CULTURAL

COMMUNITIE
S IN
MINDANAO
 CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES
• Allows people to learn how to understand others people culture,
promote engage in contacts with others and build strong diverse
communities.

Refers to a group or community which shares common

experiences that shape the way its member understand
 MINDANAO
• LUPANG PINANGAKO(LAND OF PROMISE)
BECAUSE OF ITS UNTAPPED RESOURCES AND RICH BIODIVERSITY

The most culturally derive island of the Philippines were

people of different language ,tribes and races meet.
Home of distinct multicultural groups of people
Muslim
Christian and
indigenous people

MINDANAO IS RENOWNED AS THE OF NOTABLE ETHNIC GROUP CALLED LUMAD

THE LUMAD
 THE LUMAD
 The indigenous cultural communities (ICC) in the Philippines
or Lumad are believed to make up about 10% of the national
population.
Also known as cultural minorities, they had been pushed to the mountains and
forests by lowlanders ever since towns and cities were built. Most of the ICC do
not possess money or private property and, widely discriminated against, find it
hard to integrate with mainstream society. With the destruction of the forests as
well as with efforts of the lowland majority to assimilate them into Christian
culture, the ICC struggle to protect their ancestral domain and cultural identity.
 In 1986, 15 or more than 18 ICC in Mindanao adopted the
term Lumad, a Bisaya word for “native” or “indigenous”, to
distinguish themselves from the Christians and Muslims in
Mindanao.
Republic Act 6734, enacted during Corazon Aquino’s time, used the term to
differentiate these ethnic communities from the Bangsamoro people.
 There are 18 Lumad ethnolinguistic groups namely, Atta,
Bagobo, Banwaon, B'laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon,
Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka,
Subanon, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray, and Ubo.
 1. COTABATO
MANOBO
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).
Is a group that has traditionally lived in the southwest highland of Mindanao. Also known
as the Dulangan and Tundag, they are mostly Christians and have been largely assimilated
and their tradition culture has disappeared.
Manobo tribe is culturally rich in traditional practices, medicinal uses,
diversity, and traditional knowledge based on their community plant
resources. They dwell in hinterlands and mountainous regions in the southern part
of the Philippines and live an intricate life dependent on agriculture and forest
plants.
 BAGOB
Are a group that live in OS
very mountainous region of Mindanao between
the upper Pilangi and Davao rivers. Also know as the Manobo,
Manuvu, Obbo and Obo, they are divided in two main groups.
Coastal Bagobo who were influenced by Christianity, plantation and were largely assimilated;
and upland Bagobo who traditionally practice slash and burn agriculture and derived about 25%
of their food from hunting, gathering and fishing.
Bagobo Cultre culture is charactirized by strict incest prohibitions, the formation of vengeance
groups and the production of long epic poem called tuwaang.
The Bagobo are a settled people, practicing agriculture as well as hunting and fishing.
Their chief crop is rice, which they grow in clearings on the mountain sides. Since this
grain is their staple food, the whole routine of its cultivation is most closely bound up with
their religious beliefs and practices.
 3. THE BILAAN OR B’LAAN
 A group that lives in south-central Mindanao. Their name could have
derived from "bla" meaning "opponent" and the suffix "an" meaning "people." Other
Also know as the Balud, Baraan,
terms used to refer to this group are
Bilanes, Blann, Buluan, Buluanes, Tagalagad, Takogan,
Tumanao, Vilanes, they live in houses scattered among
gardens and are also ruled by Datu. The Bilaan people of Mindanao wrap
their dead inside tree barks. Being enveloped as such, the dead person’s body is then suspended
from treetops.
The basic culture is dry cultivation of a broad range of food plants including rice,
supplemented by food gathering and hunting. Culture change is in an advanced stage.
The Blaan language is classified in a group that includes the Tiruray and T'boli, which
are distinct from the central Philippine group.
 4. THE BUKIDNON
 A group that lives in the highland of north-central
Mindanao. Also know as the Binokid, Binukid, Higaonan
and Higaunen, they have traditionally been farmer who
raised corn, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas and coconuts and
