Lake Sebu, Philippines Sept 15, 2026 A message from Ayumi beeped in to say there was a celebration in the T’boli community. Ayumi was going with Maria Todi and I was invited to come along. How lucky am I! Maria and Ayumi stopped by to pick me up and we jolted our way to the … More A Grand Celebration
Lang Dulay, Lake Sebu, Philippines Sept 14, 2026 Fu Dalu, the spirit of the Abaca plant visits chosen women of the T’boli in their dreams. The spirit gives them intricate patterns and the women then weave them from abaca fibers. They use no sketches or diagrams but weave the patterns entirely from memory. These women … More Weaving a Dream
Lake Sebu, Philippines Sept 13, 2026 The T’boli museum or the Gong House as it is called sometimes, is not far. The outward leaning walls of the house on stilts make me smile to myself; I wonder what other links I may find. Built like one long room, it has split bamboo flooring and a … More Traditions of the T’boli
Lake Sebu, Philippines Sept 11,2026 Tucked into the mountains of South Cotabato is a large freshwater lake called Lake Sebu. At 1000m, it has tropical climate but is a tad cooler than the plains. Fingers of land reach out forming islets and peninsulas making no two views the same. It looks idyllic and may well … More On a Lake Ringed by Mountains
General Satos City, Mindanao, Philippines Sept 7, 2026 Pushing south to the end pf Luzon, the Austronesians trickled through to the Visayas, island-hopping their way to the large island of Mindanao. They also spread west into present day Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Kalimantan. Ah! The similarities in customs with the Kankanaey that I noticed in … More To Land’s End
