The Kalagan comprise three subgroups which are usually treated as different tribes: the Tagakaulo, the Kagan, and the Kal’lao people of Samal.

[1] They are renowned as agriculturalists, cultivating rice, corn, abaca, and coconut for cash crops, whereas their counterparts living along the coast practice fishing.

The Kalagan people are most predominantly found on the River Delta areas surrounding the shorelines of Davao Gulf.

The other term also is Ka – allagan which means shining light referring to the sun as they are believed to be more advanced in lifestyle and society than their neighbouring tribes which live on the highlands of the mountains of Davao.

They also believed that all of nature like trees, stones, mountains, the river, and the ocean has a spirit, that they called maguya.

The ones who perform the rituals are priests called balyans which means shaman or healer or the ones who can contact the spirits by asking for cures for the sick, for the guidance and security of the tribe, and even fortune-telling.

Same as the Mandayas, the Kalagan people contact the spiritual realm by performing a kulintang and a ritual dance holding a kasag, a native shield with bells surrounding it, while the balyans dance, the bells creating a sound as an activation of the spirits to enter the body of the balyan.

It is believed that Kagans were Islamized by the early 16th century by Muslim missionaries from their neighbouring tribes the Maguindanaon.

Vegetables such as tomatoes, squash, and beans are grown; coconuts abound and many kinds of fruit are available.

In addition to farming, the Kalagans catch fish and obtain wild foods and other various materials from the marshes around them.

Personal adornment in the form of bright clothing, beaded jewelry, and other accessories is distinctive and colorful.