1. Hanunuo
Hanunuo Mangyans can be found within the territorial jurisdiction of the towns of Mansalay and San Pedro (Bulalacao)
along the periphery of Southeastern Mindoro. Their population is approximately 66,132 (OSCC, 1987).
Hanunuo means "true", "real," or "genuine". According to Conklin, when he asked them what kind of Mangyans they
were, the Mangyans' answers to his queries were nothing else but their claim to be true, real, and genuine Mangyans.
True enough, because among the Mangyans they have remained faithful to the traditions of their forefathers.
The Hanunuosare fairly tall in structure, and their bodies are slim and well-proportioned. They have oblique eyes, flat
nose, prominent cheekbone, flat forehead, and olive skin. Men have their custom of sporting a long braided hair in the
upper part of their head with the rest of their hair cut short, if not shaved. Women hang up their hair behind their
heads, sometimes held in place by a beaded band which serves as ornament. Their hair is long and wavy.
Being more stationary than the other Mangyans, their houses are more permanent structures made out of light
materials, elevated up to four or five feet from the ground, supported by bamboo posts or sturdy forest lumber and
roofed with nipa materials or cogon grasses. The whole house is a big room used for sleeping, eating, workroom, etc.
Majority of the Hanunuo men still cling to the age old custom of using the G-string, but those who have intermarried
with lowlanders substituted G-string with short pants. The women cover themselves with a rectangular piece of cloth
with both end sewn together which serve as skirt. They both wear an upper garment, a long sleeved, tight-fitting shirt
called the balukas for men and Idmbons for women. For everyday use, they have a short sleeved garment which they call
subon. They use a woven belt called nito and wear beaded bands around their necks and arms.
Hanunuo Mangyans possess a system of writing which is a descendant of the ancient Sanskirt alphabet. In the Mangyan
syllabary, there are eighteen characters, three of which are vowels and the other fifteen characters are written
combined with those vowels. For writing materials, they use the s/yawor a bob-shaped knife for inscribing and the
bamboo, either split or whole, for paper.
During merrymaking, the musical joust is participated in by both sexes. Gitgit, Kudyapi, Kinaban, and all string
instruments, are usually played by men while those played by women are the lantuy (a bamboo flute), taghup or
tanghup (a whistle made out of bamboo). Like music, the ambahan (a poem with lines of seven syllables) has found its
place as a tool for courting women.
Social life among the Hanunuos revolves around the family. Mangyan girls marry at an early age. During courtship, a
young man convinces the girl of his intention through the use of ambahan. In between the recitations, he plays his
subing, a three-string guitar. Marriage plans including the dowry are arranged by both parents. The actual wedding is
short, the greater part consists of admonitions and advices dispensed by a magdadniw, a kind of minister.
Relation of the individual to the community is one dominated by the spirit of cooperation and togetherness. They have
no written laws. Whateverthey have in the form of laws has been handed down to them by their elders verbally in the
form of counsel and advice. In some cases, when troubles arise, the disputants settle their differences in the presence of
an elder, a judge who decides the matter. Justice is then meted out to the offending and the offended parties. Different
offenses are given different punishments.
Hanunuos have two burial occasions. The first takes place soon after death. The second after a year or two years when
the bones have to be exhumed. They believe in a supreme being called Maha na Makaako who watches over them and
loves them. They also believe that their supreme being has a son called Presidents who executes his father's command.
They also believe in evil spirits and immorality.
Hanunuo
A Hanunuo-Mangyan family [Source: Mangyan Mission]
To the Hanunuo, clothing (rutay) is one of the most important criteria in distinguishing the Mangyan from the non-
Manyan (damuong). A Hanunuo-Mangyan male wears a loin cloth (ba-ag) and a shirt (balukas). A female wears an
indigo-dyed short skirt (ramit) and a blouse (lambung). Many of the traditional style shirts and blouses are embroidered
on the back with a design called pakudos, based on the cross shape.

2. This design is also found on their bags made of buri (palm leaf) and nito (black fern), called bay-ong. Both sexes used to
wear a twilled rattan belt with pocket (hagkos) at their waist. Long hair is the traditional style for a man. It is tied in one
spot at the back of the head with a cloth hair-band called panyo. Women also have long hair often dressed with a
headbands of beads. The Hanunuo Mangyans of all ages and both sexes are very fond of wearing necklaces and bracelets
of beads [Miyamoto, 1985].
In the past they cultivated cotton trees and from these obtained raw materials which they wove in a crude hand loom
called harablon. The process of weaving was called habilan, which starts with the gathering of cotton balls and pilling
them to dry in a flat basket (bilao). Afterwards, the seeds are removed and the cotton placed on a mat and beaten by
two flat sticks to make it fine. Next the cotton is placed inside a container made out of banana stalks (binuyo) and
woven.
Noted anthropologist Harold Conklin made an extensive study on the Hanunuo-Mangyan agricultural system in 1953. The
Hanunuo Mangyans practise swidden farming. This type of farming is different from the "kaingin" system practised by
non-Mangyans which is often very destructive when it is done with no proper safeguards to prevent the fire from
spreading to the surrounding vegetation. A fallow period is also observed so that the swidden farm will revert back to
forest. According to Conklin, the Mangyans managed their swidden farms skillfully. In 1995, almost half a century after
Conklin's research, a study on the Hanunuo Mangyans' swidden farming system was conducted by Hayama Atsuko. She
concluded that the Hanunuo Mangyans' farming practices have prevented land deterioration in spite of the fact that
forest land degradation is now evident in their territory due to various factors.
Together with their northern neighbor the Buhids, the Hanunuo possess a pre-Spanish writing system, considered to be
of Indic origin, with characters expressing the open syllables of the language [Postma, 1981]. This syllabic writing system,
called Surat Mangyan, is being taught in several Mangyan schools in Mansalay and Bulalacao.
The Hanunuo Mangyans live in the municipalities of Mansalay, Bulalacao, and some parts of Bongabong in Oriental
Mindoro, and in the municipality of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro.