KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 18 July 2026) — The Tuwaang, I had confirmed recently, is a Kidapawan Epic.

For the uninitiated, the Tuwaang is the epic of the Monuvu people, who live around the western to northwestern foothills of Mt. Apo (an area that today straddles two regions — SOCCSKSARGEN and Davao — and seven or eight towns). It is one of Mindanao’s great epics, and its eponymous hero a near-divine figure in the collective consciousness of the Monuvu.

The Tuwaang is part of a broader cycle of epic traditions that include at least one other epic, the Tulalang of the Ilianen Manobo, the culture neighboring the Monuvu of Kidapawan (with an ancestral area beginning in Antipas and extending westward to Pigcawayan and northward to Maramag). The same name for the hero is used by the Ata of Talaingod and San Fernando and by some of the Matigsalog. In their 1996 book Arakan: Where Rivers Speak of the Manobo’s Living Dreams, the Kaliwat Theatre Collective also document “Tulalang” as the name used by people in Arakan: this is understandable, because some of their informants were Manobo Kuamanon, a culture that is closely related to the Ilianen. 

Although its story is similar, the epic that Kenette Jean Millondaga, Andrea Ragragio, and Myfel Paluga recorded from Jenita Egaan of Tico, Magpet in 2024 (and which was published in 2025 by UP Mindanao) has been given the title Tuwalang by its translators, and they characterize it as another epic.

What is certain is that these epic traditions are connected, its stories most likely transmitted across cultures by intermarriage and subsequently diverging as new versions emerged and as they were localized. The peoples themselves who have transmitted these epic traditions down the generations, of course, do not agonize over distinctions.

The tradition we will focus on, the Tuwaang, is the one of that title documented and published by the influential late anthropologist Espiridion Arsenio Manuel. Manuel did his fieldwork with a people he simply called “Manuvu,” but in locales which are today home to at least two very similar cultures who assert a distinct identity from one another, the Obo Monuvu of Kidapawan, Magpet, Makilala, and certain portions of Davao City, and the Tinanen Manuvu of Arakan and parts of President Roxas.

So why is this epic “a Kidapawan epic”? It should be obvious, given much of that above-mentioned area (with the exception of Davao City) were part of Kidapawan for much of history.

But only recently did I confirm that Manuel’s major source, an educated Monuvu man named Saddani Pagayaw, was a Kidapawan resident throughout his life.

In his last days, Saddani’s part of Kidapawan had been organized into a new municipality, Magpet, and he ran to be that nascent town’s first elected mayor. He was unsuccessful, and the shame (at least as Manuel recounted it) led him to commit suicide in 1964. He is clearly the worthy subject of his own article, but I am still gathering data.

I only recently discovered this because in Kidapawan, nothing is recorded of Saddani Pagayaw. This bit of information is only passingly noted in Manuel’s 1991 book Harvest of Songs: Constituting the Manuvu Tuwaang Epic Cycle, a very difficult book to obtain (I was only alerted of its contents with the help of a friend, award-winning Manilenyo writer Rhandee Garlitos). All of Manuel’s books, like much of Mindanawon ethnography — are grossly inaccessible to the Mindanawon reader, even for those with the money and interest.

Making the information in that published but inaccessible body of material available to a general readership is one reason why I am trying to maintain this column despite the very busy schedule.

Ideally, all these texts themselves should be available online for the public to read — but not only is this column a limited space for that, we would have to deal with the legal tedium of copyright and FPIC. Discussions like this, however, may still be useful.

The versions of the Tuwaang that Saddani Pagayaw transmitted to Manuel were sourced from a prodigious chanter named Inuk. Although this chanter was born and lived much of his life in the village of Tambuvung (in Davao City’s Baguio District), his roots — and consequently his epic tradition — go back to Basak (today a barangay of Magpet but historically also part of Kidapawan). Inuk had gained such a reputation as a singer within Monuvu country that sometime in 1939, his mysterious death was attributed to poisoning by those who envied him.

