AN ANALYSIS OF OBO MANOBO ORAL FOLK STORIES

Dr. Riceli C. Mendoza and Prof. Estella B. Barbosa

University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Cotabato, Philippines
[email protected]

ABSTRACT

The collection and documentation of oral literature in the Philippine context, in general is
a response to the need of preserving and enriching the various Filipino ethno linguistic
literatures. Its other purpose is to abridge cultural, racial, and linguistic differences as posted by
the use of foreign literatures in teaching English language to Filipino learners. In addition, the
implementation of mother tongue based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) and K-12 prompts
Filipino scholars to collect and document oral literatures as input for MTB instructional
materials. The focus, therefore, is mainly on the collection, documentation, transcription and
analysis of oral traditions. Six collected stories are transcribed, translated and analyzed. These
stories are ItulonMoka-atag Ki Juan (The Story of Juan) by DatuOmelisP. Agod, Ti
TilandokUmoy Dos Gungutan(Tilandok and the Giant) by DatuEmelioGuabongTinambon, Si
Juan Uwoy Si Pedro (Juan and Pedro) by Persila S. Amoloy, Motus No Koyupat(The Powerful
Crab) by LorianaMaasanPandia, Motus No Ponguliman(The Great Magic) by FelipaJustino, and
Dos GungutanUwoysiTilandok(The Giant and Tilandok) by DatuUmilisPandayAgod. As
depicted in the oral narrative, Obo Manobo people should be wise and cunning since they live in
hinterlands with many unknown forces or events that might put them in danger. They must be
good problem solvers for them to survive in the fast changing course of time. Worldviews of the
Obo Manobo as reflected in the folktales encompass various social domains: education, politics,
socio-economics, and environment. These worldviews are consequentialism, patriarchy,
animism, and oneness with nature. Consequentialism is the idea that advances that the value of
an act should be judged by the value of its consequences. They believe that good actions and
goodness itself result to success and reward while evil actions and evil thoughts end with failure
and punishment. In the ancient worldviews of Manobo, men were really the ones who held the
highest, most prominent and most important positions in the society. This practice has been
embedded in their political system starting from the family, work, and to government in general.
The presence of helpful and enchanted animals, spirits, inanimate objects and mystical worlds
prove that the Obo Manobo people adhere to animism. The Obo Manobo people also recognize
utang na loob, katatagang-loob, pagkalinga, and pag-aaruga. Like their other Filipino brothers,
The Obo Manobo people give so much emphasis on taking good care of the environment, the
family, the parents, and the balance in the society.
 INTRODUCTION

Long before the invention of writing, humans, however they had lived, created stories out
of hunger; the hunger to elucidate the mysteries of the world and the hunger to glorify their
experience with nature. These stories pervaded different stages in human history through the
word of mouth. They were in the form of verse, song, ballad, and epic, mostly recited and told by
the bards at banquet halls, inns, crossroads and palaces. Eventually, with the changing tide of
time, the tellers of these stories became conscious of the social purpose of their experience, and
so, they turned to prose narratives in the form of legends, myths, and tales. Based on these
groundings and memories, humans, then, construct their lives and shape their world into homes
and various institutions.
The verses, songs, ballads, epics, legends, myths and folk tales are the earliest forms of
the oral traditions. These oral traditions serve as the original form of education, in which socio-
cultural values and environmental knowledge are transmitted. They pass on the information and
wisdom of human experience from generation to generation. In this sense, oral traditions are the
authentic and persistent technology that gave us human culture in the first place by allowing us
to build on our experience over the generations. Oral traditions, therefore, are very powerful tool
in sharing and interpreting experience.
As posited by Mitra (2007), oral narratives have occupied an important place through
time in cultures across the globe and, in each, have attained an important conduit of expression
of their integrated socio-cultural ethos. They are organic expressions of the identity, purpose,
functions, customs, and generational continuity of the culture in which they occur. Appell (2010)
further states that oral literature provides a unique portrait of life as lived in a different time and
place by individuals who share the human spirit with us. It encodes the basic cultural themes,
values and propositions of this society, and it contains the creative voice of the people.
Oral narratives to which people have been exposed and which they have internalized
greatly determine their understanding of the world (Bruner,1990). Having this on top of their
minds, scholars insist on identifying folk stories from foreign cultures as a way of helping young
readers to understand the personal dimension and the standards of behavior of a culture, and at
the same time reduce stereotypes about that culture. However, it is difficult to see how this can
be achieved by describing a culture only through the genre of folk stories. It is also essential to
pose the question whether the discourse of these stories is innocent or not. As asserted by
Stephens (in Jarar, 2009), worldviews and ideologies are “inscribed in language”, therefore
ideological issues embedded in folk stories should also be investigated.
Research studies on folk or oral narratives have started long ago in the Western milieu.
From the time it was put into scholarship by William Thoms (1846), folk studies spread swiftly
like a wild fire in many parts of Europe and extended to other continents. Folk studies started as
a historical discipline that compared and identified archaic survivals of beliefs and customs
(Tylor, 1871). Others disagreed and saw it as verbal art (Bascom, 1953), and as a communicative
process of a particular type (Ben-Amos, 1975; Georges, 1983). Collections, classifications and
analysis of folk literature since then have become very popular and the focus of interdisciplinary
fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, and language studies.
Putting things on proximal context, research endeavors on oral traditions in the
Philippines have also commenced a long time ago. Oral narratives are classified in a number of
ways by different folk literature scholars. Demetrio (cited in Santos, 2012) explains that oral
tradition could either be narrative or non-narrative. Myths, legends, folktales, epics, ballads,
sagas, and memorates are examples of narrative oral traditions. On the other hand, songs, folk
speech, proverbs, riddles, rhymes, chants, laws, dirges, laments, beliefs and customs are
examples of non-narrative oral traditions. Eugenio (cited in Bascom, 2006), classifies oral
narratives as either prose: myths, legends, and folktales or verse: folk epics. He has also
developed a classification of collected oral narratives in his book “General Category of Folk
Narratives”. Ortega (2013) has also collected, compiled and analyzed tales from various regions
all over Mindanao. Her book, “Mindanao Harvest: An Anthology of Retold Tales of Mindanao”
contains various tales coming from different places in Mindanao.
Students of language, literature and culture have also focused their interest in collecting,
transcribing, documenting and analyzing folk literatures. Santos (2012) has made a study to
collect, record, transcribe, translate and analyze the oral narratives of the Teduray people in Upi,
Maguindanao. The study aims to describe the Teduray people, classify their collected oral
narratives in terms of genre and believability; analyze the values reflected in the stories, and
present the educational implications of the oral narratives. Her findings suggest that the Teduray
oral materials are primarily useful in the different learning areas in the academe like literature,
communication arts, society and culture, and so on. The Teduray oral narratives are also found
out to be rich in values that describe their identity as a people.
Similarly, Blonto (2014) has documented and analyzed the T’boli oral literature.
Employing cultural approach, she has determined whether beliefs, practices and values held by
the T’bolis, ascribed in their literature differ as settlement goes farther from the T’boli village,
Poblacion. Her findings suggest that there is no difference on the beliefs and values held by the
T’bolis even as the place moves far from the T’boli Village, Poblacion. Lastly, Dahan (2016) has
collected, transcribed and analyzed Manobo oral narratives. Largely anchored on Weinreich and
Saunderson’s (2003) concept of identity, identity constructs such as psychological identity,
moral identity, gender identity and social identity were examined. The findings show that the
oral narratives reflect identities of the Manobo. Manobo as a social group is portrayed as peace-
loving, hardworking and patriotic group.
The collection and documentation of oral literature in the Philippine context, in general is
a response to the need of preserving and enriching the various Filipino ethno linguistic
literatures. Itsother purpose is to abridge cultural, racial, and linguistic differences as posted by
the use of foreign literatures in teaching English language to Filipino learners. In addition, the
implementation of mother tongue based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) and K-12 prompts
Filipino scholars to collect and document oral literatures as input for MTB instructional
materials. The focus, therefore, is mainly on the collection, documentation, classification and
textualization of oral traditions.

METHODOLOGY
Six collected stories are transcribed, translated and analyzed. These stories are
ItulonMoka-atag Ki Juan (The Story of Juan) by DatuOmelisP. Agod, Ti TilandokUmoy Dos
Gungutan(Tilandok and the Giant) by DatuEmelioGuabongTinambon, Si Juan Uwoy Si Pedro
(Juan and Pedro) by Persila S. Amoloy, Motus No Koyupat(The Powerful Crab) by
LorianaMaasanPandia, Motus No Ponguliman(The Great Magic) by FelipaJustino, and Dos
GungutanUwoysiTilandok(The Giant and Tilandok) by DatuUmilisPandayAgod.
The selected folk tales which comprised this collection, aside from being transcribed and
translated, are analyzed through the literary and socio-cultural lens. I have employed narratology
and structural approach to unravel how the folktales’ structure and discourse reveal the
worldview of the Obo Manobo people which are embedded in them. Thus, the key purpose of
this endeavor, aside from collecting and documenting Obo Manobo oral narratives especially
folktales, is to wholly understand the language and structure of the oral narratives of the Obo
Manobo people through the lens of literary and socio-cultural approach. The collected,
transcribed and translated eight folktales are explored and analyzed according to linguistic
features, setting, characterization, plot, style, motifs, and worldviews. The formal elements of a
folktale as a genre, therefore, are taken into account first to reveal on the motifs and then
eventually the hidden structures such as worldviews.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
My exploration of the folktales starts from dissecting the setting, the time and place of the
story. Most folktales from different cultures have the kind of settings that remove the tale from
the real world. This feature takes us to a time and place where animals talk, magic spells are an
important element, and giants, witches and wise men are common. Similarly, the Obo Manobo
folktales exemplify this characteristic as revealed in the collection. It is a common denominator
for all the stories the animals that can talk to humans. Specifically, in the stories Motuus No
Koyupat(The Powerful Crab) and Dos GungutanUwoy Si Tilandok(The Giant and Tilandok), we
have encountered crabs that talk and transform into powerful beings. In Motuus No
Ponguliman(The Great Magic), we have witnessed how a simple phrase “Oh!Great Magic”
transforms the life of a mother and her son. It is also evident in most of the stories the presence
of a giant who either punishes or rewards tricksters like Juan and Tilandok.
The settings of the stories are all described and referred to in a vague manner. This is
indicated in the way the storytellers begin their stories:
He, duwonka rad man inisanak nod kovoyuwan. OOruwa ran tat inoyrin(There
were once a mother and a son who were very poor. Only the two of them dwelt in
their abode) –The Great Magic
 Donggan no timpuduwonsokkad no konakan no oraroy’nmosandog no
idngorananki Juan (Once upon a time, there was a very handsome young man
named Juan.)- Story of Juan

