Mandaya Farming Beliefs and Practices of Ten Selected Farmers in Batiano, San Pedro, Caraga, Davao Oriental

Abstract

The study on Mandaya Farming Beliefs and Practices of Ten Selected Farmers was conducted in Batiano, San Pedro, Caraga, Davao Oriental.

The subjects were the farmers belonging to the Mandaya tribe who had been identified according to their tribal bloodline and their being practitioners of the indigenous farming system until at present.

There were ten farmers interviewed. The questions were asked in Mandaya dialect. An interview guid was utilized in order to determine the rituals and activities undertaken during a particular farming stage. The subjects explained the processes, purposes and materials comprehensively.

The study has the following findings: The Mandaya farming system is completed in five stages. These are the Land Preparation, Planting, Farm Care and Maintenance and Fallow Period. There are five major rituals determined as well as the different practices observed by the farmers in every farming stage.

Regarding the purposes of performing rituals and observing the different beliefs and practices, the subjects of the study articulated that every farmer has to strike a balance in adoring the Magbabaya, in seeking help from the spirits and in appeasing the evils in order not to tempt them. When all these are fulfilled, a good harvest will be attained.

There is a significant relationship between the Mandaya farming system and the endeavors of promoting values for respect, protection and preservation of the environmental resources and the entire ancestral domain. The farming system of the Mandayas suggests an integral and environment-friendly process of maintaining a sound environment towards sustainable development of the entire ancestral domain.