Ethnic Groups

Submitted to:
Prof. Agnes Montalbo
Rizal Technological University
Submitted by:
Russel Ann P. Nañez

 The Igorot (Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg,
Kalinga, Kankana-ey, Kalanguya) live in the
highlands of Luzon. They are primarily located
in Cordillera Administrative Region. They
inhabit the six provinces of Abra,
Apayao, Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao,
and Mountain Province, as well as Baguio City.

 The Bontoc live on the banks
of the Chico River in the
Central Mountain Province
on the island of Luzon. They
speak the Bontoc language.
They formerly practiced
head-hunting and had
distinctive body tattoos.

chak-lag′, the tattooed chest of
the head taker.
pong′-o, the tattooed arms of
men and women.

fa′-tĕk, for all other tattoos of
both sexes. Women were
tattooed on the arms only.
Facial tattoo are sign of a
warrior.

 The pre-Christian Bontoc belief
system centers on a hierarchy of
spirits, the highest being a
supreme deity called Lumawig.
Lumawig personifies the forces
of nature and is the legendary
creator, friend, and teacher of the
Bontoc. A hereditary class of
priests hold various monthly
ceremonies for this deity for their
crops, the weather, and for
healing.

 The Bontoc also believe in the
"anito"—spirits of the dead who
must be consulted before
anything important is done.
Ancestral anitos are invited to
family feasts when a death
occurs to ensure the well-being
of the deceased's soul.This is by
offering some small amount of
food to show that they are
invited and not forgotten.

 The Ibaloi (also Ibaloy and Nabaloi) are one of
the indigenous peoples of the Philippines who
live mostly in the southern part of Benguet,
located in the Cordillera of northern Luzon. The
Ibaloi people were traditionally an agrarian
society. Many of the Ibaloi people continue with
their agriculture and rice cultivation.

 The largest feast of the
Ibaloi is the Pesshet, a
public feast mainly
sponsored by people of
prestige and wealth.
Pesshet can last for weeks
and involves the killing
and sacrifice of dozens of
animals.

 One of the more
popular dances of the
Ibaloi is the Bendiyan
Dance, participated in
by hundreds of male
and female dancers.

 The Isnag, also Isneg or Apayao, live at the
northwesterly end of northern Luzon, in the
upper half of the Cordillera province of Apayao.
The term “Isnag” derives from a combination of
is meaning “recede” and unag meaning
“interior.” Thus, it means “people who live
inland.”

 Isnags are also found in the Eastern part of the
Province of Ilocos Norte specifically the
municipalities of Adams, Carasi, Dumaneg,
Solsona and Piddig and Northwestern part of the
Province of Cagayan specifically the
municipalities of Sta. Praxedes, Claveria, and
Sanchez Mira.

 the Isneg were described as of
slender and graceful stature, with
manners that were kindly,
hospitable, and generous,
possessed with the spirit of self-
reliance and courage, and clearly
artistic in their temperament.
 The Isnag’s ancestors are believed
to have been the proto-
Austronesians who came from
South China thousands of years
ago.

 As a dry rice farmer, the male head of a household
annually clears a fresh section of tropical forest
where his wife will plant and harvest their rice.
Itneg women also cook the meals, gather wild
vegetables and weave bamboo mats and baskets,
while the men cut timber, build houses and take
extended hunting and fishing trips.

 Often when a wild pig or deer is killed, its meat is
skewered on bamboo and distributed to neighbors
and relatives. Nearly all Isneg households also
harvest a small grove of coffee trees since the main
cash crop of the area is coffee.

 The kalinga Inhabiting the drainage areas of the
middle Chico River in the Kalinga Province, the
Kalingas are noted for their strong sense of tribal
awareness and the peace pacts they have made
among themselves.
 Kalingas are also known as Limos or Limos-
Liwan Kalinga.
 The speak the Kalinga and Limos languages.

 They practice both wet and dry rice farming.
 They also developed an institution of peace pacts
called Bodong which has minimized traditional
warfare and headhunting and serves as a
mechanism for the initiation, maintenance,
renewal and reinforcement of kinship and social
ties.