Diyotsukkad no ingod, duwonsukkad no bito no id bayan to oraroy no

momondurak no mgobanog(Long time ago, in a tiny village, there was once a
MotherEagle that dwelt in a cave)-The Eagle and the Hunter

As observed, the Obo Manobo folktales begin with standard openers such as There was
once, Once upon a time, Long time ago, In the olden days. Analyzing this convention in creating
and telling stories, these few words as openers are designed to prepare audience to listen to a
narrative which setting, as mentioned earlier, is removed from reality.
The Obo Manobo folktales also exemplify settings which illustrate the typical landscape
of the tale’s culture. In our stories, the use of mountains (in The Powerful Crab, The Great
Magic), forest (in The Giant and Tilandok, The Story of Juan), rivers (in Tilandok and the Giant,
The Powerful Crab), caves (in The Great Magic), farm (Juan and Pedro), and big rocks (in the
Story of Juan, The Powerful Crab, Tilandok and the Giant) is prevalent. This shows that the folk
tales, as oral narratives, manifest aspect of the physical world of the people in particular culture.
The Obo Manobo people from whom the stories are collected live mostly in hinterlands of Mt.
Apo. Magpet is located in the eastern part of Cotabato province and in the foothills of Mt. Apo
with generally sloping and mountainous terrain. More specifically, BrgyTiko where the
storytellers reside is named after the Tico River. The Obo Manobo people, as reflected in the
stories, have a close connection to the physical world they live in. These are their source of
living, providing them with land to till, boars to hunt, and shelter in times of trouble.
Interestingly, big rocks are a recurring setting or object in some of the stories. In Obo
Manobo culture, big rocks are significant in that they may be indicative of the existence of a
strange or supernatural creature. In one Obo Manobo poem, a big stone or rock might be an
abode of a monster.
Iddosdakkonbato id obpat’tbusow
(Where there is a big stone, there lives a monster)
Idoosdisok no batowaro id obponbussow.
(Where there is a small stone, no monster lives)

Similarly, in the story Mottus No Koyupat(The Powerful Crab), the big rock is the home
of the powerful crab as indicated in the lines below.
The younger brother trekked until he saw a giant rock. He heard somebody
whispered to him. He told himself that he would raise the giant rock thinking that
the whispers were coming underneath it. When he raised the rock, he was
surprised to find a tiny crab.
 Signifying characters in folktales also plays a part in the explication of hidden structures
and worldviews. The characters in folk literature are usually flat, simple and straightforward.
This means that they are typically either completely good or entirely evil and easy to identify.
This kind of characters is evident in the folk stories. Like in the story Tilandok and the Giant, the
main characters, the giant and Tilandok, have remained foolish until the end. They have not even
undergone realization and transformation in actions. This imply the importance of education in
our lives. The two have remained ignorant for they have not striven to educate themselves. In the
story The Giant and Tilandok, the giant has also remained evil from the start to the end of the
story. He has been consumed by hatred and the overriding desire to kill Tilandok who has
deceived him for many times. Aside from this, the giants in different stories are stereotyped in a
way that though they possess remarkable physical strength, they are still tricked by ordinary
people like Tilandok because of their stupidity and dull nature.
Stereotyping of characters in other stories is also distinct. The crab, for example, is
portrayed as a good, powerful and influential creature in the stories The Powerful Crab and The
Giant and Tilandok. This is illustrated in the passages below.
The giant crab again asked the boy to hide under his armor for he would help the
eagle’s captives. He told the people to get ready. And, he destroyed the prison
lock using his sharp claws… The people worshipped the giant crab; considered
him their God. The giant crab in return thanked them. –The Powerful Crab

The crab told Tilandok, “Yes, I can help you…Enraged and wanted revenge, the
giant inserted his head into the hole. The crab grip and bit his neck using his
sharp claws. The giant’s neck was severed, and this ends the life of the
temperamental and cruel giant.-The Giant and Tilandok

In characterizing the crab, ornamental adjectives such as giant and powerful are used.
The use of these descriptive words may be found coherent to the purpose of the characterization,
and that is to establish authority, credibility and power of the crab as a significant force in the
story.
Putting things in context, Obo Manobo people see the crab as a good symbol of
goodness, power and strength. They, being closed to the Tico River, catch crab to serve as viand.
They also notice the hard armour of the crab which for them is a good representation of
protection. The crab’s sharp claws, commonly known panipit are its weapon to fight and drive
away enemies.
This kind of symbolism of the crab also holds true in other cultures. The crab deals
primarily with elements of water, moon and carries themes of protection. In Chinese culture, the
Crab signifies prosperity, success and high status. The Chinese word referring to its shell is a pun
on the term used for the highest score a candidate can make on the Chinese Imperial
Examinations (first, orjia). Two crabs represent the first and second scores of the Examinations.
The king is another stereotyped character in the stories. In The Great Magic and Story of
Juan, the kings are portrayed as evil and cruel. The strategy of attribution, the use of the word
cruel for example to describe the king, further vilifies the king as the exact opposite of the
protagonist in the stories. As indicated in the passages,
The cruel king showed Juan no mercy.Juan experienced inconceivable suffering
under the hands of the cruel king for he was made to eat leavings, food which
should be intended only for the pigs. In addition, he was also made to sleep under
the dining table of the family.- The Story of Juan

