Indigenous peoples of the Philippines

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A map of the highland ethnolinguistic nations of the Philippines by province.

The Philippines consist of a large number of upland and lowland ethnolinguistic groups living in
the country. The highland ethnic nations have co-existed with the lowland Austronesian ethnic
groups for thousands of years in the Philippine archipelago. The primary difference is that they
were not absorbed by centuries of Spanish and United States colonization of the Philippines, and
in the process have retained their customs and traditions. This is mainly due to the rugged
inaccessibility of the mountains, which discouraged Spanish and American colonizers from
coming into contact with the highlanders. The indigenous peoples of northern Philippines are
collectively called as Igorot, while the non-Muslim indigenous groups of mainland Mindanao are
collectively called as Lumad. Numerous indigenous groups also live outside these two
indigenous corridors.[1]

According to the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino, there are 135 recognized local languages in the
Philippines, one of which (Filipino) is known to all groups in the Philippines, and each of the
remaining 134 is inherent to a single ethnic group.[citation needed] There are 134 ethnic groups in the
Philippines, the majority of which are indigenous, though much of the overall Philippine
population is constituted by only 8-10 lowland ethnic groups.[citation needed]

In the southern Philippines, upland and lowland tribal groups were concentrated on Mindanao
and western Visayas, although there are several upland groups such as the Mangyan living in
Mindoro. Among the most important groups found on Mindanao are collectively called the
Lumad, and includes the Manobo which is a bigger ethnographic group such as the Ata-Manobo
and the Matigsalug found in Davao City, Davao del Norte and Bukidnon Province; the Langilan-
Manobo in Davao del Norte; the Agusan-Manobo in Agusan del Sur and southern parts of
Agusan del Norte; the Pulanguiyon-Manobo of Bukidnon Province; the Ubo-Manobo in
southwestern parts of Davao City, and northern parts of North Cotabato Province that is also to
include the Arumanen-Manobo of Carmen (N. Cotabato); the Dulangan-Manobo in the Province
of Sultan Kudarat; the Talaandig, Higaonon and Bukidnon of Bukidnon province, Bagobo,
Mandaya, Mansaka, Tagakaulo in Davao region who inhabited the mountains bordering the
Davao Gulf; the Kalagan lives particularly in lowland areas and seashores of Davao del Norte,
Compostella Valley, Davao Oriental and some seashores in Davao Del Sur, the Subanon of
upland areas in Zamboanga; the Mamanua in the Agusan-Surigao border region; the B'laan,
Teduray and Tboli in the region of the Cotabato province, and the Samal. Samal is synonymous
with Luwa'an. Yakan is the indigenous tribe in the hinterlands of Basilan Province. In the
lowland lives the Sama Banguingui tribe while in coastal areas there leave the nomadic Luwa'an.
Sulu lowland areas are also home of the Sama Banguingui. The Sama or the Sinama and the
Jama Mapun are the indigenous tribes in the province of Tawi-Tawi. [2]

Reservations[edit]