 The Kalinga are divided into Southern and
Northern groups; the latter is considered the
most heavily-ornamented people of the northern
Philippines.
 Kalinga society is very kinship-oriented, and
relatives are held responsible for avenging any
injury done to a member. Disputes are usually
settled by the regional leaders, who listen to all
sides and then impose fines on the guilty party.
These are not formal council meetings, but carry
a good deal of authority.

 The Kankanaey domain includes Western
Mountain Province, northern Benguet and
southeastern Ilocos Sur. Like most Igorot ethnic
groups, the Kankanaey built sloping terraces to
maximize farm space in the rugged terrain of the
Cordilleras. The Kankaney of Western Mountain
Province from the municipalities of Sagada and
Besao identify themselves as part of a tribe called
Applai or Aplai.

 Two famous institutions of the Kankanaey of
Mountain Province are the
 Dap-ay - the men's dormitory and civic center.
 Ebgan - the girls' dormitory where courtship
between young men and women took place.

 The Kankanaey differ
in the way they dress.
Women's dress of the
Soft dialect has a color
combination of black,
white and red. The
design of the upper
attire is a criss-crossed
style of black, white
and red colors. The
skirt or tapis is a
combination of stripes
of black, white and
red.

 Hard dialect women
dress is composed of
mainly red and black
with a little white
styles, as for the skirt
or tapis which is
mostly called bakget
and gateng.

 The men wore a g-string known as a wanes for
the Kanakaney's of Besao and Sagada. The design
of the wanes may vary according to social status
or municipality.

 Kankanaey's major dances include tayaw,
pattong, takik, a wedding dance, and
balangbang. The tayaw is a community dance
that is usually done in weddings it maybe also
danced by the Ibaloi but has a different style.

 Pattong, also a community dance from Mountain
Province which every municipality has its own
style. Balangbang is the modernized word for the
word Pattong. There are also some other dances
like the sakkuting, pinanyuan (wedding dance)
and bogi-bogi (courtship dance). Kankanaey
houses are built like the other Igorot houses,
which reflect their social status.

 The Lumad is a group of indigenous people of
the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term
meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is
short for Katawhang Lumad (literally
"indigenous peoples"). There are 17 Lumad
ethnolinguistic groups: Atta, Bagobo, Banwaon,
B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon,
Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo,
Mansaka, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray,
and Ubo.

 The Bukidnon are one of the seven tribes in the
Bukidnon plateau of Mindanao. Bukidnon
means 'that of the mountains' (i.e., 'people of the
mountains'), despite the fact that most Bukidnon
tribes settle in the lowlands. The name Bukidnon
is itself used to describe the entire province in a
different context (it means 'mountainous lands'
in this case).

 The Bukidnon people believe in one god,
Magbabaya (Ruler of All), though there are
several minor gods and goddesses that they
worship as well.
 Religious rites are presided by a baylan whose
ordination is voluntary and may come from both
sexes.

 The Bukidnons have rich musical and oral
traditions which are celebrated annually in
Malaybalay city's Kaamulan Festival, with other
tribes in Bukidnon (the Manobo tribes, the
Higaonon, Matigsalug, Talaandig, Umayamnom,
and the Tigwahanon).

 Manobo simply means “people” or “person”;
alternate names include Manuvu and Minuvu.
The term may have originated from “Mansuba,”
a combination of man (people) and suba (river).
Manobos are concentrated in Agusan, Bukidnon,
Cotabato, Davao, Misamis Oriental, and Surigao
Del Sur.

 The Manobo usually build their villages near
small bodies of water or forest clearings,
although they also opt for hillsides, rivers,
valleys, and plateaus. The communities are
small, consisting of only 4-12 houses. They
practice slash-and-burn agriculture.

 The Mamanwa is a Negrito tribe often grouped
together with the Lumad. They come from Leyte,
Agusan del Norte, and Surigao provinces in
Mindanao; primarily in Kitcharao and Santiago,
Agusan del Norte, though they are lesser in
number and more scattered and nomadic than
the Manobos and Mandaya tribes who also
inhabit the region.

 Like all Negritos, the Mamanwas are genetically
distinct from the lowlanders and the upland
living Manobos, exhibiting curly hair and much
darker skin tones.
 These peoples are traditionally hunter-gatherers
and consume a wide variety of wild plants,
herbs, insects, and animals from tropical
rainforest.

