Mangyan Cultural Practices

UNIVERSITY OF MINDANAO TAGUM COLLEGE
Student: Bryan Ron C. Kaurak Subject: English 25
Prof. Caren C. Carcueva
The Mangyan in Us
Two years ago, I was assigned in an island called Ilin, also known by its local constituents as
ILING. It is a small island in the south of Occidental Mindoro and located at the very end part
of the province which is also known for its local tribe Mangyan and the famous Philippine
animal called Tamaraw.
But the term Mangyans had become infamous and had been used by the locals to connote a
negative image for anybody associated with it. It is usually used to describe a person
without proper hygiene, someone who has low IQ, uneducated and those who are not
updated with the technologies adopted and enjoyed by the people from the lowlands of the
said province.
I remember the time when I was in the main land of the Municipality of San Jose, Occidental
Mindoro. I saw a child outside the church eating an ice cream and had accidentally messed
up itself because the ice cream melted on his hand and wiped it to his clean white polo shirt,
his mother came across to him and said, “Mukha ka ng Mangyan! Ang dungis-dungis mo
na!” (You look like a Mangyan. You look very dirty!)”

The second incident happened when my Formator asked me to request for vehicles from
the Local Government Unit (LGU) for our mission and the secretary who assisted me
misspelled a single word which made everyone in the room burst into laughter. I overheard
a guy who said, “Nasaan ang utak mo? Para ka namang Mangyan! Ang hina hina ng
utak! (Do you have a brain? You’re like Mangyans who are slow learners!)”
The above-mentioned incidents clearly depicted how the word Mangyans were used to
describe negativity in any aspect, regardless of the age , beliefs or social status of the people
in Mindoro.
Aside from the unforgettable experiences I had during my stay in Mindoro, I chose the
Mangyan culture because of its unique practices in the past which deeply contributed in
moulding the history of the Philippines, particularly the scripts as well as the chants that had
been instrumental in any way in terms of forming our national language and literature.
During the Spanish colonization, the Mangyan tribe had long been using scripts, which is like
the Baybayin, based on syllables of the Philippines phonetics. Over two decades ago, the
Philippine National Museum (PNM) declared this surviving system as a National Cultural
Treasure (December 9, 1997),
The “Mangyan Scripts” is also written in the “Memory of the World” registry by the
UNESCO (October 6, 1999). Hanunuo and Buhid Mangyan are still using the “Mangyan
Scripts” at present. The Scripts has played a significant role to those who studies the
language history of the country as these are among the last surviving examples of a writing
system that was once used in the Pre-Hispanic Philippines.

One of Mangyans art is the Ambahan, it is a rhythmic poetic expression with a meter of
seven syllables presented through reciting and chanting. The Hanunuo and Buhid groups are
using knives to curve their Ambahan poetry (Mangyan Script) including messages and letters
on bamboo slats, tubes or plants.
As discussed above, the Mangyans offer a rich artistic heritage in the history of the pre-
colonial Philippines. According to the Mangyan people, their poetry has no author and if one
asks them how the lines of a poem were developed, they simply would just reply that it
came from their ancestors who had read and copied the scripts from the bamboo shoots
where it was originally written. The following are sample of the poems:
Si ay- pod bay u- pa- dan. You, my friends, dearest of all,

No kang ti- na- gin-du- man. thinking of you makes me sad.
May u- lang ma- di kag-nan. Rivers deep are in between,
May ta- kip ma- di kay-wan. forests vast keep us apart.
Mo kang ti- na- gin-du- man. But thinking of you with love,
Ga si- yon di sa ad- ngan as if you are here nearby
Ga pag- tang-da- yon-man standing, sitting at my side
Basically the poems are the descriptions of varying lengths of nature in its widest or
symbolic representations of a Mangyan’s personal thoughts, feelings, or even desires.
Mostly, the Mangyans articulated Ambahans through chanting. Though Mangyan culture
has a big contribution in our history, the preservation of their literary culture such Ambahan
faces real challenges in the modern age. The lack of awareness and appreciation of the
culture threatens their legacy.
The Mangyans, composed of eight different tribes is a big ethnic group in the Philippines.
Contrary to what most Filipinos had known, the Mangyans is just a generic name for the
eight indigenous groups found in the island of Mindoro, wherein each tribe has names,
languages, and customs that have been practiced years ago. This unique indigenous tribe is
a well-organized one, which all eight active tribal councils are very strict on welcoming
visitors in their communities.
The Mangyans is an ethnic group mostly living in a mountain part or highland region of
Mindoro Islands. The word Mangyan basically means a man, a woman, or a person without
any reference to any nationality. This tribe is categorized through their geographical
location and has a big contribution on the history of Mindoro. The Spanish colonizers have
long documented the life of the Mangyan people. However, there is not enough documents
that would provide details on the culture and heritage of one of the Philippines’ richest
ethnic group.
As a young upright citizen how can we preserve and protect the Mangyan culture that has
long been tarnished with negativity and dissociate the term from being used as a symbol for
lack of education and low IQ?
As a Filipino how would you raise awareness towards our Mangyan brothers who has
patiently endured many maltreatment, exploitation, poverty, and inequality for so long?
This is also a call for us to do the right thing and stop ourselves for being an ethnocentric,
which we thought that our race is better than the other.

REFERENCE:
Chavez, J. 2013 August. Mangyan Women, The Struggle for Gender Equality. Retrieved
from https://jmachavez.wordpress.com/
Mangyan Groups. Mangyan Heritage Center. Retrieved from
http://www.mangyan.org/content/mangyan-groups
Rozel Diciano Abache, Ethnographic Study of the Mangyan Tribe's Astronomical Beliefs and
Practices, July 2018,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326293573_Ethnographic_Study_of_the_Mangy
an_Tribe's_Astronomical_Beliefs_and_Practices
Jacob Maentz, The Mangyan of Mindoro, December 20, 2012,

https://www.jacobimages.com/2012/12/the-mangyan-of-mindoro
Brown, Elaine C., PUNDASYON HANUNOO MANGYAN SCHOOL - PARTICIPATORY EDUCATION

IN THE PHILIPPINES, Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine, June 1985,
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/pundasyon-
hanunoo-mangyan-school-participatory-education

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UNIVERSITY OF MINDANAO TAGUM COLLEGE

Student: Bryan Ron C. Kaurak Subject: English 25

Prof. Caren C. Carcueva

animal called Tamaraw.

na!” (You look like a Mangyan. You look very dirty!)”

Treasure (December 9, 1997),

system that was once used in the Pre-Hispanic Philippines.

on bamboo slats, tubes or plants.

Si ay- pod bay u- pa- dan. You, my friends, dearest of all,

symbolic representations of a Mangyan’s personal thoughts, feelings, or even desires.

culture threatens their legacy.

visitors in their communities.

lack of education and low IQ?

which we thought that our race is better than the other.

Mangyan Groups. Mangyan Heritage Center. Retrieved from

Jacob Maentz, The Mangyan of Mindoro, December 20, 2012,

Brown, Elaine C., PUNDASYON HANUNOO MANGYAN SCHOOL - PARTICIPATORY EDUCATION

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