Folk maps and portable tools for sago forests: Aspects of Agusan Manobo ecological knowledge MJ Paluga , M Alaba , EE Abadesco , A Adovas University of the Philippines Mindanao Mintal, Davao City (Email: myfeljoseph@yahoo.com) 2 BA Anthropology graduates (2011), University of the Philippines Mindanao

1. Folk maps and portable tools for sago forests:
Aspects of Agusan Manobo ecological knowledge
MJ Paluga1, M Alaba2, EE Abadesco2, A Adovas2
1 Universityof the Philippines Mindanao
Mintal, Davao City (Email: myfeljoseph@yahoo.com)
2 BA Anthropology graduates (2011), University of the
Philippines Mindanao

2. This is part of an on-going research on the ‘anthropology of
sago’ in the Agusan marsh region (Mindanao).
We want to understand the practices and patterns of this
enduring Agusanon Manobo/sago forest (lugbok,
kalumbiahan) interactions in its broad socio-political and
ecological contexts.
In this presentation, we want to focus on the spatial (‘folk-
mapping’/ethno-geography) and technological (tools in palm-
starch processing) aspects of this human-forest relation.

3. Process and Methods
We stayed for a total of several weeks (April-May, December
2010; January, April-May 2011) in at least two villages (in
Bunawan and Veruela municipalities) and did ‘ethnographic
work’.
This involved not only talking with folks in varied settings but
also poring over state documents, mapping and measuring,
accompanying folks in their forest-related activities, reading
related studies even while in the field, and many other bits
and ends to gather apt information relevant to our themes.

52. Thank you!