All the eight tribes of the their most valued crop

HANUNUO Mangyans differ in their which is rice. While,

physical and ethnogenetic lowland people would sell

MANGYAN appearance, in that sense the

Hanunuo Mangyan has the
these root crops and sell
them to generate cash. They
AN INDIGENOUS GROUP
IN MINDORO
same features as a Proto- also rely on domestic
Malayan. The Hanunuo animals as their another
By: Albores, Maureen & Sodario, Sharina
sustain their lives through source to provide them

INTRODUCTION practicing agriculture, in food.

On the island of Mindoro, there resides one which the people in the

of the eight indigenous people of the uplands would farm to grow

Mangyan, The Hanunuo. The name Hanunuo root crops such as cassava,

means “true”, “pure”, or “genuine”. sweet potato, yams, taro, and

Their history dates back to the 1570s nature. One of the important
when the first people who came to guardian spirits for them is Kalag,
Mindoro were the Spaniards. They use wherein they would sacrifice food
the coastal part of Mindoro as their and glass beads for them to bring
battleground between the Spanish and honor and gain the favor and
their Muslim enemies. Moreover, the goodwill of the Kalag. As time
American colonial regime labeled the passed by, the Hanunuo gradually
Mangyans to be inferior to the other left their animalism and
Filipinos for they wanted to exploit their superstitious beliefs.
island’s resources. As a response, the
Mangyans completely isolated
themselves from having any connection
with the lowlanders. But as the
American colonial regime ended, they The Mangyans people have
eventually abandoned this policy which their own languages (Buhid,
ended the labeling of Mangyans as Tawbuid, and Hanuno’o),
separated people. however for the Hanunuo
Mangyans, Hanunu’o is their
Aside from that, the Hanunuo are
language which have a Bisaya
animists where they have their own
“Visayan” influence and some
deities of creations such as animals and
of it are bisaya.
spirits in

Issue 30 | 234
CRAFTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
The chanting of this poetry can be accompanied with or without a guitar,

AMBAHAN jaw harps, nose flutes, and git-git, a locally produced wooden fiddle with

This is the traditional Hanunuo strings of human hair.

poetry traditionally written in

bamboo which is an essential
THE HANUNUO MANGYAN
part of their cultural heritage.
SCRIPT: HANUNÓ'O (MANGYAN
BAYBAYIN/SURAT MANGYAN)
The poetry consists of seven
syllables with rhyming endings The Hanunuo script descended from horizontal left to right and should

and is used when educating their the Brahmic scripts. It is written in a be written away from the body.

children, courtship, saying their vertical way but in an upward style The inscription is through the

farewells and sending their rather than downward, reading from incisions in bamboo with the use

loved ones to their next life. But of a knife.

Ambahan is usually used in

courtship.

In the picture is the Hanunuo script in an

abugida script type. The left image is the
Hanunuo’s syllables with the consonants and
its paired vowels. The picture above, you can
see that it is being paired with a pamudpod
sign which indicate a final consonant
syllable and is introduced by Antoon Postma,
a D anthropologist.
 Making colorful beadworks are
HANUNUO MANGYAN what the Hanunuo Mangyans are
CRAFTS keen on for they like to accessorize
Hanunuo tribes also excel in themselves with these beads may it
making beadworks and a variety of be women, men, young people, or
designs that they apply in their even old people. They can make
baskets and weaved clothes. such beautiful works like necklaces,
earrings, bracelets and pouch bags
with their gifted hands.
HOW DO THEY
Aside from beadworks, the Hanunuo PRESERVE THESE
Mangyans are also known for their CRAFTS?
basketry in which baskets are made
Simple. They preserve their
of red-dyed buri and split nito which
crafts by passing it down to
makes the design of the baskets to
the next generations, so that
be unique and prominent. These
they’ll be able to continue
have a square base and a round
having the skills and
mouth.
knowledge from making these
crafts.
They have their own culture
which is why until now they
were able to preserve their
scripts. They easily adapt to
the changing society for for
them hey can’t abandon this
craft for it is already part of
There are also different types of With their weaved cloth, the their life.
their basketry designs such as women would plant and grow Lastly, this indigenous tribe is
purses and betel-nut carries indigo which later on be used as a devoted enough for their
which can be round or other dye with their handwoven clothing culture and crafts that they
shapes. that can be worn as a tapis (skirts) are willing to do anything to
or even blankets to carry their help preserve their crafts.
children.