Negritos of Luzon PDF

Indigenous Groups in the Philippines: The Negritos of Luzon  The Negritos of Luzon Negritos is a term referring collectively to numerous peoples of dark skin and small stature. Negrito = "Little black person" in Spanish The Negritos of Luzon They are assumed to be the aborigin...

Indigenous Groups in the Philippines: The Negritos of Luzon  The Negritos of Luzon Negritos is a term referring collectively to numerous peoples of dark skin and small stature. Negrito = "Little black person" in Spanish The Negritos of Luzon They are assumed to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the archipelago. They most probably arrived from Borneo 20- 30,000 years ago, through what is thought to be an isthmus. The Negritos of Luzon They are located on several major islands in the country: Luzon, Palawan, Panay, Negros, Cebu, and Mindanao. All of the Negrito groups are or were hunter-gatherers and involved in agriculture. Today they are found in various stages of deculturation. The Negritos of Luzon Agta Aeta/ Ayta Alta Dumagat Agta Negritos Agta Negritos Agta = Human (in their Native Language) The Agta are also called Remontado, which is derived from the Spanish word remontar, meaning “to flee to the hills.” Agta Negritos The Agta in Quezon, Rizal, Bulacan, and Aurora provinces are also called “Dumagat”. “Agta” is the unifying nomenclature for all Agta sub- groups which include both the Dumagat and the Remontado. Agta Negritos The Agta groups are not isolated or hostile towards outsiders, instead they maintain a Agta symbiotic relationship people outside their group. with Negritos Their most salient economic activity is still hunting but due to depletion of areas to hunt majority of them work as farm laborers.  Agta Negritos They offer a prayer to the nature Women are as skilled in hunting before hunting, cutting down as the men and even participate trees, or clearing an area. with their husbands in hunting. They do not have lineages or The Agta practice body clans. Rather, it is the personal scarification according to the kindred that is important to belief that the patterns of scars them. shield the body against diseases. Agta Negritos Agtas hold to a strong belief in a spirit world however they are not very religious. Hayup (creature)- malignant non humans that appear human like. Anito (ghost)- wandering souls of deceased humans. Aeta/ Ayta Aeta/ Ayta Aeta- from “hitam” which means black itom/ itim- means people The Aeta people are believed to be the group who reached the Philippines through the isthmus. Aeta/ Ayta The Aeta people live in the Zambales Mountain Ranges, Luzon, Philippines, stretched into great portions of the Provinces of Bataan, Zambales, Pampanga and Tarlac, all in Central Luzon.  Problems faced by the Aeta Illegal and legal logging on the They have been reduced to the Sierra Madre mountain range has status of agricultural laborers or decimated Agta hunting and tenants, forced to work on land gathering practices. that was once theirs. Despite the acknowledgement of Families are being forced to flee their rights they have not been their homes as a result of the protected against illegal logging and harassment and expulsion they the construction of a hydro dam. have been subjected to. The Aeta of Pinatubo They are considered a Due to the eruption of Mt. significant ethnic Pinatubo they scattered on the towns of Zambales. Their group by social resources and sacred burial scientists. In addition to sites were buried by the ashes being the largest in and lahar. But their resiliency number, they have was demonstrated by the fact that their population remained maintained their cultural steady even despite decades of identity through the displacement. ages. The Aeta of Pinatubo  Aeta/ Ayta Pamumuay- the practice of Only if absolutely required do harvesting honey of the Aeta they cut down trees. They don't Magbukun of Mariveles Bataan. clear anything they can't grow. Kalidua (soul) - exists in all Pinanahangs- temporary houses built along streams, coasts, or living things, including riverbanks during the dry plants and animals. season.  Aeta/ Ayta Livelihood is a shared Body scarification which is a type of responsibility of a married couple. visual art. When it comes to scars, When the children have grown, the there's always a left-side mother works shoulder to shoulder counterpart to the right. with her husband in the field. Chipping of teeth is another “decorative disfigurement.” For “Bandi”, “langgad”, “mamahabi” the Aeta, this is a form of self- and “pahungaw” are marriage expression rather than a religious related practices. or spiritual one.  Alta They are the indigenous people of The Alta people mainly live Luzon who uphold their traditional customs and beliefs even at the through traditional hunting, present. fishing, and farming. The Alta people are highly connected to the environment The community forest, rivers, and coastal waters served as the they live in. resources of the Alta where they get necessities other than food.  Alta All of their traditional practices and daily ways of life such as traditional hunting, traditional fishing, and Subkal’n-Is’suwi farming are connected to this. The Sacred Grounds of Ancestral Domain, and is a They value all of the resources found protected area located in the in their ancestral land and that they Philippines governed by the should protect and preserve it as a Dumagat and Alta. legacy for the next generation.  Alta Penlidep- the fishing practice of the Alta and also the name of the gun-like equipment that they use to shoot their spear. Dumagat  Dumagat The term "Dumagat" is thought to The term Dumagat may have been be derived from the word derived from the word “Gubat” "rumakat", "lumakat" or "lumakad" (forest) and “Hubad”(naked). But which signifies the migration of the more logical origin of the term early Negritos in Philippines by would be “Taga-dagat” which walking in land and not by the sea. means “living near the sea” or “sea gypsies.”  Dumagat Most characteristics of Dumagats and Agtas are similar. The Dumagats are Negrito hunters who settle near bodies of water or the near the coastal areas of Luzon. They are from the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Quezon, Aurora, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan, Abra, Camarines Norte, and Camarines Sur. Bulacan is one of the places in the Philippines where this ethnic group still exist.  Dumagat Pagma-mama/ Pagnga-nganga – Betel nut chewing is a common practice and a form of socialization.  Dumagat Kalaanan- The kaingin system of the Dumagat wherein the slash and burn will be done on designated areas only and not the whole forest.  Dumagat The Dumagats prefer to live in Now they are fighting for their peaceful environments and rights to own their ancestral land have a tendency to avoid and even participating in conflicts. This is one of the campaigns to stop the reasons why it is easy for establishment of dam or others to take the land from infrastructure that will ruin their them. sacred land.