The word Bukidnon means “people of the mountains”, but historian Ronald K. Edgerton also gives another name for them: the people of the middle ground. As he writes in his book of the same name, “Many Bukidnons mastered the art of borrowing from the new without losing touch with the old. [...] And over time they developed a capacity to envision themselves [...] as negotiators between worlds, skilled at including both in a new, more accommodating world view.”

This middle ground was pushed to the limit during World War II, when Japanese troops invaded the fastness of the mountains and Philippine soldiers splintered into guerrilla groups. Now, in the dark days of wartime, the Bukidnon found themselves caught in the middle of conquerors, resistance fighters, criminals, cults… and even cannibals!

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References:

Edgerton, Ronald K. (2008). People of the Middle Ground: A Century of Conflict and Accommodation in Central Mindanao, 1880s-1980s. Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Esteban, Rolando (2016). “Cannibalism among Japanese Soldiers in Bukidnon, Philippines, 1945–47.” Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, 52(1).

Shiraz, Josie (2025). “Echoes of Defeat: The Horrors of Japanese Stragglers in Post-WWII Bukidnon.” Pacific Atrocities Education. https://www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/echoes-of-defeat-the-horrors-of-japanese-stragglers-in-post-wwii-bukidnon

Kyoto National Museum (undated). “Tales of Hungry Ghosts (Gaki zōshi).”  Google Arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/tales-of-hungry-ghosts-gaki-soshi-kyoto-national-museum/ZQVByl-_mamPJQ?hl=en

“National Treasure: Tales of Hungry Ghosts (Gaki zōshi).” Kyoto National Museum. https://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/collection/meihin/emaki/item03/