Introducing Philippine Ethnic Groups

Summary

In this enlightening session, Dr. Nestor Castro offers a comprehensive exploration of the diverse ethnic groups native to the Philippines. The lecture covers the anthropological definitions and constructs of ethnicity, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of these groups due to historical and social factors. With over 100 recognized ethnic groups, each showcasing unique cultural traits, languages, and historical backgrounds, the talk delves into the major criteria that classify these groups, such as linguistic differences, religious affiliations, phenotypic traits, and ancestral histories. Through vivid narratives, Dr. Castro aims to foster an appreciation for the complex cultural mosaic that shapes the Philippine identity, encouraging further discourse and study into this rich cultural heritage.

Highlights

• Dr. Nestor Castro enlightens us about the vast cultural diversity of the Philippines, home to over 100 ethnic groups 🎓.
• Ethnicity is a social and psychological construct, not strictly biological, highlighting perceptions of cultural differentiation 💼.
• The interplay between traditional beliefs and modern influences shapes the unique tapestry of Philippine societies 🧩.
• From the Tagalog to the Negritos, each group's cultural identity stems from language, historical influence, and geographic distribution 🏝️.
• Cordillera peoples, renowned for their rice terraces, represent the resilience and adaptability of the highland ethnic groups 🌾.

Key Takeaways

• Philippines, a melting pot of cultures, has over 100 ethnic groups defined by unique languages, traditions, and historical backgrounds 🌏.
• Ethnicity is socially constructed and fluid; new ethnic groups can emerge while others may disappear over time 🔄.
• Languages are pivotal in ethnic identity, with over 170 spoken languages marking distinct ethno-linguistic groups 🗣️.
• The Negrito people are one of the original inhabitants, characterized by their unique physical traits and historical lifestyles ⏳.
• The major eight ethnic groups dominate the cultural and political landscape, showcasing various degrees of acculturation 🌿.

Overview

Dr. Nestor Castro takes us on a fascinating journey through the rich tapestry of Philippine ethnic groups, where over 100 distinct communities coexist, each with its unique charm and colorful traditions. From the highlands of Luzon to the coastal areas of Mindanao, these groups paint a vibrant mosaic of cultural diversity—an anthropological treasure trove waiting to be explored! With language, religion, and history as defining pillars, Dr. Castro cleverly unravels the intricate web that forms the Philippine ethnic identity.

Navigating through the lecture, Dr. Castro emphasizes the significance of language in defining ethnic identity. With over 170 indigenous languages, the Philippines stands as a beacon of linguistic diversity. Language not only connects communities but also serves as a marker of ethnic identity. The intriguing cultural practices of groups such as the Tagalog, Cebuano, and the ancient Negrito peoples further illustrate the deep historical roots and societal evolution that characterize this archipelago.

In his engaging talk, Dr. Castro addresses the modern challenges of fostering national solidarity in a multicultural setting. He challenges us to respect and celebrate this diversity while striving for common national goals. Dr. Castro's insights encourage a humble acknowledgment of each group's contribution to the Filipino identity and serve as an invitation for further study and appreciation of these unique cultures.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction The chapter opens with a welcoming note for a Monday morning lecture, emphasizing the importance of keeping microphones on mute and videos off during the presentation to ensure a smooth experience. Attendees are advised to ask questions via chat, which will be moderated and presented to the speaker at the session's conclusion. The introduction concludes with the host expressing pleasure in welcoming Dr. Nester T. Castro, who is joining remotely.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Presentation Introduction This chapter introduces a presentation by a professor of anthropology from the University of the Philippines Diliman. The professor specializes in cultural anthropology, focusing on areas such as ethnicity, indigenous peoples' issues, environmental and social impact assessments, and cultural heritage management. His research has been published in various notable journals including New Asian Visions, Colloquial Colloquium, The New Horizon of Contemporary Sociological Theory, and The Philippine Social Sciences Review.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Dr. Nester T. Castro's Introduction Dr. Nester T. Castro begins the session by acknowledging the diversity of the audience, with attendees from different countries. He introduces the topic of the presentation, which is about the various ethnic groups in the Philippines. The presentation is structured with two main objectives that Dr. Castro intends to cover during his lecture.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Presentation Objectives The chapter titled 'Presentation Objectives' aims to educate readers on the diverse ethnic groups present in the Philippines. It begins by providing a brief introduction and profile of these groups, followed by a detailed description of their key cultural characteristics. The primary objective is to enhance understanding and awareness of what constitutes an ethnic group in the context of the Philippines.