According to the numerous chanters Manuel interviewed, the chanting of the epic goes all the way back to a figure named Udsuyan, whom Manuel estimates to have lived five or six generations before his informants (seven or eight generations today — one of his informants, Datu Tunggay Suhat, was the father of the late Bae Magdalena Suhat Herbilla, who passed away a few years ago and who already has grandchildren of her own). That would put him around the late 1700s to early 1800s. Udsuyan is often invoked himself within the epic as Saddani and Manuel recorded, and in that sense he has occupied the same function within the epic tradition as the likes of Homer or Valmiki.

Manuel and his informants speculate that Udsuyan lived in Kuaman, which is also the setting not only of the Tuwaang epic, but of the related Tulalang and Tuwalang epics as well. Recurring mythological mention of Kuaman — both the name of a river that flows down from Bukidnon down to Arakan and the area in Arakan surrounding it — leads Manuel and subsequent anthropologists and historians to hypothesize that this area is the historic seat of Monuvu civilization. Until Magpet (and its daughter town of Arakan) would be formed a municipality in 1963, Kuaman was part of Kidapawan.

The epic itself revolves around the hero Tuwaang, to whom is attributed superhuman abilities: immense strength and valour, supernatural powers, talent in crafts, and good looks.

In the Monuvu epic tradition, Tuwaang is the only character who is named, with all other characters referred to by their places of origin (“Young Man from Sakadna,” or “Maiden of the Buhong Sky”). This is a profound honor, and as such one of Tuwaang’s epithets is “Duwon Ngaran” (literally “He With a Name”). Another of his epithets is “Nod Ollowon,” literally “He Who is Like the Sun,” in reference to his good looks. Other epithets — which are also in the Tulalang of the Ilianen — compare him to the heron, in reference to the etymology of his name (the Tawong is a kind of white heron).  

In all of the episodes available to us, he is depicted being able to travel between vast distances very quickly, and is always facing opponents from other worlds. His romantic liaisons with goddesses — particularly the spirits of the water Gamowhamow and Olimugkat — are frequently mentioned, and in the first song of the epic Manuel published the hero is depicted winning the titular Maiden of the Buhong Sky. In other songs he is depicted being able to travel between worlds (in one case, having been forced down during a fight into the underworld, he chats with the god of death Moivuyan to ask about his opponent’s weakness), and he can even bring the dead back to life by spitting betel chew.

The plot of the known episodes, in fact, are all primarily demonstrations of Tuwaang’s greatness, each situation often concluding with Tuwaang demonstrating his remarkable ability. In one song, a mysterious woman who is described as being “shrouded in darkness” suddenly appears in a place as if distraught, but while nobody is able to bring her out of her veil of darkness, all Tuwaang had to do was lie down beside her, and his snoring was described as so music-like the woman lifted her veil to flirt with him. In another song, the groom in a wedding Tuwaang attends is unable to pay part of the Sablag (bride price) so Tuwaang ends up paying it for him, but the bride ends up falling in love with Tuwaang instead.

The level of exaggeration in Tuwaang’s abilities is, quite literally, to an epic proportion — and it remains very entertaining even after all these generations.

Which is not to say the epic is merely for entertainment — it is clear from the known songs that the epic is also a powerful way by which the vast knowledge system of the Monuvu is transmitted. There is abundant reference to wildlife and fashion, demonstrations of formal speech and courtesy, and more importantly, allegories that articulate the values of the people from whom the epic comes.

The scene, for instance, in which a bride ends up falling for Tuwaang, clearly demonstrates the importance of the bride price in Monuvu marriages — not that Tuwaang “stole” the bride (as many contemporary readers are bound to read) but that he, who paid the Sablag, was in fact the rightful groom.

These specific scenes mentioned are from two of the only songs of the epic to ever see print to date, Mongovay’t Buhong no Langit (published in 1958 by the University of the Philippines Press as “Maiden of the Buhong Sky”) and Tuwaang Midsakop Tobpoopawoy (published in 1975 by the Ateneo de Manila University Press as “Tuwaang Attends a Wedding”).

Both songs are sourced from Saddani Pagayaw, who got it from Inuk of Tambuvung and who subsequently transcribed and translated it with E. Arsenio Manuel.

