Cagayan Man Cagayan Man refers to a group of humans that inhabited the Cagayan Valley area during the

Ice Age and which are generally held to be the earliest human inhabitants in the Philippines. This species is also held to be Homo erectus Philippinensis. The largest amount of prehistoric evidence of human existence in the Philippines was found in the Cagayan Valley. This evidence dates back to the Paleolithic Age, showing that Cagayan Man settled in the area over 500,000 years ago. One theory states that the Cagayan Man followed prehistoric animals to the then uninhabited Philippines from another area, through land bridges that connected the islands to the rest of the continent. The Cagayan Valley was then wet and marshy, and Cagayan Man opted to live in the drier forests surrounding the area. Cagayan Man was believed to have settled in communities that consisted of thirty to sixty individuals each, occupying an area of around ten kilometers. Families, composed of close kin and extended relatives, marked out their own territories. The communities settled in areas where food was plentiful and moved to another place when the food supply started to run out. Scientists discovered fossil remains of large animals in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, along with fragments of stone tools which may have been made and used by Cagayan Man for the purpose of hunting and butchering these animals. The fossilized animal bones were identified by Dr. Yves Coppans to be skulls, teeth and tusks from rhinoceros, stegodons, and elaphas (a pygmy elephant). It can thus be said that the Cagayan Man was a cave dweller who used tools made from pebbles and rocks. The sides of the stones were chipped off to create a sharp edge that could be used for cutting. There has also been evidence that these tools have been worked on and refined to give it a better shape. Larger tools were made from rock cores hammered to form a sharp point.

These fossilized tools were similar to those found with Java Man and Peking Man and were dated to the same time period; however, scientists failed to find fossilized proof of Cagayan Man's bones. Unlike Tabon Man, whose bones were found by archaeologists in western Palawan, Cagayan Man's remains eluded archaeologists for a long time. The only proofs of his existence are the tools that he had produced and used, and the bones of the animals that he had hunted down.

Austronesian languages
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Austronesian (disambiguation).

The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the best-established ancient language families. Otto Dempwolff, a German scholar, was the first researcher to extensively explore Austronesian using the comparative method. Another German scholar, Wilhelm Schmidt, coined the German word austronesisch[1] which comes from Latin auster "south wind" plus Greek nsos "island". The name Austronesian was formed from the same roots. The family is aptly named, as the vast majority of Austronesian languages are spoken on islands: only a few languages, such as Malay and the Chamic languages, are indigenous to mainland Asia. Many Austronesian languages have very few speakers, but the major Austronesian languages are spoken by tens of millions of people and one Austronesian language, Indonesian, is spoken by over 185 million people, making it the 8th most spoken language in the world. Also, some Austronesian languages are official languages of their respective countries (see the list of Austronesian languages). Different sources count languages differently, but Austronesian and Niger-Congo are the two largest language families in the world, each having roughly one-fifth of the languages counted. The geographical span of Austronesian was the largest of any language family before the spread of Indo-European in the colonial period, ranging from Madagascar off the southeastern coast of Africa to Easter Island in the eastern Pacific. Hawaiian, Rapanui, and Malagasy (spoken on Madagascar) are the geographic outliers of the Austronesian family. According to Robert Blust (1999), Austronesian is divided in several primary branches, all but one of which are found exclusively on Taiwan. The Formosan languages of Taiwan are grouped into as many as nine first-order subgroups of Austronesian. All Austronesian languages spoken outside Taiwan (including its offshore Yami language) belong to the Malayo-Polynesian branch, sometimes called Extra-Formosan.

AUSTRONESIAN PEOPLE The term Austronesian peoples refers to a population group present in Southeast Asia or Oceania who speak, or had ancestors who spoke, one of the Austronesian languages. Apart from the Polynesian people of Oceania, the Austronesian people include: Taiwanese Aborigines, the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia and Malaysia. Western scholars believe the Austronesian people originated on the island of Taiwan following the migration of pre-Austronesian-speaking peoples from continental Asia approximately 10,000-6000 B.C. Due to a lengthy split from the Pre-Austronesian populations, the Proto-Austronesian language; the cultures and ethnic groups of the Austronesian peoples began on Taiwan approximately 6,000 years ago. The Austronesian people themselves have a variety of different traditions and history of their origins. According to most Western scholars, however, the Austronesian people originated in the island of Taiwan, and are spread as far away as Madagascar in the Indian Ocean and the Polynesian islands of the Pacific Ocean. According to mainstream Western studies, a large scale Austronesian expansion began around 50002500 B.C. Population growth primarily fuelled this migration. These first settlers may have landed in northern Luzon in the island of the Philippines intermingling with the earlier Austral-Melanesian population who had inhabited the islands about 23,000 years earlier. Over the next thousand years, the Austronesian people migrated south-east to the rest of the Philippine Islands, and into the islands of the Celebes Sea, Borneo, and Indonesia. The Austronesian people of Maritime Southeast Asia sailed eastward, and spread to the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia between 1200 BE.CO., and 500 A.DO. respectively. The Austronesian inhabitants that spread westward through Maritime Southeast Asia had reached some parts of mainland Southeast Asia, and later on to Madagascar.

Callao Man
By Michael Tan Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 00:17:00 07/02/2010 Filed Under: Archaeology, history

MY COLUMN FOR TODAY is something I?ve been planning on for more than a month. Presidential inaugural speeches are about today and tomorrow, but we also need to anchor ourselves in the past, and for the Philippines, we really know far too little about our prehistory. I am going to share a story that takes on the qualities of a detective story. It?s about a toe bone recently found by archaeologists in Callao, Cagayan, and reported in the Journal of Human Evolution. The report?s main author is Armand Mijares of the Archaeology Studies Program at UP Diliman who worked with a multinational team from our National Museum, the Australian National University and the Museum of Natural History in Paris. The news has been picked up by international newspapers and magazines but hasn?t been featured locally. Let me start out by asking you, ?When did humans first arrive in the Philippines?? Tough one, right? We can?t go on written records to answer that. What we do have is the archaeological record, which can be tools made by humans or, better still, human remains. Until recently, the oldest remains were that of Tabon Man from Palawan. Don?t think of an entire skeleton here?all we had, for many years, was a skullcap, which has been dated to 18,000 years ago using uranium series (which is more accurate than radiocarbon dating). Tabon Man was discovered in 1962; since then, the Tabon Cave has yielded many more artifacts, as well as a femur, this time dated 47,000 years. Unfortunately, the margin of error is quite large at 11,000 years so it can be as recent as 36,000 years or as old as 58,000 years. The Tabon findings are impressive but have tended to cause a bit of an inferiority complex for Filipino archaeologists and anthropologists. As students, we would read about Java Man and Peking Man, which date way back in time. Java Man and Peking Man are actually Homo erectus (we are Homo sapiens, as is Tabon Man) which existed from 70,000 to 1.9 million years ago in Africa, western Asia, China and Indonesia. We keep going back to the question: So when did humans arrive in the Philippines, or in the region? The oldest Homo sapiens remains in our part of the world come from the Niah cave in Borneo, dated to be about 42,000 years. In Australia, there?s Mungo Man, named after a lake in New South Wales, first dated to be 62,000 years old in 1999 but revised to 40,000 years when another test was conducted. (Archaeologists and physical anthropologists argue a lot about names and dates.) Now we have this exciting report with a very staid journal title: ?New evidence for a 67,000-year old human presence at Callao Cave, Luzon, Philippines.?