• 02:30 - 03:30: Defining Ethnic Groups This chapter explores the anthropological perspective on ethnic groups, emphasizing that ethnicity is not based on biology. Instead, ethnic groups are defined by the ways they distinguish themselves or are distinguished by others, based on cultural perceptions and common ancestry.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Ethnic Diversity in the Philippines The chapter explores the complex nature of ethnic diversity in the Philippines, emphasizing that ethnicity is a social and psychological construct. It discusses the fluidity of ethnic group classification, where individuals' perceptions of being different from others in society lead to the recognition of distinct groups. This fluidity and the formation of new groups contribute to the lack of an exact count of ethnic groups in the country.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Government's View on Indigenous Groups This chapter delves into the perspectives of the government regarding Indigenous groups in the Philippines. The country is noted for its ethnic diversity, with at least 106 ethnic groups identified. This information was highlighted by Dr. Robert Fox, a former director of the National Museum of the Philippines.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Language as Ethnic Marker This chapter introduces the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in the Philippines, a government agency responsible for identifying indigenous groups. It mentions the existence of 110 indigenous groups in the Philippines, which are recognized by the NCIP as groups that have relatively maintained their traditional beliefs and practices.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Linguistic Diversity The chapter titled 'Linguistic Diversity' discusses the linguistic situation in the Philippines. The summary emphasizes that the official counts and statistics regarding languages in the Philippines might be conservative. Dr. Fox's estimates, alongside those of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), appear to overlook the languages spoken by more acculturated groups who have integrated into mainstream Philippine society. The reality is that there are over 170 distinct languages spoken throughout the nation, highlighting a rich tapestry of linguistic diversity.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Criteria for Ethnic Identification This transcript discusses the role of language as an indicator of ethnic identity in the Philippines, a country characterized by its archipelagic structure with over 7,100 islands. It mentions the geographical aspects of the Philippines, highlighting Luzon as the biggest island in the north and Mindanao in the south. The archipelagic nature of the country affects the ethnic identification, likely influencing the diverse linguistic landscape.
• 07:00 - 08:30: Religious Diversity This chapter discusses the character of the Philippines, emphasizing its religious diversity. It highlights the various ethnic groups in the country, which are primarily identified based on linguistic differences. The chapter explains that in the Philippines, ethnic groups are often referred to as ethno-linguistic groups because language is a primary criterion for their classification. If a person speaks a particular language, they typically belong to a specific ethno-linguistic group, underscoring the relationship between language and ethnic identity in the country.
• 08:30 - 10:00: Cultural Traits and Material Culture The chapter explores the concept of ethnic groups and the criteria that define them. Key criteria discussed include cultural traits distinguishing them from others, domicile such as their lifestyle being highland peoples, agricultural societies or maritime communities. The chapter further promises a discussion on phenotypic characteristics and mentions religion or religious affiliation as markers of ethnic distinction.
• 10:00 - 11:30: Ancestry and Migration History The chapter discusses the various cultural traits including costumes, musical traditions, and notably, the ancestry or migration history of a population.
• 11:30 - 12:30: Major Ethnic Groups Statistics The chapter discusses the linguistic diversity in the Philippines, highlighting that there are 172 languages used across the country. Among these, three are foreign languages: English, Minnan Chinese, and Castilian Spanish. The remaining 169 are indigenous languages, including 168 spoken languages and one visual language.
• 12:30 - 14:30: Common Characteristics of Major Ethnic Groups This chapter discusses the linguistic diversity within the major ethnic groups, focusing on the Filipino context where there are 169 spoken languages. Out of these, 168 languages are part of the Austronesian family, and there is one creole language known as Chabakano, which also has several dialects.
• 14:30 - 16:30: Minor Ethnic Groups and Classification The chapter discusses the Tagalog as the largest linguistic group in the Philippines, noting that there are various dialects of Tagalog based on location. It highlights that many ethnic groups in the Philippines are associated with specific ecosystems, and the names they assign to themselves often relate to these environmental settings.
• 16:30 - 18:00: Negrito Populations This chapter discusses the Negrito populations, focusing on the various ethnic groups and their unique identifiers. It highlights the Tagalog, Kapampangan, Taosu, Urayamanyan, Maranao, and Sama groups, noting their connections to natural elements like rivers, coasts, currents, and lakes, which are integral to their identities. The chapter emphasizes how these geographical associations play a vital role in the lives and cultures of these groups.
• 18:00 - 19:30: Cordillera Peoples The chapter focuses on the ethnic groups within the Cordillera region, specifically those residing in the hinterlands. It highlights certain groups more than others, such as the 'Bukidnon,' meaning 'people of the mountain,' the 'Igorot,' meaning 'people of the ridge,' and the 'Remontado,' a term derived from Spanish.
• 19:30 - 21:00: Kagayan Valley Groups This chapter discusses the history of the Kagayan Valley Groups, focusing on the people originally from the lowlands who retreated to the mountains as a result of resisting Spanish colonization. It highlights the names and characteristics of different highland groups, such as the 'Gian' people and others originating from Malay culture. The text details how these groups, like 'Bon Toc' meaning mountain and 'Taot Battle' meaning stone people, adapted to mountain living after fleeing Spanish influence.
• 21:00 - 22:30: Mangyan Peoples The chapter titled 'Mangyan Peoples' explores the indigenous groups living in stone caves and forests, particularly the Icallahan and the Gobatman, both of which mean 'people of the forest.' The discussion begins with a set of criteria to explain and describe their phenotypic characteristics, hinting at a detailed anthropological analysis.
• 22:30 - 24:00: Palawan Groups The chapter titled 'Palawan Groups' discusses the classification of people in the Philippines according to phenotypes, or outward appearances. The focus here is on the 'Negrito' people, whose name derives from a Spanish term meaning 'little black people.' They are acknowledged as the indigenous or aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines. An illustrative picture is mentioned, depicting a Negrito individual on the rightmost side.
