Teduray people

Last updated
Teduray people
Tew Teduray
Meguyaya Festival of UPI Maguindanao.jpg
Teduray girls at Meguyaya Festival of Upi.
Total population
138,646 (2020 census) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
(Bangsamoro, Soccsksargen)
Languages
Teduray (native language)
Maguindanaon   Filipino   English
Religion
Traditional Religions & Christianity (mostly Catholic)
Related ethnic groups
Maguindanaon, Lumad,
Sama-Bajau, other Moro people, Visayans,
other Filipinos, Malay people
other Austronesian people

The Teduray are an indigenous peoples in Mindanao, Philippines. They speak the Teduray language. Their name may have come from words tew, meaning people, and duray, referring to a small bamboo hook and a line used for fishing. [2]

Contents

The Teduray culture was studied at length in the 1960s by anthropologist Stuart A. Schlegel. Schlegel spent two years as a participant/observer among a group who lived in and was sustained by the rainforest. He was profoundly moved by the egalitarian society he witnessed, and went on to write several books and papers on the subject, including Wisdom of the Rainforest: The Spiritual Journey of an Anthropologist. Despite being referred to as "Tiruray" in out-of-date reference books, the Teduray people do not refer to themselves as such and consider the word "Tiruray" a pejorative.

Ancestral land

The Teduray ancestral homeland is considered sacred. [3] The Teduray, together with the indigenous Lambangian people, originate from the Agusan, Davao and Lanao regions, the province of Bukidnon, and in the cities of Davao and Zamboanga. [2] The Teduray, Lambiangan, and Manobo have jointly applied for recognition of their ancestral domain covering 289,268 hectares of land comprising the municipalities of Upi, South Upi, Ampatuan, Shariff Aguak, Datu Unsay, Datu Saudi, Guindulungan, Talayan, and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao Province and portions of Esperanza, Lebak, Bagumbayan, Senator Ninoy Aquino, Kalamansig, and Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat Province and the city of Cotabato where the indigenous groups are predominantly situated. [4]

Language

Teduray speak their eponymous native Teduray language, which is related to their neighboring Blaan, Tboli and Maguindanaon languages with little or no mutual intelligibility between them at all. [5] [6] Over the years, however, like their Blaan and Tboli neighbors, many Teduray can speak and understand Maguindanaon, Tagalog as well as Hiligaynon, Cebuano and Ilocano, with the latter four were brought and introduced by these ethnolinguistic settlers from Tagalog-speaking provinces, Central Luzon, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Ilocandia upon their arrival into Teduray homelands during the early 20th century, who in turn learned Teduray language upon contact with these indigenous tribe such as intermarriage.

