56 would, with only, slight modification, apply to all the other tribes,
with the exception of certain groups of the Ata in which the Negrito
element is very pronounced. In brief, the various influences that have
been at work on one group have influenced all the others, since their
arrival on the island of Mindanao.

This conclusion is further justified by the language in which a large
per cent of the words in daily use are common to all the groups. Even
the Bila-an dialect, which differs more from all the others than do any
of those from one another, has so many words in common with the coast
tongues and is so similar in structure that one of my native boys, who
never before had seen a Bila-an, was able freely to carry on a
conversation within a few days after his arrival in one of their most
isolated settlements.

Similar as are the people and their dialects, the cultural agreements
are even more noticeable. Taking the Bagobo as a starting point, we find
a highly developed culture which, with a few minor changes, holds good
for the tribes immediately surrounding. These in turn differ little from
their neighbors, although from time to time some new forms appear. The
Cibolan type of dwelling, with its raised platform at one end and
box-like enclosures along the side walls, is met with until the Mandaya
territory is approached, while, with little variation, the house
furnishings and utensils in daily use are the same throughout the
District. The same complicated method of overtying, dyeing, and weaving
of hemp employed in the manufacture of women's skirts is in use from
Cateel in the north to Sarangani Bay in the south, while in the
manufacture of weapons the iron worker in Cibolan differs not at all
from his fellow-craftsman among the Mandaya. Here we are confronted by
the objection that, so far as is known, no iron work is done by the
Bila-an and Ata, but this is a condition which is encountered throughout
the archipelago. In the interior of Luzon are found isolated villages,
the inhabitants of which are expert workers in iron and steel, while
their neighbors seem to be ignorant of the process.[142] The writer
holds to the opinion that iron working is an ancient art throughout the
Philippine archipelago and that its use for various reasons, such as
lack of material, has died out in certain sections. Brass workers are
found among most of the tribes, but, as was observed earlier in this
paper, there is sufficient evide