The recent history of the tribe, as told by Datu Bongkalasan of Padada, as is follows:  “About a hundred years ago when Gogo became datu, he left Kulaman and settled at Piapi, not far from Padada, and planted the cocoanut trees which can still be seen there.  He was a man with a very small head, but his arms were as large as a man’s legs.  He lived until very old, and during his lifetime never did any work but was always a great warrior.  Under him the tribe became strong and all the other datu feared him.  When he died his son Kolatau my uncle, succeeded him.  Like his father, he was a great warrior and all the neighboring tribes paid him slaves and other tribute.  His two sons died during his lifetime; so upon his death the leadership fell to me, Bongkalasan.”

By the time Bongkalasan became ruler, the influence of the Spaniards was strong enough to break the power of any coast datu, and after a hostile demonstration by the new ruler his town was destroyed and his following scattered.  A part of the people took to the hills while others migrated to the east side of the Gulf and settled near Sigaboy.  It is not believed that any members of this tribe were in that vicinity prior to this time.  A further migration took place shortly after the arrival of the Americans, when a brother of Bongkalasan took a number of the Kulaman over to Sigaboy.  A certain amount of communication is kept up between the people on both sides of the Gulf and the dialects are still so similar that it is certain the separation has not been for any great period of time.

Upon the establishment of American rule a number of hemp planters settled along the coast and soon their inducements to laborers began to scatter the people, until today members of this tribe can be found as far north as Santa Cruz.  The power and influence of the datu has waned until he now has a following of less than two hundred people.  Only that portion of the tribe which retired to the hills still maintains any semblance of their old prowess and even those groups are growing smaller year by year.

At the height of their power the men of the tribe were noted as boat-builders[1] and fishermen.  Fighting also took up a considerable portion of their time, for added to their desire for loot and slaves was a demand for victims imposed by the warrior deity.  The women cultivated little patches of corn, camotes, and some cocoanuts, and at certain seasons all the members of the tribe went to the forest to gather sago, but aside from this the sea furnished most of their food supply.  According to their own stories they did not cultivate rice until recent years, and Datu Bongkalasan insists that none of the people planted rice when he was a boy.  It is his belief that all the ceremonies connected with the rice culture were learned from the Tagakaolo and Bila-an.

[1] This art is now practically lost and their boats are secured from the Moro.