Piece of history The metatarsal is a bone that constitutes the lower part of our toe. Right MT3 is the middle toe on the right foot. It?s tiny so you can imagine how tedious archaeological excavations can be, and how observant archaeologists have to be. Callao has been a major archaeological site for several years now. It has yielded stone tools dated to about 26,000 years ago, which meant humans had inhabited the area. Archaeologists from UP, the National Museum and the Australian National University had been working hard to ?find? those humans but all they kept coming up with were deer and pig bones. It was Phil Piper, an Australian zooarchaeologist currently teaching at UP, who identified one of the bones?this tiny metatarsal?as human. Mijares said he realized that they had ?discovered an important piece of our history.? But the bone had to be sent overseas for dating, and there were difficulties doing this. It was in May 2009, while Mijares was in Callao doing fieldwork, that an e-mail arrived giving a more definite date. Mijares says the team members ?were shocked and elated upon learning that it was way older than we expected.? They celebrated ?with a few San Mig beers.? The Callao toe bone tells us humans arrived in the Philippines as early as 67,000 years ago, but it also raises new questions. First, it isn?t clear yet if ?Callao Man? (or Woman) was Homo sapiens or another species. A few years ago, an Australian team of archaeologists and biological anthropologists uncovered Homo floresiensis in Indonesia, closely resembling Homo sapiens but their adults were only about a meter tall. There?s still some controversy surrounding the findings, some disagreeing with the ?floresiensis? label and saying they were probably Homo sapiens as well. Homo floresiensis co-existed with Homo sapiens from 17,000 to 95,000 years ago. The Callao bone has some similarities with that of Homo floresiensis, but with only one bone as evidence, no conclusions can yet be made. In fact, for now, the bone is identified simply as coming from a Homo species?it could be sapiens, floresiensis, or some totally new species. Second, the finding in Cagayan suggests that humans may have arrived in the Philippines by sea. To explain that, we have to refer quickly to the last Ice Age. When there?s more ice in the polar areas, sea levels tend to be lower. That means there were land bridges between parts of the Philippines and mainland Southeast Asia. Look at the map and you?ll see that land bridges could have allowed human migration from the mainland into Palawan. Tabon Man (or his ancestors) probably took that route. From Sundaland to Luzon The findings in Callao require other explanations considering it?s so far from other land masses. Mijares speculates: ?My current hypothesis is they crossed the open sea from the Sundaland (tip of Palawan) to Mindoro then to Luzon. During the lowest sea level, that will still be about 60 km to Mindoro, and from there just short island hopping.?

Mijares is optimistic that there?s much more waiting to be discovered. It need not be just Cagayan, Mijares says. Isabela and other areas in the western Sierra Madre could yield more artifacts and bones. In all my anthropology classes, I always tell the students that their generation is a lucky one. In the next few years, there will be more human fossil and archaeological discoveries in the world, and in the region that will require textbooks to be rewritten. Mijares is proud that the particular excavation that yielded the metatarsal was funded by UP, but acknowledges the support of the National Museum, the Australian National University and the Museum of Natural History (Paris), all of whom have been pouring in money and technical expertise for various archaeological projects. The participation of the Australians tells us that they too are interested in helping to piece together the picture of human origins and migration. What we learn in the region provides new insights into humanity everywhere. For people interested in going deeper into the report, the authors are Armand S. Mijares, Florent Detroit, Philip Piper, Rainer Grun, PeterBellwood, Maxime Aubert, Guillaume Champion, Nida Cuevas, Alexandra de Leon and Eusebio Dizon. The report appears in the Journal of Human Evolution, Vol. 30, dated April 8, 2010. Contact Mijares at 9241836 for more information.

According to Dr. H. Otley Beyer, an authority in Philippine prehistory and anthropology, there was no planned and organized waves of migration in the Philippines. Though like this, it was still certain that ancient men, in different periods, came and settled in the Philippines as early as 22 thousand years ago. It was said that the Negritos are the earliest known inhabitants of the Philippines who reached the country from the Asian mainland by way of the ancient land bridges. Their descendantscalled Negritos, Agtas, Aetas, Atis, or Balugasstill exist. It is believed that they came to the Philippines through Palawan and Mindoro, with Borneo as their most probable land of origin. Anthropologists have identified them as being proto-Malays, with dark skin, small flat noses, black kinky hair, small hands and feet, and well-proportioned bodies. The Philippine Pygmiesor Negritoshave the primitive culture of the Old Stone Age. They do not live in the Permanent homes, have no organized government, and have no system of writing. They live by hunting animals in the forest, by fishing, and by gathering greens and wild fruit. They use the bow and arrow and the blowgun with great skill, both a weapons and for hunting. Their clothes are made of leaves and the barks of trees, and their shelters are built of grass and branches of trees. They, however, have their own folktales, legends, songs, dances, and musical instruments. They cook their food with fire, whichbefore matches arrivedthey produced by rubbing two sticks together.

