PALAWAN STUDIES

PALAWAN
INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITIES

Submitted By:
Nacario, Joel
Malandac, Mark
Vazques, Romeo
Acosta, Prezyl Jane

TAGBANUA
Physical Traits:
Physical characteristics Tagbanwa’s are brown skinned people with slim
erect stature and has straight hair. This ethnic group is divided into two
groups; Central Tagbanwa and Calamian Tagbanwa. The two groups
speak different languages and do not have exactly similar customs.

Tradition:
The ritual involves the drinking of rice wine from Chinese stoneware
jars through bamboo straws. Like some of the Mangyan, the Tagbanwa
have created their own syllabic script based on an ancient Hindic model.
As elsewhere, rice is a ritual food and a divine gift from which the ritual
wine is fermented. The Tagbanwa are noted for the complicated
Pagdiwata ritual, held to celebrate various occasions including bountiful
harvests and weddings. 
Location:
The Tagbanwa, located in north and central Palawan, are the dominant
ethnic group of that island. There are concentrations in Coron, Aborlan,
and Puerto Princesa.
Source: https://www.csueastbay.edu/museum/virtual-museum/the-
philippines/peoples/tagbanwa.html

MOLBONG

Physical Traits:
Molbog is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines and
Sabah, Malaysia. The majority of speakers are concentrated at the
southernmost tip of the Philippine province of Palawan, specifically the
municipalities of Bataraza and Balabac.
Tradition:
Within the Molbog villages, they are led by religious leaders. Like all
Muslim groups, Islam for them is a way of life. Exercise of their religion
is characterized with zeal. Observance of the Five Pillars of Islam and
basic Arabic chanting are heard daily in every Molbog community.
Location:
The Molbog live in the Balabac islands to the south of Palawan. The
agricultural base is poor, keeping the population density very low.
Source: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13774/RP

JAMA MAPUN

Physical Traits:
The Jama Mapun are socially independent, peaceful and creative people.
Tradition:
They speak a Sama-Bajau language of the Austronesian language
family, and most are adherents of Islam. Some of their principal
economic activities are dry-rice agriculture, copra production, and
trading.
Location:
Mapun, officially the Municipality of Mapun, is a 4th class municipality
in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020
census, it has a population of 30,038 people. It is formerly known as
Cagayan de Sulu until 1984, then as Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi until 1988.
Source: https://bch.bangsamoro.gov.ph/?
fbclid=IwAR1UiBKtzs5iaGYzSpjCRWUEUEoBeSMBUQl7U_YssN
LPm100q5NVj2ESeFw

CUYUNON

Physical Traits:
Centuries of evangelization and Heparization have made the Cuyunon a
devoutly Christian group. Today, the feasts of the Catholic liturgical
calendar are celebrated, and most Cuyunon attend Sunday mass
regularly and fulfill the obligations expected of Catholics.
Tradition:
Feasts are important in the culture of the Cuyunons. They revel many
things, but the main celebrations are weddings, birthdays and baptisms.
They celebrate them using musical instruments like the batungtung,
palakupakan, lantoy, and subbing. Along with the music, they like to
dance a lot.
Location:
Cuyunon refers to an ethnic group populating the Cuyo Islands, along
with northern and central Palawan. The Cuyunons hail originally from
Cuyo and the surrounding Cuyo Islands, a group of islands and islets in
the northern Sulu Sea, to the north east of Palawan.
Source: https://www.yodisphere.com/?
fbclid=IwAR0NeUa_z1oxi8J66Pu-
zs3NmKRP6IqMAvJt2eBXjFlohJV34NRRl3HENac

