The Bagobo are natives of Davao, a province in the southern Philippines. The tribe is divided into 3 groups, the Clata ot Guiangan, the Ubo, and the Tagabawa. Each group has a different dialect and cannot understand each other except for some common words but their customs are similar.
The Bagobos have a rich and unique culture but as the years pass, the tribe is vanishing into oblivion. The new generation has embraced modernization and has promptly forgotten its heritage. Not one can speak the dialect fluently anymore unless they live with a first generation Bagobo.
I had a chance to have a close and personal relationship with the Tagabawas. I was lucky enough to grow up in their midst. I got to know my “Apô Innà” and from her own account, I was able to get a good glimpse of my heritage.
She was fondly called “Apô Abét”(Grandmother Abét) by tribal children but for us, she was Apô Innà because my mother calls her “Innà” (mother). Yes, she was my grandmother and she had a rich tale to tell. As most elders in the tribe, she could not remember when she was born. She said it was when “flowers bloomed”.
When she passed away, I wanted to chronicle her tales to preserve them but you know… life made me busy so like other projects I wanted to pursue, I relegated it to the background. When my mother passed away, too, we lost the only link we had to our heritage.
Now… armed with Apô Innà’s tales and my “small vocabulary” of the Bagobo dialect, I would try to keep this tribe afloat, if only for our own children who wanted to learn more of their heritage.
This site is for those who want to learn a bit of the Bagobo Tagabawa language and of course, for those who come from the Bagobo lineage.
