AETA GROUP

The Aeta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon,
Philippines. They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding
the Austronesian migrations. The history of the Aeta continues to confound anthropologists and
archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants
of the Philippines, who, contrary to their sea-faring Austronesian neighbours, arrived through
land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. Unlike
many of their Austronesian counterparts, the Aetas have shown resistance to change. The
attempts of the Spaniards to settle them in reservations all throughout Spanish rule failed.

Mining, deforestation, illegal logging, and slash-and-burn farming has caused the indigenous
population in all parts of the Philippines to steadily decrease to the point where they number in
the thousands today. The Philippines affords them no protection. In addition, the Aeta have
become extremely nomadic due to the social and economic strain on their culture and way of life
that had previously remained unchanged for thousands of years.

NORTHERN GROUP

The indigenous people living in the northern part of the country are called the Igorots, whereas
those non-Muslim indigenous tribes living in the south are referred to as Lumad.

Igorot Tribes from the Northern Philippines. Filipino woman of Iugao mountain tribes in
Banaue village, north Luzon, Philippines. The Igorots, which comprises numerous tribes in the
northern part of the country, are mostly residing in the mountain ranges of the Cordillera Region.
They are popularly known for being rice cultivators. An assortment of the group called
the Ifugaos built the Banaue Rice Terraces – frequently called the ‘eighth wonder of the world’.
The ancestors of this indigenous tribe carved a system of irrigated rice terraces in the mountains
of Ifugao more than 2,000 years ago.

The Banaue village cluster-part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.

The Igorot tribe also includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankanaey and Tinguian
groups. Other tribes living in the north are Isnag from Apayao, Gaddang (found between
Kalinga and Isabela provinces), and the Ilongots living within the east mountains of Luzon
called the Sierra Madre and the Caraballo Mountains. The Ilongots are known for their intense
aggressiveness and cultural conservatism.
SOUTHERN non-MUSLIM GROUPS OF MINDANAO

Lumad Tribes from the Southern Philippines

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the country, indigenous tribes are mostly found

in Mindanao and Western Visayas. In Mindanao, these existing non-Muslim indigenous groups

are collectively known as the Lumad – a Cebuano term which means ‘native’ or ‘indigenous’.

There Lumad tribes comprise about 13 ethnic groups which are the Blaan, Bukidnon,

Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manobo, Mansaka, Sangir, Subanen, Tagabawa,

Tagakaulo, Tasaday, and T’boli. Their tribe is generally known for tribal music produced by

musical instruments they’ve created.

Among those mentioned above, the Manobo tribe includes further big ethnic groups such as
the Ata-Manobo, Agusan-Manobo, and Dulangan-Manobo to name a few. The total population
of the Manobo group is unknown as they occupy core areas in main provinces of the Mindanao
Region.

TAGBANWA OF PALAWAN

Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines and is home to several indigenous
ethnolinguistic groups such as the Tagbanua, Palaw’an, Tao’t
Bato, Molbog, Batak, Agutaynen, and Cuyonon.

These groups of people live in remote villages throughout the province that are found in
mountains and coastal areas. According to the province’s history, the ancestors of these indigents
have occupied Palawan long before the Malay settlers from the Majapahit Empire of Indonesia
arrived in the area during the 12th century.

As mentioned earlier, the Tagbanuas are believed to be descendants of the Tabon Man due to
the many similarities that they have when it comes to language, alphabet, the practice of kaingin,
and a common belief in soul relatives.
This tribe is found mostly in the Central and Northern portion of Palawan. They practice
shifting cultivation of upland rice which is considered as a divine gift, they are also known for
their rice wine ritual called “Pagdiwata”. The cult of the dead is the key to the religious system
of the Tagbanua, who also believe in countless deities found in the natural environment.

The Tagbanua is one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Philippines that can be mainly found in
the municipalities of Aborlan, Quezon, Calamians Islands, Baras Coast, Busuanga Island, Coron
Island, in some parts of El Nido, and even Puerto Princesa City.
Tagbanua are brown skinned people with slim and erect stature and has straight hair. This ethnic
group is divided into two groups; Central Tagbanua and Calamian Tagbanua. The two groups
speak different languages and do not exactly have similar customs.

MANGYAN GROUPS OF MINDORO

Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro,
southwest of the island of Luzon, the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and
customs. The Mangyans were once the only inhabitants of Mindoro.

Before the Spaniards arrived in Mindoro, the people traded with the Chinese extensively, with
thousands of supporting archaeological evidences found in Puerto Galera and in written Chinese
references. A division was created among the people of Mindoro when the Spaniards came.

SOME COMMON INSTRUMENTS ARE FOUND.

NORTH

Flat Gongs - Gong, a circular metal platelike percussion instrument, usually having a turned-
down rim. In most forms it is struck in the centre with a felt- or leather-covered beater,
producing a sound of either definite or indefinite pitch. Its vibrations issue from the centre, in
contrast to bells, which vibrate principally at the rim.
Flat gongs (gangsa) used in ensembles of the northern mountains of the Philippines are struck
by hand, like drums, and create resultant melodies through the use of various rhythmic patterns.

Bamboo buzzers - A bungkaka, also known as the bamboo buzzer is a percussion

Clappers - Clapper, musical instrument consisting of pieces of wood, bone, metal, or other
sonorous substance either held in both hands or, fastened together, held in one hand, sometimes
with a handle, and struck against each other. Clappers have been played throughout the world
since ancient times, often with a ritual, warning, work-coordinating, or signaling function, rather
than a musical one.

Quill-shaped percussion tubes –

Brass Jews harps - A Jew’s harp is a single reed instrument of two types: idioglot, where the
vibrating reed or tongue of the instrument is cut from a single piece of wood, bamboo, bone or
thin flat metal, such as brass, and hetroglot, where there is a cast or bent metal frame to which is
fixed a separate, flexible metal reed.

SOUTH

Bossed gongs –

Ring flute - Ring flutes are end-blown flutes with a ring wrapped around the hole at the blowing
end of the flute. The ring is usually made of a strip of rattan; however some other materials such
as a leaf may be used. Ring flutes have open ends.

Log drum - A Log Drum or slit drum is a hollow percussion instrument, usually of bamboo or
wood, which is made more resonant through one or more slits in it. Most slit drums have three
slits, cut into the shape of an "H".

Xylophones - The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον—xylon, "wood"[1] + φωνή—phōnē,
"sound, voice",[2] meaning "wooden sound") is a musical instrument in the percussion family that
consists of wooden bars struck by mallets.

Single-stringed violin - The violin is a wooden instrument played with a bow, having four
strings tuned at intervals of a fifth, an unfretted fingerboard, and capable of great flexibility in
range, tone, and dynamics. The violin is considered a chordophone since it is an instrument that
produces sounds from the vibrations of strings.

Suspended beam -