Indigenous peoples of the Philippines

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The Philippines consist of numerous upland and lowland indigenous ethnolinguistic

groups living in the country, with Austronesians making up the overwhelming majority,
while full or partial Australo-Melanesians scattered throughout the archipelago. The
highland Austroneians and Australo-Melanesians have co-existed with their lowland
Austronesian kin and neighbor groups for thousands of years in the Philippine
archipelago. The primary difference is that they were not absorbed by centuries
of Spanish and United States colonization of the Philippines, and in the process have
retained their customs and traditions. This is mainly due to the rugged inaccessibility of
the mountains and established headhunting and warrior cultures, which discouraged
Spanish and American colonizers from coming into contact with the highlanders.

In the interest of clarity, the term indigenous as used in the Philippines refers to

ethnolinguistic groups or subgroups that maintain lt of partial isolation, or independence,
throughout the colonial era. The term indigenous when applied to the Philippine
population can be a deceptive misnomer, connoting alien migrant populations who have
over time become the majority ethnolinguistic and cultural group in the land and thereby
pushing indigens to the fringes of socio-cultural inclusion, such as in the Americas,
Middle East, Australia, or New Zealand. Contrarily, the vast majority of people in the
Philippines descend from the same Austronesian and Australo-Melanesian ancestral
populations indigenous to the archipelago, regardless of cultural, religious,
ethnolinguistic or tribal affiliations. (Ethnic groups in the Philippines).

Culturally-indigenous peoples of northern Philippine highlands can be grouped into

the Igorot (comprising many different groups) and singular Bugkalot groups, while the
non-Muslim culturally-indigenous groups of mainland Mindanao are collectively
called Lumad. Australo-Melanesian groups throughout the archipelago are
termed Aeta, Ita, Ati, Dumagat, among others. Numerous culturally-indigenous groups
also live outside these two indigenous corridors. [1]

According to the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino, there are 135 recognized local

indigenous Austronesian languages in the Philippines, of which one (Tagalog)
is vehicular and each of the remaining 134 is vernacular.[citation needed] There are 134 ethnic
groups in the Philippines, the majority of which are indigenous, though much of the
overall Philippine population is constituted by only 8-10 lowland ethnic groups. [citation needed]

Demographics[edit]
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 latter.
Because 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.

Ethnic groups[edit]
Northern Philippines[edit]

The traditional Kalinga dancers.

These groups ranged from various Igorot tribes, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi,
Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanaey 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 upland 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 Ifugao of Ifugao province, the Bontoc,
Kalinga, Tinguian, the Kankanaey and Ibaloi were all farmers who constructed the rice
terraces for many centuries.

Other mountain peoples of Luzon are the Isnag of the province of Apayao,

the Gaddang of the border between Kalinga and Isabela provinces and
the Ilongot of Nueva Vizcaya province and Caraballo Mountains all developed hunting
and gathering, farming cultivation and headhunting. Other groups 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.
Southern Philippines[edit]

A Moro woman (c. 1904).

In the southern Philippines, upland and lowland tribal groups were concentrated on
Mindanao and western Visayas, although there are several upland groups such as
the Mangyan living in Mindoro. Among the most important groups found on Mindanao
are collectively called the Lumad, and includes the Manobo which is a bigger
ethnographic group such as the Ata-Manobo and the Matigsalug found in Davao City,
Davao del Norte and Bukidnon Province; the Langilan-Manobo in Davao del Norte;
the Agusan-Manobo in Agusan del Sur and southern parts of Agusan del Norte;
the Pulanguiyon-Manobo of Bukidnon Province; the Ubo-Manobo in southwestern parts
of Davao City, and northern parts of North Cotabato Province that is also to include
the Arumanen-Manobo of Carmen (N. Cotabato); the Dulangan-Manobo in the Province
of Sultan Kudarat; the Talaandig, Higaonon and Bukidnon of Bukidnon
province, Bagobo, Mandaya, Mansaka, Tagakaulo in Davao region who inhabited the
mountains bordering the Davao Gulf; the Kalagan lives particularly in lowland areas
and seashores of Davao del Norte, Compostella Valley, Davao Oriental and some
seashores in Davao Del Sur, the Subanon of upland areas in Zamboanga;
the Mamanua in the Agusan-Surigao border region; the B'laan, Teduray and Tboli in the
region of the Cotabato province, and the Samal. Samal is synonymous with Luwa'an.
Yakan is the indigenous tribe in the hinterlands of Basilan Province. In the lowland lives
the Sama Banguingui tribe while in coastal areas there leave the nomadic Luwa'an.
Sulu lowland areas are also home of the Sama Banguingui. The Sama or the Sinama
and the Jama Mapun are the indigenous tribes in the province of Tawi-Tawi. [2]
Kampilan are weapons used by Rajahs and Datus.

The Philippine government succeeded in establishing a number of

protected reservations for tribal groups. Highland peoples were expected to speak their
native language, dress in their traditional tribal clothing, live in houses constructed of
natural materials using traditional architectural designs and celebrate their traditional
ceremonies of propitiation of spirits believed to be inhabiting their environment. They
are also encouraged to re-establish their traditional authority structure in which, as in
indigenous society were governed by chieftains known as Rajah,Datu and Loris

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
tend 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.

In the past, the Philippine government bureaus could not preserve tribes as social
museum exhibits, but with the aid of various nationwide organizations, they hoped to
help the people adapt to modern society without completely losing their ethnic identity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Philippines