"Philippine Negritos"
Aeta Peoples
The Aeta (pronounced as “eye-ta,”), Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured hair with a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair color (blondism) relative to the general population, small nose, and dark brown eyes. They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations.
The Aeta were included in the group of people termed "Negrito" during Spanish colonial rule as Negritos. Various Aeta groups in northern Luzon are known as "Pugut" or "Pugot," a name designated by their Ilocano-speaking neighbors, and which is the colloquial term for those with darker complexions. In Ilocano, the word also means "goblin" or "forest spirit."
History of the Philippines (pre-1521)
The history of the Aeta continues to confound anthropologists and archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines, who, contrary to their sea-faring Austronesian neighbors, arrived through land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. Unlike many of their Austronesian counterparts, the Aetas have shown resistance to change. The attempts of the Spaniards to settle them in reducciones or reservations all throughout Spanish rule failed.
Young girl of Mariveles, 1901 Mining, deforestation, illegal logging, and slash-and-burn farming has caused the indigenous population in all parts of the Philippines to steadily decrease to the point where they number in the thousands today. The Philippines affords them no protection. In addition, the Aeta have become extremely nomadic due to social and economic strain on their culture and way of life that had previously remained unchanged for thousands of years. The Aeta have no sense of money or land ownership and sometimes can be seen camping out in city parks or pan handling.
While resisting change from the other society for hundreds of years, the Aetas have adjusted to social, economic, cultural, and political pressures with remarkable resilience; they have created systems and structures within their culture to cushion the sudden impact of change.
Demographics
The life expectancy at birth of the Aeta is just 16.5 years,with only a third of children surviving to adulthood at 15 years – at which point life expectancy is still only 27.3 years.Young women reach full adult height (average 140 cm) at age 12 or 13.
Culture
Language
All Aeta communities have adopted the language of their Austronesian Filipino neighbors, which have sometimes diverged over time to become different languages. These include, in order of number of speakers, Mag-indi, Mag-antsi, Abellen, Ambala, and Mariveleño.
Religion There are different views on the dominant character of the Aeta religion. Those who believe they are monotheistic argue that various Aeta tribes believe in a supreme being who rules over lesser spirits or deities, with the Aeta of Mt. Pinatubo worshipping "Apo Na". The Aetas are also animists. For example, the Pinatubo Aeta believe in environmental spirits such as anito and kamana. They believe that good and evil spirits inhabit the environment, such as the spirits of the river, sea, sky, mountain, hill, valley and other places.
No special occasion is needed for the Aeta to pray, although there is a clear link between prayer and economic activities. The Aeta dance before and after a pig hunt. The night before Aeta women gather shellfish, they perform a dance which is partly an apology to the fish and partly a charm to ensure the catch. Similarly, the men hold a bee dance before and after the expeditions for honey.
In the mid-60s missionaries of the American-based Evangelical Protestant mission group New Tribes Mission, in their effort to reach every Philippine tribal group with the Christian Gospel reached out to the Agtas/Aetas. The mission agency provided education including pastoral training for natives to reach members of their own tribe. Today, a large percentage of Agtas/Aetas of Zambales and Pampanga are Evangelicals.
Clothing
Their traditional clothing is very simple. The young women wear wrap around skirts. Elder women wear bark cloth, while elder men wear loin cloths. The old women of the Agta wear a bark cloth strip which passes between the legs, and is attached to a string around the waist. Today most Aeta who have been in contact with lowlan
ders have adopted the T-shirts, pants and rubber sandals commonly used by the latter.
Practices The Aetas are skillful in weaving and plaiting.
Women exclusively weave winnows and mats. Only men make armlets. They also produce raincoats made of palm leaves whose bases surround the neck of the wearer, and whose topmost part spreads like a fan all around the body.
Medicine Aeta women are known around the country as purveyors of herbal medicines.
Art
A traditional form of visual art is body scarification. The Aetas intentionally wound the skin on their back, arms, breast, legs, hands, calves and abdomen, and then they irritate the wounds with fire, lime and other means to form scars.