Oto left the house and went to the place near the palace of the cruel king. He
uttered again the magic words, and wished a grandiose house where he and his
mother could live in. He wished it to stand near the palace of the cruel king.- The
Great Magic

a detailed description of how the king, the antagonist, mistreated the protagonist is also provided.
This magnifies the polar opposites between the force of good and evil, the hero and the antihero.
Further, the strategies of attribution and detailed description of characters or their actions help in
easy reading and identifying main characters, opposite forces, and themes.
Stereotyped characters of elder siblings such as older brother, older sisters, older
daughter, and poor mother are also typified in the stories. Attribution as a strategy to label
characters further plays an essential role in establishing the roles in the folk tales. It is examined
in the folktales that attribution with the use of positive lexicalization vis-à-vis physical
appearance is employed in describing characters regarded with high status in the society. In the
Story of Juan, the three daughters of the cruel king are described as lovely. Almost common to
all folktales from different cultures, the use of positive adjectives to describe royalty or the noble
class is conspicuous. This implies that likable physical attributes are equated to those considered
part of the upper class. It is with this that people advance the notion of lookism, commonly
referred to as the positive stereotypes, prejudice, and preferential treatment given to physically
attractive people, or more generally to people whose appearance matches cultural preferences.
The use of attribution also conveys the power relations in the stories. When the king is
described as cruel and Juan as poor, the distance in power is emphasized. The king, being in the
upper class, is legitimized to demean Juan who is considered to be part of the lower class.
Characterization in some of the folk tales also gives emphasis to the moral power of the
younger brother or the youngest daughter. These are illustrated in the following passage.

Juan experienced inconceivable suffering under the hands of the cruel king for he
was made to eat leavings, food which should be intended only for the pigs. In
addition, he was also made to sleep under the dining table of the family. His
burdens and chores were so great that he picked what food would fall under the
table. The youngest daughter felt pity for Juan that she would intentionally drop
her share under the table, knowing Juan was there. Dona Maria was very kind to
Juan, unlike her other sisters who liked their father were also mean to him. They
were fond of insulting Juan and often spit at him.- Story of Juan
 This strategy of contrasting the protagonist to the antagonist, the good and the evil, shows
the good motives and their consequences as the youngest brother or sister is rewarded in the end
of each story. This strategy also adds up to the vilification of the antagonists in the stories.
One interesting observation in the Obo Manobo folk tales is the confusing representation
of the same characters. Take for example the character of Tilandok. In the The Giant and
Tilandok, Tilandok is portrayed to be the protagonist who is wise and cunning. The story tells us
how Tilandok tricked the giant for three times. First, when he is caught in the giant’s trap, he
spreads his baonall over his body that when the giant sees him, he thinks that he is already
spoiled and rotten. The next is when the giant is about to punish him. Tilandok tells the giant that
a great earthquake is coming that’s why he is going to tie himself around a log. The giant
believes him and asks Tilandok to be tied first. The last one is when Tilandok has reached the
abode of the crab. The giant, foolish and blinded with hatred, thinks it is Tilandok who is talking
and hiding in the hole. He inserts his head only to be severed by the crab that has vowed to
protect Tilandok. In contrast, Tilandok is typified as a numskull in Tilandok and the Giant. Like
the giant, Tilandok is so foolish to think he loses weight just after a few hours of swimming, so
his clothes which are actually the giant’s do not fit at all. This confusing portrayal of the same
characters may be accounted for the tellers of the stories. These two stories are told by two
different datus. It might be that their memory of the same frame of story varies resulting to
different portrayal of characters. They could have also injected their modifications and
alterations of events thus affecting the characterization of some actors in the tales.
Another element which I have considered in analyzing the folk tales is the plot. Similar to
the conventions of other folktales, the Obo Manobo folk stories’ plots are generally shorter and
simpler than in other genres of literature. The actions basically center on a journey that is usually
symbolic of the protagonist’s journey to self-discovery. Examples are the journey/adventure of
Otoin the Great Magic and Juan in Story of Juan.
More so, standard beginnings and formulaic endings are employed in the stories. The
endings in particular, are happy, basically for the protagonist or hero as exemplified in the
following passages.
Juan, without a doubt, chose Dona Maria to be his wife. Dona Maria did not
make any protest for she was also in love with Juan ever since. The day of the
wedding came, and the two became husband and wife. They became very famous
because of their wealth. Since then, the two lived happily ever after. –The Story
of Juan

Alas! The hunter was freed from captivity with the help of the two young eagles.
More than that, they now became his provider. Every day, they would hunt for
prey while the hunter just waited for the meal they would bring to him. This was
how the once young and dependent eaglets requited the kindness of the hunter.-
The Eagle and the Hunter

Ouch!”, exclaimed the giant. He thought it was Tilandok who bit him. Being too
foolish, he inserted his other hand, and again, the crab bit it. Enraged and wanted
 revenge, the giant inserted his head into the hole. The crab grip and bit his neck
using his sharp claws. The giant’s neck was severed, and this ends the life of the
temperamental and cruel giant. - The Giant and Tilandok

When he returned home, the manor was so quiet. He silently stared on the luxury
and comfort they already had. For him, he couldn’t almost ask for more. And it
was all because of the line, “Oh! Great magic!”- the Great Magic

The people celebrated for the cruel and evil giant was already dead. After all of
these, the crab, and the boy journeyed back home. Since then, the powerful crab
became the savior and protector of the people.- The Powerful Crab

From that time on, the youngest son and his father lived in the palace and they
never suffered anymore.- The Three Brothers

