have few children with the average being 3.5 persons. Subsistence The Batak today engage in many occupations which includes foraging, selling forest derived goods, shifting cultivation, and workers under Filipino farmers or other employers. Primary food for the Batak were squirrels, jungle fowls, wild pigs, honey, fruits, yams, fish, mollusks, crustaceans and more. The main source for these food items come from the forests in the region. The Batak used many methods to capture animals like pigs with the use of bows and arrows, spears, dogs, or homemade guns which varied as time passed and foreign influence increased. When it came to trading, the Batak mostly sold rattan, honey, and Manila copal. In return, they received clothing materials, rice, and other goods. A few Batak also cultivate rice, corn, sweet potato, and cassava. Wage labor for nearby farmers is important to the Batak economy. Batak men are usually hired out for a few days to do certain work like clearing weeds, harvesting, or to pick coconuts and coffee. Local tourism is also a source of revenue for the Bataks. Indigenous Batak religion Immortals Maguimba: the god in the remotests times, lived among the people, having been summoned by a powerful babaylan (shaman); provided all the necessities of life, as well as all cures for illnesses; has the power to bring the dead back to life Diwata: a benevolent god who provides for the needs of women and men, and gives out rewards for good deeds Angoro: a deity who lives in Basad, a place beyond this world, where the souls find out whether they will enter the heavens called Lampanag, or be cast into the depths of Basad Deities of Strength Siabuanan Bankakah Paraen Buengelen Baybayen Batungbayanin: spirit of the mountains Paglimusan: spirit of the small stones Balungbunganin: spirit of the almaciga trees Sulingbunganin: spirit of the big rocks Esa’: an ancestor whose movements created the landscapes, which he named during a hunting journey with his dogs, who were after wild pigs Baybay: the goddess and master of rice who originated from Gunay Gunay, the edge of the universe; married to Ungaw Ungaw: the god and master of bees who originated from Gunay Gunay, the edge of the universe; married to Baybay Panya’en: mystic entities who control certain wild trees and various animals Kiudalan: in charge of forest pigs Napantaran: in charge of forest pigs See also Molbog people Palawan