Other "decorative disfigurements" include the chipping of the teeth. With the use of a file, the Dumagat modify their teeth during late puberty. The teeth are dyed black a few years afterwards.
The Aetas generally use ornaments typical of people living in subsistence economies. Flowers and leaves are used as earplugs for certain occasions. Girdles, necklaces, and neckbands of braided rattan incorporated with wild pig bristles are frequently worn.
Music The Aeta have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles – ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.
The Aeta were included in the group of people termed "Negrito" during Spanish colonial rule as Negritos. Various Aeta groups in northern Luzon are known as "Pugut" or "Pugot," a name designated by their Ilocano-speaking neighbors, and which is the colloquial term for those with darker complexions. In Ilocano, the word also means "goblin" or "forest spirit."
History of the Philippines (pre-1521)
The history of the Aeta continues to confound anthropologists and archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines, who, contrary to their sea-faring Austronesian neighbors, arrived through land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. Unlike many of their Austronesian counterparts, the Aetas have shown resistance to change. The attempts of the Spaniards to settle them in reducciones or reservations all throughout Spanish rule failed.
Young girl of Mariveles, 1901 Mining, deforestation, illegal logging, and slash-and-burn farming has caused the indigenous population in all parts of the Philippines to steadily decrease to the point where they number in the thousands today. The Philippines affords them no protection. In addition, the Aeta have become extremely nomadic due to social and economic strain on their culture and way of life that had previously remained unchanged for thousands of years. The Aeta have no sense of money or land ownership and sometimes can be seen camping out in city parks or pan handling.
While resisting change from the other society for hundreds of years, the Aetas have adjusted to social, economic, cultural, and political pressures with remarkable resilience; they have created systems and structures within their culture to cushion the sudden impact of change.
Demographics
The life expectancy at birth of the Aeta is just 16.5 years,with only a third of children surviving to adulthood at 15 years – at which point life expectancy is still only 27.3 years.Young women reach full adult height (average 140 cm) at age 12 or 13.
Culture
Language
All Aeta communities have adopted the language of their Austronesian Filipino neighbors, which have sometimes diverged over time to become different languages. These include, in order of number of speakers, Mag-indi, Mag-antsi, Abellen, Ambala, and Mariveleño.
Religion There are different views on the dominant character of the Aeta religion. Those who believe they are monotheistic argue that various Aeta tribes believe in a supreme being who rules over lesser spirits or deities, with the Aeta of Mt. Pinatubo worshipping "Apo Na". The Aetas are also animists. For example, the Pinatubo Aeta believe in environmental spirits such as anito and kamana. They believe that good and evil spirits inhabit the environment, such as the spirits of the river, sea, sky, mountain, hill, valley and other places.
No special occasion is needed for the Aeta to pray, although there is a clear link between prayer and economic activities. The Aeta dance before and after a pig hunt. The night before Aeta women gather shellfish, they perform a dance which is partly an apology to the fish and partly a charm to ensure the catch. Similarly, the men hold a bee dance before and after the expeditions for honey.
In the mid-60s missionaries of the American-based Evangelical Protestant mission group New Tribes Mission, in their effort to reach every Philippine tribal group with the Christian Gospel reached out to the Agtas/Aetas. The mission agency provided education including pastoral training for natives to reach members of their own tribe. Today, a large percentage of Agtas/Aetas of Zambales and Pampanga are Evangelicals.
Clothing
Their traditional clothing is very simple. The young women wear wrap around skirts. Elder women wear bark cloth, while elder men wear loin cloths. The old women of the Agta wear a bark cloth strip which passes between the legs, and is attached to a string around the waist. Today most Aeta who have been in contact with lowlan
ders have adopted the T-shirts, pants and rubber sandals commonly used by the latter.
Practices The Aetas are skillful in weaving and plaiting.
Women exclusively weave winnows and mats. Only men make armlets. They also produce raincoats made of palm leaves whose bases surround the neck of the wearer, and whose topmost part spreads like a fan all around the body.
Medicine Aeta women are known around the country as purveyors of herbal medicines.