Teduray indigenous religion

Immortals

  • Tulus: referred as the Great Spirit, who was neither male nor female and created all things, including the forest, those that we see (such as humans), and those that we can't see (such as spirits) from mud. Created and re-created humans four times, first due to the non-existence of humans, second due to birthing issues, the third due to Lageay Lengkuos's initiation of the ascending of mankind into the Great Spirit's realm which resulted into the absence of humans on earth, and the last due to another initiation of mankind's ascending to the sky world which had the same effect of leaving the earth devoid of humans. [7] Another name for Meketefu, but also a general term used to apply to the highest deity in each of the layers of the upper regions [8]
  • Minaden: creator of mankind, which was made from mud. Creator of the earth put at the middle of daylight. Taught humans to wear clothes and speak new dialects. Her house welcomes living women who managed to arrive in the upper most level of the upper worlds. [8]
  • Meketefu: the unapproachable brother of Minaden. Also called Tulus. Corrected the sexual organs and noses of mankind. Gave one group of people the monkey clothing which can turn anyone into monkeys, while giving another group bows and arrows. [8]
  • Monkey Leader: also called Little Monkey, he is a cultural hero who went to Tulus to intercede for his people, which resulted in his group ascending the upper regions. Two non-believers of his group were left on earth, but he returned to give them earth and a piece of iron which extended from earth to sky. This piece of iron became the source of all iron [8]
  • Biaku: the magic bird who originally provided clothes and beads to mankind. But when a neighboring people attacked the Teduray, Biaku fled [8]
  • Metiatil: married to the hero Lageay Lengkuos; [8] also referred to as Metiyatil Kenogan [9]
  • Lageay Lengkuos: the greatest of heroes and a shaman (beliyan) who made the earth and forests; the only one who could pass the magnet stone in the straight between the big and little oceans; inverted the directions where east became west, inverted the path of the sun, and made the water into land and land into water; [8] also known as Lagey Lengkuwos, was impressed by the beauty of the region where the Great Spirit lives, and decided to take up his people there to live with the Great Spirit, leaving earth without humans [7]
  • Matelegu Ferendam: son of Lageay Lengkuos and Metiatil, although in some tales, he was instead birthed by Metiatil's necklace, Tafay Lalawan, instead [9]
  • Lageay Seboten: a poor breechcloth-wearing culture hero who carried a basket of camote and followed by his pregnant wife; made a sacred pilgrimage to Tulus, and awaits the arrival of a Teduray who would lead his people [8]
  • Mo-Sugala: father of Legeay Seboten who did not follow his son; loved to hunt with his dogs, and became a man-eater living in a cave
  • Saitan: evil spirits brought by foreign priests [8]
  • Guru: leader of the Bolbol, a group of humans who can change into birds or whose spirits can fly at night to hunt humans [8]
  • Damangias: a spirit who would test righteous people by playing tricks on them [9]
  • Male beliyan (shamans)
    • Endilayag Belalà [9]
    • Endilayag Kerakam [9]
    • Lagey Bidek Keroon [9]
    • Lagey Fegefaden [9]
    • Lagey Lindib Lugatu [9]
    • Lagey Titay Beliyan [9]
    • Omolegu Ferendam [9]
  • Female beliyan (shamans)
    • Kenogon Enggulon [9]
    • Bonggo Solò Delemon [9]
    • Kenogon Sembuyaya [9]
    • Kenogon Dayafan [9]
    • Bonggo Matir Atir [9]
    • Kenogon Enggerayur [9]
  • Segoyong: guardians of the classes of natural phenomena; punishes humans to do not show respect and steal their wards; many of them specialize in a class, which can be water, trees, grasses, caves behind waterfalls, land caves, snakes, fire, nunuk trees, deer, and pigs; [8] there were also Segoyang of bamboo, rice, and rattan; caretakers of various aspects of nature [7]
    • Segoyong of Land Caves: take the form of a feared snake known a humanity's grandparent; cannot be killed for he is the twin of the first people who was banished for playfully roughly with his sibling [8]
    • Segoyong of Pigs: takes its share of butterflies in the forest; feared during night hunts [8]
    • Segoyong of Deers: can change humans into deers and man-eaters; feared during night hunts [8]
    • Segoyong of Sickness: sends sickness to humans because in the early years, humans were not nice to him; talking about him is forbidden and if one should refer to him, a special sign of surrender is conducted [8]
  • Woman at Bonggo: the woman at Bonggo who gathers the spirits at the land of the dead in the sky; keeps the spirit of the body [8]
  • Woman beyond Bonggo: the woman beyond Bonggo who keeps the spirit of the umbilical cord [8]
  • Brother of Tulus: lives in the highest abode in the land of the dead, where those who died in battle reside [8]
  • Maginalao: beings of the upper regions who can aid someone to go up in the upper worlds without dying, where usually a female aids a person first, followed by her brother; they sometimes come to earth to aid the poor and the suffering [8]
  • Giant of Chasms: the first one to guard the chasms between the layers of the upper regions; a man-eating giant [8]
  • Spirit of Lightning and Thunder: advises humans about good and bad, to not tease animals, and to respect elders and ancestors [8]
  • Spirit Who Turns Earth into Water: advises humans about good and bad, to not tease animals, and to respect elders and ancestors [8]
  • One Who Forces the Truth [8]
  • One of Oratory [8]
  • Settlers of the Mountains: each of the eight layers of the upper regions have eight spirits referred as Settlers of the Mountains; they are four men and four women who are appealed to for pity in order to get to the highest ranking spirit in a layer [8]
  • Spirit of the Stars: a spirit higher in rank than the Settlers of the Mountains [8]
  • Spirit of the Umbilical Cord: the woman beside the deity Meketefu (Tulus); hardest to get pity from as the people were once unkind to her [8]
  • Malang Batunan: a giant who had a huge house; keep the souls of any false shamans from passing through the region of the Great Spirit [7]