mangyan
by: Minia R. Servano "Mangyan" is the collective name of seven ethnolinguistic group inhabiting most of the highland region of Mindoro, the seventh largest island in the northern end of the vast basin of the Sulu Sea, south of Batangas and the mainland southern Luzon, and west of the Bicol region. Most parts of the island are mountainous. There are still small stretches of flatlands, and the rest are coastal areas. These plains are home to non-Mangyan groups such as Tagalog, Visayan, and Ilocano. The exact etymology of the word Mangyan has not been identified or traced. It had been in use for a long time before the realization, in the present century, that there were actually several diverse groups making up the Mangyan population on the island. Based on existing studies, there are at least six different groups scattered throughout the island, all speaking related languages. The northern groups are the Iraya, Alangan, and theTadyawan. The southern groups are the Hanunoo, Buhid, and the Taubuhid who are also known as "Batangan" or "Bangon". The Buhid and Batangan are closely related groups. A seventh group, the Ratagnon (sometimes called "Latagnon" or "Datagnon"), is said to be non-indigenous to Mindoro because they speak Cuyunon, a Visayan language. Some of the Mangyan groups are composed of smaller units or subgroups. Rough estimates of population from NCCP-PACT: 1998 give the following figures: Batangan - 36,000 Iraya - 35,000 Hanunoo - 18,500 Alangan - 13,500 Ratagnon - 10,500 Buhid - 6,500 Tadyawan - 2,000 The Iraya occupy the northwestern part of Mindoro, where one of the country's highest peaks, Mount Halcon, is located. The word "Iraya" is derived from the prefix "i" - denoting people, and "raya", a variation of "laya" which means "upstream," "upriver" or "upland". Thus the meaning of the word is "people from upstream" or "uplanders". Historically, however, the Iraya occupied the coastal region in some distant past, until they were pushed further inland by settlers from other places. The word also means "man", "person", and adult".

The Alangan occupy northwest central Mindoro. One theory about this term is that it could mean "a group of people whose culture is awkward", from the Tagalog word alangan, which means among other things "uncertainty", "doubt" or "precariousness".

There is scant information available regarding the Tadyawan, who live in sparse settlements in the northeast part of the island. The Batangan or Taubuhid (also Tawbuhid), the most numerous of the Mangyan groups, occupy the central highlands of the island in the Occidental Mindoro. They live in a region where mountains tower 1950 m high. The word "batangan" derives from "batang", meaning "trunk of a felled tree", and "an", meaning "place", and refers to a place where felled tree trunks may be found, probably a swidden field. The main economic activity of the Batangan is slash-and-burn farming. The Batangan are also known as Bangon or Taubuhid. Other names used to refer to them are Bukid, Bu'id, Buhid, and Buhil, despite the fact that there is a separate identifiable group to the south, the Buhid. Local subgroups include the Bayanan and Saragan. The Buhid occupy the south central part of Mindoro. Their territory just about equally straddles the eastern and western provinces comprising the island. The Ratragon occupy the southernmost tip of the island province, quite close to the coast facing the Sulu Sea. They lie nearest the aquatic route going to Busuanga Island in the northernmost Palawan and the Cuyo islands, two places where the language spoken is Cayunon, which is also used by the Ratagnon. Of these groups, the Hanunoo have been the most studied in terms of ethnography. "Hanunoo", according to the group's language called Minagyan, meaning "genuine", "real" or "true". However, the members of this group call themselves Mangyan, and use the term Hanunoo Mangyan or Mangyan Hanunoo only to distinguish themselves from the other Mindoro groups. The Hanunoo Mangyan live in a mountainous area about 800 sqkm in the southeastern part of the island, mainly in Oriental Mindoro. Their territory is under the municipal jurisdiction of Mansalay, Bulalacao, and a certain part of San Jose, which is the capital of Occidental Mindoro. Christian lowlanders surround them on the east. To the north lie the Buhid, and to the southwest the Ratagnon. They are often referred to by their Buhid neighbors as the Mangyan patag - "Mangyan of the flatlands" -to distinguish them from the former who live in the higher hinterland of the island. Despite their proximity to the lowland settlements of the Christians, the Hnunoo Mangyan have succeeded in insulating themselves from lowland influences, and this has helped them preserve their basic culture. As far as the Hanunoo are concerned, human beings can be classified into two categories:

Mangyan and non- Mangyan. Thus, the Hanunoo, Buhid, Ratagnon, and all those who wear the traditional loincloth (Miyamoto 1975:14). It is for this reason that the Hanunoo Mangyan can speak of the Cordillera Ifugao as being Mangyan too, because their traditional wear is the loincloth (Miyamoto 1975:14). The term damu-ong is refer to all non-Mangyan peoples, and to all outsiders. As used by Hanunoo mothers to hush up their crying babies, the term is defined early on some kind of bogeyman of threat-object among the Hanunoo. The word kristiyano is often used as a synonym for "damu-ong" and suggests the negative image the Mangyan have of their Christian neighbors. This was observed by Miyamoto who asked several old Mangyan if they remembered anthropologist Conklin who conducted fieldwork between 1947 and 1957. They all remembered him fondly. One Hanunoo said that Conklin "was not a Christian" because "he was a very kind person" (Miyamoto 1975:16).

History The pioneer settlers of the Mindoro Islands were the Aeta, referred to in the early Spanish accounts as the Chichimecos. It has been theorized that when the Malay immigrants arrived in Mindoro, they pushed the Aeta deep into the interior. The former, however, did not completely isolate the latter and instead continued bartering their commodities with forest products which were in turn traded with foreign merchants plying Philippine seas. The Mangyan settled along the shores of Mindoro Island approximately 600-700 years ago. It is believed that they had come from the southern regions of the archipelago. They were gradually forced to leave their coastal settlements by more aggressive groups. It appears that the Mangyan have traditionally been an unwarlike people, choosing to give up an area uncontested rather than fight for it. The earliest accounts, which mention Mindoro and its people, are found 13th century Chinese dynastic records. A number of Chinese state documents, particularly those written in the Sung and Ming dynasties, suggest that before the coming of the Spanish conquistadors, commercial trade was flourishing between the inhabitants of Mindoro and Chinese merchants. Objects unearthed on the island, such as ceramics, porcelain, large earthenware, beads, and glass object are evidence of precolonial trade, which contributed to the shaping of an indigenous material culture among the early inhabitants of Mindoro. The island was a viable and busy trading port, one of the many islands regularly visited by Chinese merchants. Chao Ju-Kua's Chu Fan-Chi, written in 1225, mentions the island of Ma-i, believed to be the ancient name of the present day Mindoro. Other names associated with the island include Mait, Minolo, Min-to-lang, Mang-Yan San, and Ka-Ma-Yan. "Mait" is believed to be an old Chinese term meaning "gold". Chinese references to the term " Mangyan", or that which sounds like the present day word, could be evidence that it existed in earlier times.