• 24:00 - 25:30: Visayan Groups The chapter discusses the Visayan groups, highlighting the phenotypic differences among individuals within the group. Some members have darker skin tones, while others possess fairer skin. The chapter notes the term 'negrito' is an exonym, or an outsider’s category, which was assigned by the Spanish, deriving from the Spanish word.
• 25:30 - 27:30: Lumad Groups The chapter 'Lumad Groups' discusses the classification of peoples in the Philippines by the Negritos. Unlike typical color-based racial distinctions, the Negritos recognize different groups based on hair texture, distinguishing between 'colot' or kinky hair and 'unat' or straight hair. This approach highlights a unique cultural perspective where hair texture is more significant than skin color.
• 27:30 - 28:30: Chavacano Groups The chapter discusses religious diversity in the Philippines, as per the 2010 census. It highlights that the majority of Filipinos, 81%, identify as Roman Catholic. Additionally, there's a mention of a basilica located in the heart of Manila, representing the widespread presence of Catholicism in the country.
• 28:30 - 30:30: Bangsamoro Groups The chapter discusses the diverse religious demographics in the Philippines, focusing on Muslims who make up six percent of the population, predominantly residing in the southern region. It highlights a grand mosque in Manila, indicating the presence of a Muslim community even in the capital city.
• 30:30 - 33:00: Challenges in Multicultural Setting The chapter titled 'Challenges in Multicultural Setting' examines diverse cultural dynamics within the Philippines, highlighting the presence of various religious communities, including a notable percentage of local Christian church adherents and a segment practicing animism. The importance of ancestral rituals, as depicted in a celebration, underscores the blend of traditions characterizing the country's cultural landscape. This chapter thus explores the complexity of sociocultural interactions within a multicultural framework.
• 33:00 - 61:00: Q&A Session The chapter 'Q&A Session' begins with a discussion on the diversity found among people, highlighted by their unique traditional costumes, body decorations, ornamentations, musical instruments, weapons, and ritual practices. The transcript focuses on the Philippines, using the example of gongs as musical instruments found there, to illustrate these cultural differences and commonalities.

Introducing Philippine Ethnic Groups Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 good morning and welcome everyone to uh another monday morning lecture uh as always please do keep yourself on mute and also for the smooth flow of the presentation turn your videos off uh you can turn them on at the end of the lecture and if you have any questions uh type them into the chat and oksana and i will moderate the chat and ask uh the speaker the questions at the end of the session uh today it is my great pleasure to welcome dr nester t castro all the way from the
• 00:30 - 01:00 philippines he is a professor of anthropology at the university of philippines dillman specializing in cultural anthropology his expertise includes ethnicity and indigenous peoples issues environmental and social impact assessment and cultural heritage management his works have been published in notable journals such as new asian visions colloquial colloquium the new horizon of contemporary sociological theory the philippine social sciences review
• 01:00 - 01:30 and the dilemma review so uh and today he is going to be introducing the various uh philippine ethnic groups to us so over to dr castro good morning to everyone i just learned that there are people who come from different countries listening to this lecture right now so my topic is on philippine ethnic groups and we have uh two objectives for this presentation
• 01:30 - 02:00 okay the first objective is to identify the various ethnic groups in the philippines so this is a brief introduction and profile as well as describe the key cultural characteristics of these ethnic groups so just to level off about our understanding of what an ethnic group is coming from an
• 02:00 - 02:30 anthropological definition an ethnic group refers to any group of people who set themselves apart and or are set apart by others with whom they interact or coexist on the basis of their perceptions of cultural differentiation and or common descent so ethnicity is not a biological construct
• 02:30 - 03:00 but it is a social and psychological construct if people feel that they are different from their from the rest of society then we recognize them as a different group of people and this is why we don't have an exact count of how many ethnic groups there are in the philippines because new groups are formed uh former groups
• 03:00 - 03:30 uh have vanished so let us look at some of these ethnic groups so the philippines is an ethnically diverse country from one source this is dr robert fox the former director of the national museum of the philippines he mentioned that there are at least 106 ethnic groups in the country
• 03:30 - 04:00 now we have a government agency in the philippines this is called the national commission on indigenous peoples and according to this agency there are 110 indigenous groups in the philippines now when ncip identifies indigenous groups it is referring to groups that have relatively maintained their traditional beliefs and practices and they have
• 04:00 - 04:30 excluded those groups that are more acculturated and part of the mainstream uh philippine society so i think both uh counts that of dr fox and the ncip are very conservative estimates because if we look at languages in the philippines we have more than 170 languages
• 04:30 - 05:00 and we know that language is usually a marker for ethnic identity now in the philippines so this is a map of the philippines uh the philippines is an archipelago uh we have more than seven thousand uh one hundred islands and uh of course the biggest island will be lausanne at the northern part in mindanao at the southern part and because of the archipelagic
• 05:00 - 05:30 character of the philippines we have several ethnic groups and they are identified based on the following criteria first is linguistic differences in the philippines usually we call ethnic groups as ethno-linguistic groups because language is a primary criterion if you speak a particular language
• 05:30 - 06:00 different from the rest then you are defined as a distinct ethnic group the other criterion is domicile are they highland peoples agricultural societies maritime communities etc third will be phenotypic characteristics i'll explain it later uh fourth will be religion or religious affiliation belief
