Welcome!
This is a cultural advocacy website specifically featuring the beautiful Indigenous Peoples groups of South Cotabato, Philippines.
Katutubo is the Filipino term for Indigenous Peoples
The indigenous peoples (IPs) constitute a significant segment of the Philippine society. As defined by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), IPs are those groups of homogenous societies identified by self-ascription, who continually lived as organized communities on communally bounded and defined territories which they have occupied since time immemorial, sharing bonds of language, customs, traditions and who become historically differentiated from the majority of the Filipinos (Section 3, Article II, RA 8371).
Blaan
"Blaans are recognized of having very rich and unique culture. These are evident in the customs and traditions, belief systems and indigenous knowledge systems and practices of the tribe. This highly regarded ancestral heritage served as a distinctive mark that provided uniqueness from among other ethnic groups in the Philippines.
There were written documents published addressing the tribe not in a name reflective of ourselves, hence, we insist to be called Blaan. Blaan is a coined word, "bla" and "an". "Bla" means counterpart or pair and suffix "an" expresses ownership or possession. When joined together, Blaan, means as our counterpart tribe, the To Bali ("To" is people and "Bali" is on the other side). The To Bali are known today as Tboli. According to the Blaan Elders, historically, Blaan live closely with the Tboli people. The Blaans are predominantly living in the towns surrounding the Mt. Matutum area.
Mt. Matutum is claimed by the Blaan Elders as the place of origin of their forefathers and ancestors. As such, this mountain is considered as a historical and cultural ground for the Blaans. Many of today's young generation is unaware of this reality which is supposed to be known by everybody.
Today's Blaan youth have gradually lost their cultural identity. The half-exposed and half-hidden faces of the young boy and girl best describe the identity crisis that is experienced in the Blaan indigenous cultural communities due to the pressures of urbanization and inter-cultural influences." - Blaan di Mtutung
The perfect example of this identity crisis is with respect to the use of Blaan traditional clothing and accessories. Thus, this website showcases the beautiful Blaan traditional clothing, accessories and other material cultures of South Cotabato Blaans along with other IP groups of the province.
There were written documents published addressing the tribe not in a name reflective of ourselves, hence, we insist to be called Blaan. Blaan is a coined word, "bla" and "an". "Bla" means counterpart or pair and suffix "an" expresses ownership or possession. When joined together, Blaan, means as our counterpart tribe, the To Bali ("To" is people and "Bali" is on the other side). The To Bali are known today as Tboli. According to the Blaan Elders, historically, Blaan live closely with the Tboli people. The Blaans are predominantly living in the towns surrounding the Mt. Matutum area.
Mt. Matutum is claimed by the Blaan Elders as the place of origin of their forefathers and ancestors. As such, this mountain is considered as a historical and cultural ground for the Blaans. Many of today's young generation is unaware of this reality which is supposed to be known by everybody.
Today's Blaan youth have gradually lost their cultural identity. The half-exposed and half-hidden faces of the young boy and girl best describe the identity crisis that is experienced in the Blaan indigenous cultural communities due to the pressures of urbanization and inter-cultural influences." - Blaan di Mtutung
The perfect example of this identity crisis is with respect to the use of Blaan traditional clothing and accessories. Thus, this website showcases the beautiful Blaan traditional clothing, accessories and other material cultures of South Cotabato Blaans along with other IP groups of the province.
Tboli
Tboli is a first class municipality in South Cotabato, Philippines. The town is named after the predominant Indigenous Peoples group residing the place, the Tboli. The correct spelling is Tboli, no apostrophe after letter T and definitely no letter "i" after T. The official seal of the town is the primary proof on this claim.
Tboli Indigenous Peoples group largely occupied the towns of Tboli and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato. The Tbolis are predominantly living around major lakes (Lake Sebu, Lake Holon, Lake Seloton, Lake Lahit,etc.). Lots of Tbolis are married to Blaans, thus, the evidence of many Blaans using Tboli costumes. The Tbolis in so many aspects have transferred the skills in weaving, brass making, embroidery as well as accessories making to the younger generations. Their distinctive crafts are known not only in Region 12 but all over the country with due credits as well to the tourism promotions of South Cotabato as Land of the Dreamweavers, the support from national government agency like the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA) for School of Living Tradition Projects, the support from cultural advocates, and lots of cultural workers focused on Tboli heritage preservation.