Art
A traditional form of visual art is body scarification. The Aetas intentionally wound the skin on their back, arms, breast, legs, hands, calves and abdomen, and then they irritate the wounds with fire, lime and other means to form scars.
Other "decorative disfigurements" include the chipping of the teeth. With the use of a file, the Dumagat modify their teeth during late puberty. The teeth are dyed black a few years afterwards.
The Aetas generally use ornaments typical of people living in subsistence economies. Flowers and leaves are used as earplugs for certain occasions. Girdles, necklaces, and neckbands of braided rattan incorporated with wild pig bristles are frequently worn.
Music The Aeta have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles – ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed gongs which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.
Ati people
The Ati is a Negrito ethnic group in Panay, which is located in the Visayas (Islands of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Leyte, Samar, Panay, Masbate, Negros and Guimaras), the central portion of the Philippine archipelago. They are genetically-related to other Negrito ethnic groups in the Philippines such as the Aeta of Luzon, the Batak of Palawan, and the Mamanwa of Mindanao
History In the Philippines the Aetas or Ati ancestors were the 'aboriginals' or the 'first' inhabitants of this Archipelago. They most probably arrived from Borneo 20-30,000 years ago, through what is thought to be an isthmus (remnants of which today comprise the island of Palawan) that in the prehistoric epoch connected the Philippine archipelago to Borneo via a land bridge.According to some oral traditions, they also pre-date the Bisaya, who now inhabit most of the Visayas. Legends, such as those involving the Ten Bornean Datus and the Binirayan Festival, tell tales about how, at the beginning of the 12th century, the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped from Borneo from the persecution of Rajah Makatunaw. Led by Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel and sailing with boats called balangay, they landed near a river called Suaragan, on the southwest coast of Panay, (the place then known as Aninipay), and bartered the land from an Ati headman named Polpolan and his son Marikudo for the price of a necklace and one golden salakot. The hills were left to the Atis while the plains and rivers to the Malays. This meeting is commemorated through the Ati-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.During the Spanish colonization, the tribe made contact with the conquistador Legazpi and were made useful in his colonization of Panay.
Currently, the tribe is threatened due to encroachments into their territory, recently seen in Boracay. Another problem they face is discrimination.
Demographics
Language Unlike the Aeta of the north, who speak Sambalic languages, the Ati speak a Visayan language known as Inati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati number at about 1,500. Today few of them know how to speak Inati and Visaya and Kinary-a are commonly used.
Religion
The Ati practice a form of animism that involves good and evil spirits. These spirits are nature spirits that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease or comfort. The Ati from Negros refer to them as taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place." Christianity has also been adopted due to less isolation and more contact with "outsiders".
Culture
History
In the Philippines the Aetas or Ati ancestors were the 'aboriginals' or the 'first' inhabitants of this Archipelago. They most probably arrived from Borneo 20-30,000 years ago, through what is thought to be an isthmus (remnants of which today comprise the island of Palawan) that in the prehistoric epoch connected the Philippine archipelago to Borneo via a land bridge.According to some oral traditions, they also pre-date the Bisaya, who now inhabit most of the Visayas. Legends, such as those involving the Ten Bornean Datus and the Binirayan Festival, tell tales about how, at the beginning of the 12th century, the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped from Borneo from the persecution of Rajah Makatunaw. Led by Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel and sailing with boats called balangay, they landed near a river called Suaragan, on the southwest coast of Panay, (the place then known as Aninipay), and bartered the land from an Ati headman named Polpolan and his son Marikudo for the price of a necklace and one golden salakot. The hills were left to the Atis while the plains and rivers to the Malays. This meeting is commemorated through the Ati-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.
During the Spanish colonization, the tribe made contact with the conquistador Legazpi and were made useful in his colonization of Panay.
Currently, the tribe is threatened due to encroachments into their territory, recently seen in Boracay. Another problem they face is discrimination.
Demographics
Language
Unlike the Aeta of the north, who speak Sambalic languages, the Ati speak a Visayan language known as Inati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati number at about 1,500. Today few of them know how to speak Inati and Visaya and Kinary-a are commonly used.