• 06:00 - 06:30 systems fifth will be various cultural traits such as costumes musical traditions etc and lastly ancestry or migration history now based on this different criteria let us look at linguistic diversity in the philippines so according to ethnologue published by the summer institute of
• 06:30 - 07:00 linguistics there are 172 languages that are used in the philippines three of which are foreign languages these are english menon chinese and castilian spanish so the remaining 169 languages are indigenous to the country 168 of which are spoken languages and there is one visual language
• 07:00 - 07:30 this is filipino sign language of the 169 languages are spoken languages 168 belong to austronesian family of languages and there is one creole language uh this is chabakano and there are several dialects for each language
• 07:30 - 08:00 so for example tagalog is the biggest linguistic group and there will be various dialects of tagalog in terms of domicile many ethnic groups in the philippines are located in specific ecosystems and the ethnic names that they assign to themselves are related to the environmental setting where they are found
• 08:00 - 08:30 for example the biggest ethnic group is called the tagalog which literally means people of the river the kapampangan meaning people of the coast the taosu people of the current the urayamanyan people of the upstream the maranao people of the lake sama people of the sea of course i could not discuss all of this
• 08:30 - 09:00 more than 110 ethnic groups because it will take us time but i will focus on some more than others now with regards to those ethnic groups that are found in the hinterlands some groups are called the bukid non which means people of the mountain igorot people of the ridge remontado which is a spanish word
• 09:00 - 09:30 people who have retreated to the mountains originally they belong to the lowlands because but because they have resisted spanish colonialisation they have retreated to the mountains the thing gian people of the highlands from the malay were tindy which means high bon toc which literally means mountain taot battle literally stone people but because they are people who live in
• 09:30 - 10:00 stone caves and forest dwellers such as the icallahan and the gobatman both meaning people of the forest now in terms of phenotypic characteristics so i'm going through this five different criteria first before explaining and describing the characteristics of these groups uh generally we have two
• 10:00 - 10:30 groups of people in the philippines based on phenotypes or alt-wife outward appearances so the first group is the negrito which comes from the spanish word meaning little black people they are the aboriginal people of the philippines and in this picture you could see the negrito here at the rightmost part of the picture
• 10:30 - 11:00 together with my two students from the university interviewing him and you will see phenotypic differences some are darker skins than others some are fairer skills than others interestingly the term negrito is an exoning so it's an outsiders category assigned by the spanish from the spanish word
• 11:00 - 11:30 negro which means black so negrito because they are uh small in terms of height but for the negritos themselves they distinguish peoples of the philippines whether they are colot or kinky hair or unat or straight haired so they don't see the skin color what they recognize is hair texture and this is something that is interesting
• 11:30 - 12:00 in terms of religious diversity our latest census in the country the 2010 census of population and housing identified that majority of filipinos are roman catholic that this is 81 of the population and in the lower right picture this is a basilica a church in the heart of manila
• 12:00 - 12:30 uh very famous for a devotion to the black nazarene of christ six percent are muslim filipinos mainly in southern philippines and the picture in the upper right uh is a grand mosque also in manila so there would also be a muslim community even in manila the others are evangelicals three
• 12:30 - 13:00 percent iglesian crystal which is a local christian church two percent and eight percent others including animists so the picture on the lower left is a ritual celebration in northern philippines of course revering to ancestral spirits in terms of various cultural traits
• 13:00 - 13:30 so people are differentiated because they have different traditional costumes different body decoration and ornamentation different musical instruments and weapons different ritual practices beliefs worldview etc now in these two photographs both are gongs they are musical instruments found in the philippines interestingly
• 13:30 - 14:00 in terms of geographical distribution of these gongs the flat brass gongs found in the picture in the upper uh upper photo are found in luzon island this is in northern philippines while the bost gongs this lower picture below are
• 14:00 - 14:30 found in visayas and mindanao so in central philippines and indonesia as well as malaysia so there's a difference in terms of material culture also based on geographic strength another interesting uh part about the picture above this gong has a uh holder
• 14:30 - 15:00 with a mandible lower mandible of a human so it's a human jaw because in the past people of the northern busan practiced head head-taking and they will take the head of their enemies as war trophies take the lower jaw and convert them into handles for these guns of course this is no longer practiced if you ask
• 15:00 - 15:30 them uh who does this joe bone belong to they will say uh these are japanese soldiers that we killed during world war ii in terms of ancestry or migration history i mentioned a while ago that the negritos were the first inhabitants of the philippines and arrived into the archipelago about 30 000 years ago
• 15:30 - 16:00 the other populations of the philippines comprising the majority of filipinos belong to austronesian austronesian-speaking peoples that came from mainland asia came later into the country about 2500 bc and the photograph shows a the remains of a prehistoric boat this is a fourth century boat
• 16:00 - 16:30 found in the national museum of the philippines it was on earth in mindanao and many archaeologists believe that such types of boats were used by austronesians when they arrived into the country so relating this with the phenotypic characteristics the negritos are the dark-skinned populations while the austronesian-speaking uh
• 16:30 - 17:00 peoples which comprise the majority of filipinos are will have fairer skin relatively compared to the negritos okay so based on the 2000 census of population and housing of the philippines it was identified that there are only eight ethnic groups that make up 82 percent of the country