As the examples above show that Obo Manobo folk stories, like other traditionally told
tales, frequently end with a conventional tag-line such as from that time on.., and that ends…this
was how, and they lived happily ever after to let listeners know the tale is over, bring them back
to earth and ease the transition to normal conversation.
Considering the generalized and often conventionalized plot structure of folktales, I have
opted to focus on the analysis of contrastive narrative structure of all the folk stories in this
collection. Basically, seven of the eight folk tales show the reward/punishment model and one
follows the structural frame of the making/breaking of friendship.
In the story The Powerful Crab, it is clearly shown how the persevering younger
brother’s good actions are rewarded. The story delineates that after helping the crab get out of
the big rock (good action), the younger brother is favored by the crab that actually possesses
tremendous power. First, the crab catches a wild boar (reward) and offers everything to the
younger brother. Consequently, he is made companion of the powerful crab in his journey; he is
never left alone and in the end, he is able to return safe and sound to his home (reward).
The story The Great Magic also showcases this narrative structure. When Oto decides to
help the python (good action), he is told of the secret that helps him become rich and fulfill his
other wishes. The python teaches him to use the mantra, “Oh!great Magic” in order for his
wishes to be granted. The events that follow after the meeting of the python and Oto tell us that
he with his good deed is rewarded. He is able to return home (reward), have a splendid manor
(reward), find his long lost sister (reward) and be happy with his possession (reward).
This kind of framework is also found in other Asian folktales. The study of Grayson
(2002) on Korean folktales, for example, proves that there is a large set of Korean folktales
which are composed of parallel sets of contrasting narratives showing how good actions are
rewarded and evil actions are punished. The contrastive narrative structure employed in creating
folk stories therefore adheres to the purpose of the story to impart good morals. In other words,
the use of it emphasizes the virtues of good ethics for the purpose of moral teaching in folktales.
 Analyzing the stories in terms of style, one distinct feature of the stories is the use of
formulaic patterns such as conventional openings and closings which I have mentioned in the
discussion of setting and plot. The use of conventional opening as stated earlier adheres to the
aim of the storyteller to prepare the listener to a narrative which setting, as mentioned earlier, is
removed from reality. The conventional endings, on the other hand, are used to let listeners know
the tale is over, bring them back to earth and ease the transition to normal conversation.
Aside from conventional beginnings and endings, the stories heavily rely on the use of
dialogue. The very nature of the characters in the stories is captured with the lines they speak and
with them taking turns in conversations within the stories. As exemplified in the following
passage,,
There, Pilandok saw rattan stems. When he saw the giant approaching him,
instead of hiding, he even encouraged him to move fast. He told the giant,
“Come, move fast and tie me around this tree because a great earthquake is about
to strike.” The giant deceived by Pilandok replied, “No, you should tie me first.”
At first, Pilandok pretended to dislike the idea of the giant and continued arguing
with himPilandok again deceived the giant, and tied him around the tree using the
rattan stems. He bound him very tightly. After doing this so, he told the giant,
“Wait here because I also need to get some rattan stems for myself.” And so
Tilandok was able to escape.- The Giant and Pilandok

The words uttered by the Giant show how foolish he is to believe Tilandok. Tilandok, on
the other hand, is magnified as an absolute trickster, with him being able to convince and fool the
giant with his words.
“Oh boy! You lay the boar on the ground and wait for a while.”

“You need to hide inside my armor for the ferocious eagle might see you. He is
cruel and he has already eaten a handful of people like you.”

“From now on, I am your savior,” said the giant crab to the people.

The dialogues of the powerful crab with the other characters in the story prove his dominion and
establish his superiority among others. Similarly, in the story Juan and Pedro, their dialogues
truly reveal their opposite natures.
Pedro: Yes, we caught two deer. Let us sell one and let us give to other to our
neighbours”
Juan: “If that is your plan, Pedro, then you have to give me the half of the other
deer.”

The dialogic discourse of the two greatly reveals much about their personalities. Based on
their lines, Pedro clearly possesses a generous and kind heart that is willing to share. Juan, in
contrast, reveals man’s greed and darker nature. Probing deeper, the use of dialogues in the story
with regards to the purpose of teaching morals, connotes the need for a good, honest mind and
heart. Its use also help in the characterization of the characters, may they be humans, animals or
objects in nature.
The analyses of the different elements of a folktale reveal much on the recurring thematic
elements they contain. Folk tale motifs are observed to be prevalent. In the stories collected and
explored, I have found remarkable motifs which may help us understand the values, customs,
and ways of life of the Obo Manobo people.
Firstly, a very conspicuous motif in the Obo Manobo stories is the presence of helpful
animals, specifically the crab, eagle and python. The crab is depicted in the The Powerful Crab
and The Giant and Tilandok. In both stories, the crab is denoted as a mighty and confident
character. In the story The Powerful Crab, he is depicted as a strong and brave leader who
protects the boy from harm and who helps the many people escape from the hands of a cruel
giant and a vicious eagle. In the same manner, the crab is typified as a helpful and mighty
character in the Giant and Tilandok. As exemplified in the story, he does not hesitate to help the
weary Tilandok. He fights back when the cruel giant tries to kill both of them.
The crab is a common sight for the Obo Manobo people in BrgyTiko, Magpet, Cotabato.
Situated near the river Tico, they would usually catch small crabs under the stones in the shallow
and shady part of the river. For them , the crab with its hard armour and sharp claws is good
symbolism for protection and strength. Thus, in their stories, they depict the creature to be the
representation of strength, protection and dominion.
The python, as illustrated in the story The Great Magic, is the source of great luck of the
main character. As restitution for what Oto has done for him, the python teaches him the spell
that would grant him all his wishes. In the Obo Manobo culture, the serpent or the python has
various symbolisms. In some cases, it is an ominous sign. However, it is also regarded by them
as a source of good luck. The pythons are also a common sight for the Obo Manobo people, with
their place surrounded with tall trees and mountainous terrains.
Secondly, the motif of long journey is also typified in the folk stories. This is evident in
the following excerpts:
Juan continued his journey until he saw a gigantic rock. He was awed with what
he saw. He decided to walk around the gigantic boulder to inspect what really it
is. It talk him a day to complete his quest. He was exhausted that he decided to
rest and lie on the gigantic rock until he fell asleep.- Story of Juan

