Mandaya

The Mandaya are an Austronesian people of eastern Mindanao, holding the mountains and river headwaters of Caraga. Their name means the first people upstream, and their language belongs to the Mansakan branch of Philippine languages. They farmed upland rice and root crops under datus and elders beyond the reach of coastal states.

In 1521 Magellan's chronicler Pigafetta described Butuan and Caraga; Spanish records distinguished the Mandaya and Manobo hinterland tribes from coastal villages with which they often fought. Their country later fell partly under the sway of the Sultanate of Maguindanao, chiefly through tribute and trade. Islam made few converts in the mountains, where beliefs in ancestor spirits and the moon-swallowing serpent Tambanokano survived.

A Spanish settlement was established in the region in 1591, but garrisons and missions clung to the coast. The Mandaya kept their valley autonomy, weaving and datu rivalries.