• 17:00 - 17:30 now why two thousand census why not 2010 census the census for religious diversity was 2010 but ethnicity was 2 000. unfortunately in 2010 the measurement of ethnicity was no longer included in the census instrument because our philippine statistics authority
• 17:30 - 18:00 decided to improve the instrument for a later use but it was not implemented in 2010 so i hope that it will be implemented now in 2020 so these eight biggest ethnic groups are the tagalog which are found in the metro manila area the national capital region uh comprising of 28 of the population
• 18:00 - 18:30 the cebuano found in central philippines 23 percent ilocano 9 found in north western luzon island hiligaynon also found in the visayas in central philippines comprising seven percent be called found in southern luzon island six percent in eastern visayas in central
• 18:30 - 19:00 philippines 3.3 percent kapampangan north of manila 3 and pangasinan less than 2 so if you add all of this eight these already make up 82 of the population so we have uh about more than 100 ethnic groups in the country but eight groups comprise 82
• 19:00 - 19:30 while the eight percent are distributed to smaller uh populations of ethnic communities now what are the common characteristics of these eight groups these eight groups are dominantly found in lowland agricultural communities they are predominantly christian among them dominantly roman catholic
• 19:30 - 20:00 and there is a relatively high degree of acculturation due to hispanic and american uh cultural influences so these eight groups are the ones that have been colonized by spain for 300 years and by the us for 50 years and therefore have adopted many of these uh western practices while the
• 20:00 - 20:30 others have relatively maintained their traditions these eight groups have strong political influence in the national scene so they are the groups that are in power they make up the ethnic majority of filipinos and this is why our national symbols mainly come from these eight groups for
• 20:30 - 21:00 example we talk about the national dress of filipinos we refer to the baron tagalog baro meaning dress tagalog where and because this is how tagalog's dress up on formal occasions such as wedding ceremonies graduation ceremonies and it has been
• 21:00 - 21:30 adopted as the official dress in the country mainly for for men but uh some variation for women in terms of the sleeves and the skirt but now have been adopted by other ethnic groups as well this so-called national house is the baha'i kubo which means a a a hut made of fetch uh
• 21:30 - 22:00 it it's raised on stilts and it is a characteristic of lowland communities not just of tagalogs but of these eight groups so the symbols refer to the majority now what is unfortunate because of this national symbols the minority groups tend to be invisible in terms of the national
• 22:00 - 22:30 scene and this is what we want to correct we want to on earth we want to showcase as well the culture of other groups other ethnic groups in the country even if they may be smaller than the eight ethnic groups so what are these other groups uh there are more than a hundred of them so i just lump them into common categories this is an arbitrary
• 22:30 - 23:00 classification on my part and other anthropologists may use other clustering classifications so this is only for convenience purposes mainly for this presentation so first is negretal populations anyway i will be discussing each one the second are cordillera peoples in northern duson third kagayan valley groups
• 23:00 - 23:30 fourth the mangyan peoples fifth palawan groups palawan is an island in central philippines visayan groups a cluster of islands in central philippines the next three groups are found in mindanao island the second biggest island found in the southern part of the philippines these are the lumad the chavakano
• 23:30 - 24:00 and the bangsamoro which is a muslim group in southern philippines so let us look at the characteristics of these groups first is the negrito so as i mentioned the name negrito means little black people in spanish the negrito are aboriginal peoples of the philippines they are believed to have come to the
• 24:00 - 24:30 philippines from mainland asia approximately 30 000 years ago so this picture below is a an old picture of negritos in central luzon so they're wearing loin cloths they're mainly nomadic hunters and gatherers that's why they are spread out throughout the archipelago and they are found elsewhere in southeast asia
• 24:30 - 25:00 such as in borneo in malay peninsula in the coastal part of new guinea so this is the distribution of the grito groups in the philippines they are called by different names phenotypically they look similar
• 25:00 - 25:30 but linguistically they speak different languages so these are some pictures of this different groups the the picture below uh both the the man and the woman are of uh northern north eastern duson while the picture above is a dumagat so traditionally negritos are engaged in
• 25:30 - 26:00 hunting and gathering the atta of northern chera madre in the eastern part of luzon island are still nomadic while the rest are semi-nomadic or semi-sedentary now this is very interesting for us anthropologists because there are very few remaining hunters and gatherers in the world today
• 26:00 - 26:30 and we want to study about hunters and gatherers because for millions of years humans around the world were hunters and gatherers and we could only find out about how they survived by studying extant extant or existing populations of hunting and gathering groups such as the agba they have lost their original languages
• 26:30 - 27:00 and now speak languages borrowed from neighboring populations so this picture at the left shows the agta house which is uh classified by anthropologists as a lean too because it leans on a pole it depending on where the sunshine is the house rotates if it is rainy the ag
• 27:00 - 27:30 person carries the house and brings it under the trees if it is sunny it is brought near the river bank now based on ethnographic studies the agta of northern luzon move about at the average of every three weeks mainly following animals such as the wild boar
• 27:30 - 28:00 now the picture at the right shows bows and arrows as well as arrow containers used by negrito groups in the philippines now let me shift to the second group people of the cordillera so this is the map of the philippines and the red part above is the cordillera administrative region so the indigenous peoples of the
