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The Lumad are a group of
Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Sout ...
indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
in the southern
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the
autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...
officially adopted by the delegates of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples Federation (LMPF) founding assembly on 26 June 1986 at the Guadalupe Formation Center, Balindog,
Kidapawan Kidapawan, officially the City of Kidapawan (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kidapawan''; Obo language, Obo Monuvu: ''Ingod to Kidapawan''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and the capital ...
,
Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...
. Usage of the term was accepted in Philippine jurisprudence when
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
signed into law Republic Act 6734, where the word was used in Art. XIII sec. 8(2) to distinguish Lumad ethnic communities from the islands of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
. Mindanao is home to a substantial part of the country's indigenous population, comprising around 15% of the Philippine population.National Statistics Office. "Statistics on Filipino Children." Journal of Philippine Statistics, vol. 59, no. 4, 2008, p. 119.


History

The name ''Lumad'' grew out of the political awakening among tribes during the
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
regime of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
. It was advocated and propagated by the members and affiliates of Lumad-Mindanao, a coalition of all-Lumad local and regional organizations that formalized themselves as such in June 1986 but started in 1983 as a multi-sectoral organization. Lumad-Mindanao's main objective was to achieve self-determination for their member-tribes or, put more concretely, self-governance within their
ancestral domain Ancestral domain or ancestral lands are the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The term differs from indigenous land rights, Aboriginal title or Native Title by directly indicating r ...
in accordance with their culture and customary laws. No other Lumad organization had the express goal in the past. Representatives from 15 tribes agreed in June 1986 to adopt the name; there were no delegates from the three major groups of the
T'boli The T'boli people () are an Austronesian indigenous people of South Cotabato in southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Ethnology T'bolis currently reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upper Alah Valley and the coastal area of ...
, the Teduray. The choice of a Cebuano word was a bit ironic but they deemed it appropriate as the Lumad tribes do not have any other
common language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
except Cebuano. This marked the first time that these tribes had agreed to a common name for themselves, distinct from that of other Mindanao native groups: the
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
Moro people The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...
s of southwestern Mindanao; and the sea-faring
Visayans Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous d ...
of coastal areas in northern and eastern Mindanao ( Butuanon, Surigaonon, and Kagay-anon, collectively known as the "Dumagat" or "Sea People" by the Lumad). All of which, in turn are distinct from the (mostly Visayan) migrant majority of modern Mindanao. On 2 March 2021, the
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is the agency of the national government of the Philippines that is responsible for protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. The commission is composed of seven comm ...
issued a resolution denouncing the use of the term ''lumad'' when referring to Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICC) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs). The resolution stated that elders, leaders, and members of different ICCs and IPs in Mindanao requested that they not be called "lumad", and instead want to be referred to by their respective ethnolinguistic group names. However, anthropologists and historians pointed out errors in the commission's resolution, particularly with regard to the origin and usage of the term Lumad. Scholars and Lumad leaders stated that the resolution stems from a lack of historical awareness and the commission's ignorance of Lumad struggles in Mindanao.


Ethnic groups

The Lumad include groups such as the Erumanen ne Menuvu', Matidsalug Manobo, Agusanon Manobo, Dulangan Manobo, Dabaw Manobo, Ata Manobo, B'laan, Kaulo, Banwaon, Bukidnon, Teduray, Lambangian, Higaunon, Dibabawon, Mangguwangan, Mansaka, Mandaya, K'lagan, Subanen,
Tasaday The Tasaday () are an indigenous peoples of the Lake Sebu area in Mindanao, Philippines. They are considered to belong to the Lumad group, along with the other indigenous groups on the island. They attracted widespread media attention in 1971, ...
, Tboli, Mamanuwa, Tagakaolo, Talaandig, Tagabawa, Ubu', Tinenanen, Kuwemanen, K'lata and Diyangan. Considered as "vulnerable groups", they live in
hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...
s, forests, lowlands, and coastal areas. The term ''lumad'' excludes the Butuanons and Surigaonons, even though these two groups are also native to Mindanao. This is due to their Visayan ethnicity and lack of close affinity with the Lumad. The
Moros In Greek mythology, Moros /ˈmɔːrɒs/ or Morus /ˈmɔːrəs/ (Ancient Greek: Μόρος means 'doom, fate') is the personified spirit of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. It was also said that Moros gave people the abi ...
like the Maguindanaon,
Maranao The Maranao people ( Maranao: ''Bangsa'' ''Mëranaw''; Filipino: ''mga'' ''Maranaw''), also spelled Meranaw, Maranaw, and Mëranaw, is a predominantly Muslim Filipino ethnic group native to the region around Lanao Lake in the island of Mi ...
, Tausūg,
Sama-Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...
, Yakan, etc. are also excluded, despite being also native to Mindanao and despite some groups being closely related ethnolinguistically to the Lumad. This is because unlike the Lumad, the Moros converted to Islam during the 14th to 15th centuries. This can be confusing since the word ''lumad'' literally means "native" in
Bisayan languages The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mo ...
.


