21/08/2026
Indeed JAS Amazing
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ข๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ!
The province is home to four indigenous cultural communities, and each has its own distinct name for the small primate!
The Manobo of Jose Abad Santos and other DavOcc towns call the animal ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฬ๐ฌ
The Blaan, meanwhile, call it ๐๐๐ฅ
For the Tagakolu, the word is ๐๐ฆ๐๐
And for the Sangil, they are called ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ก
Extant literature has labeled the Tarsier population in Davao Occidental as ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐โ๐ก๐, the Philippine Tarsier. But in truth, research into Tarsiers remains scarce.
This scarcity is particularly relevant for Davao Occidental because it is the Philippine province nearest to Sulawesi, center of diversity for species in the family ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
Sarangani, in fact, is only less than two hundred kilometers from Sangihe Island, home to another Tarsier species, the Sangihe Tarsier (๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ).
The Sangihe Islands and Sulawesi are home to another genus of Tarsiers altogether, genus ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ . The relationship between this genus and the Davao Occidental Tarsier population is still subject for further research.
We are also still gathering local stories, beliefs, and customs surrounding this wonder of Davao Occidental's natural heritage
Share with us the stories you grew up with about the Emmรฉs/Mal/Amag/Woruseh!
๐ Karlo Antonio Galay David
(Note: In an earlier version of this post, the Sangil word identified was 'bombokoh,' which turns out to be the word for owl. We thank the community for the feedback!)