In the 16th century Spanish colonizers overran the native settlements of Mindoro and reduced the island to vassalage. Spanish accounts describe the inhabitants of the coast as a well-dressed people who "wore showy headdresses of many colors turned back over their heads", and who, more significantly, casually wore gold on their bodies. The conquistadors attacked villages, destroyed settlements, and pillaged the inhabitants of their possessions. The Spaniards exacted heavy tributes, imposed onerous monopolies and demanded forced service from thesubjugated people. As a result, the people of Mindoro fled to the mountains. Yet the natives were not completely defenseless or given to passive surrender. There existed native forts, which were surrounded by moats. The local warriors also used metal weapons, a fact, which surprised the Spanish forces. Excellent knowledge of metallurgy and martial skills characterized the defenders of Mindoro. But predictably, the technological superiority and firepower of European weaponry carried the day for the marauders. One factor that could explain the outright hostility of the Spaniards towards the inhabitants of Mindoro was the presence of an old foe: Islam. Preacher-traders from southern Philippines had earlier succeeded in spreading the Islamic faith among a number of Mindoro natives. Spanish chroniclers relating events in Mindoro referred to the people there as the "Moros of Mindoro". The colonialists imposed the Christian faith and their political will with much harshness and taught the Mangyan the ways of loyal subjection to the faraway European monarch. Muslim incursions into Spanish-held territories intensified in the 17th century. For the European colonizers, the encounter with Islam in the Philippines was but a continuation of the centuries-old conflict in Europe and in the "holy Land". For the Muslims on the Philippine archipelago, however, the wars with the Spaniards were simply a reaction to European incursion in the islands where Islamic influence had built up and spread over a long, evolutionary period of conversion and commerce. Branded as piratical attacks in some accounts, the Muslim expeditions were mainly responses to Spain's occupation and control of Muslim territories. During the Spanish colonial period, tremendous pressure was brought to bear upon the lives of the Mindoro natives, who found themselves the object of contention between two armies fighting for their spheres of influence. As a result of the Moro-Christian wars, the Mangyan of Mindoro were taken captives, sold as slaves, and sometimes killed without mercy. The island went through a period of depopulation. Trading deteriorated badly. A plague of malaria made conditions even worse. The rivalry of Christian and Muslim forces in the island of Mindoro went on intermittently for most of the 333 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines, such that the Mangyan suffers extreme pain and privation.

The Spanish regime ended, but the colonization of the Mangyan continued --- and their marginalization with the rest of the other Philippinegroups grew apace with the imposition of the American colonial rule in the archipelago. American arms came with American anthropology. As with the Spanish derogation such as "savage" and "infidels", the concept of "pagan", "minority" and "non-Christian" entered current usage, referring to tribal communities in the Philippines such as the Mangyan. The shy, withdrawn, and hardworking nature of the Mangyan came to the attention of the American entrepreneurs who saw their potential as a labor force. Such traits were valuable for an American-owned sugar estate that was to be established in Mindoro. When Secretary of the Interior Dean C. Worcester, who had an explorer's background, approved the purchase and lease of a large piece of land to an American company, he set off a process of economic exploitation that perpetuated the pattern of colonial extraction started by the Spanish government. Worcester's activities didn't go unnoticed. Nationalist writers of the El Renacimiento denounced him in a celebrated editorial. "Aves de Rapina" (Birds of Prey), which gave rise to a controversial suit in 1908. The editorial pilloried the American colonial administration, and Worcester in particular, for exploiting the tribal peoples of the country in guise of "benevolence". The racist tribal policies adopted by the Americans abetted and perpetuated the discrimination against non-Christian indigenous groups in the Philippines. The Mangyan were forced to live in reservations, much like those created for the native American Indians, and relocated to areas far from lowland settlements inhabited mostly by the Tagalog. The American government favored such an isolation since "a people divided cannot effectively press for freedom" (Lopez 1976). The cumulative effect of centuries of exploitation is being felt to this day. Wily lowlanders time and again have tricked the Mangyan intodubious debts, barters, labor contracts, and often succeeded in displacing the natives from their ancestral domain with the use of spurious land titles. It is no wonder that the Mangyan have become only too wary of the damuong, non-Mangyan, the transgressor. Displaced and dislocated, the various Mangyan groups sought peace and freedom from the harassment in the deeper and higher parts of the mountainous interior of Mindoro, but their life has continued to be precarious. Natural disasters, inclement weather, limited food supplies, difficulties in taming the wild and rugged land, have exacerbated their subsistence level of life. "Illiteracy" has prevented them from coping with the challenge posed by "mainstream" society in terms of legal issues concerning land as well as development schemes that threaten their culture and ecosystem, and therefore their survival as a people. The process of cultural disintegration and ethnic extinction appears to be irreversible, if proper intervention is not effected soon. Counterinsurgency campaigns, economic exploitation of Mindoro's

natural resources, landgrabbing and speculation, and the more gradual but potentially erosive influx of modernization and assimilation into lowland cultures are constant threats to the survival of the Mangyan and their centuries-old folkways. Characteristically, the Mangyan avoid trouble at all costs, even losing territory they have long occupied. In the process, they continue to face instability in their living conditions and economic dislocations. Sadly, this process of dislocation and dispossession continues to the present. After Christian settlers came the loggers, and then the mining corporations. Today the Mangyan find themselves with increasingly less space in which to conduct their age-old subsistence activities. Back to top Religious beliefs and practices Since the Mangyan are swidden farmers, their spiritual beliefs are related to their means of livelihood. Agricultural rites suggest the importance of farming and the belief in spiritual beings or forces that can influence a good harvest. The Hanunoo Mangyan believe in a Supreme Being who is referred to as the Mahal na Makaako, who gave life to all human beings merely by gazing at them. They believe that the universe, called sinukuban ("that which is covered) or kalibutan ("the whole surrounding") has a globular shape "like a coconut". All beings, visible or invisible, live in this space. The stratum of the earth is called the usa ka daga. The daga (land) is surrounded by a border area, which is dagat (sea). Beyond the dagat is the katapusan, the edge of the universe, covered with thick woods and rocks. Nothing lies beyond it. This is the home of the labang or the horrible creatures and evil spirits greatly feared by the Hanunoo. The labang can take on animal and human forms before killing and eating their victims. They are believed to roam the areas they used to frequent during their mortal existence until they move on to dwell in Binayi's garden, where all spirits rest. Binayo is a sacred female spirit, caretaker of the rice spirits or the kalag paray. She is married to the spirit Bulungabon who is aided by 12 fierce dogs. Erring souls are chased by these dogs are eventually drowned in a caldron of boiling water. The kalag paray must be appeased, to ensure a bountiful harvest. It is for this reason that specific rituals are conducted in every phase of rice cultivation. Some of these rituals include the panudlak, the rite of the first planting; the rite of rice planting itself; and the rites of harvesting which consist of the magbugkos or binding rice stalks, and the pamag-uhan, which follows the harvest. Batangan cosmogony is less clear. They believe in four deities, who are all naked. Two come from the sun and are male; two come from the upper part of the river and are female. They are believed to be children (Kikuchi 1984: 7). The paragayan or diolang plates play an important role in Batangan religious