These two are “songs” — Uwahing in Monuvu. The word “chant” may also be an acceptable translation, but chanting may be done without music, whereas uwahing is always performed with melody. “Uwahing” is a very specific kind of singing, as it refers to songs of a narrative nature.

The Uwahing that Saddani and Manuel were able to document were transmitted more or less verbatim, give or take a few innovations by succeeding generations of singers. From these recordings we can see that the Uwahing of Tuwaang usually follow a formula and conventions, many of which Manuel himself remarked on.

Both published songs are broken down into four distinct parts: the Tabbayanon, the Bantangon, the Pamara, and the Uwahing proper. The first three are collectively also called the Tabbayanon, while the latter half the Uwahing.

The Tabbayanon (root word “tabbay,” sibling) begins the performance. It is a dramatic monologue in song, often implying a simple narrative situation. This narrative is completely unconnected to the story of the epic itself, but serves as a thematic prologue to establish the present chanting’s desired message. The section is so named because it usually begins with reference to two sisters (who are metaphorically described as a pair of birds called Simallun).

In the Tabbayanon that came with the recording of Tuwaang Midsakop Tobpoopawoy, for instance, there is a dialogue between two sisters, the elder planning to commit suicide because word has gotten out of her indiscretion (which Manuel implies is of a sexual nature):

Ay tabbay lohinat, lohinat kad
Ay, a-andap pa ru kaddiay
Kaddonogdog no kaamag
Ay tabbay od ikahi ron
kos tambang urin simallun:
Manga kakoy, kahi rin
Kaay kod adkarinog
Kaddonogdog no kaamag
To lamig dini tidtallak
No dini od dunggut keta
Nod ikahi rok tambang kaken simallun:
Ay manga uri, antap ku
Na siyak mohod kewasad ta bonuwa
Nadtinlunusad to ingod
Su mandobbo
Id ubpa a
Naseebbo rok gontangan ni amanggay
Nakehe rok pooviyan ni ama
Pomot karupangngan ku

Ay, sister arise, arise
Ay we have to listen
To the roaring wind
Ay, the sister, she now speaks
the younger simallun bird:
my older sister, she says,
I can hear it now from here
The roaring wind
From that side where the sun rises
Now coming towards us.
Now she speaks, the elder simallun bird:
Ay, younger sister, I think
I shall soon leave this village
Leave this earth
For what else could be the reason for living here
[When] father’s measuring cup has been shaken
His weights have been disturbed
by my own indiscretion

This situation has nothing to do with the succeeding story of Tuwaang Midsakop Tobpoopawoy — but the importance of customary law (in Monuvu called Pooviyan woy Gontangan, literally two kinds of measuring cups, images that appear in the Tabbayanon above) is the reason why Tuwaang gets the bride.

The Bantangon, a very short section, transitions from the Tabbayanon, and merely announces that the Tabbayanon is over. Then the singing proceeds to the Pamara, which declares the start of the Tuwaang and, in most cases, serves as invocation to previous chanters (this is where Udsuyan is often invoked). The Pamara is a shared feature in other epic traditions, in which it serves as invocation to spirits to bless the act of chanting.

Both halves of the Uwahing are in verse but do not follow any rigid rhyme or meter. What makes the language poetic, however, is the repeated use of well-established tropes and structures. Monuvu poetry has elevated the simile to a sophisticated level of refinement. Succeeding lines are often synonymous, but vary because they use synonymous or related words, and are often written in parallel. In these lines for instance which praise the sweetness of Tuwaang’s voice, the parallelism defines the poetry:

Na gurali nakaonna
na iyan duman kadsuman
ka pandoy nagpomoondag
na tagyam nagpamanguving

And when his voice had fallen
he sounded similar to
an artist playing the poondag flute
an expert playing the kubing

Because only two uwahing songs have been published, we do not know if Saddani’s and Manuel’s other recordings follow these conventions. 

