From one source we learn that the Ata are small, in many respects resembling the Negrito; that they are timid and are either nomads or build their houses high in the branches of trees. Another writer tells us that they are a superior type, with aquiline noses, thick beards, and are tall. "They are very brave and hold their own with the Moro." We are also told that they cultivate the soil and build good houses.
The estimates concerning their numbers are equally conflicting. Governor Bolton gives the population as six thousand; the report of the Philippine Commission for 1900 credits them with eight thousand, while Father Gisbert believed that they aggregated "not less than twenty thousand souls."
The divergent reports are due to the fact that up to the year 1886 only one village of this people had been visited,[97] and since that time only a few hasty trips have been made into their territory.
[97] BLAIR and ROBERTSON, Vol. XLIII, pp. 242-3.
From our present information it seems probable that the Ata are descendants of an early invading people who intermarried first with the early Negrito inhabitants, and later with other tribes with which they came in contact. They have been free borrowers from their neighbors in all respects, and hence we find them occupying all the steps from the nomad condition of the pygmy blacks to the highly specialized life of the Guianga.
The following account of their beliefs was extracted from letters written by Governor Bolton. He fails to designate the section from which the information was gathered, but its similarity to Bagobo and Guianga makes it probable that the account comes from the Ata dwelling near those people. Considerable variation will doubtless be found in other districts.
"The greatest of all the spirits is Manama[98] who made the first men from blades of grass, weaving them together until they resembled a human form. In this manner he made eight persons—male and female—who later became the ancestors of the Ata and all the neighboring tribes. Long after this the water covered the whole earth and all the Ata were drowned except two men and a woman. The waters carried them far away and they would have perished had not a large eagle come to their aid. This bird offered to carry them to their homes on its back. One man refused, but the other two accepted its help and returned to Mapula.
[98] See page 106.
"The other deities are Mandarangan, Malalayug, god of agriculture; Mabalian, the spirit who presides over childbirth; Tarasyub and Taratuan, the guardian spirits of the brass and iron workers; Boypandi—the spirit who guards over the weavers."
While in the Ata country the Governor observed certain customs of the people. As his party approached the palisaded house of Madundun they stopped for twenty minutes to perform a ceremony called anting-anting. "An old man waved his shield and a cloth, meanwhile repeating mysterious words. Then each man was given a chew of betel-nut and was well rubbed with a charm." "At Tuli a swarm of bees passed over the house just as the party was ready to start. This was taken as a sign that some of the party would be killed by the arrows of the enemy, hence they refused to go." "Likewise, if the dove limokan calls on the left side of the trail the party will refuse to proceed, unless another limokan answers the call from the right side of the path."