Bagobo

The Bagobo are one of the largest subgroups of the Manobo peoples. They comprise three subgroups: the Tagabawa, the Klata (or Guiangan), and the Ovu (also spelled Uvu or Ubo) peoples. The Bagobo were formerly nomadic and farmed through ''kaingin'' "
slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...
" methods. Their territory extends from
Davao Gulf Davao Gulf is a gulf situated in the southeastern portion of Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of or about 520,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from the Philippine Sea. It is surrounded by all five provinces ...
to
Mount Apo Mount Apo is the highest mountain peak in the Philippines, with an elevation of above sea level. A large solfataric, dormant stratovolcano, it is part of the Apo-Talomo Mountain Range of Mindanao island. Apo is situated on the tripartite b ...
. They are traditionally ruled by chieftains (''matanum''), a council of elders (''magani''), and '' mabalian'' or female shamans. The supreme spirit in their indigenous ''
anito ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the Indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associ ...
'' religions is Eugpamolak Manobo or Manama.


Blaan

The Blaan is an indigenous group that is concentrated in
Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...
and
South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...
. They practice indigenous rituals while adapting to the way of life of modern Filipinos.


Bukidnon

The Bukidnon are one of the seven tribes in the
Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
. ''Bukidnon'' means 'that of the mountains or highlands' (i.e., 'people of the mountains or highlands'), despite the fact that most Bukidnon tribes settle in the lowlands. The name Bukidnon itself used to describe the entire
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in a different context (it means 'mountainous lands' in this case) or could also be the collective name of the permanent residents in the province regardless of ethnicity. The Bukidnon people believe in one god, Magbabaya (Ruler of All), though there are several minor gods and goddesses that they worship as well. Religious rites are presided by a ''baylan'' whose ordination is voluntary and may come from any sex. The Bukidnons have rich musical and oral traditions which are celebrated annually in Malaybalay city's
Kaamulan Festival Kaamulan Festival is an ethnic cultural festival held annually in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon in the Philippines from the second half of February to March 10, the anniversary date of the foundation of Bukidnon as a province in 1917. It is held t ...
, with other tribes in Bukidnon (the Manobo tribes, the Higaonon, Matigsalug, Talaandig, Umayamnom, and the Tigwahanon). The Bukidnon Lumad is distinct from and should not be confused with the
Visayan Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous di ...
Suludnon The Suludnon, also known as the Panay-Bukidnon, Pan-ayanon, or Tumandok, are a Visayan group of people who reside in the Capiz-Antique-Iloilo mountainous area of Panay in the Visayan islands of the Philippines. They are one of the two only mos ...
people of
Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Il ...
and a few indigenous peoples scattered in the Visayas area who are also alternatively referred to as "Bukidnon" (also meaning "highland people").


Higaonon

The Higaonon are mainly located in the entire province of
Misamis Oriental Misamis Oriental (; ; ), officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province located in the Regions of the Philippines, region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. The provincial capital, as well as its ...
as well as northern parts of
Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...
, western parts of
Agusan del Norte Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte (; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; ), is a province in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Its ''de jure'' capital is the city of Cabadbaran with several government o ...
, western parts of
Agusan del Sur Agusan del Sur, officially the Province of Agusan del Sur (; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Sur''; ), is a province in Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Prosperidad. It is bordered on the northwest ...
,
Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin (; ; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of mainland Mindanao. It is geographically part of Region ...
(used to be Kamiguing), Rogongon in Iligan City, and eastern parts of
Lanao del Norte Lanao del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Lanao''; ; Maranao: ''Pangotaraan Ranao''), officially the Province of Lanao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindanao region. Its capital is Tubod. The province border ...
. The Higaonons have a rather traditional way of living. Farming is their most important economic activity. The word Higaonon means "people of the coast" and is derived from the word ''higa'' in the
Higaonon language Higaonon is a Manobo languages, Manobo language spoken by the Higaonon people on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is partially (80%) intelligible with Binukid language, Binukid. Higaonon is spoken in the Butuan River basin of north- ...
, which means "coastal plains" or "shore." Higaonons were formerly coastal people of the provinces, as mentioned. They resisted the Spanish ''
Reducciones Reductions (, also called ; ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such reductions were also c ...
'' policies and were displaced by incoming ''Dumagat'' migrants (mostly
Visayans Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous d ...
) during the Spanish colonial period. Most Higaonon moved to the interior highlands of Misamis Oriental and northern Bukidnon. The Higaonon people believe in a variety of deities, namely: *Magbabayà (The Ruler of All) – The supreme god who has minor gods and goddesses beneath him to do specific jobs and take care of certain things, he is also the god of the west. *Domalondong – The god of the north. *Ongli – The god of the south. *Tagolambong – The god of the east. *Ibabasok – He watches over the crops and their growth in a simple ceremony at the center of the rice field. *Dagingon – They worship this deity in an elaborated celebration complete with songs and dances which will last for nine nights during planting and after harvest seasons. *Bulalakaw – The spirit who watches the rivers and takes care of the fishermen's catch. *Tumpaa Nanapiyaw or Intumbangol – Watches the base of the earth night and day lest it crumbles. *Tagabugtà – The spirit who watches the farm or the forest