One day, the boy was at their window. Suddenly, he saw a bird. He hastily got
his sling, commonly known as “Soopput”. He told himself, “I’m going to catch
that bird for my mother and I to have something on our dining table.” He then
tried to shoot the bird using his “Soopput”. Unfortunately, he was not able to
shoot it, and the bird continued to fly. He followed it, with his determination to
get the bird and serve it as their viand. He followed and followed it until he
reached the seventh mountain.- The Great Magic

In the middle of their journey, they stopped and rest in a nipa hut. The boy asked
the crab of what was going to happen to him. The crab just told the boy, “You
 need to hide inside my armor for the ferocious eagle might see you. He is cruel
and he has already eaten a handful of people like you.” So, the boy hid under his
armor. They went on to their journey.- The Powerful Crab

Long journeys in the folktales not only embody the process of self-discovery among the
individual Obo Manobo; it also typifies the way of life of the ancient Obo Manobos. The Obo
Manobo man is an active traveller and adventurer. The long journeys in the stories also embody
the founding of the Manobo Village in Magpet, North Cotabato. Its founder, the late Rolando M.
Pelonio, Sr., has embarked on a long and challenging journey before he is made leader and
founder of the Barangay Manobo or Barangay Tiko. In the biography The Life of Rolando M.
Pelonio Sr. written by Grace T. Dahan, DatuLopitoSicao, Sr. has recounted the events before the
foundation of the Manobo Village in Magpet, North Cotabato. He has mentioned how Pelonio
Sr. from Camiguin is able to reach Mindanao Island, how he is able to survive for a month in Mt.
Apo with limited food, and how he reaches the plains where he founds Barangay Manobo. Being
able to endure all the trials he has faced, the Obo Manobos of Magpet believe that Pelonio Sr.
possesses extraordinary powers.
Thirdly, the motif of a boar hunter is shown in almost all of the stories. This is illustrated
in the following:

In the olden days, the Manobo tribe would often go into the woods to hunt for
wild animals using their hand crafted traps. One day, the giant thought of making
a trap to catch wild boar. He then proceeded to weaving his trap and finished it to
his delight. Tilandok, on the other hand, decided to go the woods and also put the
trap he made for wild boar.-The Giant and Tilandok

There was once a boy who was always undervalued by his older brother. One
day, they went to the forest to set traps for wild boars. The snare set by the
younger boy was the one which caught a boar.- The Powerful Crab

The motif of a boar hunter in the stories epitomizes the Obo Manobo’s early ways of life.
The topography and physical condition of the place they inhabit explain the prevalence of the
motif of boar hunter in the stories. The Obo Manobo lives in the hinterlands near Mt. Apo where
in the early days, is bountiful with wild animals such as wild boars, deer, and snakes. The boar
for them is a bountiful source of good meat. The Obo Manobo man has been trained to be a good
hunter as he is surrounded with deep forest and rugged mountains. With his hunting prowess, he
searches for wild boars and other animals to be a source of food.
This motif can also be attributed to the fact that Obo Manobo people of Cotabato have
been primitive agriculturists practicing the kaingin system. The wild boars, being one of the
animals which destroy their crops, are hunted by them.
Fourthly, the motif of nipa hut is also evident in the stories. As exemplified in the
passages,
 In the middle of their journey, they stopped and rest in nipa hut.- The Powerful
Crab.

Upon arriving at the farm, they immediately began building a nipa hut for them
to have a temporary shelter. Pedro told Juan, “Juan, you build our nipa hut and I
will start hunting.”-Juan and Pedro

The motif of nipa hut in the stories signifies the simplistic way of life of the Obo Manobo
people. The nipa hut signifies their humility and humble beginnings. The early Manobo people
of Brgy. Manobo and even still some today live in simple nipa huts. Early Manobos also opt to
build simple houses because of their practice of transferring from one place to another in search
of their fate and better land.
Fifthly, the motif of big rock is identifiable in the stories. Big rocks, as I have mentioned
previously in this paper, are signs of the existence of supernatural creature of force for the Obo
Manobo people. The stories exemplify that big rocks are actually abode of monsters and other
mysterious entities. Like in the story The Powerful Crab, the big rock signals the presence of the
powerful crab. The boy discovered him under the big rock.
Another significant motif that is identified in the stories is the motif of making
restitutions. Making or providing restitution is returning the favour to another person who has
done you good. It may also refer to tangible objects such as land, jewelry, money as
compensation to a good work. The following excerpt shows evidence of restitutions in the
stories:

The python told his kinfolks not to harm Oto. He also told them that he
was his savior. The other old pythons said nothing, for they were had initially
planned to devour Oto. However, they respected their peer whom Oto saved. The
python also told his kinfolks that he would let the boy go home, and that he
would give him a reward. Oto asked the python what the reward would be. The
python told him that all he needed to say were the words, “Oh! Great magic!”,
and his wish.- The Great Magic

The motif of restitution is prevalent in the stories. The common form of restitution as
reflected in the stories is wealth, possession or unquantifiable rewards such as freedom and
safety. This gives emphasis to the belief that good deeds and good actions should be rewarded.
This also magnifies the culture of “utangnaloob” that pervades in every Filipino culture. The
motif of restitution in the stories reminds the Obo Manobo people the importance of good deeds
and just actions for them to earn favors.
The motif of enchanted transformations or transformations in the physical world is also
indicated in the folk stories. Like in The Powerful Crab, this motif signifies the animistic belief
of the Obo Manobo people. They believe that the world is populated by beings who are also
persons like humans; the entire world is animated, and there are different nations of beings who
can communicate with each other, who are intelligent and volitional creatures.
The motif of a witty trickster is another important element in the stories. A witty trickster
is shown in The Giant and Tilandokand The Story of Juan. Events exemplifying their clever
deceptions of their foolish counterparts in the stories embody the truth that Obo Manobo people
should be wise and cunning since they live in hinterlands with many unknown forces or events
that might put them in danger. They must be good problem solvers for them to survive in the fast
changing course of time. Tricksters, on the other hand, provide for disorder and change; they
enable us to see the underside of life and remind us that culture, finally, is artificial, that there is
no necessary reason why things must be the way they are.