What we know is that the Pamara is also in Tulalang Slays the Dragon, the song from the Ilianen Tulalang that the linguist Hazel Wrigglesworth recorded in 1977 from chanter Betawan Minlimpang (the song begins with an invocation to the spirit named Datu Teteremen). Both Tulalang and Tuwalang (the epic that Millondaga, Ragragio, and Paluga recorded from Jenita Egaan of Tico in 2024) demonstrate the same poetic devices that Saddani and Manuel recorded. The latter also began with an invocation to the spirit of creativity Tohovikaa, but this was not formally identified as a Pamara.

The Tuwaang tradition, however, is not exclusively Uwahing, as there also many cases when the epic’s story is transmitted non-verbatim. This form in Monuvu is called Pongumanon, stories told in prose. 

Manuel himself recorded several such prose episodes of the epic from various chanters, and published two of them as synopses in Harvest of Songs: Asawan Tuwaang nid Ahaw to Anak Tagkasayug no Lavuta (The Wife of Tuwaang Kidnapped by the Man from the Swaying Land), which was recited to him by Ambuat Omad; and Si Tuwaang Ibpaasawa ni Moivuyan to Anak Din (Tuwaang is Desired by Moivuyan to be Married to her Daughter), sourced from Datu Akyaw Suhat. 

Later, the Kaliwat Theatre Collective would also document Pongumanon about the hero from Arakan in Arakan: Where Rivers Speak of the Manobo’s Living Dreams. In 2005 Macario Tiu published an episode entitled Tuwaang and the Son of God, sourced from the late Datu Manuel Arayam, who had written it down by hand in Bisaya in 2002.  Although having roots in Monubisa, Magpet, Datu Arayam was strongly associated for much of his life with Kidapawan.

This latter version would bring up the total episodes of the epic published to five (four, if we were to count the Tuwalang from Tico as the same epic tradition). Manuel had planned to publish another song, Tuwaang’s Wife Commits Suicide, but this did not materialize.

The vast majority of the recorded episodes of the Tuwaang, then, remain untranscribed and unpublished. That collection comes in the form of Manuel’s tape recordings, which Manuel “deposited to Dr Jose Maceda of the UP Department of Music Research.” Whether those tapes made their way into what is now the Jose Maceda Collection, I have yet to find out.

This of course speaks nothing of the songs that have yet to be recorded — the exact number whereof is also a mystery. Epic chanting has in recent decades become worryingly rare, and it is certainly not included in extant formal IP education mechanisms.

For the reference of literary, cultural, and historical researchers, we compile here the known episodes of the Tuwaang along with the chanters from whom they are sourced. Most of them are from E. Arsenio Manuel’s own catalogue of his recordings, and all but six remain untranscribed and unpublished, and it is not known either if the recordings still exist, or if these episodes are still being chanted. In almost all cases, the names of the chanters appear online for the first time.