AGUTAYNEN

Physical Traits:
These groups of people are believed to belong to the family of
Austronesians and Malayo-Polynesians, who have long inhabited the
province of Palawan. They have lexical similarity with Cuyonon and the
Calamian Tagbanua, who are also indigenous groups in Palawan.
Traditions:
The Agutaynens have many traditional beliefs which they inherited them
from their ancestors.For example, someone who sings while eating can
be considered stupid, they have no respectas the food is grace from God.
A girl who sings while facing the stove will marry a widower.
Agutaynen's are into comedies, dance, and komposo. This komposo
usually dance during theirfiestas/festival. They also have the behaviour
of respect/honoring elders. They make sure what they shouldcall
someone if kuya/uncle/tito/lolo, ate/ante/tita/lolo.·They always honor
the importance of marriage. It should be in proper process
such as'pamamanhikan', 'pagpapakilala' and pag 'entrega'/giving the
trust/permission of parents to theman/soon to be husband.They celebrate
fiestas/festival. People are very hospitable because they prepare food
forpeople even if they don't know the person personally they invite.
Almost all households prepare their foods or what they call 'handa', this
happens especially in one island their called 'Diit' (alsopart of Agutaya).
Foods their are given free. Also the head of the barangay prepare foods
Locations:
Agutaynens, originally came from the municipality of Agutaya. These
groups of people are believed to belong to the family of Austronesians
and Malayo-Polynesians whose have a long inhabited theprovince of
Palawan.
Sources: https://www.travel-palawan.com/cultural-heritage/indigenous-
peoples/

TAU’T BATO:

Physical Traits:
The Tau't Bato are still practicing a simple lifestyle. The men are still
wearing G-strings made of bark and cloth while the women are wearing
a skirt made of a piece of cloth to cover their lower body. Most of them
are half naked, but because of the outside influence through trade,
women are beginning to wear a blouse.
They live around cave dwellings in which they construct a house
framework made of light and sturdy materials such as saplings. They
make sleeping platforms and multi-purpose platforms to serve as floors
or beds.
Tradition:
The Tau't Bato live in caves or in open field dwellings. The Basic
structure of architecture is a sleeping platform called "da'tag" which is
usually associated with a fireplace. A catch - all platform (paga) is added
to the basic structure depending on the size of the household.
Location:
The Tau’t Bato Tribe or the cave dwelling people. They inhabitat the
Singnapan Basin located in Barangay Ransang, Municipality of Rizal,
Palawan.
Source: https://www.travel-palawan.com/cultural-heritage/indigenous-
peoples/

PALAWAN/PALAW’AN
Physical Traits:
The Palaw’an, also known as Palawano, is an indigenous ethnic group
found in the province of Palawan in the southern Philippines. This group
is divided into four ethnolinguistic subgroups: Quezon Palawan (Central
Palawano), Bugsuk Palawano (South Palawano), Brooke’s Point
Palawano, and Southwest Palawano. The Palaw’ans belong to the large
Manobo-based linguistic groups of the southern Philippines and were
originally found in the interior regions of South Apuruan and South
Abo-Abo in the southern part of the province of Palawan.
Traditions:
The Palaw'ans hunt wild animals using spears with lethal poison at the
tip and catch fish by using a special root sap. They prefer dogs for
hunting rather than domesticating chickens or hogs. Due to their fear of
falling ill, the Palaw'ans are cautious in socializing with outsiders and
may be seen as naive.
Location:
The Palawan live in the south of Palawan Island in the Philippines.
Thousands of new settlers and a big mining push by the Philippine
government now pose a serious threat to the tribe. The Palawan live in
the south of Palawan Island in the Philippines, both in the mountainous
interior and in the lowlands.
Source: https://www.travel-palawan.com/cultural-heritage/indigenous-
peoples/
BATAK

Physical Traits:
The Batak people are peaceful, hospitable and shy people, In
appearance, they are similar to the Negritos and have been classified as
one of the Philippine Aeta groups. Their name "Batak" originated from
an old Cuyunon word which means "mountain people". They are
referred to by such a name because they live close to nature, having the
mountains as their traditional habitat. Settlements are widely distributed
in the mountains, river valleys and along the seacoast of the northeastern
portion of Palawan Island. A settlement is composed of several bands
which may be a hunting or food gathering group of Batak families.
Simple dwellings are patterned after those of neighboring groups
(Tagbanuas and Cuyunon).

Traditions:
The Batak are known as traditional hunters and good gatherers. They
hunt for wild animals to provide meat in their diet. They also dig wild
roots, collect succulent leaves and catch edible insects. These forest
items, when available, are included in their meals. Bee larvae and honey
is their favorite.
Location: They are located in the northeastern portions of Palawan, a
relatively large island in the southwest of the archipelago. Since ancient
times, the Batak have inhabited a series of river valleys along the
coastline of what is today Puerto Princesa City. There are only about 450
Batak remaining according to a 1990 census.
Sources: https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14273/RP