 The Aytas are called Negritos for their dark skin and
kinky hair. They landed on the archipelago more
than 30,000 thousand years ago and are thought to
be the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines. The
Negritos share some physical features with African
pygmy populations.

 Various Aeta groups in northern Luzon are known
as "Pugut" or "Pugot," a name designated by their
Ilocano-speaking neighbors, and which is the
colloquial term for those with darker complexions.
In Ilocano, the word also means "goblin" or "forest
spirit”. However, these terms are considered by
fellow Negritos of northern Luzon as inappropriate
and offensive.

 All Aeta communities have adopted the language of
their Austronesian Filipino neighbors, which have
sometimes diverged over time to become different
languages. These include, in order of number of
speakers, Mag-indi, Mag-antsi, Abellen, Ambala,
and Mariveleño.

 There are different views on the dominant character
of the Aeta religion. Those who believe they are
monotheistic argue that various Aeta tribes believe
in a supreme being who rules over lesser spirits or
deities, with the Aeta of Mt. Pinatubo worshipping
"Apo Na". The Aetas are also animists. For example,
the Pinatubo Aeta believe in environmental spirits
such as anito and kamana. They believe that good
and evil spirits inhabit the environment, such as the
spirits of the river, sea, sky, mountain, hill, valley
and other places.

 Nowadays, rare is the Ayta wearing traditional
clothing: the bahag (loincloth) for men and
wraparound skirts for women. They now use urban
attire.

 Nomadic Ayta build temporary settlements made of
indigenous materials, such as forked sticks, palm or
banana leaves, cogon, and bamboo

 Varanus bitatawa stew being prepared by Aeta
tribesmen.

 Ayta women are skilled in weaving, plaiting, and
producing household containers, rattan hammocks,
and winnowing baskets of excellent quality.
 Aeta women are known around the country as
experts of the herbal medicines.

 Only men make armlets. They also produce
raincoats made of palm leaves whose bases
surround the neck of the wearer, and whose topmost
part spreads like a fan all around the body.

 A traditional form of visual art is body scarification.
The Aetas intentionally wound the skin on their
back, arms, breast, legs, hands, calves and abdomen,
and then they irritate the wounds with fire, lime and
other means to form scars.

 Other "decorative disfigurements" include the
chipping of the teeth. With the use of a file, the
Dumagat modify their teeth during late puberty. The
teeth are dyed black a few years afterwards.
 The Aetas generally use ornaments typical of people
living in subsistence economies. Flowers and leaves
are used as earplugs for certain occasions. Girdles,
necklaces, and neckbands of braided rattan
incorporated with wild pig bristles are frequently
worn.

 The Aeta have a musical heritage consisting of
various types of agung ensembles – ensembles
composed of large hanging, suspended or held,
bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without
any accompanying melodic instrument.

 The Ati, a Negrito ethnic group, are mostly found in
Western and Central Visayas. Large concentrations
are found in Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Iloilo on
Panay Island, and the biggest group is in Iloilo.
There are also Ati populations on the islands of
Guimaras and Negros (comprising Negros
Occidental and Negros Oriental). Few Atis still
speak their traditional language, as it has been
replaced by Kinary-a, which is spoken in Antique
and some parts of Iloilo.

 Unlike the Aeta of the north, who speak Sambalic
languages, the Ati speak a Visayan language known
as Inati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati number at
about 1,500. Visaya and Kinaray-a are also
commonly used.

 The Ati practice a form of animism that involves
good and evil spirits. These spirits are nature spirits
that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as
the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease
or comfort. The Ati from Negros refer to them as
taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means
"inhabiting a place." Christianity has also been
adopted due to less isolation and more contact with
"outsiders".

 Not too long ago, like other Negritos in the country,
their clothing was simple, with women wearing
wraparound skirts, sometimes made out of bark
cloth, and men wearing loincloths. However today
T-shirts, pants, and rubber sandals are common as
daily clothes.
 Jewelry is simple in nature. Some jewelry objects
involve plants such as flowers, while others use
animal bones; particularly the teeth of pigs.

 Atis cultivate a variety of crops for their livelihood.
Tobacco is bartered for the products of their Visayan
neighbors. During September and October, they
work at the sugar plantations of Christian
landowners. Other means of subsistence are hunting,
fishing, handicrafts, and bow-and-arrow making;
working as household help and midwives; and
practicing herbal medicine as herbolarios. Ati are
known in Panay as practitioners of herbal medicine.
Locals often seek their help in removing leeches
from a person's body.