• 28:00 - 28:30 cordillera administrative region are known as cordillera peoples they inhabit the biggest mountain range in the country known as the gran cordeliera central but actually they make up different ethnic groups such as the bonto ibaloy ifugao is
• 28:30 - 29:00 they have different languages what they share is a common ecosystem they live in a mountainous environment and they have made rice terraces such as picture the picture shown above now the person at the right upper right is a kalinga man and you will see he is marked by tattoos on his chest depicting that he was a warrior
• 29:00 - 29:30 in his youth days the picture below are ifugao women and at their back is the famous banawi rice terraces in ifugao a famous uh tourist site in the philippines the picture at the lower left is a typical house of the ifugao people now what is the culture of the
• 29:30 - 30:00 cordillera people yeah villages are called ili and each idi is autonomous from one another the council of elders are the indigenous social political unit in the village traditionally there was endemic warfare between different villages and they practice head-taking however peace is maintained through bilateral
• 30:00 - 30:30 peace packs between villages so there's a system of war and peace now during the american colonial period in the philippines the americans reinforced the peace pact system it was already there but the americans further uh used this indigenous political system so that it could implement a pacification campaign in the region so these are examples of
• 30:30 - 31:00 material culture of the cordillera people the picture on the left are rice granary gods usually they are pears a man and a woman and they are they guard the granary where the rice is kept the picture on the right is a kalinga skirt woven
• 31:00 - 31:30 and there would be decorations of seashells so interestingly cordillera is a land blocked region but the people will trade with lowland communities to get shells and transform this into decorations for their skirts now let me show you a uh short uh picture of a uh it was supposed to be a video but
• 31:30 - 32:00 this is a dance among the kalinga people anyway uh since i have very little time left uh i'll shift to another group this is the people of kagayan valley so this is in northeastern philippines and this are some of the ethnic groups there the bukkalot gaddang ibana ibatan is
• 32:00 - 32:30 yoga again differentiated by language but their languages belong to a common sub family called ibanagic languages they are dominantly christian just like the eight major groups and also high degree of acculturation but less acculturation compared to the eight biggest groups the picture above shows
• 32:30 - 33:00 uh the the uh elongate people in the past they were also head hunters and this is a ritual performance of their head heart head hunting party the picture below is a typical ivatan house made of stone and thick such roof because these houses are found in a typhoon belt in the northernmost
• 33:00 - 33:30 part of the philippines so it's an adaptive mechanism to typhoons let me shift to south of manila this is mindoro island the people here are known as the mangyan the word mangyan just re means human being in their languages but actually they make up different ethnic groups with each group having their own languages so this
• 33:30 - 34:00 is a close-up of mindoro island the coastal parts of mindoro are populated by tagalogs but the hinterlands are the different ethnic groups such as the alangan bangon buhit gobatn all of them consider themselves as
• 34:00 - 34:30 mangyan but speak different languages so to communicate with one another they would use tagalo which is the language of the dominant group their subsistence pattern is traditionally sweden agriculture that is the practice of slash and burn now it is supplemented by hunting and gathering
• 34:30 - 35:00 they are semi-nomadic so if the rice field is no longer fertile they will move to another portion of the forest clear it and then plant in that area they have like very strong physical attachment to the environment so they will have environmental spirits generally there they have a sustainable subsistence practice marked by a
• 35:00 - 35:30 long follow period and the propagation of biodiversity so one study by the american anthropologist harold conklin showed that the hanono o mangyan went back to their original farm lot only after 25 years because they allow the the soil to replenish its nutrients
• 35:30 - 36:00 unfortunately this is the follow period is becoming shorter and shorter as lands become limited due to intrusion by migrants so some pictures of the mangans the practice of teeth blackening so their traditional uh skirt and blouse are colored by the indigo dye
• 36:00 - 36:30 they live in long houses which is related family units and one group which is the hanono omangyan have maintained the prehispanic syllabic script prior to the coming of the spanish a similar syllabic script was used by many filipinos but have disappeared and replaced by the
• 36:30 - 37:00 latin alphabet but among the hanono omega this is still practiced so this is a picture of a bamboo stick with a poem written in this syllabic script okay south of mindoro is the island of palawan that's the long island that links luzon with sabah
• 37:00 - 37:30 and the rest of kadimantan island in in malaysia and indonesia palawan ethnic groups are known as the agotynim and there should be no letter k there ago so the picture below is gentleman so living in a cave area
• 37:30 - 38:00 in uh southern part of palawan island so their subsistence pattern is similar to mangan group so i will be discussing that already so some pictures of their rituals such as drinking rice wine from a common earthenware jar practiced by the palat one and you will see
• 38:00 - 38:30 that they use bamboo straws to drink so there is ritual kingship and brotherhood if you drink from the same jar the picture at the right is an old photograph of a padiwata ritual where a shaman becomes possessed by ancestral spirits usually the shaman is a a man
• 38:30 - 39:00 usually a farmer but when he is possessed he acquires feminine characteristics because feminine characteristics are identified with divinities let us shift to visayan groups in central philippines and among these groups are the aklanon boholano bukidnon also
• 39:00 - 39:30 so this picture are bokidnon or people of the mountains suludnon which means people of the interior you will see that some of them had intermarriage with negrito groups in the area traditionally uh peoples of the visayas
