Indigenous cultures existed among various groups across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao in the Philippines. In Luzon, the Igorots constructed rice terraces and maintained isolated communities in the Cordillera Central mountains. Across the Visayas islands, diverse groups like the Ilongos, Cebuano, and Warays practiced farming, fishing, and crafts. Mindanao was home to Muslim groups like the Tasug and Maranao as well as the Tinuy-an Falls, a wide multi-level waterfall considered the Philippines' version of Niagara Falls.

1. Indigenous Culture of
Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao

2. LUZON
 These groups ranged from various Igorot tribes, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankana-ey and
Tinguian, who built the Rice Terraces. They also covered a wide spectrum in terms of their integration and acculturation with
lowland Christian and Muslim Filipinos. Native groups such as the Bukidnon in Mindanao, had intermarried with lowlanders for
almost a century. Other groups such as the Kalinga in Luzon have remained isolated from lowland influence.
 There were several indigenous groups living in the Cordillera Central of Luzon in 1990. At one time it was employed by lowland
Filipinos in a pejorative sense, but in recent years it came to be used with pride by native groups in the mountain region as a
positive expression of their ethnic identity. The Ifugaos of Ifugao province, the Bontocs, Kalinga, Tinguian, the Kankana-ey and
Ibaloi were all farmers who constructed the rice terraces for many centuries.
 Other mountain peoples of Luzon are the Isnegs of northern Kalinga-Apayao province, the Gaddangs of the border between
Kalinga-Apayao, and Isabela provinces and the Ilongots of Nueva Vizcaya province and Caraballo Mountains all developed
hunting and gathering, farming cultivation and headhunting. Other indigenous people such as the Negritos formerly dominated
the highlands throughout the islands for thousands of years, but have been reduced to a small population, living in widely
scattered locations, primarily along the eastern ranges of the mountains.

3. Demographics
In the 1990s, there were more than 100 highland tribal groups constituting approximately 3% of
the population. The upland tribal groups were a blend in ethnic origin, like those in lowland
areas of the country, although the upland tribal groups do not interact nor intermingle with the
later.
Culture and Arts
They displayed a variety of social organization, cultural expression and artistic skills. They
showed a high degree of creativity, usually employed to embellish utilitarian objects, such as
bowls, baskets, clothing, weapons and spoons. The tribal groups of the Philippines are known for
their carved wooden figures, baskets, weaving, pottery and weapons.

4. WEAPONSUSED BY RAJAHSANDDATUS
 Contact between primitive and modern ethnic groups usually resulted in weakening or
destroying tribal culture without assimilating the indigenous groups into modern society. It
seemed doubtful that the shift of the Philippine government policy from assimilation to
cultural pluralism could reverse the process. Several Filipino tribes tends to lead to the
abandonment of traditional culture because land security makes it easier for tribal members to
adopt the economic process of the larger society and facilitates marriage with outsiders.

5. IGOROT’S
 Most well known of these indigenous people are the Igorot, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi,
Ifugao and Kalinga. They inhabit the Central Cordillera Mountain Range on North Luzon.
 Owing to the difficult terrain, the Cordillera tribes are among the few peoples of the Philippines who
have successfully resisted foreign domination and preserved their authentic tribal culture.
 These groups were responsible for the construction of the rice terraces of North Luzon that were
inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

6. VISAYAS
 Visayas, an island group, Central Philippines, between the Philippines (east) and Sulu (west) seas. The densely
populated group of seven large and several hundred small islands constitutes and ethnolinguistic region of 23, 582
sq. mi. 961, 077 sq.km), defined bu the dominance of the four major Visayan dialects: Waray-waray, Cebuano,
Hiligaynon, Aklanon, Karay-a.
The Visayan community lies between Luzon and Mindanao. Their community is made of Western Visayas- Panay
and Romblon, Central Visayas - Cebu, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental and Bohol; and Eastern Visayas-
eyte and Samar with small close to these two larger islands.
 Four hundred ninety (490) bis and small islands comrise the whole community.
Farming is the principle means of livelihood in the Visayas community, although the people also engage in fishing,
weaving, mining and basket making.