 The Ati are the central attraction in the Ati-atihan
festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said
that the festival is held to commemorate the first
appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the
Spaniards in the province of Aklan. According to
oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer
the native Bisaya and, as a reward, the tribe was
given a statue of the Santo Niño.

 Commonly referred to as Negritos, Agtas do
belong to the Negrito ethnolinguistic group.
There are many Agta tribes, scattered over
Regions I to V in the island of Luzon. The
Casiguran Dumagat Agtas can be found on the
eastern coast of Aurora Province in Central
Luzon Region.

 Agtas are characteristically short, dark-skinned,
kinky-haired, thick-lipped, and small-nosed.
Their traditional clothing is tapis (skirt) for
women and bahag (breechcloth) for men.
Breastfeeding mothers wear uban, a piece of
fabric slung from the shoulders. Most men scar
their bodies, using various designs that have
been passed down to them by their ancestors.
Today, most Agtas have abandoned their tribal
attire for “civilized” clothes.

 Traditional Agta houses are built in clusters and
made from indigenous materials such as
bamboo, wood, talahib (cogon), coconut leaves,
and abaca bark.
 Agtas as young as 14 marry the partner chosen
by their parents.

 Hunting is their main means of subsistence. They
use pointed sticks called galud to kill birds, wild
deer, monkeys, and wild pigs. Agtas exchange
part of the meat and some forest products for
starchy food and other goods with nearby
farmers. Their other traditional means of
livelihood are farming and fishing. Today,
however, many Agtas take on seasonal jobs, such
as copra and charcoal making, and gold panning.

 The Agtas worship the spirits of their ancestors
or Anitos; their rituals include dances and a
depiction of hunting movements. They have no
formal leaders. The old males in their
community only serve as consultants for
arbitration purposes.

 In Palawan, the smallest and the most
endangered of the three major ethnic groups is
the Batak tribe. An old Cuyunon term, Batak
means “mountain people”; they are classified as
a Philippine Aeta group because of their physical
characteristics. At present, they live in the
rugged northeastern part of Palawan Island,
close to the coastal villages of Babuyan, Tinitian,
and Malcampo. Previously, they lived in several
river valleys of Babuyan, Maoyon, Tanabag,
Tarabanan, Laingogan, Tagnipa, Caramay, and
Buayan.

 They speak a language called Batak or Binatak,
although majority are bilingual, as they can
speak both Batak and Tagbanua. Bataks practice
minimal shifting cultivation, alternating rice with
cassava, tubers, and vegetables.

 Most Palawanos choose to live along upland
rivers, while a few opt for the coast. Their
primary source of food is agriculture, using the
slash-and-burn method. Hunting with blowguns,
fishing, and food gathering are also relied on for
sustenance. In traditional societies, most of the
agricultural tasks are assigned to the women.

 Puerto Princesa, Palawan is the home of the
Tagbanwa. Their language may also be known as
Aborlan Tagbanwa or even Apurawnon, and is
classified under the other Palawanic languages.
However, it has some lexical similarities with
Cuyonon, a Bisayan language. Tagbanwas are
also said to have their own script.

 The traditional clothing of the Tagbanwas came
from the barks of trees. Transforming the bark
into clothing material is a tedious process.
Accessories, such as necklaces and anklets, are
also essential to their everyday attire. Men and
women wear their hair long.

 The Tau’t Bato or Taw Batu (“people of the
rock”) stay in the Singnapan Basin, a bowl-
shaped valley in southwestern Palawan. Their
territory has Mt. Mantalingajan to the east and a
coast to the west. Tau’t Bato is a small but
articulate subgroup of the Palawan tribes. The
language is spoken by various groups in the
area.

 The Tau’t Bato mostly live in caves, and the
structure of their dwellings depends on
condition of the cave. They are swidden farmers
who practice multiple cropping. They produce
cassava (their main source of carbohydrates),
sugarcane, garlic, sweet potato, and several
varieties of vegetables. Hunting is done year-
round to complement the carbohydrate diet;
wild pigs are caught using spring traps. The
Tau’t Bato also trade their agricultural products
for fish and sell forest products such as rattan,
almaciga.

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