Subanen Tribe

history
Subanon(also
spelledSubanenorSubanun) is a
tribe indigenous to theZamboanga
peninsulaarea, particularly living in
the mountainous areas
ofZamboanga del SurandMisamis
Occidental,Mindanao Island,
Philippines.
The name means "river people",
which is derived from the word
"suba" or river, and the suffix nun or-non which indicates a
locality or place of origin

People
The Subanen people are farmers. They cultivate
crops, with rice as the most important crop
Subanen houses are built along hillsides and ridges
overlooking family fields.
A neighborhood of 5 to 12 households becomes a
unit of social organization.
A bigger group of interacting communities may
contain as many as 50 households.

People
Subanons have little social stratification.
Everyone is equal in the Subanon community.
The Subanen do not practice division of labor
based on sex. Men and women work in the fields
together, and men can cook and care for the
children when necessary.

clothing
The Subanens who communicate
through their Subano language
prefer to wear colorful clothes
and accessories.
They used abaca fiber for their
clothing and blankets.
Black, red, andwhite are their
favorite colors.
The women often wear red
earrings that match with beaded
necklaces.

clothing

Languange
The language of this group is generally referred to
asSubanon.
Subanon language has some Visayan and Moro
words mixed in, as a result of centuries of trading
activities between Cebu and the northern coast of
Mindanao
TheKalibuganor the Subanon who were
converted to Islam speak a language which is a
mixture of Kalibugan and Moro.

Literary Arts
Subanen oral literature include the folktales,
short, often humorous, stories recounted for their
sheer entertainment value; and the epics, long
tales which are of a serious character.
The epics feature the diwata, as well as mythical
and legendary heroes and chieftains who are
partly divine.
A stock character in the tales of the Subanen is
the widows son, who possess great strength and
courage.

Literary Arts
To date, three Subanen epics have been recorded
and published:
The Guman of Dumalinao
The Ag Tobig nog Keboklagan (The Kingdom of
Keboklagan)
Keg Sumba neg Sandayo (The Tale of
Sandayo).
All of the three Subanen epics are performed in
the week-long buklog.

Performing Arts
Subanen musical instruments include the gagong, a
single brass gong; the kolintang, a set of eight small
brass gongs of graduated sizes; and the durugan, a
hollowed log which is beaten like a drum; and the
drums.
Vocal music includes the chants for the epic, and
several types of songs, which include the dionli (a love
song), buwa (lullaby), and giloy (a funeral song for a
dead chieftain).
One by one
Salabok
salabok
Mag
Lumat
Ita (Let Us Play):
dini balay ta hin
glen da magtangao
mag lumpot ita glem

here in my house
some of us will seek
we will play together.

Performing Arts
To be at peace with the diwata of the tribe, the
Subanen perform ritual dances, sing songs, chant
prayers, and play their drums and gongs.
A Balian is the lead performer in almost all
Subanen dance rituals.
Most important of the ritual dances is the buklog,
it is held to commemorate a dead person, so that
his acceptance into the spirit world may be
facilitated, or to give thanks for a bountiful
harvest, or to ask for such a harvest as well as
other favors from the diwata.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

The tribe believes in a supreme being
they call "Diwata Migbebaya".
The tribe has no religion although it is
believed that they had a holy book at one
time.
Today the Subanen people have adopted
either Catholicism (a Bible exists in this
language) orIslam.
Those Subanen who adopted Islam are
known as theKolibuganorKalibugan
and some Subanen who were traditionally
animist have since adopted Catholicism.

Marriage
Marriage in Subanen society is through parental
arrangement, which can take place even before
the parties reach the age of puberty.
The parents of the man look for a woman he will
marry and both sets of parents set the wedding
date.
The contracting families go through preliminaries
for the purpose of determining the bride-price.

Marriage
Negotiations are undertaken between the two sets
of parents through the mediation of a go-between
who is not related to either family.
Once the bride-price is determined, a partial
delivery of the articles included in the agreement
may be made, to be completed when the actual
marriage takes place.
After the marriage ceremonies have been held, and
the wedding feast celebrated, the newlyweds stay
with the girls household.

Marriage
The man is required to
render service to his
wifes parents, mainly
in the production of
food.
After a certain period
of matrilocal
residence, the couple
can select their own
place of residence.

Burial
A person is sent off to the spirit world with
appropriate rituals.
First the corpse is cleaned and wrapped in white
cloth. Then it is laid inside a hollowed-out log, and
given provisions, such as food, for its journey.
A rooster is killed, its blood smeared on every
mourners feet to drive away malevolent spirits
who may be in attendance.

Burial
The log-coffin is now covered, and the surviving
spouse goes around it seven times, and then
goes under it another seven times while it is held
aloft.
Those who accompanied the deceased to its
grave, upon their return, get hold of a banana
petiole which they dip in ash and throw away
before they go up their respective houses.
Those who carried the coffin take a bath in the
river before going up their houses, to wash away
any bad luck they may have brought back with

Burial

Each time the widower eats; he always

leaves a space on the floor or at the table
for his dead wife, and invites her to eat
with him for three consecutive evenings.
He mourns for her until he can hold a
kano feast. Before this, he cannot comb
his hair, wear colorful clothing, or
remarry.

Education
The education among Subanen people was limited to
instruction by the Timuay head to a future husband and
wife regarding love, respect and treatment of each
other, parents, and in-laws.
As the modernization already invaded the heart of the
tribe's territories, many of them were already highly
educated.
Some of them got their bachelors, masters and doctoral
in the high standard universities both local and abroad
and some of them are already working in the
government.