(Part 1) A Little Paradise in Mindanao: An Introduction to the T'boli Homeland, Lake Sebu

- Nov. 1, 2018, Thursday.

- "Why are you going to Mindanao? It's dangerous there!!" This is a common reaction by people when I told them that I was planning to go to Mindanao for the long weekend. People generally have some notion that Mindanao is dangerous, probably because of all the terrorist attacks associated with Mindanao. Fair enough I must say, but I also have a lot of friends (and some relatives!) in Mindanao who have been telling me that as long as I know which (safe) parts to go, I'll be fine. After all, some of them have lived in that part of the Philippines for so long, and they seem happy and fine. Why Mindanao? Simply because I have an affinity for indigenous culture in Mindanao as they're more closely related to the Malay and Indonesian cultures that show direct links of pre-colonial Philippines to its Asian neighbors. I also realized that had not gone around locally for years - except for some destinations near Metro Manila like Rizal (click here) or Tagaytay (click here) - and I thought that it'd be nice to finally explore more of the Philippines. One main reason why I had not gone around much locally was because of the rather difficult transportation situation of the country, and personally, I actually want to see more of NON-CATHOLIC Philippines, which mostly means pre-colonial indigenous cultures. To experience this, I would have needed to go to far-flung villages and provinces (which would be harder to reach,) and of course, it's not like I can barge in these communities as I respect their privacy and possible preference to not be visited out of the blue.

- I decided to go to Lake Sebu in South Cotabato - the land of the T'boli people - as I wanted to learn more about the T'boli people, especially since I am an enthusiast for T'boli bead-and-brass jewelry, and I have long wanted to own a t'nalak jacket or vest for many years now. With a little research, which included asking around for a few friends who have personally gone to Lake Sebu, I saw that it is easier these days to access Lake Sebu. Also, tourism in Lake Sebu has gone up in the recent years, as the T'boli people wanted to promote their cultures more. At least, it wouldn't be as rude or intruding to visit, interact with, and learn from them.

- To go to Lake Sebu, one can fly to General Santos City, ride a cab to Bulaong Bus Terminal, and find a van that directly goes to Lake Sebu; the fare is 150 pesos. The trip from Bulaong Terminal to the Lake Sebu terminal was around 2 hours. The van will most likely do a brief stop at the bus terminal in Marbel (Koronadal,) and Surallah before going to the Lake Sebu Terminal. The main mode of transport in Lake Sebu is a habal-habal, or a motorcycle for short, and that's what I rode all the way to my hotel (I did not ride alone, I had a driver with me.) Do note that safety isn't a big priority in the provinces, so there aren't any helmets provided. It was quite scary for me at first especially since the roads weren't flat and they had plenty of rocks (unless you're at the main road, which is cemented.) The fare was 20 pesos from the terminal to my hotel.

You'll see this once you're in the downtown area of Lake Sebu.

- I decided to stay at Punta Isla Resort, which is one of the more prominent resorts in Lake Sebu not only because of its good-but-cheap accommodations, but because of the different activities that people can experience, as well as the different tilapia dishes that its restaurant can mak; Lake Sebu is famous for its endless ways of cooking tilapia. By the way, you may still visit Punta Isla Resort even if you are not going to stay there; you just need to pay a 10 peso entrance fee. I decided to book an air-conditioned matrimonial room even though Lake Sebu is quite cool at night, because I wanted to avoid mosquitoes and other creepy crawlies since Punta Isla was built so close to nature (and a room without air-conditioning might welcome even more "unwanted guests".)

My home for two nights.

Homey.

Hotel reception area. The T'bolis are known for their brass gongs or "agung."

My small bedroom. The photos just makes it look big.

- After checking in I decided to have lunch at the floating restaurant (it just floats in the middle of the lake, and it doesn't go anywhere). However, since the minimum number of people to book at table at the floating restaurant was 10 people, I either had to eat alone at the restaurant (with an amazing view,) or I could wait for a group to book a table, and ask them if it'd be OK for me to "tag along" in their table. Fortunately, not long after, a family of 12 booked a table and they were kind enough to let me tag along. A table would cost an additional 200 pesos on top of the food to be ordered. Apart from the floating restaurant, one may also opt to do a lake tour, or a lake-tour-with-food package (a floating restaurant that takes you a tour of the lake). Of course, the prices will differ from the floating restaurant.

That's the floating restaurant, and yes it has a giant tilapia on its roof.

I look fresh, but in reality, I just survived a red-eye flight and a long journey to Lake Sebu from General Santos City.

Children on an "owong," the name of the T'boli native canoe.

Through some lotus flowers that have closed after their early-morning bloom.

- If you booked a table at the floating restaurant, one of the huts, or the lake-tour-with-food package, Punta Isla will prepare a short performance by the T'bolis as customers wait for their food. They will introduce some native musical instruments, and some traditional dances.

Their local drum.

Flute.

One of the three T'boli dances that were demonstrated.

With the friendly T'boli people.

- Since the servings at the restaurant were good for 3-4 people, I thought of ordering just one dish: pinaputukang tilapia. It is tilapia cooked with ginger, onions, and garlic inside a palm-leaf wrap. The dish was light and aromatic (particularly of ginger,) and it definitely the best way to start my adventures in Lake Sebu.

A fishy surprise in event wrap.