Religion
The Ati practice a form of animism that involves good and evil spirits. These spirits are nature spirits that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease or comfort. The Ati from Negros refer to them as taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place." Christianity has also been adopted due to less isolation and more contact with "outsiders".
Culture
Clothing
Not too long ago, like other Negritos in the country, their clothing was simple, with women wearing wraparound skirts, sometimes made out of bark cloth, and men wearing loincloths. However today T-shirts, pants, and rubber sandals are common as daily clothes.
Jewelry is simple in nature. Some jewelry objects involve plants such as flowers, while others use animal bones; particularly the teeth of pigs.
Medicine
Ati are known in Panay as practitioners of herbal medicine. Locals often seek their help in removing leeches from a person's body.
Mobility
The Aetas traditionally were nomadic people, with the Aetas (Ati) of Panay being known as the most mobile. Now they lived in more permanent settlements like Barotac Vejo, island of Guimaras, Igkaputol (Dao), Tina (Hamtic) and Badiang (San Jose de Buenavista. The famous island of Boracay is still regarded as their ancestral land as the area kown as Takbuyan, between the municipalities of Tobias Fournier (Dao) and San Joaquin, on the southwestern coast of Panay. Very few of them are now nomadic (mostly women with small children). Ati men traditionally join 'sacadas' workers on time of harvest of sugar plants in places such Negros or Batangas.
Festivals
The Ati are the central attraction in the Ati-atihan festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said that the festival is held to commemorate the first appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the Spaniards in the province of Aklan. According to oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer the native Bisaya and, as a reward, the tribe was given a statue of the Santo Niño.
In the Dinagyang festival of Iloilo City, also on Panay, performers are also painted to look supposedly like Ati and are organized into "tribes", called "tribus", to perform dances with drums, as the Atis are supposed to have done when the Malay arrived and bought Panay from the Ati. Dinagyang is held to celebrate this purchase as well as the arrival in Iloilo of the Santo Niño statue. When the statue first arrived in 1967, a tribe from the Ati-atihan festival was invited to Iloilo to mark the occasion.
Festivals The Ati are the central attraction in the Ati-atihan festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said that the festival is held to commemorate the first appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the Spaniards in the province of Aklan. According to oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer the native Bisaya and, as a reward, the tribe was given a statue of the Santo Niño.
In the Dinagyang festival of Iloilo City, also on Panay, performers are also painted to look supposedly like Ati and are organized into "tribes", called "tribus", to perform dances with drums, as the Atis are supposed to have done when the Malay arrived and bought Panay from the Ati. Dinagyang is held to celebrate this purchase as well as the arrival in Iloilo of the Santo Niño statue. When the statue first arrived in 1967, a tribe from the Ati-atihan festival was invited to Iloilo to mark the occasion.
History In the Philippines the Aetas or Ati ancestors were the 'aboriginals' or the 'first' inhabitants of this Archipelago. They most probably arrived from Borneo 20-30,000 years ago, through what is thought to be an isthmus (remnants of which today comprise the island of Palawan) that in the prehistoric epoch connected the Philippine archipelago to Borneo via a land bridge.According to some oral traditions, they also pre-date the Bisaya, who now inhabit most of the Visayas. Legends, such as those involving the Ten Bornean Datus and the Binirayan Festival, tell tales about how, at the beginning of the 12th century, the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped from Borneo from the persecution of Rajah Makatunaw. Led by Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel and sailing with boats called balangay, they landed near a river called Suaragan, on the southwest coast of Panay, (the place then known as Aninipay), and bartered the land from an Ati headman named Polpolan and his son Marikudo for the price of a necklace and one golden salakot. The hills were left to the Atis while the plains and rivers to the Malays. This meeting is commemorated through the Ati-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.During the Spanish colonization, the tribe made contact with the conquistador Legazpi and were made useful in his colonization of Panay.
Currently, the tribe is threatened due to encroachments into their territory, recently seen in Boracay. Another problem they face is discrimination.
Demographics
Language Unlike the Aeta of the north, who speak Sambalic languages, the Ati speak a Visayan language known as Inati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati number at about 1,500. Today few of them know how to speak Inati and Visaya and Kinary-a are commonly used.