practices. These plates are owned by only a few families, and are considered heirlooms. They are essential in summoning the deities to all religious and curing rituals (Kikuchi 1984: 7). Back to top Visual arts and crafts A common attire for the Mangyan groups is the ba-ag or loincloth worn by males. Clothing is considered by the Mangyan as one of the main criteria distinguishing them from the damu-ong. A Hanunoo Mangyan male wears his ba-ag, topped by a balukas or cotton shirt. A female wears the ramit, an indigo-dyed short skirt, and a lambung or blouse. Their traditional shirt and blouses have on the back an embroidered motif called pakudus, from the Spanish word cruz, meaning "cross", which bears its shape. This motif is common on their bayong, bags made from the palm leaf buri and the black fern nito. Miyamoto believes that the pakudus motif might also be explained by the sacred number four and the mandala symbol often seen in Southeast Asian art. Hanunoo men and women wear the hagkus or willed rattan belt with a pocket. Women wear the hulon, a belt made from nito, around their waist. They wear their hair long, and sometimes wear a headband made of beads or buri or nito. Hanunoo Mangyan of all ages and both sexes are fond of wearing necklaces and bracelets made from beads. These beads are used not only for decoration but also for magical, religious and judiciary purposes. They are used as adornments by lovers, in curing a sick person (white beads only), in rituals presided over by the pandaniwan, and for paying fines, the quantity depending on the severeness of the wrongdoing. Among the Iraya, males wear bahag or loincloth fashioned from a tree bark, the kaitong or belt, and the talawak or headband. The females wear the tapis or skirtlike covering made from bark, the lingob or belt, and the sagpan or pamanpan to cover the breast. They wear necklaces called kudyasan, made from tigbi seeds, and the panalingnaw or earrings. Some Ratagnon males still wear the traditional loincloth, and the women wear a wraparound cotton cloth from the waistline to the knees. They weave a breast covering from nito or vine. The males wear a jacket with simple embroidery during gala festivities and carry flint, tinder, and other paraphernalia for making fire. They also carry betel chew and its ingredients in bamboo containers. Strings of beads or copper wire may adorn their necks. Both men and women wear coils of red-dyed rattan at the waistline. Among the Hanunoo, men forge and repair blades for knives, axes, bolo or long knife, spears, and other bladed instruments. Women traditionally spin, dye, and weave cotton cloth for clothing and blankets. Tailoring and embroidery of garments is usually women's work, while men carve the handles

and scabbards. Woven basketry is mainly women's work, but sewn goods, twisted cordage, and other goods are craftedby both sexes. Basketmaking is well developed among the northern Iraya and southern Hanunoo groups. Lane (1986: 141-144) describes the various kinds of Mangyan baskets. The Iraya have the hexagonal household basket, which is always made in small sizes, from 18-20 cm in diameter. The materials used consists of soft and narrow strips of the buri palm leaf, which are then overlaid with nito strips. Another Iraya basket is the open grain basket made from bamboo strips, which are first blackened and dried. Variations in the weaving process produce the many designs of the basket. The Hanunoo baskets are small, fine, and leatherlike in texture. Various designs such as the pakudus or cross pattern are created with split nito or red-dyed buri laid over strips of buri. The base of the basket is square but the mouth is round. Other types of Hanunoo basketry include purses and betel-nut carriers which come in round, polygonal, or other shapes. The covers fit snugly with the container. Back to top Performing arts The musical instruments found among the Mangyan are the gitara, a homemade guitar; the gitgit, a three-string indigenous violin with human hair for strings; the lantoy, a transverse nose flute; the kudyapi, a kind of lute; and the kudlung, a parallel-string bamboo tube zither. Most of these instruments are used by a male suitor in wooing a Mangyan female. A young man and his male friends strum the guitar and play the gitgit to announce their arrival at the house of the woman. The Hanunoo use the guitar to play harmonic chords and interludes between verses sung in one or two tones. The Hanunoo use several kinds of flute. The transverse flute has five stops (unlike the Buhid's palawta which has six), and is tuned diatonically. The pituh is a flute which is diatonically tuned, has finger-holes, but no thumb hole. The bangsi is an external duct flute, which has a chip glued on to the tube of the flute. Another type of aerophone, aside from the flutes, is the budyung, a bamboo trumpet which is also found among the Mandaya in Mindanao. Two idiophones are used by the Hanunoo: the buray dipay, a bean-pod rattle used in ensemble with other kinds of instruments , and the kalutang, which are percussion sticks played in pairs to produce harmonies on seconds, thirds, and fourths (Maceda 1966: 646). The Hanunoo also have an agung ensemble, which consists of two light gongs played by two men squatting on the floor: one man beats with a light padded stick on the rim of one of the gongs. Both performers play a simple duple rhythms (Maceda 1966: 646).

Music for the Hanunoo is part of celebrating ordinary and festive occasions. Accompanying themselves on these instruments as they recite their love poems, the Hanunoo Mangyan pay court to the women. During the wedding rituals, songs are sung, musical instruments are played, food is eaten, and wine is drunk. The songs of the Mangyan are lullabies, recollections of war exploits in the distant past, lamentations, lovelyrics, and stories based on persona.