1. Mangovay’t Buhong no Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky), sourced from Saddani Pagayaw, who got it from Inuk of Tambuvung, published as verse transcription with translation
2. Tuwaang Midsakup Tobpoopawoy (Tuwaang Attends a Wedding), sourced from Saddani Pagayaw, who got it from Inuk of Tambuvung, published as verse transcription with translation
3. Tuwaang and the Son of God, sourced from Datu Manuel Arayam, published as prose
4. Tuwalang, His Sister, and the Son of Panolingising, sourced from Jenita Egaan, published as verse transcription with translation
5. Asawan Tuwaang nid Ahaw to Anak Tagkasayug no Lavuta (The Wife of Tuwaang Kidnapped by the Man from the Swaying Land), sourced in Lumut from Ambuat Omad, published as synopsis
6. Si Tuwaang Ibpaasawa ni Moivuyan to Anak Din (Tuwaang is Desired by Moivuyan to be Married to her Daughter), sourced from Datu Akyaw Suhat, published as synopsis
7. Id-Ayan si Tuwaang woy Iddos Manga Mangayaw (Tuwaang Ambushed by his Enemies), sourced from Ambis Ammad
8. Si Tuwaang od Tavang to Anak no Naanod (Tuwaang Lends a Hand to a Drowning Woman), sourced from Aring Suhat, who got it from Ambaayon
9. Mongovay Mid-awas (The Maiden who was Cast Away), sourced from Sinaya Mailan, who learned from her father Mailan of Kiunapawan
10. Mongovay to Laginawan Livuta (The Maiden from the Land of Laginawa) sourced from Sinaya Mailan, who learned from her father Mailan of Kiunapawan
11. Sowan Tuwaang Nidsakup Tabpoopawoy (Tuwaang’s Wife Attends a Wedding), sourced from Aring Suhat, who got it from Ambaayon
12. Oruwon Mangovay Diyot Tinangob no Buwawan (Two Maidens in a Covered Basket of Gold), sourced from Aring Suhat, who got it from Ambaayon
13. Tuwaang Mibpuuwas to Linimut no Tinangob (Tuwaang Opens the Sealed Basket), sourced from Aring Suhat, who got it from Ambaayon
14. Tuwaang Midpangayaw (Tuwaang Goes on Revenge), sourced from Tunggay Suhat, who learned it from his mother, who learned it from her father
15. Tabbay ni Tuwaang Nidtangag to Anak Tod-usarayan to Kaamag (Tuwaang’s Sister is Carried Away by the Young Man from the Land of the Swaying Wind), sourced from Saddani Pagayaw, who learned it from Tunggay Suhat, who learned it from his mother, who learned it from her father
16. Anak to Panlawayan Midpangayaw ki Tuwaang (The Young Man of Panlawayan Country Fights Tuwaang), sourced from Tunggay Suhat, who learned it from his mother, who learned it from her father
17. Anak ni Tuwaang (Son of Tuwaang), sourced from Tunggay Suhat, who learned it from his mother, who learned it from her father
18. Kodtabban Tuwaang woy Unnan Nasaharan Din (Tuwaang’s Birth and Early Adventures), sourced from Tunggay Suhat, who learned it from his mother, who learned it from her father
19. Tuwaang woy Mongovay (Tuwaang and the Maiden), sourced from Mavilaw Imbang, inherited from his father
20. Idtabbaw si Tuwaang (Tuwaang is Born), sourced from Sumuhoy Kaunoy
21. Tabbay’n Tuwaang no Migpanakaw to Kanakan to Notamana’t Livuta (Tuwaang is Kidnapped by the Young Man from the Edge of the Earth), sourced from Mavilaw Imbang
22. Panadsang ni Tuwaang (Tuwaang’s Lieutenant), sourced from Awinding Manggavas, who got it from her mother
23. Si Tuwaang Idlawwit Amoy woy Inoy rin Diyot Ingod to Gimukud (Tuwaang Visits his Father and Mother in the Land of Souls), sourced from Banlak Subpangon, who got it from Inuk of Tambuvung
24. Id Guavung ak Kuaman (Drought Dries Up Kuaman), sourced from Banlak Subpangon, who got it from Inuk of Tambuvung
25. Tuwaang Nidlawwit Kakoy Rin (Tuwaang Visits his Older Brother), sourced from Mahunlayon Bintayaw, who got it from Inuk of Tambuvung
26. Si Tuwaang Nibpaumawt Anggam Din (Tuwaang is Called by his Uncle), sourced from Tayma Linaw in Saaysay
