Who Are They?

The T’Bolis’ supreme deities are married couple, Kadaw La Sambad, the sun god and Bulon La Mogoaw, the moon goddess. They reside in the seventh heaven. They beget seven sons and daughters who end up marrying each other: Cumucul and Bo’i Kafil; S’fedat and Bong Libun; D’wata and Sedek We and Hyu We; Blotik and S’lel; Mule and B’lomi; Loos Klangan and La Fun; and bachelor Datu B’noling. Eldest Cumucul was entrusted the fire, sword and shield, and when D’wata asked for a share was refused and went to earth with Hyu We who afterwards got pregnant to L’tik, B’langa, Temo Lus, T’dolok, Ginton, M’ngay and Fun Bulol, and Sedek We who got pregnant to Kayung, Slew, S’mbleng, Nagwaang, Nga Hule and S’ntan. Having no children, S’fedat asked Bong Libun to kill him and his body became the land with all its vegetation, which Bong Libun promised to D’wata as a place for alighting on condition that she marry one of his sons. D’wata with his sons’ help built the house on posts while fashioning people from soil mounds were his wives Hyu We and clumsy Sedek We had the noses inverted and the genitals on the knees, later corrected when Hyu We slapped Sedek We’s figures in exasperation for her foolishness. In their argument Sedek We hit the sky in pounding rice, which angered the latter and decided to go further up. In placing the clay figures Hyu We wanted them on the moon so they would remain as children but Sedek We favored the stones to harden their bodies and while Hyu We was away she placed them on a banana plant, which explained their fertility (like banana) and mortality (from S’fedat’s body, the earth), while D’wata blew life on them. Fleeing from his aunt-bride Bong Libun, L’mugot M’ngay was searched in turns by D’wata’s sons T’dolok, who left his bows, arrows and dog to become the god of death; B’langa, the god of stones; Teme Lus who became god of wild beasts; Ginton (maker of singkil brass anklets, blonso brass bracelets, hilot chain-mail girdles and t’sing ring) who settled on Hulon volcano to work on his metals; Fun Bulol the god of mountains; and L’tik the god of thunder. Abandoned by his sons, D’wata returned to the sky.

One of the most influential figures in the T’Boli pantheon is the muhen, a bird considered the god of fate whose song when heard is thought to presage misfortune. Any undertaking is immediately abandoned or postponed when one hears the muhen sing.

In T'boli belief, a spirit or force lives in all objects, animate and inanimate. The T'boli make offerings (including bracelets) to the spirits of rivers and forests. Parents will place a sword by sleeping to children to protect them from evil spirits. Folktales often feature talking crabs, horses, or other animals. The souls of ancestors are part of everyday reality. The various gods mediate between D'wata and humanity. Of these the most important is L'mugot M'ngay, the god of all food plants. The gods can be vindictive and greedy as well as kind and merciful. They speak to humans through the song of the l' muhën, the bird of destiny. When people violate customary norms, they must appease the relevant god by placing a pig, chicken, or goat cooked without salt on an altar where the god resides. A sick person is brought to the altar, and the water that has previously been poured over swords is collected and poured over him or her. Other than this, the T'boli have few set rituals and no religious specialists other than the elders who in general lead the community, though there are tao d'mangao, people who can act as spirit mediums.