Finally, the motif of repetition is highly evident in the stories. Repetition is an aesthetic
device that can be used to create expectation. It can also be used to achieve stylized
intensification, which occurs when, with each repetition, an element is further exaggerated or
intensified. This in turn creates the effect of increasing drama.
In the stories, the repetition of numbers is explicitly or implicitly shown. According to
scholars, numbers play an important role in the aesthetic and formal dimensions of folktales.
Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk Literature lists dozens of specific motifs related to
individual formulistic numbers. These pattern numbers, accordingly, are culturally specific and
guide the aesthetic, formal and symbolic aspects of folktales.
In the Obo Manobo stories, the use of certain numbers is important to note. Number two
for example, is mentioned directly and indirectly in the stories. The titles of the stories, basically
exemplify this motif. The titles which suggest opposing forces or the protagonist versus
antagonist concept implicitly expresses the use of number two. The stories Juan and Pedro, The
Giant and Tilandok, Tilandok and the Giant indicate that main folktale characters are constantly
faced with good and evil, support or harm, punishment or reward, and so on. In the story The
Powerful Crab, contrasting characters by the implicit use of two is immediately signified in the
beginning, that is the introduction of the two characters—the older brother and the younger
brother; the older brother being portrayed to be jealous or envious and the younger brother being
portrayed as the humble and persevering. Thus, the number two in the stories is used to represent
polarity between pairs. It represents diversity, antithetical pairs, the hero and the antihero, the
hero and the villain.
Another number motif used in the stories is three. In some of the stories, three is
explicitly used such as the three daughters in The Story of Juan. Three is also indirectly
mentioned in the stories for the purpose of building up suspense in the story or stylized
intensification. In the story The Powerful Crab, the crab transformed three times, from being a
tiny crab, to a big crab then to the state where he has grown to be as big as nipa hut. The
intensification process in this example is achieved through the sequence of the crab’s
transformation three times. This also happens in the story the Giant and Tilandokwhere the
episodes of the challenges, the meeting of Tilandok and the giant, happen three times. In terms of
the challenges, Tilandok is able to escape from the giant when he tricks him with his baon, the
beehive and with the crab helping him and killing the giant. This adds to the increasing difficulty
or challenges that the main character has surpassed. Thus, another purpose of this motif is to
glorify the main character and to establish his role in the story as the hero.
Lines and phrases are also repeated in the stories. For example the line “Oh!great
magic!” is repeated many times to forebode something desirable to happen such as the granting
of wishes of the main character. This also creates an atmosphere of expectation to the listeners.
That every time the storyteller would utter the spell, the listeners would get excited of the wish
that comes with it. Another reason why storytellers repeat lines is to aid his memory in
recounting events in the story.
Motifs and all other elements reveal something about the worldviews of the Obo Manobo
people in the folktales. As emphasized by Nguyen (2012), literature depicts archetypes of
characters that reflect moral values and beliefsof groups and individuals over time. The folktales
therefore in this collection also embody worldviews of the Obo Manobo people.
The Obo Manobo folktales are a part of folk literature. They are preserved as part of a
long folk tradition reflecting the humor, romance and wisdom of the people in the culture. They
reflect how the Obo Manobo people view and interact in the world. These stories show us these
people’s view on good citizenship, family, political organizations, preservation of environment,
and many more.
Humboldt (1835) posits that poets and philosophers strike their roots into reality, and in
doing so, they cultivate and shape man’s vision of the world. Poets have the capacity to shape
man’s interior world, the intimate space within him, just as much as ideologies structure the
frameworks within which he lives and works. Based on the analyses of the formal elements,
structure, motifs and representation of the Obo Manobo people in the folktales, worldviews are
gleaned and discovered.
Worldviews are important in literature for they are the basic way of interpreting things
and events that encompasses a culture thoroughly that it becomes a culture’s concept of reality
on what is good, what is important, and what is real. Worldview is more than culture, it extends
to perception. The beliefs, values, and behaviors of a culture stem directly from its worldview.
Worldviews of the Obo Manobo as reflected in the folktales encompass various social
domains: education, politics, socio-economics, and environment. These worldviews are
consequentialism, patriarchy, matriarchy, animism, and oneness with nature.
Prominently embedded in the folktales of the Obo Manobo people is the worldview of
consequentialism, the idea that advances that the value of an act should be judged by the value of
its consequences. The Obo Manobo people as reflected in the previous discussions believe that
good actions and goodness itself result to success and reward while evil actions and evil thoughts
end with failure and punishment. This reward/punishment frame becomes a significant compass
in guiding the actions of every member in their community. This is clearly shown in how parent-
son/daughter relationship, master-servant relationship, siblings relationship, leader-follower
relationship are treated in each of the folktales.
Consequentialism also legitimizes the giving of restitutions for every good action that is
done. As embodied in some stories, productive actions are typically motivated by restitutions or
reward. Restitutions can be something abstract or tangible. In the case of Juan and Pedro in the
story Juan and Pedro, the reward for Pedro for being generous is abstract. Though it is not
explicitly stated in the story, his generosity to others gives him sense of fulfillment and
happiness. In the case of Oto in the story The Great Magic, the restitution given by the python
and the spell is tangible; lavish food, grand manor, and magnificent stallion.
Considering these concepts of consequentialism and restitutions in their culture, it is
therefore right to say that, like other Filipino ethnic groups, the Obo Manobo people also value
“utangnaloob” and “katatagang-loob”. The concept of utangnaloobthat permeates in almost all
Filipino cultures has no exact equivalent in English. It is just loosely translated as “debt of
goodwill” in the language. Utangnaloobis a true reflection of our Filipinoness as well as the
Manoboness of the Obo Manobo. Katatagang-loobor resilience in English is another cultural
trait of the Obo Manobo people as adherence to the idea that sufferings are not forever, and good
deeds and tempered thoughts are rewarded.
Equally important to note in the folktales is the worldview patriarchy. Patriarchy is the
belief that advances the idea that men are superior to women, and so leaders in the society or in
every domain of the society should be men. In the ancient worldviews of Manobo, men were
really the ones who held the highest, most prominent and most important positions in the society.
This practice has been embedded in their political system starting from the family, work, and to
government in general. The council of elders was composed of datus. They lead not only their
family but their community as a whole. Many of the stories reflect this worldview; the kings are
the decision makers, the wise person is a man, the powerful crab is a he, the protagonist is a he
while those who take subservient roles are women or female characters. Moreover, the stories
seem to reflect that people always opt for a male child. The male dominant society constructed
females‘ minds in such a way that they never even seemed to wish a female child.
Animism is also depicted in the folktales. The presence of helpful and enchanted animals,
spirits, inanimate objects and mystical worlds prove that the Obo Manobo people adhere to this
worldview. They give high regard to these elements of nature and believe that these things are
capable of bringing blessing or even harm if not given an importance. Even nowadays, Obo
Manobo people still consult their babaylan, resort to folk medicine, perform rituals to implore
spirits and unseen beings good harvest, successful childbirth, happy marriage and good life.
Another worldview that is conveyed in the folktales is oneness with nature. This is shown
in the setting of the stories such forest, big rocks, mountains, rivers, in the presence of talking
animals, enchanted objects and so on.The Obo Manobo people set high regards to nature since
they consider it their ultimate source of provision especially that they are people living in the
highlands. They are people blessed with resources around them. They breathe, eat and live with
this bounty. And so they must take care of it, including all that is essential to its preservation.
The idea that nature is a great nurturer inculcates to the Obo Manobo the essence of
pagkalinga or pag-aaruga. These trait is manifested in many the stories such as The Great
Magic and The Powerful Crab. Like their other Filipino brothers, The Obo Manobo people give
so much emphasis on taking good care of the environment, the family, the parents, and the
balance in the society.
 CONCLUSION
This collection and probe on Obo Manobo folktales have unravel structures hidden in
discourses which we thought are innocent. It exposes a parcel of the beliefs and value systems of
the Obo Manobo people. More so, it conveys the role of storytelling and storytellers in
transmitting, regulating and transforming beliefs, ideals and aspirations.
Storytelling for the Obo Manobo people is one of the ancient methods of communicating
and interpreting their experiences. The stories they share are often recollections of the old times.
Thus, storytelling plays a crucial part in the sharing of knowledge of the past among their people
today as it allows them as listeners to be transported to another time and place. We tend to see
that memories of certain stories sustain throughout people‘s lives and these tales are passed on
shared with others, Thus, the beliefs, norms, social practices and worldviews of a particular
society are communicated through generations.
In the telling of stories, these beliefs, norms and social practices are sometimes regulated
and transformed, with the story teller injecting new ideas as a result of the influence of education
and changing times. Two story tellers, as shown in this study, may have varying representations
of the same cultural character in their folktales.
Prominent motifs which are strange or vague to folktales of other cultures are also found
in the collection. The motif of a Manobo boar hunter and the motif of big rocks are telling about
their physical world and unique identity.
This endeavor has also proven that the Obo Manobos like other Filipinos uphold the same
remarkable values which make or break our Filipinoness. The Obo Manobo people also
recognize utangnaloob, katatagang-loob, pagkalinga, and pag-aaruga.
Studying literature therefore is essential in understanding other people, in finding
common denominators among diverse cultures and in building a harmonious and prosperous
nation.
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