27. Mongovay’t Mahimon (The Maiden of Mahimon), sourced from Ombis Pilyanon in Saaysay
28. Tuwaang Mid Undiyat Sampayatat Lawali (Tuwaang’s Trip to the Land of Sampayatat Lawali), sourced from Mining Ukada in Saaysay
29. Tuwaang Miggeda ta Tindu Ahus ta Lanaw (Tuwaang Goes to the Land of Tindu Ahus ta Lanaw), sourced from Ontogon Sumuhoy in Saaysay
30. Si Tuwaang Idtaus to Pangayawan (Tuwaang Goes to War), sourced from Abun Nayaw in Saaysay
31. Anak Tadsalakaat Kahay-an (The Young Man from Salaakat Kahay-an), sourced from Ontogon Sumuhoy in Saaysay
32. Malitan Nodpahohenop (The Woman Who Had a Dream), sourced from Ongolan Tivayon in Saaysay
33. Si Tuwaang Abpanguyawat Sawa Rin (Tuwaang’s Wife Becomes Unfaithful), sourced from Mantikayan Sasaw in Saaysay
34. Si Tuwaang Nakaasawat Livahanon (Tuwaang Marries a Maiden from Livahanon), sourced from Dawaya Rondam  in Saaysay
35. Si Tuwaang Id Angay to Gimukud to Amoy woy Inoy Rin (Tuwaang Had His Father’s and Mother’s Souls released from the Land of Souls), sourced in Saaysay from Utay Ute, who heard it from Adan Kamad of Malivatuan
36. Arin Tuwaang Nod Angayan to Gimukud Buyyag Rin (Tuwaang’s Young Brother is Called by Parents in the Land of Souls), sourced from Awinding Manggavas in Lumut
37. Mongovay Tadlilung no Pombuvungan (The Maiden from Lilung Mountain), sourced from Aring Suhat in Lumut
38. Si Tuwaang Kibpanuvad (Tuwaang Offers a Prayer), sourced from Sinaya Mailan in Lumut
39. Si Tuwaang Nibpaumaw to Padna Rin (Tuwaang Calls his Followers), sourced from Odong Omad in Lumut
40. Si Tuwaang Od Undiyon to Banuwa’t Sakadna (Tuwaang Goes to the Land of Sakadna), sourced from Odong Omad in Lumut
41. Si Tuwaang Nidtaus to Pangayawan (Tuwaang Goes to Battle), sourced from Odong Omad in Lumut
42. Si Tuwaang Mid Undiyon to Saapin Pombuvungan (Tuwaang Goes to the Silvery Mountain), sourced from Osonan Manggavas in Lumut
43. Si Tuwaang Nid Ollet Mongovay to Natamayuk no Langit (Tuwaang Visits the Maiden of the Natamayuk Sky), sourced from Ombis Damali in Lumut
44. Tabbay ni Tuwaang Nibpanaw to Anak to Natarinan (Tuwaang’s Sister is Carried Away by the Young Man from the Land of Natarinan), sourced from Amiling Ansuwoy in Lumut
45. Si Tuwaang Adsundaw Tabpohohana (Tuwaang Attends a Gather of a Diviner), sourced in Lumut from Sinangkanay Namansila, with a similar titled song sourced from Latimbang Aloy (uncertain if the two are identical)
46. Anak Tabpanlumben Pommuvungan Nidlawwit Tuwaang (The Young Man from the Flowering Mountain Visits Tuwaang), sourced from Mapawa Namansila in Lumut
47. Tuwaang Nidlawwit Kakoy Rin (Tuwaang Visits his Older Brother), sourced from Mahunlayon Bintayaw in Lumut
48. Anak Nid Ingod Tadsamungsamung (The Young Man who Lived in the Land of Samungsamung), sourced from Tunggay Suhat in Lumut
49. Si Tuwaang Abpangayaw Diyot Pamudvaran (Tuwaang Attacks the Land of Pamudvaran), sourced from Latimbang Aloy in Lumut
50. Od A-ahaw si Tuwaang (Tuwaang Carries Away a Woman), sourced from Latimbang Aloy in Lumut
51. Si Tuwaang Idlawwit Anggam Din Nabbunuwon to Maanaw (Tuwaang Rescues his Uncle Who was Ambushed by the Maranaws), sourced from Latimbang Aloy in Lumut
52. Si Tuwaang Ibpaumow’t Inayan Din Su Od Undiyon to Aggi’t Makaondam (Tuwaang is Called by his Aunt so That He Could Go to the Grassland of Makaondam), sourced from Ombis Damali in Lumut
53. Mongovay’t Nodsinaggaw’t Ari Rin (The Maiden who Cried for Her Younger Sister), sourced from Lahaling Tipa-an in Saaysay
54. Si Tuwaang Id Undiyo’t Auman (Tuwaang Goes to Auman), sourced from Akug Malimpanung in Tawantawan
55. Oruwon Ammaw Tagkapayahan (Two Dumb Young Men of Kapayahan), sourced from Mahunlayon Bintayaw of Dallag while in Lumut