The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao: The R. F. Cummings Philippine Expedition

In 1912, anthropologist Fay-Cooper Cole spent seven months living among the tribal communities of Davao District, Mindanao, producing one of the earliest detailed ethnographic accounts of these peoples. This is fieldwork at its most intrepid: Cole traveled among the Bagobo, Manobo, and other tribes, recording their customs, spiritual practices, social hierarchies, and daily rhythms before colonization and modernization transformed them forever. The book captures a world in flux. Cole observed that tribal identities were not fixed but fluid, shaped by migration, intermarriage, and contact with external forces. He documents rituals, material culture, oral traditions, and the complex relationships between groups. The result is a complex mosaic of traditions that challenges any simple notion of who these people were. What makes this volume endure is both its historical value and its limitations. It stands as a primary document of Philippine indigenous heritage at a crucial turning point, preserving details of customs and beliefs that would soon vanish or change dramatically. For anyone interested in anthropology, Philippine history, or cultures that exist now only in memory, this book offers an irreplaceable window into a world that was already disappearing when Cole recorded it.