Peopling of the Philippines

The Peopling of the Philippines

• Archaeological finds in Palawan, such as Tabon Skull fragments, suggest prehistoric inhabitants existed in the Philippines as early as the Pleistocene period.
• Carbon dating estimates these fossil remains to be around 22,000 years old.
• The New Stone Age in the Philippines spurred the development of Filipino modern societies.
• Early Filipinos began domesticating plants and animals, shifting away from family consumption-based food production.
• People depended on agriculture, hunting and gathering.
• Gaillard and Mallari (2004) summarized various theories explaining the peopling of the Philippines.
• One hypothesis suggests internal development within the Austronesian region, citing William Meacham's work, positing internal human evolution in the area.
• Bayer's Multiple Homeland Hypothesis argues for multiple origins of the peopling of the Philippines.
• The first wave of migration came from Indonesia to the Philippines.
• The second movement also originated from Indonesia, with people dispersing to different islands upon arrival.
• The third wave came from Indochina, and the last wave from Mainland China to the Philippines.
• The Melanesian Homeland Hypothesis argues movement originated from Melanesia around 3,500 BC.
• Solheim's Unique South China Sea Homeland Hypothesis suggests the peopling was related to thriving trade around Borneo and the Celebes Sea.
• These trade activities brought the Nusantao to the Philippines and as far as Taiwan.
• The Unique Mainland Southeastern China Hypothesis uses linguistic evidence to demonstrate the origins of the movements of people to the Philippines.
• Heine-Geldern theorized movement started in South China, proceeded to the Malay Peninsula, moved toward Borneo, and finally through Palawan.
• Thomas, Healey, and Llamzon proposed movement started from Southeastern China to Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, then Borneo, entering the Philippines through Palawan, Mindoro, and Mindanao.
• Suggs, Shutler, and Marck's theory maintains movement started in China, proceeding to Formosa, then the Batanes Islands, scattering around the archipelago to as far as Borneo.

Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines

• The population estimate of indigenous peoples in the Philippines is 12 million, although this number may not be accurate.
• Many reside in the uplands, while others live in coastal villages.
• Indigenous population is about 14% of the country's total population.
• There are 110 indigenous groups in the Philippines, many of which reside on the islands of Mindanao (e.g., Manobo) and Northern (e.g., Ifugao) and Southern Luzon (e.g., Mangyan, Tagbanwa).
• Indigenous peoples generally depend on agriculture, though some island provinces rely on fishing.
• In Region I and CAR, the Cordillera mountain ranges are home to the Tingguian, Isneg, northern Kalinga, Bontoc, Sagada, Ifugao, Southern Kalinga, Ibaloi and Kankanaey.
• These groups occupy watershed areas near the Abulag, Tineg and Chico rivers, interior hills, narrow flatlands along deep valleys, and plateaus.
• In Region II, the Cagayan Valley and Caraballo range are home to the Ibanag, Itawes, Yogad, Gaddang, Ilongot, Ikalahan, Isinai, and some Aeta groups.
• In Region III, the Sierra Madre range of eastern Luzon is home to the Dumagat, Pugot, and other Aeta groups.
• The Zambales range and the mountains of Pampanga and Tarlac are inhabited by the Aeta and the Sambal.
• In Region IV, the Pacific coast of Quezon province, and the islands of Polillo and Alabat are home to different Agta groups.
• Mindoro is home to seven Mangyan groups: Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Tao-Buid, Buhid, Hanunoo, and Gubatnon.
• Palawan is home to the Tagbanua, Batak, Palawanon and Cuyunon.
• In Region V, the mountains of Bicol Peninsula is home to different Agta groups: Kabihug of Camarines Norte, Agta Tabangnon, Agta Cimarron, and Itom (Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon).
• In Region VI, the interior foothills and remote coastal areas of Panay and Negros Islands are home to the Sulod and the Ati.
• In Mindanao the "Lumad" reside in the hinterlands and coastal lowlands of the Zamboanga peninsula, the plateaus of Bukidnon, the upper headwaters of the Davao, Tinanan, and Kulaman rivers, the coastal areas along the Davao Gulf and the interior hinterlands of southeastern Mindanao.
• "Lumad" is the generic term used to refer to the indigenous peoples of Mindanao.
• The 18 groups that compose the Lumad include: Subanen, B'laan, T'boli, Mandaya, Mansaka, Tiruray, Higaonon, Manobo, Bagobo, Bukidnon, Tagakaolo, Ubo, Banwaon, Kalagan, Dibabawon, Talaandig, Mamanwa and Manguangan.