Mortals

  • Flood Couple: after the great flood, a Teduray boy and Dulungan girl survived and married; their offspring who took after their father became the Teduray, while those who took after their mother became the Dulungan, who were later absorbed by the Manobo [8]
  • Mamalu: an ancestor of the Teduray; the elder sibling who went into the mountains to remain with the native faith; brother of Tambunaoway, ancestor of the Maguindanao [8]
  • Tambunaoway: an ancestor of the Maguindanao; the younger sibling who went remained in the lowlands and welcomed a foreign faith; brother of Mamalu, ancestor of the Teduray [8]
  • First Humans: the first couple's child died and from the infant's body, sprouted various plants and lime [8]
  • Pounding Woman: a woman who was pounding rice one day that she hit the sky with her pestle, which shamed the sky, causing it to go higher [8]
  • Alagasi: giant humans from western lands who eat smaller humans [8]
  • Tigangan: giants who take corpses, and transform these corpse into whatever they want to eat [8]
  • Siring: dwarfs of the nunuk trees [8]

Related Research Articles

Lenape mythology is the mythology of the Lenape people, an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccsksargen</span> Region in Mindanao, Philippines

Soccsksargen, formerly known as Central Mindanao, is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region XII. Located in south-central Mindanao, its name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one highly urbanized city. The regional center is in Koronadal, located in the province of Cotabato del Sur, and the center of commerce and industry is General Santos, which is the most populous city in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltic Finnic paganism</span> Polytheistic religion practiced by the Finnic peoples

Baltic Finnic paganism, or BalticFinnic polytheism was the indigenous religion of the various of the Baltic Finnic peoples, specifically the Finns, Estonians, Võros, Setos, Karelians, Veps, Izhorians, Votes and Livonians, prior to Christianisation. It was a polytheistic religion, worshipping a number of different deities. The chief deity was the god of thunder and the sky, Ukko; other important deities included Jumala, Ahti, and Tapio. Jumala was a sky god; today, the word "Jumala" refers to a monotheistic God. Ahti was a god of the sea, waters and fish. Tapio was the god of the forest and hunting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine mythology</span>

Philippine mythology is rooted in the many indigenous Philippine folk religions. Philippine mythology exhibits influence from Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous Philippine folk religions</span> Native religions of the Philippines

Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the distinct native religions of various ethnic groups in the Philippines, where most follow belief systems in line with animism. Generally, these Indigenous folk religions are referred to as Anitism or the more modern and less ethnocentric Dayawism, where a set of local worship traditions are devoted to the anito or diwata, terms which translate to Gods, spirits, and ancestors. Many of the narratives within the indigenous folk religions are orally transmitted to the next generation, but many have traditionally been written down as well. The Spanish colonizers have claimed that the natives did not have religious writings, but records show otherwise. Accounts, both from Chinese and Spanish sources have explicitly noted the existence of indigenous religious writings. There are also Spanish records of indigenous religious books and scrolls, along with indigenous statues of gods, being burned by colonizers. In some sources, the Spanish claim that no such religious writings exist, while within the same chronicle, they record such books being burned on their own order. The writings were written on native reeds and leaves using iron points and other local pens, similar to how things are written on a papyrus, and fashioned either as scrolls or books. Some were written on bamboos. 0.23% of the population of the Philippines are affiliated with the Indigenous Philippine folk religions according to the 2020 national census, an increase from the previous 0.19% from the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maguindanao people</span> Austronesian ethnic group in the Philippines

The Maguindanaon people are an Austronesian ethnic group from the Philippines. The Maguindanaon are part of wider political identity of Muslims known as Moro, who constitute the third largest ethnic group of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. The Maguindanaons constitute the ninth largest Filipino ethnic group and are known for being distinguished in the realm of visual art. They have been renowned as metalworkers, producing the wavy-bladed keris ceremonial swords and other weapons, as well as gongs. The Maguindanaons historically had an independent sultanate known as the Sultanate of Maguindanao which comprises modern day Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region and Soccsksargen. The name "Maguindanao/Magindanaw" itself was corrupted by Spanish sources into "Mindanao", which became the name for the entire island of Mindanao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultanate of Maguindanao</span> 1515-1926 state in Southeast Asia

