THE Bagobo Klata community continues to preserve its culture through the first cultural heritage center, TID’DOM.
Located about 25 to 35 minutes from downtown Davao on the second floor of the Los Amigos Multipurpose Building, TID’DOM — which means “handumanan” or keepsake — was inaugurated on August 30, 2024, and has since become both a milestone in cultural preservation and a starting point for efforts to safeguard Bagobo Klata traditions for future generations.
The center houses traditional artifacts and musical instruments, including an Agong reportedly more than 100 years old, Kulintang, Togo, Tribal Garments, and other cultural items that reflect the Bagobo Klata’s beliefs and history.
Datu Marvin Domingo, tribal chieftain of the Bagobo Klata, told the Philippine Information Agency Davao Region that among the 42 barangays validated by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in the region, their community is currently the only one with a Bagobo Klata cultural heritage center.
“Sa akong pagkabalo, within the 42 barangays confirmed and validated by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in sa atoang region, for Bagobo Klata tribe, kani palang ang naay Bagobo Klata Cultural and Heritage Center,” Domingo said, adding that the facility was created to ensure knowledge is passed on and celebrated across generations.
(Based on my knowledge, among the 42 barangays confirmed and validated by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) within our region, we are the only one that has a Bagobo Klata Cultural and Heritage Center).
He described the center as a long‑held dream of the tribal council and a communal achievement rather than a personal project.
“Dream gyud nako na. Malipay man gud ko makakita og ingon ana [cultural heritage center]. Naa ko’y ginaadto nga heritage center, maka-isip ko how about one day, maka put up pud ko og personal nga cultural heritage. Mao na akong personal dream, pero dili man na mahimo kung ako lang. So, mao na akong nahimong initiative sa tribal council,” Domingo said.
(That has always been my dream. I genuinely feel joy whenever I see something like a cultural heritage center. Whenever I visit one, I can’t help but think what if, someday, I could establish my own personal cultural heritage center? That is my personal aspiration, but I know it’s not something I can achieve alone. That’s why it also became my initiative in the tribal council).
Domingo said the center is active and interactive: children are taught to play traditional instruments, and tribal attire is available for educational demonstrations and cultural activities.
He emphasized that TID’DOM is intended to be a living space for culture, a place where traditions are practiced, taught, and shared with the wider public.
He said he, himself, along with the tribal council members, makes this an avenue to respond to concerns over cultural decline, noting that the Bagobo Klata are among the more vulnerable and diminishing indigenous groups in Davao City.
He also invited local residents and visitors to come and learn about Bagobo Klata heritage at TID’DOM. PIA DAVAO