used water buffalo to plow their fields.
 The ones who remain closest to the old ways live near the headwaters of the Pulangi Rover on
the slopes of Mount Kitanglad or Mount Katalungan.
They used to live in communal houses with as many as fifty families but now they live in
single-family houses
Their major means of subsistence are food gathering and swidden agriculture.The
women are skilled in making appliqué and embroidering .
 5. THE
MANDAYA
“Mandaya” derives from “man” meaning “first” and “daya”
meaning “upstream” or “upper portion of a river.”. In the old
days, Mandaya youth field and blacken their teeth upon reaching puberty. These act
were considered aids to beauty which helped a young person find a suitable partner
for marriage.
The Mandaya/Mansaka are famous for their distinctive costumes and
ornamentation, which involves tie-dyed textiles and embroidery using a
sophisticated system of symbols with named motifs. Beadwork and silver craft are
also well-developed.
The intimate belief of the Mandaya created a unique blend of nature, spirits and
man. Undoubtedly, the Mandaya have one of the richest cultural heritage among
ethnic groups. They are very close to their families. Christianized Mandaya still retain
some of the past beliefs creating a syncretic form of religion.
 6. THE T’BOLI OF
MINDANAO
• People live in the southern part of the province of
Cotabato, in the area around lake Sebu, west of the city
General Santos. In the past the T’boli practiced “slash
and burn” agriculture.
Slash and burn” means that the people will clear a part of the forest by cutting the
big trees and burning the lower and smaller trees and bushes, after which they use the
cleared plots as arable land for some years without any fertilization.
 Rice, cassava and yams were the most important agriculture product.
• Hunting or fishing for additional foods
 THE MUSLIMS
Muslims are the most significant minority in the Philippines. They are
for the most part remain outside the mainstream of national life, set
apart by their religion and way of life. The Muslims believers of Islam. The
Muslims posses culture which is different from that of the Christian Filipinos. Their culture has
been greatly influenced by Islam
The creed of the Muslim is simple:
“There is no god but the God” Mohammed is His messenger. God has revealed
Himself to different people and in different languages it inspire thinkers such as Moses, Jesus
and Mohammed.
 1. MAGUINDANAO
 The Maguindanao refer to the people living in the Pulangi
area, located in what are now North Cotabato, Sultan
Kudarat and Maguindanao Province. Cultural communities
within this region also include the Tituray, T’boli and the
Manobos. Maguindanao originally means “people of flooded
plain”.
 This Muslim group live in south-central Mindanao. They are also know as the Maguinadanao,
Manguinadanaon, Magindanaw, they are the largest group of Muslim Filipinos.
 They speak a language that is in the same group as most other Philippines languages,
including Tagalog, and are believed to have converted to Islam around the 15 th and 16th
centuries.
Most Maguindanao follow standard Islamic beliefs and practices, but the native
Maguindanaons persevere to a form of folk Islam, their believe in spirits, sorcery
and supernatural beings is still evident in their culture and ceremonies.
The Maguindanao are also distinguished in the realm of visual art. Historically, they
have been renowned as metalworkers, producing the wavy-bladed kris ceremonial
swords and other weapons, as well as gongs.
 2. MARANAO
Maranao means “people of the lake”. Their homeland is
called Lanao or “lake”. Their oldest settlement started
around here, and up to this day, highly populated
communities still dot the lake. Their language is similar to Maguindanao and
Iranun. They form the largest Muslim community and cultural minority in the Philippines.
Maranao, largest of the Muslim cultural-linguistic groups of the Philippines.
 Rice farming is their main livelihood, along with metalworking and woodworking
handicrafts. The Maranao are famed for their sophisticated weaving and wood and
metal craft.
 3. TAUSUG
“Tausug” was derived from tau meaning “man” and sug meaning “current”
and translates into “people of the current”. Another argument made on the
meaning of the name states that the name in fact translates to “brave people”.
 The Tausug even before the arrival the Christianity and the people who promulgated their
own system of government that came with it. This has bred to the establishment of the Sulu
sultanate