Cooked tilapia.

Another of their specialties: chicharong tilapia; this wasn't mine though.

- After lunch I hired a habal-habal with driver. People can hire them either directly at the bus terminal, or ask their hotels to assist them in hiring a habal-habal with driver. A half day tour costs 500, while a full-day tour costs 750. This is the standard rate by the tourism office of Lake Sebu. The driver will also have a uniform so people can recognize that they're official driver-guides of Lake Sebu. The driver assigned to me was named Richelle (he's a boy), and his cellphone number is 0905-871-1491; you may contact him directly if you plan to go to Lake Sebu. I highly recommend my driver-guide because he is kind, careful when driving, knowledgeable, and most of all, a good photographer.

- The first place I visited was not far away from my hotel. It was the Gono Kem Bo-i or Princess House. It is more commonly referred to as COWHED (Cooperative of Women in Health and Development.) This is cooperative store that aims to support women's local handicrafts. This is one of the places where people can buy local TBoli souvenirs like textile, beaded and brass accessories, and so on. Fortunately, when I arrived, I met the lovely Kaufman family that was doing an outreach program with the T'bolis, and so there were a lot of people there, and there were some performances too.

This small hut hides a lot of T'boli souvenirs. Heehee.

On a normal day, this would be almost empty. I caught the house at the right moment.

T'boli child beside a weaving loom with an unfinished t'nalak cloth.

Ready to dance!!

The gongs/agungs seemed larger than the kid!

Nice sincere smiles. (Asked their permission before taking the shot.)

- From Cono Kem Bo-i/COWHED, My driver took me to the T'Boli Museum, or the Baay Family House of Gongs. This place is not too far from COWHED, and is just down the street. Like COWHED, the museum is just a small hut that hides significant and nice everyday things of the T'boli. The most prominent exhibit of this one-room museum is its gongs.

This was intentionally made to look like a house.

It focuses on the T'boli way of life, such as plates, gongs, clothing, etc.

These gongs are around one foot wide.

T'boli head covering.

Me with a hegulong, of the T'boli guitar. Sometimes it is also called "kudyapi."

Why was this outside.

- .My guide and I left the museum not too long after, to visit one of the places that I had wanted to see even before: the School of Living Tradition (SLT.) The "Schools of Living Tradition" are institutions established by the government in collaboration with some of the indigenous people of the Philippines. The SLTs are supposed to give theses indigenous groups a space where the older members can teach different aspects of their cultures to the younger generation to preserve their cultures. Some of these aspects of cultures are mostly handicrafts like weaving, embroidery, woodcarving, but sometimes students are also taught things like language or dance.  Lake Sebu has one of these SLTs, and is headed by Ms. Maria "Oyog" Todi. Unfortunately, when I went to the LST, which was around 15 minutes away by habal-habal/car from Punta Isla Resort, it was quite quiet because there were no activities happening since the students come usually during the weekends, and Ms. Oyog was away for the afternoon. However, I was able to look around and buy something from them. By the way, the SLT in Lake Sebu also offers homestays in the SLT itself. Of course, the accommodations are simple with minimal amenities.

I like what they did to the railings of the second floor.

My hair looks like that from all the wind during the habal-habal ride. 

I like the lighting of this room. The window's angle allows the sunlight to fully illuminate the whole room.

Tnalak weaving loom.

Photo with the kulintang, which is sort of a xylophone but made with gongs. This is a common instrument in Southeast Asia.

- I was later driven to some of the nearby souvenir stalls before going to Bundos Fara's brass-casting center. Bundos Fara is the premier brass-caster in Lake Sebu. He learned how to cast brass from his father since he was young, and it is not known how far back his family has been casting brass. Since he wasn't working no anything when I got there, he just showed me some of his impressive works. He has been commissioned many times by different (big!) organizations and institutions to make brass products. My favorite from the things he showed me was the brass kris/keris (sword.) Brass-makers usually start with a wax mold of the figure they wish to make, then pour the melted brass in the mold.

Bundos Fara showing me his works and works in progress.

Wax mold of a figurine he's about to make.

A photo with the great Bundos Fara, of course, in full T'boli glory.

The brass kris at the bottom was quite heavy!! I think this is supposed to be ornamental.

In case you want to avail of his service, please feel free to contact him!

- My guide Richelle drove me back to Punta Isla after our short visit to Bundos Fara, and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Punta Isla. By the way, unlike most hotel/resort souvenir stores, the souvenir store right inside Punta Isla has reasonably-priced souvenirs.

Taking photos at my quiet resort. This is again the floating restaurant.

I love how they made Punta Isla look very T'boli, by incorporating T'boli handicrafts and weaving styles all around the resort.

- That evening, I ate inside the resort and tried their chicharong tilapia (photo above,) and ginataang hito (catfish cooked in coconut milk.) I prefer the ginataang hito since the chicharong tilapia was nothing more than thin slices of fried and crispy fish with fish crackers.

It's not tilapia but I still liked it!!

- My packed first day in Lake Sebu was a mere introduction to more amazing things that this sleepy town hides. My guide Richelle told me that he'd be picking me up really early from Punta Isla the following day, because we'd be having a full-day to see more of Lake Sebu's natural and cultural wonders! (Don't forget to read Part 2 here and Part 3 here!!)