| The Cotabato Manobo (Dulangan Manobo) people of the Philippines are an indigenous people whose natural-resource-rich homeland is being appropriated by loggers and settlers from the dominant society. This study investigates the Manobo's response, highlighting adaptive shifts in their social organization to withstand these outside forces. It documents the evolution of coordinated action among the Manobo, the appearance of organizations seeking secure land rights, and the possible causal mechanisms that may have triggered these changes. It also explores possible causal linkages between certain characteristics of groups and their effectiveness.; The study data were taken from interviews with Manobo knowledgeable in their traditional and current social, political, economic, and religious practices, and with participants in several types of groups, including church congregations and organizations, literacy and health programs, agricultural groups, cooperatives, and land rights organizations. The analytical paradigms were drawn from theories relating the emergence, extent, and configuration of coordination within a society to its interaction with outside forces.; A major finding is that the Manobo's coordinated efforts to withstand pressures from the dominant society originated in the religious domain. Many Manobo adopted Christianity over the last half-century, but appropriated it in a decentralized manner free of outside ecclesiastical control, based instead on local autonomous congregations under Manobo leadership. The new ideology produced a common identity among adherents, leading to regular meetings among indigenous pastors. At the same time, the Manobo Christians retained their traditional view of religion as being pertinent to matters of daily life. The indigenous pastoral gatherings therefore led to concerted action, to an expanding network of civil associations, and eventually to the establishment of land rights organizations. Parallel to this process, the Manobo responded to outside pressures by increasing the horizontal and vertical coordination within their organizations.; The emergence and effectiveness of Manobo organizations has often been hindered by government favoritism toward loggers and settlers, long-standing enemies of natural forests. Successful Manobo control over what remains of their ancestral territory may therefore improve not only their own lot, but also the effective and sustainable management of the area's natural resources. |
