Tagabili
This suite features the tribe known as the T'boli. The Tagabili's tribal beliefs suggested the theme for this suite.
The theme is chanted by the Narrator and the Chorus of weavers as the tale about to unfold is solemnly woven into
the cloth. The personages of the royal house enter with the common folk. The Datu (tribal chief), his brother, and
his three wives enter, followed by the princess, the favorite among the six daughters, and her sisters. In fits of
jealousy, the Datu slays his brother and receives a curse.
Taking recourse in his people's traditional belief that espousal will avert misfortune, the Datu seeks a noble groom
for his favorite daughter's hand. In the assemblage that follows, the servitors and vying suitors perform individual
numbers typical of their region as part of their courtship, namely, Karal Iwas (a dance mimicking monkeys), the
Crab Dance, Mandayan (or an eagle), and a T'boli rich man displaying some of his young villagers. But all in vain.
Suddenly, the girl is stricken ill and dies. In the end, catastrophe falls on the entire village, and the Datu burns his
whole village and all of his belongings.