The language of this tribe, while quite uniform among its divisions, varies considerably from that of any of their coast neighbors. There is at once noticeable a more common use of obscure vowel and consonant sounds, such as b, f, E, a, and k, in the beginning, end or even in the body of the word; while the letter f, seldom found in Philippine dialects, is here very common; and finally, there is wide variation in vocabulary. There are certain ill-defined tales to the effect that this tribe once lived about Lake Buluan, and one writer[72] has attempted to show that the tribal name is derived from that early home. Today they are still in considerable numbers in that region, and this together with the fact that they are now, and have been since the advent of the white man, primarily an interior mountain people, helps to give credence to the belief that they have spread to their present homes from the lake district. Their language is a further proof that they have long been separated from the people of the Davao Gulf region, for it differs more from all the other dialects studied than did any of these vary among themselves. Despite the foregoing statement, this brief sketch has shown that in material culture, religion, and even physical type this tribe does not differ radically from the Bagobo. [72] BLUMENTRITT, _Smithsonian Report_ for 1899. III. KULAMAN. SYNONYMS. (a) CULAMANES. (b) MANOBO. According to Governor Bolton this tribe numbers about thirty-five hundred individuals and occupies a considerable portion of the coast, and adjacent mountains, from the Padada river on the north to Sarangani Bay on the south. On the east side of Davao Gulf its members are found along the beach and in the mountains, from Sigaboy to Cape San Agustin, and also in a few scattered villages on the southeastern Pacific Coast. By their neighbors they are known as Kulaman or Manobo. The former designation is translated as "bad man," but it is probable that they received the name from the town of Kulaman, where they formerly resided. They are equally well known as Manobo--a word meaning "man." Earlier writers, misled by these two names, have generally treated this people as forming two distinct groups, but this is quite incorrect, both names being applied to a part or to the whole of the tribe. It has also been customary to describe them as a part of the great Manobo tribe which inhabits a large portion of Central and Northeastern Mindanao. The writer is of the opinion that there is not sufficient evidence to justify such a classification and that for the present we must consider them as distinct from the Manobo of the northern district as are the other tribes of Davao Gulf.