The name Tagakaolo means inhabitants of headwater (olo sa tubig) or sources of rivers and streams. According to the Spaniards, these places are the favored dwelling sites of the Kaolos. On the other hand, according to Fay Cooper Cole, an American anthropologist who wrote in the early 1900s the name Kalagan referred to those Tagakaolos who converted to Islam. But for the practice of Islam, the Tagakaolo and the Kalagans belong to the same cultural group. During the American colonization of Davao, the Tagakaulos were described as a warlike and turbulent people. Mungalayon, a Tagakaolo, killed Edward Bolton, the first American Governor of Davao. Today, the Tagakaolos and Kalagans are found in the Municipality of Malungon, Sarangani Province (Dr. Heidi K. Gloria, Historian).
The elderly woman shown above is from Barangay Panamin, Malungon (taken in 2006). She wore her traditional dress and complete head accessories, necklaces, and gold teeth.
Source:Indigenous Peoples Development Program, Sarangani Province
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