• Leader from this region moved to other places in the country, spreading Islam and its system
of government in Tawi-Tawi, Palawan, Basilan, Zamboanga, and Sabah.
 4. SAMA
Also in the Sulu Archipelago are the Sama consisting of
five sub-groups including the Sama and the Badjao.
These people are highly dispersed in the Sulu Archipelago. They are considered boat-
people, spending most of their time in constant movement throughout the island in the
area or living on the water. The Sama are also considered the sea-gypsies of the Philippines.
They usually live a seaborne lifestyle and use small wooden sailing vessels such as
the perahu (layag in Meranau), djenging (balutu), lepa, and vinta (pilang). 
 5. YAKAN
 The majority Muslim group in Basilan, south of Mindanao.
The Yakan have generally two spheres of belief integrating
Islamic principles and traditional beliefs into what is referred
to as “folk Islam”. They speak a language know as Bissa
Yakan, which has characteristics of both Sama-Bajau Sinama
and Tausug.
farmers main crops are rice cocunot and casava
iman responsible for prayer before planting and harvesting
 6. ILANON OR IRANUN
 Origin of the ethnic groups within the Lanao del Sur to the Maguindanao
areas. The Iranun language is in fact seen in the Maranao and Maguindanao
languages. The Iranun were said to have fought under the Maguindanao
sultanate.
Most of the Ilanun are engaged in fishing, while the rest raise food crops along
with Muslim and non-Muslim neighbors. Their socio-political organization is
governed by traditional and customary laws. They have their own datus and
headman. The headman acts as a mediator of dispute and as a facilitator of
discussions and meetings.
 7. KOLIBUGAN
“half breeds”. Originally from the Subunon tribes, these people are
called such because their cultures has been said to be half breed,
having come into Islam through intermarriage with Muslim
communities.
The term Kolibugan is as well used to refer to all people who have
accepted Islam through intermarriage. “Kalibuga” (Kolibugan)
means “mixed breed” and refers to the Subanun of the Philippines
who have intermarried with the Tausug and Samal. Kalibugan, who
number about 15,000, live in villages on the coast in western
Mindanao. Most have converted to Islam. Their culture shares
elements with those of Subanun, Tausug, and Samal.
he generalized culture is lowland central Philippines focused on wet
rice cultivation, and some localized swidden cultivation. Adaptation to
the arine environment is made, but mostly in terms of domestic
fishing.
 8. SANGIL
Found in the Balut Sarangi, part of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur
provinces. They are said to have come from Sanghe, the origin of the name
Sangil. They are people who were already Muslims before they came in
Philippines shores.
They have also been said to be buccaneers who attacked Spanish territories in
other parts of the Philippines.
Sangir people are engaged in fishing, hunting, farming (the
main crops are tubers, root crops, bananas, sago) and transit
marine trading between Sulawesi, Maluku Islands and the
Philippines. The sources often mention the cultivation of taro
culture, which was cultivated on the slopes of mountains and
near rivers.
 9. KALAGAN
Are mostly found in the Davao provinces. Their islamization was achieved
through the arrival of the Manguidano and the Tausug. However, when
Maguindanao sultanates and Tausug left, the Kaagan became marginalized
and with less improvement in their social orgination.
They follow the traditional Sunni Shafié of Islam, however
many of them remained animist and believe the traditions and
religions of their ancestors, practicing a mix of Islam and
Animism in their Adat.
The Kalagan use Tagakaolo language but have increasingly
incorporated some Tausug and Maguindanaon words. They're
renowned as agriculturalists, cultivating rice, corn, abaca, and
coconut for cash crops, whereas their counterparts living along
the coast, practiced fishing.
 10. MUSLIM INHABITANTS OF
PALAWAN
Palawan inhabitants (Panimusan) were Islamized through the Sulu sultanates,
through the Tausug who went there to introduce to Islam to the local people.
Now, the Muslim populations in the area are found in Batarasa, Quezon,
Brooke’s Point, Espanalo, Narra, Roxas, Taytay and Aborlan.
Among the original dwellers in the island is the Palawano tribe,
also known as the Pala'wan or Palawan. This indigenous cultural
community lives in the southern part of Palawan province and
thought to be descendants of the Tabon cavemen, whose
culture can be traced back 50,000 years
The Palawan are shifting cultivators, clearing a small area of
forest and growing food on it before moving on and allowing the
forest to regenerate. They grow upland rice, which they believe
has a 'human-like personality'. They also collect honey and
hunt wild pigs.
 11. JAMA MAPUN
 the island municipality in theSulu Sea on the south-western extreme
of the Philippines, located very close to Sabah, Malaysia.
the largest concentration is on the island of Cagayan de sulu. They
ae more oriented towards a land-based existence than most Sama
groups, but are also heavily oriented towards maritime trade
emphasizing copra and forest product; they receive many consumer
products through barter with northern Borneo cities.
They speak a Sama-Bajau language of the Austronesian
language family, and most are adherents of Islam. The Jama
Mapun are socially independent, peaceful and creative
people. Some of their principal economic activities are dry-rice
agriculture, copra production, and trading.
 12. BADJAO
 Widely known as the “Sea Gypsies” of the Sulu and Celebes Seas, the Badjao are
scattered along the coastal areas of Tawi Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and some coastal
municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur in the ARRM.
Amongst themselves, they’re know as Sama Laus (Sea Sama) and found living on houseboats.
vinta
they made their livelihood asd expert fishermen divers, and navigators

The Badjao are a sea-dwelling tribe, often known as the “Sea Nomads”, who have been
floating off the shores of Southeast Asia for centuries. As a nomadic tribe living in stilt
huts or boat houses on shallow waters, they make their living from traditional free-
diving for fish and pearls.
 13. SUBANUN
 also called “Subanu”, “Subano”. “Subanen”, are the biggest
group of lumad or non-Muslim indigenous cultural
community on the islabd of Mindanao. The word is derived from the
word soba or suba, a word common in Sulu, Visayas and Mindanao, which means “river”, and
the suffix “nun or non” which indicates a locality or place origin. They are known as river
dwellers.
Traditionally, the education among Subanen people was limited to instruction
by the Timuay head to a future husband and wife regarding love, respect and
treatment of each other, parents, and in-laws.
Preservation of intangible cultural heritage such as rituals provides the
Subanen tribe with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting
respect for cultural diversity. The Subanens performs rituals to please their
gods, the mecha
nisms through which beliefs are fulfilled
Thank
You
^_^