Religion
The Ati practice a form of animism that involves good and evil spirits. These spirits are nature spirits that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease or comfort. The Ati from Negros refer to them as taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place." Christianity has also been adopted due to less isolation and more contact with "outsiders".
Culture
History
In the Philippines the Aetas or Ati ancestors were the 'aboriginals' or the 'first' inhabitants of this Archipelago. They most probably arrived from Borneo 20-30,000 years ago, through what is thought to be an isthmus (remnants of which today comprise the island of Palawan) that in the prehistoric epoch connected the Philippine archipelago to Borneo via a land bridge.According to some oral traditions, they also pre-date the Bisaya, who now inhabit most of the Visayas. Legends, such as those involving the Ten Bornean Datus and the Binirayan Festival, tell tales about how, at the beginning of the 12th century, the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped from Borneo from the persecution of Rajah Makatunaw. Led by Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel and sailing with boats called balangay, they landed near a river called Suaragan, on the southwest coast of Panay, (the place then known as Aninipay), and bartered the land from an Ati headman named Polpolan and his son Marikudo for the price of a necklace and one golden salakot. The hills were left to the Atis while the plains and rivers to the Malays. This meeting is commemorated through the Ati-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.
During the Spanish colonization, the tribe made contact with the conquistador Legazpi and were made useful in his colonization of Panay.
Currently, the tribe is threatened due to encroachments into their territory, recently seen in Boracay. Another problem they face is discrimination.
Demographics
Language
Unlike the Aeta of the north, who speak Sambalic languages, the Ati speak a Visayan language known as Inati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati number at about 1,500. Today few of them know how to speak Inati and Visaya and Kinary-a are commonly used.
Religion
The Ati practice a form of animism that involves good and evil spirits. These spirits are nature spirits that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease or comfort. The Ati from Negros refer to them as taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place." Christianity has also been adopted due to less isolation and more contact with "outsiders".
Culture
Clothing
Not too long ago, like other Negritos in the country, their clothing was simple, with women wearing wraparound skirts, sometimes made out of bark cloth, and men wearing loincloths. However today T-shirts, pants, and rubber sandals are common as daily clothes.
Jewelry is simple in nature. Some jewelry objects involve plants such as flowers, while others use animal bones; particularly the teeth of pigs.
Medicine
Ati are known in Panay as practitioners of herbal medicine. Locals often seek their help in removing leeches from a person's body.
Mobility
The Aetas traditionally were nomadic people, with the Aetas (Ati) of Panay being known as the most mobile. Now they lived in more permanent settlements like Barotac Vejo, island of Guimaras, Igkaputol (Dao), Tina (Hamtic) and Badiang (San Jose de Buenavista. The famous island of Boracay is still regarded as their ancestral land as the area kown as Takbuyan, between the municipalities of Tobias Fournier (Dao) and San Joaquin, on the southwestern coast of Panay. Very few of them are now nomadic (mostly women with small children). Ati men traditionally join 'sacadas' workers on time of harvest of sugar plants in places such Negros or Batangas.
Festivals
The Ati are the central attraction in the Ati-atihan festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said that the festival is held to commemorate the first appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the Spaniards in the province of Aklan. According to oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer the native Bisaya and, as a reward, the tribe was given a statue of the Santo Niño.
In the Dinagyang festival of Iloilo City, also on Panay, performers are also painted to look supposedly like Ati and are organized into "tribes", called "tribus", to perform dances with drums, as the Atis are supposed to have done when the Malay arrived and bought Panay from the Ati. Dinagyang is held to celebrate this purchase as well as the arrival in Iloilo of the Santo Niño statue. When the statue first arrived in 1967, a tribe from the Ati-atihan festival was invited to Iloilo to mark the occasion.
Festivals The Ati are the central attraction in the Ati-atihan festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said that the festival is held to commemorate the first appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the Spaniards in the province of Aklan. According to oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer the native Bisaya and, as a reward, the tribe was given a statue of the Santo Niño.