• 39:30 - 40:00 lived in interior upland areas of the region they were farming communities both wet rice agriculture as well as dry rice uh sweden agriculture now there is one group known as the eskaya found in bohol island in the visayas which has its own script so also called eskaya script
• 40:00 - 40:30 and this look like pictographs so the letters represent body parts but it is not much studied uh i have been there and i have the hypothesis that the alphabet was quite recent probably developed during contact with a spanish as marked by certain uh letters that are spanish
• 40:30 - 41:00 letters such as ace for the letter h x for the letter x so yes it was indigenous it was not introduced by the spanish but only invented during the spanish colonial period now let us shift to mindanao so the color red island is mindanao island in southern philippines
• 41:00 - 41:30 now one group of people is known as the lumad or lumen so the term lumad is a visayan word so it's an exonee that means native so these are the indigenous people of mindanao the term has been introduced by visayan migrants into the area so traditionally they are the non-christian
• 41:30 - 42:00 non-muslim groups of mindanao however at present many of them have converted either to christianity or to islam because of the presence of several missionar religious missionaries in the area traditionally their villages were led by head men or chieftains called the datu similar to the datu of malaysia
• 42:00 - 42:30 so these are the different lumad groups in mindanao the bagobo bukidnon higaonon mandaya and you will notice that their costumes
• 42:30 - 43:00 native attire are very colorful so uh one ethnic group this are the tiboli people they are very famous for their textile known as tinalak because the designs of the textiles are based on the dreams of the weavers they don't just weave any design but they are inspired by dreams
• 43:00 - 43:30 now the picture on the right are brass wear also made by the piboli the picture on the upper right is a belt worn by tiboli men and women so there are small bells made of brass and when they walk about you could hear them walking because this bells ring these figurines below are also made of
• 43:30 - 44:00 brass using the lost wax method another group uh this is interesting for the philippines although they are quite small is a they are called the chavacano they are the creole speaking populations in luzon as well as in mindanao but the vibrant group is found in samwanga
• 44:00 - 44:30 in mindanao when we say creole they speak a language that originally had many words coming from [Music] different languages such as spanish portuguese because they inhabit port areas that were present during the spanish colonial period so samwanga city for example in mindanao was a port area
• 44:30 - 45:00 the chavacano language also had several dialects somebody spoken in mindanao caviteno and ternateno spoken in luzon and hermetanyo now an extinct language that was used to be spoken in manila so uh the text at the left uh is a chavakano text
• 45:00 - 45:30 for those who may be familiar with spanish or portuguese it sounds spanish or portuguese because it has many words borrowed from this languages but but it is not uh it is uh a unique language for the philippines they also have dances such as this dance performed during a chavakano foundation day celebration and they believe that the chavakhanu
• 45:30 - 46:00 language was instituted way back in 1635 when a fort in mindanao that's fort pilar was established during that year now the last group that i will be talking about is the banksa moro people or the moral nation bangsa meaning nation they refer to the islamized
• 46:00 - 46:30 groups of mindanao sulu and southern palawan because in this area there were muslim sultanates that were established prior to the coming of the spanish the sultanate of sulu was established to 1450 the spanish arrived the philippines in 1521. uh in magintana the sultanate of magindana was established during the spanish contact or prior to
• 46:30 - 47:00 the spanish arrival this is in 1511. now prior to the coming of the spanish the spanish observed that islam was practiced by the local chiefs from mindanao all the way to northern duson at least to pangasinan in northern central luzon even mandila was a muslim city
• 47:00 - 47:30 prior to the coming of the spanish but when the spanish arrived they were successful successful in propagating christianity and the banks and moral groups remained as the muslim groups in the country so they are made up of various ethnic groups with each ethnic group speaking a different language
• 47:30 - 48:00 they are the bajao the iranun the jama mapun maginda noun maranao interestingly the bajao are found in the philippines as well as in sabah and sulawesi in indonesia the iranun also found in sabah the taosug found in the philippines
• 48:00 - 48:30 but they are called sulu in malaysia so because prior to the coming of the spanish of course there was no concept of a philippines but uh sultanates encompassed this maritime communities and they were they extended all the way to indonesia and malaysia so the picture shows on the upper
• 48:30 - 49:00 picture shows maginda noun women wearing a ma long skirt the picture below are tausoug chiefs wearing their traditional attire this is an old photograph and they will be holding their little swords known as the crease so this is the chris sword also used in malaysia
• 49:00 - 49:30 the picture at the right is a maranao house known as torogen literally meaning sleeping quarters so it's ornately decorated okay now it's almost time so let me end with uh some reflections on challenges in the philippine setting
• 49:30 - 50:00 the challenge will be how to foster national solidarity that is philippine national solidarity in a multi-ethnic multi-cultural setting how do we assert filipino identity and nationhood but at the same time respecting cultural diversity so that's the second challenge how to respect cultural diversity
• 50:00 - 50:30 while instilling common national goals now because many of you are museum volunteers and practitioners an interesting challenge will also be to is also how to represent ethnic diversity in museum exhibits without stereotyping indigenous cultures so this would be a question mark sorry
• 50:30 - 51:00 yes there is diversity but even within each ethnic group there will also be diversity and there will also be culture change so do we only portray traditional attires i think and i believe we should also portray culture change because of contact with the modern global world
• 51:00 - 51:30 so i won't answer these questions because these are things to ponder upon and maybe during the discussion uh you may also share your thoughts about this so i will end with this slide thank you very much and if you have further questions you could email me at ntcastre1 at up.edu dot ph thank you