Filipino Clothing In Retrospect

Filipinos are said to be one of the friendliest people in the world. They have these exceptional characteristics that foreign people love: > intelligence > talents for science and art > retentive memory > quick perception Aside from these characteristics, Filipinos are said to be cheerful people, noted for their incomparable hospitality as well as courtesy. Filipinos are also famous of the close ties with its family, which is probably inherited from the Spaniards. Filipino parents work hard and sacrifice more for the sake of their children so in return, the children will give them respect, love and most of all take care of them when they reached old age. The Filipino Pride Filipinos have this exceptional love for their beautiful country making them passionately romantic. They are dedicated to what they do as they are vicious in a battle. Born to be artists, poets, and musicians, Filipinos are noted to be one of the most talented people as they can do everything as long as they love what they are doing. There are many talented Filipinos in the world such as Levi Celerio, Roberto de Ocampo, Maria Teresa Calderon, Allan Pineda of the Black Eye Peas and Filipino fashion designers such as Monique Lhuiller who introduce the modern Filipino clothing to the world. These Filipino talents are famous in various fields may it be in music, art or literature. Filipinos are brave and liberty loving people, which appear from their battle against the Spanish, Americans, and Japanese invaders of their precious native land. And would you believe that they have ranked as one of the bravest people in the world? Bravery is just one of the primary weapons that Filipinos have. It's not only use in a battle but in any situations as well. For instance those Filipinos who belonged to the unprivileged families would still fight at all cost just to make both ends meet and parents who are sacrificing all just to let their children finish in school. Though Filipinos are having conflicts at times, but when someone needs their help, they unite, support and become cooperative as they value the virtue of helping other people that manifest in the bayanihan tradition meaning cooperation. Filipinos are good achievers as well. Many of them are now known internationally. These Filipino achievers would include the Filipino fashion designers who have introduced the style of Filipino clothing in the world. Some of these famous fashion designers include Diane Monique Lhuillier, Rafe Totengco, and Mich Dulce. All of them are now competing with the other famous foreign fashion designers which Filipinos can truly be proud of. Filipino Clothing Evolution Basically, Filipino clothing is just one of the most significant parts of the Filipino traditions. Since the Philippines is a tropical country with just two seasons which is hot and dry from the month of November to June, and rainy from the month of July to October, the clothing trends will be like shirts and pants while jackets are added during December as it is cold. Here are the various types of the traditional Filipino clothing and accessories; 1. Abaniko 2. Baro't saya 3. Barong Tagalog 4. Bahag 5. bakya But since being up to date especially in clothing is somehow what Filipinos love. They have embraced fashion and the tradition Filipino clothing has now become a part of the history. Unlike

the other countries that still promote wearing their traditional clothes, Filipinos nowadays would dress according to the new trend. Filipinos dress for the weather. The casual attire for women are shorts and light blouses while men are collared T-shirts which are worn over slacks. In the evening skirts are commonly substituted for shorts and the T-shirts are tucked in. The common attire for men particularly if expecting to attend any occasion which would usually need a jacket as well as tie which is not good for a hot weather, hence, a barong tagalog would be a good substitute. As defined, the barong tagalog is traditional Filipino clothing, embroidered shirt and considered as men's formal dress. It comes with a price of at least 1000 pesos but worth buying. Today, you can evidently see the change of the original pre-colonial fashion. Before, those who are privileged can only afford the latest clothing, but now almost everyone can enjoy the fashion at its peak. Since Filipinos are also invaded by Americans who also influence their way of dressing, such as the tendency to follow everything western from various lifestyles, music and fashion.

Culture of the Philippines

The culture of the Philippines reflects the country's complex history. It is a blend of the Malayo-Polynesian and Hispanic cultures, with influence from Chinese, Indians, Arabs, and other Asian cultures. The Philippines was first settled by Melanesians, today they preserve a very traditional way of life and culture, although their numbers are few. After them, the Austronesians or more specifically; Malayo-Polynesians, arrived on the islands. Today the Austronesian culture is very evident in the ethnicity, language, food, dance and almost every aspect of the culture. These Austronesians engaged in trading with China, India, the Middle East, Borneo, Ryukyu and other places, as a result their cultures have also left a mark on Filipino culture. When the Spanish colonized the islands, after more than three centuries of colonization, they had heavily impacted the culture. The Philippines being governed from both Mexico and Spain, had received lots of Hispanic influence. Mexican and Spanish influence can be seen in the language, ethnicity, dance, food, religion, architecture, costumes, festivals, crafts and many other aspects of the culture. After being colonized by Spain, the Philippines became a U.S. territory for about 40 years. Influence from the United States is seen in the wide use of the English language, and the modern pop culture.

Religion
The Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nations in Asia-Pacific, the other being East Timor. From a census in 2000, Catholics constitute 82.9% (Roman Catholic 80.9%, Aglipayan 2%), with Evangelical Christians at 2.8%, Iglesia Ni Cristo at 2.3%, and other Christian denominations at 4.5%. Islam is the religion for 5% of the population, while 1.8% practice other religions. The remaining 0.6 did not specify a religion while 0.1% are irreligious.[1] Before the arrival of the Spaniards and the introduction of Roman Catholicism and Western culture in the 16th century, the indigenous Austronesian people of what is now called the Philippines were adherents of a mixture of shamanistic Animism, Islam, Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism.[2]

Filipino arts
Arts of the Philippines cover a variety of forms of entertainment. Folk art and Primitive art consist of classic and modern features that flourished as a result of European and Indigenous influences.
Literature

The literature of the Philippines illustrates the Prehistory and European colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous and Hispanic writing system. Most of the traditional literatures of the Philippines were written during the Mexican and Spanish period. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, Filipino, Tagalog, English and other native Philippine languages.
Visual arts Painting

Early Filipino painting can be found in red slip (clay mixed with water) designs embellished on the ritual pottery of the Philippines such as the acclaimed Manunggul Jar. Evidence of Philippine pottery-making dated as early as 6,000 BC has been found in Sanga-sanga Cave, Sulu and Laurente Cave, Cagayan. It has been proven that by 5,000 BC, the making of pottery was practiced throughout the country. Early Filipinos started making pottery before their Cambodian neighbors, and at about the same time as the Thais as part of what appears to be a widespread Ice Age development of pottery technology. Further evidences of painting are manifested in the tattoo tradition of early Filipinos, whom the Portuguese explorer referred to as Pintados or the 'Painted People' of the Visayas.[3][4] Various designs referencing flora and fauna with heavenly bodies decorate their bodies in various colored pigmentation. Perhaps, some of the most elaborate painting done by early Filipinos that survive to the present day can be manifested among the arts and architecture of the Maranao who are well known for the Naga Dragons and the Sarimanok carved and painted in the beautiful Panolong of their Torogan or King's House. Filipinos began creating paintings in the European tradition during 17th century Spanish period.[5] The earliest of these paintings were Church frescoes, religious imagery from Biblical sources, as well as engravings, sculptures and lithographs featuring Christian icons and European nobility. Most of the paintings and sculptures between the 19th and 20th centuries produced a mixture of religious, political, and landscape art works, with qualities of sweetness, dark, and light. Early modernist painters such as Damin Domingo was associated with religious and secular paintings. The art of Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo showed a trend for political statement. The

first Philippine national artist Fernando Amorsolo used post-modernism to produce paintings that illustrated Philippine culture, nature and harmony. While other artist such as Fernando Zbel used realities and abstract on his work. In the early 1980s, other unique folk artist exist one of these is Elito Circa as amangpintor the famous Filipino folk painter. He uses his own hair to make his paintbrushes, and signs his name with his own blood on the right side of his paintings. He developed his own styles without professional training or guidance from masters.
Indigenous art

