Togláī

The first man, husband of Toglībon. They lived on Mount Apo where there was plenty of fruits and game. They had several children who, when they grew up, married. One day Togláī and Toglībon told their oldest son and daughter that they should go far away, across the ocean for there was a good place for them. The two left and were never seen again until their descendants, the white people, came back to Davao.

When Togláī and Toglībon died they went to the sky where they became spirits. Soon after their death the country suffered a great drought and their children were forced to leave their home and find another place to live. They traveled in pairs, in different directions, until they found favorable locations, where they settled down. From them have sprung all the tribes known to the Bagobo. For instance, one couple carried with them a small basket known as bira-an, and for that reason their children are known as the Bira-an (Bilaan).

The two spirits are now responsible for all marriages and birth. Togláī is considered by some to be a judge of the dead, while in Bansalan he is identified with Eugpamolak Manobo. He is also known as Sī Nīladan and Manīládan.

References

Sources

  • Cole, Fay-Cooper. (1913). The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, pp. 53, 54, 126.
  • MacKenzie, Donald A. (1930). Myths from Melanesia and Indonesia. London: Gresham, p. 306.