In the Dinagyang festival of Iloilo City, also on Panay, performers are also painted to look supposedly like Ati and are organized into "tribes", called "tribus", to perform dances with drums, as the Atis are supposed to have done when the Malay arrived and bought Panay from the Ati. Dinagyang is held to celebrate this purchase as well as the arrival in Iloilo of the Santo Niño statue. When the statue first arrived in 1967, a tribe from the Ati-atihan festival was invited to Iloilo to mark the occasion.
Ati
A language of Philippines ISO 639-3: atk
Population 1,500 (1980 SIL). Region Panay Island, small groups in all provinces. Language map Southern Philippines, reference number 90
Alternate names Inati Dialects Malay, Barotac Viejo Nagpana. Classification Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Philippine, Greater Central Philippine, Central Philippine, Bisayan, Central, Peripheral Language use Home, community. Barotac Viejo Nagpana is the prestige dialect. Also use Hiligaynon [hil]. The Malay people also use Malaynon [mlz]. Comments Negrito.
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Batak people (Philippines)
Batak are one of about 70 indigenous peoples of the Philippines. They are located in the northeastern portions of Palawan, a relatively large island in the southwest of the archipelago. There are only about 500 Batak remaining. Also called Tinitianes, the Batak are considered by anthropologists to be closely related to the Ayta of Central Luzon, another Negrito tribe. They tend to be small in stature, with dark skin and short curly or "kinky" hair, traits which originally garnered the "Negrito" groups their name. Still, there is some debate as to whether the Batak are related to the other Negrito groups of the Philippines or actually to other, physically similar groups in Indonesia or as far away as the Andaman islands.
Batak have for centuries combined a hunting-gathering lifestyle with seeding of useful food plants, kaingin, a slash and burn farming method, and trading. It is believed that they may have had trading relations with Chinese merchants as early as 500 AD.
As a result, during the mid to late-20th century the Batak were easily pushed out of their preferred gathering grounds by the sea into the mountains by emigrant farmers, mostly from Luzon. Living in less fertile areas, they have attempted to supplement their income by harvesting and selling various nontimber forest products, such as rattan, tree resins, and honey. This has been met with resistance by the government and commercial collectors, who assert that the Batak have no legal right to these resources. Conservationists, however, have taken an interest in the Batak's collection methods, which are much more sustainable than the techniques used by commercial concessionaires.
The Batak
were once a nomadic people, but have since, at the behest of the government, settled in small villages. Still, they often go on gathering trips into the forest for a few days at a time, an activity which has both economic and spiritual value for them. Their belief system is that of animism, which is belief in spirits that reside in nature. Some, called "Panyeon", are generally suspicious of humans but are tolerant of them, as long as people don't abuse or waste the resources of the forest. Other spirits, called "Diwata" are generally benevolent. All are capricious. Batak make regular offerings to these spirits, and Shamans undergo spiritual possession in order to communicate with the spirits and heal the sick.
Rapid depopulation, restricted forest access, sedentary living, and incursion by immigrants has devastated the group culturally. Today, very few Batak marry other Batak but tend to marry from other neighboring groups. The pattern has been than the children of these marriages tend to not follow Batak cultural ways, and today "pure" Batak are rare. As a result Batak are being absorbed into a more diffuse group of upland indigenous peoples who are slowing losing their tribal identities, and with it their unique spirituality and culture; there is even some debate as to whether or not they still exist as a distinct ethnic entity.
The Batak
Batak of the Philippines at risk from land loss
Government legislation banning their traditional farming methods has had a devastating impact.
Survival’s campaign helped to partially lift this ban but the Batak still face food shortages.
Act now ↓
Not to be confused with the populous and ethnically diverse Indonesian Batak of northern Sumatra, the Batak of the Philippines are a ‘negrito’ people.
They are believed to have originated from the first wave of human populations who crossed the land bridges connecting the Philippine islands with mainland Asia, some 50,000 years ago.
Many threats Today, the Batak are threatened by conservation schemes such as a government ban on shifting cultivation and the declaration of ‘protected areas’ within their ancestral lands.
There are now around 300 Batak, down from about 700 in 1900. Land seizure, logging and exposure to disease are great dangers.