The Itneg people are known for their intricate woven fabrics. The binakol is a blanket which features designs that incorporate optical illusions. Woven fabrics of the Ga'dang people usually have bright red tones. Their weaving can also be identified by beaded ornamentation. Other peoples such as the Ilongot make jewelry from pearl, red hornbill beaks, plants, and metals. The Lumad peoples of Mindanao such as the B'laan, Mandaya, Mansaka and T'boli are skilled in the art of dyeing abaca fiber. Abaca is a plant closely related to bananas, and its leaves are used to make fiber known as Manila hemp. The fiber is dyed by a method called ikat. Ikat fiber are woven into cloth with geometric patterns depicting human, animal and plant themes.
Kut-kut art

A technique combining ancient Oriental and European art process. Considered lost art and highly collectible art form. Very few known art pieces existed today. The technique was practiced by the indigenous people of Samar Island between early 1600 and late 1800 A.D. Kut-kut is an exotic Philippine art form based on early century techniquessgraffito, encaustic and layering. The merging of these ancient styles produces a unique artwork characterized by delicate swirling interwoven lines, multi-layered texture and an illusion of three-dimensional space.
Islamic art

Islamic art in the Philippines have two main artistic styles. One is a curved-line woodcarving and metalworking called okir, similar to the Middle Eastern Islamic art. This style is associated with men. The other style is geometric tapestries, and is associated with women. The Tausug and SamaBajau exhibit their okir on elaborate markings with boat-like imagery. The Marananaos make similar carvings on housings called torogan. Weapons made by Muslim Filipinos such as the kampilan are skillfully carved.
Performing arts ] Music

The early music of the Philippines featured a mixture of Indigenous, Islamic and a variety of Asian sounds that flourished before the European and American colonization in the 16th and 20th centuries. Spanish settlers and Filipinos played a variety of musical instruments, including flutes, guitar, ukelele, violin, trumpets and drums. They performed songs and dances to celebrate festive occasions. By the 21st century, many of the folk songs and dances have remained intact throughout the Philippines. Some of the groups that perform these folk songs and dances are the Bayanihan, Filipinescas, Barangay-Barrio, Hariraya, the Karilagan Ensemble, and groups associated with the guilds of Manila, and Fort Santiago theatres. Many Filipino musicians have risen prominence such as the composer and conductor Antonio J. Molina, the composer Felipe P. de Leon, known for his nationalistic themes and the opera singer Jovita Fuentes. Modern day Philippine music features several styles. Most music genres are contemporary such as Filipino rock, Filipino hip hop and other musical styles. Some are traditional such as Filipino folk music.

Dance

A Chavacano dance in Philippine Hispanic tradition.

Philippine folk dances include the Tinikling and Cariosa. In the southern region of Mindanao, Singkil is a popular dance showcasing the story of a prince and princess in the forest. Bamboo poles are arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing poles.[6] Guide to Philippine Cultural and Folk Dances
[edit] Cinema and television Main article: Cinema of the Philippines

The advent of the cinema of the Philippines can be traced back to the early days of filmmaking in 1897 when a Spanish theater owner screened imported moving pictures.

The formative years of Philippine cinema, starting from the 1930s, were a time of discovery of film as a new medium of expressing artworks. Scripts and characterizations in films came from popular theater shows and Philippine literature.

In the 1940s, Philippine cinema brought the consciousness of reality in its film industry. Nationalistic films became popular, and movie themes consisting primarily of war and heroism and proved to be successful with Philippine audiences. The 1950s saw the first golden age of Philippine cinema,[7][8] with the emergence of more artistic and mature films, and significant improvement in cinematic techniques among filmmakers. The studio system produced frenetic activity in the Philippine film industry as many films were made annually and several local talents started to gain recognition abroad. Award-winning filmmakers and actors were first introduced during this period. As the decade drew to a close, the studio system monopoly came under siege as a result of labor-management conflicts. By the 1960s, the artistry established in the previous years was in decline. This era can be characterized by rampant commercialism in films. The 1970s and 1980s were considered turbulent years for the Philippine film industry, bringing both positive and negative changes. The films in this period dealt with more serious topics following the Martial law era. In addition, action, western, drama, adult and comedy films developed further in picture quality, sound and writing. The 1980s brought the arrival of alternative or independent cinema in the Philippines. The 1990s saw the emerging popularity of drama, teen-oriented romantic comedy, adult, comedy and action films.[8] The Philippines, being one of Asia's earliest film industry producers, remains undisputed in terms of the highest level of theater admission in Asia. Over the years, however, the Philippine film industry has registered a steady decline in movie viewership from 131 million in 1996 to 63 million in 2004.[9][10] From a high production rate of 350 films a year in the 1950s, and 200 films a year during the 1980s, the Philippine film industry production rate declined in 2006 to 2007.[9][10] The 21st century saw the rebirth of independent filmmaking through the use of digital technology and a number of films have once again earned nationwide recognition and prestige.
Architecture

The Nipa hut (Bahay Kubo) is the mainstream form of housing. It is characterized by use of simple materials such as bamboo and coconut as the main sources of wood. Cogon grass, Nipa palm leaves and coconut fronds are used as roof thatching. Most primitive homes are built on stilts due to frequent flooding during the rainy season. Regional variations include the use of thicker, and denser roof thatching in mountain areas, or longer stilts on coastal areas particularly if the structure is built over water. The architecture of other indigenous peoples may be characterized by an angular wooden roofs, bamboo in place of leafy thatching and ornate wooden carvings.

The Spaniards introduced stones as housing and building materials. The introduction of Christianity brought European churches, and architecture which subsequently became the center of most towns and cities. Spanish architecture can be found in Intramuros, Vigan, Iloilo, Jaro and other parts of the Philippines. Islamic and other Asian architecture can also be seen depicted on buildings such as mosques and temples. The Coconut Palace is an example of Philippine Architecture. Contemporary architecture has a distinctively Western style although pre-Hispanic housing is still common in rural areas. American style suburban-gated communities are popular in the cities, including Manila, and the surrounding provinces.

