T'BOLI

	TIBOLI TRIBES
Although Mindanao has lots of ethnic tribes, Lake Sebu is the heartland of the Tiboli Tribes, one of the last remaining, existing, well-preserved tribes of the Philippines.	Meet Myrna, our Tiboli Guide and Interpreter
We were greeted with a cultural show, music and dance. Most of the songs and dances were inspired by nature that surrounds them. The artists mimick the sounds and movements of nature and the animal world .	Oftentimes, people generally think that the Tiboli tribes are muslims. The Tiboli tribes claim they are not muslims, although they do admit that they are slightly influenced by the muslim culture by their geographic proximity to the area.
These Tiboli cultural group have been invited by many foreign embassies to present their cultural show in their respective countries..	The Artist was lamenting the plight of women in this tribe. Women are not allowed to flirt or they will be killed. So when they like someone, they can only express themselves in their music, and with their body movement. This is the only accepted form of flirtation. However, the men can have 5-6 wives, depending on his income. His wives can all stay in one house together. If a wife wants to be independent, she may move to a different house.

A TIBOLI HOUSE	This is a typical Tiboli house. It houses up to five families.
The house are on stilts and animals are kept underneath the houses such as chickens and pigs.	This looks like a musical instrument, although it isn't. It's a bamboo staircase to the house.

Dale Langley

I first visited South Cotabato in 1987 and fell in love with the place immediately. I met friends in Surallah and together we began a school called National Evangelical School of Theology (NEST) .I have been returning about every 18 months since '87. I love visiting Marbel, General Santos, Davao and especially the Lake Sebu area. Our school operated commercial fish nets raising Tilapia fish there for a couple of years. We recently started a new church and have a number of T'boli members. The T'bolis are a wonderfully resourceful tribe and their festival each year is a "must see" event. I cherish the lifestyle of my friends in Surallah. People are more important than time. Relationship is more important than material wealth. It is my hope to retire there in a few years.

Dale Langley
Platte City, Missouri
06/23/48

*Tribal Photo 1 & 2 - courtesy of Jon Unson, one of Cebu's leading Photographer and model girlfriend, Mitzi ! Thanks, Jon and Mitzi !!!