• 51:30 - 52:00 let me stop sharing and uh welcome questions thank you professor that was uh a truly fantastic introduction to uh philippine ethnic culture most of us are not very familiar with uh um i think with philippine the different philippine cultural groups and so this is a great way to pique our interest and get us to study more ourselves so thank you so much uh i will
• 52:00 - 52:30 uh read out a couple of the questions that were asked one is what is the history of the categorization of your ethnic groups did it start with the spanish and how did it change under the american colonialists that's a very good question now in the past people just uh do i open my my video okay okay in the past uh people just referred to themselves
• 52:30 - 53:00 in terms of their ethnic identity as being a person coming from this village or a person coming from this type of ecosystem so as i mentioned tagalog i am tagalog so that means people of the river so that was the ethnic classification there won't be any clustering into different generic groups now when the spanish
• 53:00 - 53:30 arrived the spanish introduced who are the christians who are the non-christians that was the first distinction so tribus cristianos christian tribes and uh tribos salvajes or savage tribes now the americans continued this practice and introduced a different category or
• 53:30 - 54:00 classification they said civilized groups and savage groups so that was the american classification but uh of course there were american anthropologists that came into the philippines also and mainly copied categories coming from native americans so that's why they called filipinos as
• 54:00 - 54:30 indios or indians and they were also placed on reservations so the americans introduced the distinction of muslims versus christians up to now we have this problem because sometimes if there's conflict in the southern part of the philippines it will always be portrayed as a
• 54:30 - 55:00 conflict between muslims and christians but actually it's not a religious problem but it's a problem because of a lack of access to economic resources lack of access to education but it is almost always translated into the media as a religious uh conflict so the colonizers have changed the narrative
• 55:00 - 55:30 in this categorization that's very interesting because as you say uh mindanao for example is always portrayed as a religious conflict so that's very interesting to um to know um there's a couple of other questions i think we have time for them um is i'm sure i'm mispronouncing this is uh a dialect of the itneg language uh yes uh salah padang is the name of the
• 55:30 - 56:00 village in abra province so masada is a particular tribe of the indian groups of course different anthropologists will have different classification systems some will say oh it's a distinct ethnic group by itself don't lump them together with the indians because thinking is also an outsider's category which means
• 56:00 - 56:30 people of the highlands uh so as i mentioned at the start of my lecture the clustering is only for convenience purposes for this discussion but we could talk about uh distinct ethnic groups even within each cluster and this is another question for someone i think who wants who's interested in the subject and wants to take uh their study further could you recommend some reference books
• 56:30 - 57:00 on the various ethnicities and their cultures okay um in the i don't know if they're available outside the philippines but uh we have a national commission for culture and the arts this is a government body and it has published a short monograph it's called glimpses of philippine culture so it's a brief summary of the characteristics of each group the author is dr jesus peralta
• 57:00 - 57:30 who is also an anthropologist the the scent uh or ccp cultural center of the philippines has produced several volumes about philippine culture and there will be entries about so it's like an encyclopedia of philippian culture and there will be entries about different ethnic groups
• 57:30 - 58:00 now the other references are very distinct to particular ethnic groups so different anthropologists have studied particular regions so there would be anthropologists who studied cordillera groups only and mindanao groups only for the person who asked this question you could email me and i could send you references
• 58:00 - 58:30 of particular ethnic groups that you are interested in thank you that's really very kind of you i will pass on your email id to the person who asked this question the other it's also the same person who emailed us before your talk asking for information so um one last question uh the poem about the bamboo was very interesting do you have any more information on it okay so as i mentioned prior to the coming of the spanish we have our own syllabic
• 58:30 - 59:00 writing even the tagalogs had their own writing system when the spanish arrived the first religious catholic prayers were written in this native script by the spanish because they want to teach religion to filipinos the spanish adopted the writing system so it's a syllabic form of writing where each character is a particular syllable a combination
• 59:00 - 59:30 of a consonant and a vowel but later in later the spanish shifted into introducing the latin alphabets so probably it was during the 18th century when this syllabic script disappeared among the majority ethnic groups of the philippines but it is still found in mindoro among the mangan and in palawan
• 59:30 - 60:00 now in mindoro they call that poetry as ambahan it's a love poem so this is used when they would uh write to their loved ones uh to court them so that they will be there their girlfriend uh sometimes they're written on these bamboo slabs
• 60:00 - 60:30 sometimes they would be written on bamboo stands along a trail where they know a woman will pass through and the woman will see this syllabic graffiti actually addressed to a particular girl that the man is 14. so one anthropologist this is anton postma he has published a book about several ambahan poetry of the hanunu omanyang
• 60:30 - 61:00 written both in the syllabic script translated into english so if you're interested i will also give a reference about this type of poetry thank you so much professor i think we could go on but unfortunately that's all we have time for um it was an amazing talk and it really i think it's been a fantastic introduction to the various philippine ethnicities and i hope it encourages a lot of us to
• 61:00 - 61:30 uh do our own research into this as well thank you again before we finish i have a couple of announcements uh