Cuisine
Filipinos cook a variety of foods influenced by Western and Asian cuisine. The Philippines is considered a melting pot of Asia. Eating out is a favorite Filipino past time. A typical Pinoy diet consists at most of six meals a day; breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks, dinner and again a midnight snack before going to sleep. Rice is a staple in the Filipino diet, it is usually eaten together with other dishes. Filipinos regularly use spoons together with forks and knives. Some also eat with their hands, especially in informal settings, and when eating seafood. Rice, corn, and popular dishes such as adobo (a meat stew made from either pork or chicken), lumpia (meat or vegetable rolls), pancit (a noodle dish) and lechn (roasted pig) are served on plates.

Other popular dishes brought from Spanish and Southeast Asian influences include afritada, asado, chorizo, empanadas, mani (roasted peanuts), paksiw (fish or pork, cooked in vinegar and water with some spices like garlic and pepper), pan de sal (bread rolls), pescado frito (fried or grilled fish), sisig, torta (omelette), kare-kare (ox-tail stew), kilawen, pinakbet (vegetable stew), pinapaitan, and sinigang (tamarind soup with a variety of pork, fish or prawns). Some delicacies eaten by some Filipinos but may seem unappetizing to the Western palate include balut (boiled egg with a fertilized duckling inside), longanisa (sweet sausage) and dinuguan (soup made from pork blood). Popular snacks and desserts such as chicharon (deep fried pork or chicken skin), halo-halo (crushed ice with evaporated milk, flan, and sliced tropical fruit), puto (white rice cakes), bibingka (rice cake with butter or margarine and salted eggs), ensaymada (sweet roll with grated cheese on top), polvoron (powder candy) and tsokolate (chocolate) are usually eaten outside the

three main meals. Popular Philippine beverages include San Miguel Beer, Tanduay Rhum, lambanog and tuba. Every province has its own specialty and tastes vary in each region. In Bicol, for example, foods are generally spicier than elsewhere in the Philippines. Patis, suka, toyo, bagoong and banana catsup are the most common condiments found in Filipino homes and restaurants. Western fast food chains such as McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC and Pizza Hut are a common sight in the country.

Martial arts
Filipino martial arts is a term used to describe the numerous martial art forms that originated in the Philippines, similar to how Silat describes the martial arts practiced in Asia. Filipino martial arts include Eskrima (emphasizes weapon-based fighting, also known as Arnis and in the West sometimes as Kali), Panantukan (empty-handed techniques), and Pananjakman (the boxing component of Filipino martial arts).

Education
Education in the Philippines has been influenced by Western and Eastern ideology and philosophy from the United States, Spain, and its neighbouring Asian countries. Philippine students enter public school at about age four, starting from nursery school up to kindergarten. At about seven years of age, students enter elementary school (6 to 7 years). This is followed by high school (5 years). Students then take the college entrance examinations (CEE), after which they enter college or university (3 to 5 years). Other types of schools include private school, preparatory school, international school, laboratory high school, and science high school. Of these schools, private Catholic schools are the most famous. Catholic schools are preferred in the Philippines due to their religious beliefs. Most Catholic schools are unisex. The uniforms of Catholic schools usually have an emblem along with the school colors. The school year in the Philippines starts in June and ends in March, with a two-month summer break from April to May, two-week semestral break in October and Christmas and New Year's holidays. In 2005, the Philippines spent about US$138 per pupil compared to US$1,582 in Singapore, US$3,728 in Japan, and US$852 in Thailand.[11]

Sports

A professional basketball game being played in the country. Basketball has regarded many Filipinos, as the most popular sport in the Philippines.

Arnis, a form of martial arts, is the national sport in the Philippines.[12] Among the most popular sports include basketball, boxing, football, billiards, chess, ten-pin bowling, volleyball, horse racing and cockfighting. Dodgeball and badminton are also popular. Filipinos have gained international success in sports. These are boxing, football, billiards, ten-pin bowling and chess. Popular sport stars include Manny Pacquiao, Flash Elorde and Francisco Guilledo in boxing, Paulino Alcntara in football, Carlos Loyzaga, Robert Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez in basketball, Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante in billiards, Rafael Nepomuceno in ten-pin bowling, Eugene Torre in chess, and Mark Munoz in MMA. The Palarong Pambansa, a national sports festival, has its origin in an annual sporting meet of public schools that started in 1948. Private schools and universities eventually joined the national event, which became known as the "Palarong Pambansa" in 1976. It serves as a national Olympic Games for students, competing at school and national level contests. The year 2002 event included football, golf, archery, badminton, baseball, chess, gymnastics, tennis, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, track and field, and volleyball.
[edit] Traditional Filipino games Main article: List of traditional Filipino games

One Traditional Filipino game is luksong tinik. A very popular game to Filipino children where one has to jump over the tinik and cross to the other side unscathed.[13] Other traditional Filipino games include yo-yo, piko, patintero, bahay kubo, pusoy and sungka. Tong-its is a popular gambling game. Individuals play the game by trying to get rid of all the cards by choosing poker hands wisely.[14][14][15] Sungka is played on a board game using small sea shells in which players try to take all shells. The winner is determined by who has the most shells at the point when all small pits become empty.[16] Filipinos have created toys using insects such as tying a beetle to string, and sweeping it circular rotation to make an interesting sound. The "Salagubang gong" is a toy described by Charles Brtjes, an American entomologist, who traveled to Negros and discovered a toy using beetles to create a periodic gong effect on a kerosene can as the beetle rotates above the contraption.[17]

Indigenous groups
The Indigenous peoples of the Philippines consist of a large number of Austronesian ethnic groups. They are the descendants of the original Austronesian inhabitants of the Philippines, that

settled in the islands thousands of years ago, and in the process have retained their Indigenous customs and traditions.[18] In 1990, more than 100 highland peoples constituted approximately 3% of the Philippine population. Over the centuries, the isolated highland peoples have retained their Indigenous cultures. The folk arts of these groups were, in a sense, the last remnants of Indigenous traditions that flourished throughout the Philippines before the Islamic and Spanish contacts. The highland peoples are a primitive ethnic group like other Filipinos, although they did not, as a group, have as much contact with the outside world. These peoples displayed a variety of native cultural expressions and artistic skills. They showed a high degree of creativity such as the production of bowls, baskets, clothing, weapons and spoons. These peoples ranged from various groups of Igorot people, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga and Kankana-ey, who built the Rice Terraces thousands of years ago. They have also covered a wide spectrum in terms of their integration and acculturation with Christian Filipinos. Other Indigenous peoples include the Lumad peoples of the highlands of Mindanao. These groups have remained isolated from Western and Eastern influences.