Who are the Indigenous People?

• Flexible definitions of indigenous people enhance human rights protection for IP groups and communities.
• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples suggests upholding IPs' rights even without a formal definition.
• The International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs outlined three rationales for a clear concept of Indigenous Peoples:
  • Self-identification is an essential component of identity.
  • It makes it easier for them to be accepted as belonging to the IP classification,
  • A clear definition of “indigenous peoples” provides IPs the opportunity to be heard and seen by the local and international government and enable them to assert their right to self-determination.
• The underlying issues in the naming of indigenous peoples groups is that, most often, the name associated with them is also employed as a derogatory term to address them.
• The word "indigenous" comes from the Latin word "indigen" which means native or original inhabitant, becoming popular in the 17th Century.
• The concept suggests that they are people who are the original inhabitants of the land.
• The term "indigenous" has been used continuously as a form of collective names for categorization, representation to legal issues, as tribal people or ethnic groups or communities.
• In Canada they are referred to as first people or nations, in Australia as aboriginals, in India as adivasi, in Nepal as janajati, and in Indonesia and Malaysia as orang asli which means tribal people, or bumiputera which means son of soil.
• The Asian Development Bank observed 2 similarities in the Indigenous Peoples:
  • Descended from population groups that lived in a particular geographic area before a modern state, territories and borders were defined.
  • Maintain unique cultural identities, their social, economic, cultural and political institutions are different.
• The ADB defines IPs as "those with a social or cultural identity distinct from the dominant or mainstream society"; thus, these characteristics put them at a disadvantage
• The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples' Rights in Practice: A Guide to ILO Convention, Number 169 separates the concept “tribal people" from IPs.
• The tribal people are regarded first as those with culture, social organizations, economic conditions and way of life that are different from other segments of the national population. Second, tribal people are those who have their own traditions and customs and/or legal recognition.
• The Indigenous People on the other hand are characterized first by their historical continuity, and their societies thriving during pre-conquest and colonization. Second is the territorial connection and their ancestors inhabiting the country or a region of the country of which they have a claim. Third, they have distinct social, economic, cultural and political institutions and retain either some or all of their own institutions.
• The primary difference between tribal people and IPs is historical continuity and territorial connection.
• The Martinez Cobo's Report to the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of the Discrimination of Minorities in 1986 is the most quoted definition of Indigenous People:
  • Historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed in the territories;
  • Consider themselves distinct from other sectors of those societies that are now prevailing on those territories or part of them;
  • Presently forming non-dominant sectors of society and determined to preserve, develop and transmit ancestral territories and ethnic identity to future generations
• Chairperson-Rapporteur Madame Erica-Irene Daes of United Nations' Working Group on Indigenous Populations designates IPs as those:
  • Descendants of groups in the territory of the country the time when other groups of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived;
  • Isolated or excluded from other segments of the country's population and preserved almost intact the customs and traditions of their ancestors;
  • Distant from or alien to the national, social and cultural characteristics of the State structure that claims them.
• The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs characterizes the historical continuity discussed by the Martinez Cobo Study by the following factors:
  • Occupation of ancestral lands, or at least part of them;
  • Common ancestry with the original occupants of these lands;
  • Culture, or in specific manifestations (religion, tribal system, membership of an indigenous community, dress, means of livelihood, lifestyle, etc.); -Language, whether the only language, as mother-tongue, habitual communication at home/family, or the main, preferred, habitual, general, or normal language;
  • Residence in certain parts of the country, or in certain regions of the world; and
  • Other relevant factors.
• Article 1 Section 2 of ILO Convention Number 169 defines self-identification of tribal or IP groups.
• Jeff Corntassel (2003) remarks that the question of “Who are indigenous?" can be best answered by self-identification.
• Approximately 370 million people are categorized as belonging to at least 5,000 indigenous groups in 70 different countries.
• There is still no official definition approved by the United Nations and other international bodies on IPs.
• The World Health Organization primarily aims to advance the health status of indigenous people in the world.
• The WHO provides an understanding of IPs, including those who:
  • Identify themselves and are recognized and accepted by their community as indigenous;
  • Demonstrate historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies;
  • Have strong links to territories and surrounding natural resources;
  • Have distinct social, economic or political systems;
  • Maintain distinct languages, cultures and beliefs;
  • Form non-dominant groups of society; and
  • Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities.
• Franke Wilmer defines IPs with tradition-based culture; those who were politically autonomous before colonization; and those who continued to struggle for integrity, self-reliance, and independence against colonizers and modern states.
• Wilmer and Gerald Alfred and Franke Wilmer teamed up in 1997 to create three criteria for a group considered as IP to correct the ambiguities.:
  • Descended from the original inhabitants of the geographic areas
  • Intending to live in conformity with their tradition-based cultures, which are evolving
  • Their political destiny is subjected to policy from outside forces, which refers primarily to the State they belong to
• In 1996, James Andaya highlighted ancestral roots and colonial domination of IPs' homelands.
  • Indigenous peoples/ descendents of pre-invasion inhabitants, whose lands are now dominated by others.
  • Indigenous b/c ancestral roots are fixed in the territory and will occupy/close proximity if dislocated.
  • Distinct because their ancestors' way of life is carried over into the present generation.
• Ted Gurr contrasts indigenous people and the emerging ethno-nationalist phenomenon in some countries - these ethnic groups have self-determination rights.
  • Ethnonationalists are groups with stable organizations prior to conquest and persistent support from movements that assert withdrawal from the State.
  • Indigenous People, live mainly in conformity with traditional social, economic, and cultural customs that differs acutely from the dominant group with no cessation.
• Fred Riggs suggests that the IP definition should include four variables:
  • Cultural level of the community
  • Historical sequence of first inhabitants
  • Political position of marginalized communities
  • Georaphical area and ancestral domain
• Benedict Kingsbury (1998) makes a case of the constructivist approach is the best option in defining IPs.
• Kingsbury promotes four essential criteria: self-identification as a distinct ethnic group; historical experience of, or contingent vulnerability to, severe disruption, dislocation or exploitation; long historical connection with the region or territory; aspiration to retain a distinct identity.
• An individual belongs to an IP group once he or she is accepted as belonging to the group.
• Boast of a common ancestry and their lineage can be traced back to the community/ group prior to colonization/modern state establishment.
• Continuously thriving, distinct way of life (religion, tribal system, dress, means of livelihood, etc.).
• Ancestral language identifiable to them has persisted either as the only language, as mother tongue or habitual means of communication
• Continuous occupation/claim on land that IPs believed is home to their ancestors
• The beliefs, customs and traditions IPs inherited from ancestors separates them from the territories they are placed under;
• A non-dominant sector of society, influenced and assimilated by dominant sectors, IPs have strong determination to preserve their territories and their ethnic identity.
• In the Philippines, Indigenous People are referred to as katutubo.
• In Mindanao they are called Lumad to separate them from the Islamized ethnic groups in the region
• Republic Act No. 8371 is “An Act to Recognize, Protect and Promote the Rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples.
• IPs are synonymous with Indigenous Cultural Communities.
• Qualifications:
  • Self-ascription identify with one another, lives together as one community
  • Claim of ownership since time began - shares same language, tradition and customs
  • Historically resisted political views of colonization
  • Accounts from ancestors of how people lived and when colonization took place
  • Retains own social views of institutions
  • May have been displaced outside of ancestral domain
• Utilizating Tedd Gurr's classification (2000), we can consider the Islamized ethno-linguistics in Mindanao called Moro, and the Igorots in the Cordillera region as ethnonationalist groups and not IP groups.
• Agencies consider the Igorot and the Islamized ethnic groups to belong to the IP category.