The Sultanate of Maguindanao was a Sunni Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, especially in modern-day Maguindanao provinces, Soccsksargen, Zamboanga Peninsula and Davao Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miwok mythology</span>

The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order, their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created. Miwok myths suggest their spiritual and philosophical world view. In several different creation stories collected from Miwok people, Coyote was seen as their ancestor and creator god, sometimes with the help of other animals, forming the earth and making people out of humble materials like feathers or twigs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mapuche religion</span> Religion of the indigenous Mapuche people of South America

Mapuche religion is the traditional Native American religion of the Mapuche people. It is practiced primarily in south-central Chile and southwest Argentina. The tradition has no formal leadership or organizational structure and displays much internal variation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutkh</span> Raven spirit revered by various indigenous peoples of far eastern Russia

Kutkh is a Raven spirit traditionally revered in various forms by various indigenous peoples of the Russian Far East. Kutkh appears in many legends: as a key figure in creation, as a fertile ancestor of mankind, as a mighty shaman and as a trickster. He is a popular subject of the animist stories of the Chukchi people and plays a central role in the mythology of the Koryaks and Itelmens of Kamchatka. Many of the stories regarding Kutkh are similar to those of the Raven among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, suggesting a long history of indirect cultural contact between Asian and North American peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous Philippine shrines and sacred grounds</span> Holy places in Philippine folk religions

Indigenous Philippine shrines and sacred grounds are places regarded as holy within the indigenous Philippine folk religions. These places usually serve as grounds for communication with the spirit world, especially to the deities and ancestral spirits. In some cases, they also function as safeguards for the caskets of ancestors, as well as statues or other objects depicting divine entities.

Religions in pre-colonial Philippines included a variety of faiths, of which the dominant faiths were polytheist indigenous religions practiced by the more than one hundred distinct ethnic groups in the archipelago. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam were also present in some parts of the islands. Many of the traditions and belief systems from pre-colonial Filipino religions continue to be practiced today through the Indigenous Philippine folk religions, Folk Catholicism, Folk Hinduism, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mythology of Indonesia</span>

The mythology of Indonesia is very diverse, the Indonesian people consisting of hundreds of ethnic groups, each with their own myths and legends that explain the origin of their people, the tales of their ancestors and the demons or deities in their belief systems. The tendency to syncretize by overlying older traditions with newer foreign ideas has occurred. For example, the older ancestral mythology might be merged with foreign mythology, such as Hindu, Islam, or Christian biblical mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miao folk religion</span> Ethnic religion of Hmong peoples

Kev Dab Kev Qhuas is the common ethnic religion of the Miao people, best translated as the "practice of spirituality". The religion is also called Hmongism by a Hmong American church established in 2012 to organize it among Hmong people in the United States.

<i>Anito</i> Spirits and deities in indigenous Philippine folk religions

Anito, also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the Indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associations depending on the Filipino ethnic group. It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the taotao, made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. Anito is also sometimes known as diwata in certain ethnic groups.

Shamanism is a religious practice present in various cultures and religions around the world. Shamanism takes on many different forms, which vary greatly by region and culture and are shaped by the distinct histories of its practitioners.

References

  1. "Ethnicity in the Philippines (2020 Census of Population and Housing)". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "The Teduray". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  3. McKinsey, Kitty (October 10, 2011). "Mindanao's indigenous people ask UNHCR's help to gain their rights - UNHCR Philippines". UNHCR. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  4. Benitez, Jules L. (2010-10-03). "Teduray and Lambangian peoples call for 2nd tribal congress". MindaNews. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  5. "Teruray | Ethnic Groups of the Philippines". www.ethnicgroupsphilippines.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  6. "The Teduray - National Commission for Culture and the Arts". ncca.gov.ph. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Schlegel, S. A. (1999). Wisdom from a Rainforest: The Spiritual Journey of an Anthropologist. the University of Georgia Press.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Wood, G. L. (1957). Philippine Sociological Review Vol. 5, No. 2: The Tiruray. Philippine Sociological Society.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Tenorio, J., Stuart A. Schlegel, S. A. (1970). Philippine Studies Vol. 18, No. 2: The Customs of the Tiruray People. Ateneo de Manila University