7.  The Visayan is happy- go-lucky and is more interested in the here and now than in the past or the future.
Further, Teodoro A. Agoncillo states that the Visayan exceeds the Tagalog's for the finer thins in life, so much
so that he is ready to spend his last peso for these.
The Visayan is adventurous, independent and loves to go place. He will be ready to leave his home in search of
adventure.
Agoncillo also describes the Visayan as a hedonist. His guiding principle in life is to drink and be merry for
tomorrow he dies.
The Visayan is a music lover. His musical instrument and his songs are sufficient to drive all his sorrows away.
The Ilongos, Cebuano, Warays, and Magahats are a few of the ethic groups that inhabit the Visayan
community.
THE VISAYANPEOPLE

8. Classical Period
 The earliest settlements in the Visayan islands were from valley-dwelling Austronesians and highland-dwelling
Negrito dated around 30,000 BC. These early settlers were mostly Animist tribes. In the 12th century, Hindu-
Buddhist descendants from the late empire of the Sri Vijaya, Majapahit and Brunei,[5] settled the islands. By
the 14th century, Arab traders and their followers who ventured into Maritime Southeast Asia, converted some
of these tribal groups to Islam. These groups practiced a mixture of Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist beliefs
although there were also groups that were varied: some groups exclusively practiced Islam or Hinduism or
Buddhism. There is also evidence of trade and immigration between other Asian peoples in the area as early as
the 9th century. The Tumandok or Suludnon people of the mountainous region of Panay island are the only
Visayan group to maintain pre-Hispanic Visayan culture and beliefs, due to their geographic isolation from
lowland Visayan groups.

9. MINDANAO ISLAND
 Mindanao Island is one of the largest and southernmost islands amongst the numerous Islands of the Philippines. It is
actually the second largest Island and is also the name of one of the trio of groups of Islands in the country. The other Island
groups are Visayas and Luzon. Mindanao is a place that has got people of varying ethnic and religious denominations
therefore one is bound to find people of all types of inclinations here. The Island is the eighth most populous Island in the
entire world and is estimated to be much larger than about 125 different countries in the world. It is larger than countries like
Hungary, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria and Portugal among others.
Generally speaking, Mindanao Island is mostly mountainous and it is where the Mount Apo is found. This is one of the
mountains that attract people from all over the world because of its size; it is the highest mountain in the entire country.
There are four seas that are around Mindanao and these are the Mindanao Sea, the Philippine Sea, the Celebes Sea as well as
the Sulu Sea. There is a subdivision of the Island into six different regions and these regions are also sub divided further into
a totally of 26 provinces.
Owing to the fact that there are people of various backgrounds on Mindanao Island, the island has now become one of the
most cosmopolitan places in the whole of Philippines. In fact, there are more people of varying tribes, culture and language
here in comparison to the rest of the Philippines. This explains why people from all around the world usually find it easy to
blend in with the people of the Island. The
 Islanders seem to have a clue about how to treat and deal with each and every person who visits their Island.

10. PEOPLEOF MINDANAO
 Tasug – the fisrt tribe in the archipelago to be converted to Islam
 Maranao – they are the people who live on the northern edge of Lake Lanao and last group to be
converted to Islam
 Maguindanao – they are the people who live in the area of Cotabato province and live on
agriculture, fishing and weaving mats and baskets
 Samal- they are the poorest people of the major Muslim community.
 Badjao- they are the wanderers of the Sulu Se

11.  Tinuy-an Falls is a waterfall in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur in the southern island of Mindanao,
Philippines. It is the main tourist attraction in Bislig, a city known as the Booming City by the
Bay.
 The falls are 95 m wide and 55 metres (180 ft) high, touted as the Niagara Falls of the
Philippines. Tinuy-an is a white water curtain that flows in three levels and is said to be the
widest waterfall in the Philippines. Every morning, the area shows a rainbow between 9 a.m. to
11 a.m.
TINUY-ANFALLS