SWIDDEN OR KAINGIN........ALNIGO IN B'LAAN LANGUAGE

Some contemporary B'laans of Pula Bato, Tampakan, South, Cotabato, believe that the practice of kaingin or alnigo started in the past. At that time, the men cut the trees and shrubs and after allowing them to dry, burn them. They make the hole for the preparation of planting corn or rice seeds, which the B'laan women drop seeds at the hole. Rice and corn is the first crop planted in the cycle, followed by camote or kasila, or other root crops. They could afford to leave or abandon one place after harvest and allow natural vegetation to regrow. They rely on their idea that kaingin or swidden, provides for a fertilized form, as the ashes of burnt plant leaves serve as nutrition for the soil. Aside from clearing the land, the B'laan man seldom concern themselves with work in the field but leave the cultivation of corn or agol, sweet potatoes or kasila, or other root crops and the like to the B'laan women. Most of the time, the women prepares their meals, care of the children, weaving, and decorations of clothing, when they are not engaged in the cultivation of the fields or in search of forest products.