Severe undernourishment has made them more vulnerable to diseases such as malaria, measles and tuberculosis.
They also suffer from high infant mortality and low birth rates. The small Batak population means young people often have to marry outside the tribe.
How does Survival help?
When the local government outlawed the Batak’s farming methods in 1994, rice yields fell dramatically and the tribe was on the brink of devastation.
They had little choice but to collect and sell more forest products, but this meant an overall depletion of vital resources.
Survival launched a campaign, which resulted in a partial lifting of the ban. The authorities admitted that the Batak had been ‘adversely affected by the policy’.
Survival is lobbying for the recognition of the their right to live on and use their lands according to their own wishes.
Batak have for centuries combined a hunting-gathering lifestyle with seeding of useful food plants, kaingin, a slash and burn farming method, and trading. It is believed that they may have had trading relations with Chinese merchants as early as 500 AD.
As a result, during the mid to late-20th century the Batak were easily pushed out of their preferred gathering grounds by the sea into the mountains by emigrant farmers, mostly from Luzon. Living in less fertile areas, they have attempted to supplement their income by harvesting and selling various nontimber forest products, such as rattan, tree resins, and honey. This has been met with resistance by the government and commercial collectors, who assert that the Batak have no legal right to these resources. Conservationists, however, have taken an interest in the Batak's collection methods, which are much more sustainable than the techniques used by commercial concessionaires.
The Batak
were once a nomadic people, but have since, at the behest of the government, settled in small villages. Still, they often go on gathering trips into the forest for a few days at a time, an activity which has both economic and spiritual value for them. Their belief system is that of animism, which is belief in spirits that reside in nature. Some, called "Panyeon", are generally suspicious of humans but are tolerant of them, as long as people don't abuse or waste the resources of the forest. Other spirits, called "Diwata" are generally benevolent. All are capricious. Batak make regular offerings to these spirits, and Shamans undergo spiritual possession in order to communicate with the spirits and heal the sick.
Rapid depopulation, restricted forest access, sedentary living, and incursion by immigrants has devastated the group culturally. Today, very few Batak marry other Batak but tend to marry from other neighboring groups. The pattern has been than the children of these marriages tend to not follow Batak cultural ways, and today "pure" Batak are rare. As a result Batak are being absorbed into a more diffuse group of upland indigenous peoples who are slowing losing their tribal identities, and with it their unique spirituality and culture; there is even some debate as to whether or not they still exist as a distinct ethnic entity.
The Batak
Batak of the Philippines at risk from land loss
Government legislation banning their traditional farming methods has had a devastating impact.
Survival’s campaign helped to partially lift this ban but the Batak still face food shortages.
Act now ↓
Not to be confused with the populous and ethnically diverse Indonesian Batak of northern Sumatra, the Batak of the Philippines are a ‘negrito’ people.
They are believed to have originated from the first wave of human populations who crossed the land bridges connecting the Philippine islands with mainland Asia, some 50,000 years ago.
Many threats Today, the Batak are threatened by conservation schemes such as a government ban on shifting cultivation and the declaration of ‘protected areas’ within their ancestral lands.
There are now around 300 Batak, down from about 700 in 1900. Land seizure, logging and exposure to disease are great dangers.
Severe undernourishment has made them more vulnerable to diseases such as malaria, measles and tuberculosis.
They also suffer from high infant mortality and low birth rates. The small Batak population means young people often have to marry outside the tribe.
How does Survival help?
When the local government outlawed the Batak’s farming methods in 1994, rice yields fell dramatically and the tribe was on the brink of devastation.
They had little choice but to collect and sell more forest products, but this meant an overall depletion of vital resources.
Survival launched a campaign, which resulted in a partial lifting of the ban. The authorities admitted that the Batak had been ‘adversely affected by the policy’.
Survival is lobbying for the recognition of the their right to live on and use their lands according to their own wishes.