Understanding the Values of the Mangyans in Mindoro

• Mangyans value showing respect to their elders through kissing of the hand or "mano".
• Mangyans also value pakikiramay where they express sympathy for an offended or bereaved family.
• "bayanihan" is a value in any group activities.
• People help each other without any compensation except for a free meal.
• Mangyans also value "kasipagan" manifested in planting practices.
• Barkadahan is a value due to different regions and form strong ties.
• mangyans value "takot sa Diyos", pagmamagandang loob and pakikipagkapwatao.
• Mangyans avoid saying bad words to their kapwa even if they have been wronged.
• The ritual of “sandugo" is done by Mangyan males and is manifestation of close affinity among Mangyans.
• Mangyans from Mindoro are very superstitious.
• Everyday activities are guided by their superstitions and ideas.
• Filial piety is family values among the Mangyans.
• Parents are respected and have authority to decide future spouse/s of their children.
• A Mangyan family is not egalitarian in that the father is till dominant.
• Men's opinions are weighted more than women's.
• Mangyan elders have influence and authority.
• Recognition and deference is given to Mangyan elders for issues regarding community welfare.
• Peaceable attitude and gentle behavior is a notable custom.
• Mutual respect is promoted and affection even to strangers.
• There is reciprocity is considered at all levels of social relations.