or hantak is toss up, which is played by the groups of men, women, and children, involves the tossing of the three coins. The three coins fall in combination of head or tail. The person who either tosses or wagers on the different coin face either heads or tails is deemer to be winner. The winner collects the wager that have been placed in the result of each round of the coins game. The wager however, usually consist of small denominators of cash money. One peso Philippine coins are usually used the coin toss game. The toss game was introduced to the Highland B'laan region by Visayans. In spite of the relatively recent introduction the popularity of the game among the Highland B'laan seems to increased.....