BALONA, JELLIAN TRISSHA A.

ENGLISH II-A

PHILIPPINE IDIGENOUS COMMUNITY

GE 11 ELEC

1. What is the origin of the Filipino people? Who was/were our real ancestors?
Explain.

 They believe that the early Filipinos originated from waves of migration, which
accords with my studies on the idea of evolution. The earliest people to arrive in
the Philippines were the Negritos, also known as Atis or Aetas; they were
followed by Indonesians and Malays a thousand years later. About 25,000 years
ago, they crossed land bridges from continental Asia. Indonesians were the first
people to immigrate to the Philippines by sea; they left South Asia on boats some
5,000 years ago. The Apayaos, Kalingas, Manobos, Tirurays, Gaddangs,
Tagbanuas, Mandyas, Sabanuns, Ibanags, Bagobos, and Bukidnon are among
the Indonesian minority groups still present today.

2. Some archeologists & anthropologists believe that we were part of Chinese race,
others from Malays, etc. Based on the different theoretical perspective of these
archeologists/anthropologists explain their theories or hypotheses about the
origins of the Filipinos.

 According to one idea, Chinese immigrants first settled in the Philippines and
brought their cultural and genetic qualities with them. The similarities between
some traditional Chinese behaviors and those practiced in the Philippines, as
well as some genetic evidence suggesting a Chinese ancestry for some Filipino
communities, are cited by proponents of this theory. Another hypothesis holds
that Malay migrants transferred their cultural and genetic qualities to the
Philippines when they first settled there. The similarities between the civilizations
of the Philippines and those of other Southeast Asian nations, as well as
linguistic and genetic evidence suggesting a Malay ancestry for some Filipino
communities, are cited by proponents of this theory. A third hypothesis holds that
a variety of immigrants from several continents, including China, Southeast Asia,
and other parts of the Pacific, first settled in the Philippines. The rich cultural and
genetic ancestry of the Filipino people is cited as supporting evidence for this
theory's mixed origins. And finally, some anthropologists and archaeologists
contend that indigenous groups that have been residing in the Philippines for
thousands of years were the country's first inhabitants. The rich cultural and
linguistic history of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines is cited by
supporters of this theory as proof of their protracted stay in the area.