"This study sets out to investigate the social system of a pagan group in central Mindanao which has never attracted attention previously. The intention is to describe the Manuvu' social system as it functions in the ethnographic present and as it has functioned during the recent past (up to and until 1941) in the important aspects of its social (family system and kinship system), economic, ritualistic, legal, and tribal) organizations. These aspects are studied primarily to formulate general statements concerning the nature of Manuvu' society and regularities in its structure and development by following the concept dynamically through time." --from the Introduction

As governments, corporations, and settlers race to take the world’s forests for their own, what happens to the indigenous peoples who live there? Are they at the mercy of overwhelming forces, destined to lose livelihood, identity, and respect as they are dispossessed and assimilated? This account of the Dulangan Manobo—an indigenous people of the Philippines whose rainforest homeland is being appropriated by loggers and settlers from the country’s dominant society—explores how one embattled society is changing its social organization to withstand outside forces. Environmental Invasion and Social Response examines the evolution of coordinated action among the Manobo, from its roots in religious response, through the development of numerous civil organizations, to its culmination in the emergence of indigenous land rights organizations. Despite government favoritism toward loggers and settlers—longstanding enemies of natural forests—the Manobo have continued to develop new social structures for cooperation in pursuit of rights to their ancestral homeland. The success of their efforts will play a large part in determining the forest’s future—destruction at the hand of outsiders, or effective and sustainable management by those who have always lived there.

This book investigates the particular history and social experience by a marginalized society in Mindanao Island, Philippines, through an analysis of the speech, song and dance in spirit possession ritual. Using the concepts of exchange and reciprocity, Buenconsejo connects the performativity of ritual song to the formation and maintenance of sociability, personhood and subjectivity. Also inlcludes maps.

This volume is a heartwarming and enlightening book of the author's life while living as a Christian worker among the Ata Manobo tribe in the Philippines. It also is an inspirational and informative book on how to live cross-culturally and introduce change, particularly Christianity, amongst the tribe. (Motivation)

In this collection of fifteen essays, archaeologists and ethnographers explore the material record of food and its consumption as social practice.

Efforts to contend with tensions inherent in multiethnic societies; case studies of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Ethnic conflict, one of the most serious and widespread problems in the world today, can undermine efforts to promote political and economic development, as well as political, economic, and social justice. It can also lead to violence and open warfare, producing horrifying levels of death and destruction. Although government policies on ethnic issues often have profound effects on a country, the subject has been neglected by most scholars and analysts. This volume analyzes different policies governments have pursued in their efforts to contend with the tensions inherent in multiethnic societies. The book focuses on Asia and the Pacific, the most populous and economically vibrant part of the world. The heart of the book is a set of case studies of government policies in sixteen countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The studies consider a wide range of political, economic, educational, linguistic, and cultural policies, and how these policies have evolved over time. Using a broad comparative perspective to assess the effectiveness of different governmental approaches, the authors offer policy recommendations that cut across individual countries and regions.

Scholars rethink the translation of environmental concepts between East and West, particularly ideas of nature and culture; what conservation might mean; and how conservation policy is applied and transformed in the everyday landscapes of Southeast Asia.