Mamanwa
The Mamanwa is a Negrito tribe often grouped together with the Lumad. They come from Leyte, Agusan del Norte, and Surigao provinces in Mindanao. Primarily in Kitcharao and Santiago, Agusan del Norte,[9] though they are lesser in number and more scattered and nomadic than the Manobos and Mandaya tribes who also inhabit the region. Like all Negritos, the Mamanwas are genetically distinct from the lowlanders and the upland living Manobos, exhibiting curly hair and much darker skin tones.
The political system of the Mamanwas is informally democratic and age-structured. Elders are respected and are expected to maintain peace and order within the tribe. The chieftain, called a Tambayon, usually takes over the duties of counselling tribal members, speaking at gatherings, and arbitrating disagreements. They believe in a collection of spirits, which are governed by the supreme deity Magbabaya. The tribe produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers.
Mamanwa (also spelled Mamanoa) means 'first forest dwellers', from the words man (first) and banwa (forest).They speak the Mamanwa language (or Minamanwa).
AKA:Conking, Mamaw, Amamanusa, Manmanua, Mamaua
Location: Mindanao, Agusan del Norte province; Leyte.
Languages:
Supergroup:
Subgroups:
Subsistence: Swidden agriculture in small patches; some wet rice. Heavy reliance on food gathering.
Population: 1922 (1990)Mamanwa were once considered a Negrito group, but now are thought to comprise an older group entirely distinct from other Filipino populations. Like all Negritos, they have adopted the language of a dominant nearby group. They are concentrated primarily in Kitcharao and Santiago; however, they are quite mobile, and continually relocate. As hunting has declined in importance, the bow and arrow have largely fallen into disuse. The Mamanwa receive some of their subsistence from other groups with whom they have labor arrangements. Settlements consist of three to twenty households arranged in a circle in a high ridge or valley. The houses generally lack walls. Communities are kin-based, with leadership vested in the oldest and most respected male.
Ethnologue
A language of Philippines ISO 639-3: mmn
Population 5,150 (1990 census). Region Agusan del Norte and Surigao provinces, Mindanao. Language map Southern Philippines, reference number 161
Alternate names Mamanwa Negrito, Minamanwa Classification Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Philippine, Greater Central Philippine, Central Philippine, Mamanwa Language development Literacy rate in L1: 7%. Literacy rate in L2: 7%. NT: 1982. Writing system Latin script.
The political system of the Mamanwas is informally democratic and age-structured. Elders are respected and are expected to maintain peace and order within the tribe. The chieftain, called a Tambayon, usually takes over the duties of counselling tribal members, speaking at gatherings, and arbitrating disagreements. They believe in a collection of spirits, which are governed by the supreme deity Magbabaya. The tribe produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers.
Mamanwa (also spelled Mamanoa) means 'first forest dwellers', from the words man (first) and banwa (forest).They speak the Mamanwa language (or Minamanwa).
AKA:Conking, Mamaw, Amamanusa, Manmanua, Mamaua
Location: Mindanao, Agusan del Norte province; Leyte.
Languages:
Supergroup:
Subgroups:
Subsistence: Swidden agriculture in small patches; some wet rice. Heavy reliance on food gathering.
Population: 1922 (1990)Mamanwa were once considered a Negrito group, but now are thought to comprise an older group entirely distinct from other Filipino populations. Like all Negritos, they have adopted the language of a dominant nearby group. They are concentrated primarily in Kitcharao and Santiago; however, they are quite mobile, and continually relocate. As hunting has declined in importance, the bow and arrow have largely fallen into disuse. The Mamanwa receive some of their subsistence from other groups with whom they have labor arrangements. Settlements consist of three to twenty households arranged in a circle in a high ridge or valley. The houses generally lack walls. Communities are kin-based, with leadership vested in the oldest and most respected male.
Ethnologue
A language of Philippines ISO 639-3: mmn
Population 5,150 (1990 census). Region Agusan del Norte and Surigao provinces, Mindanao. Language map Southern Philippines, reference number 161
Alternate names Mamanwa Negrito, Minamanwa Classification Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Philippine, Greater Central Philippine, Central Philippine, Mamanwa Language development Literacy rate in L1: 7%. Literacy rate in L2: 7%. NT: 1982. Writing system Latin script.