Kalagan

The Kalagan, also spelled K'lagan or (by the Spanish) Caragan, are a subgroup of the Mandaya-Mansaka people who speak the
Kalagan language Kalagan is an Austronesian dialect cluster of the Davao Region of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is also spoken in a few parts of Caraga, still in Mindanao. Distribution ''Ethnologue'' lists the following locations for Kalagan. *Davao del Sur ...
. They comprise three subgroups which are usually treated as different tribes: the Tagakaulo, the Kagan, and the Kallao people of Samal. They are native to areas within
Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...
, Compostela Valley,
Davao del Norte Davao del Norte (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes Sam ...
(including Samal Island),
Davao Oriental Davao Oriental (; ), officially the Province of Davao Oriental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is the city of Mati, Davao Oriental, Mati which is the most ...
, and
North Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao. Its capital is the city of Kidapawan, the ...
; between the territories of the
Blaan people The Blaan people, are one of the indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Their name may be derived from "bla", meaning "opponent", and the "people"-denoting suffix "an". According to a 2021 genetic study, the Blaan people al ...
and the coastline. The
Caraga Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...
region is named after them. Their name means "spirited people" or "brave people", from '' kalag'', ("spirit" or "soul"). They were historically composed of small warring groups. Their population, as of 1994, is 87,270.


Kamigin

A subgroup of the
Manobo The Manobò (sometimes also spelled Menobò, Manuvù , Menuvù , or Minuvù) are an indigenous peoples from Mindanao in the Philippines, whose core lands cover most of the Mindanao island group, from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in ...
from the island of
Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin (; ; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of mainland Mindanao. It is geographically part of Region ...
. They speak the
Kamigin language The Kamigin language, ''Kinamigin'' (Quinamiguin) is a Manobo language spoken on the island of Camiguin in the Philippines. It is declining as most inhabitants have shifted to Cebuano. Grammar ''Ethnologue'' lists the following grammatical fea ...
and are closely related to the Manobo groups from
Surigao del Norte Surigao del Norte ( Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Norte''; ; Tagalog: ''Hilagang Surigao''), officially the Province of Surigao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Caraga region of Mindanao. The province was fo ...
.


Mamanwa

The Mamanwa are a
Negrito The term ''Negrito'' (; ) refers to several diverse ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia and the Andaman Islands. Populations often described as Negrito include: the Andamanese peoples (including the Great Andamanese, th ...
tribe often grouped together with the Lumad. They come from
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
,
Agusan del Norte Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte (; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; ), is a province in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Its ''de jure'' capital is the city of Cabadbaran with several government o ...
, and Surigao provinces in Mindanao; primarily in Kitcharao and
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, Agusan del Norte, though they are lesser in number and more scattered and nomadic than the Manobos and Mandaya tribes who also inhabit the region. Like all Negritos, the Mamanwas are phenotypically distinct from the lowlanders and the upland Manobos, exhibiting curly hair and much darker skin tones. They are traditionally
hunter-gatherers A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...
Omoto K. 1989. Genetic studies of human populations in the Asia-Pacific area with special reference to the origins of the Negritos. In: Hhba H, Hayami I, Michizuki K, orgs. ''Current Aspects of Biogeography in West Pacific and East Asian Regions''. The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Nature and Culture: 1. and consume a wide variety of wild plants, herbs, insects, and animals from
tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...
s. The Mamanwa are categorized as having the "negrito"
phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...
: dark skin, kinky hair, and short stature. The origins of this phenotype (found in the
Agta Aeta (Ayta ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live in various parts of Luzon islands in the Philippines. They are included in the wider Negrito grouping of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast A ...
, Ati, and
Aeta Aeta (Ayta ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live in various parts of Luzon islands in the Philippines. They are included in the wider Negrito grouping of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast A ...
tribes in the Philippines) are a continued topic of debate, with recent evidence suggesting that the phenotype convergently evolved in several areas of southeast Asia. However, recent genomic evidence suggests that the Mamanwa were one of the first populations to leave Africa along with peoples in New Guinea and Australia, and that they diverged from a common origin about 36,000 years ago. Currently, Mamanwa populations live in sedentary settlements ("barangays") that are close to agricultural peoples and market centers. As a result, a substantial proportion of their diet includes starch-dense domesticated foods.https://ucsc.academia.edu/EmeraldSnow/Papers/187939/Life-history_reproductive_maturity_and_the_evolution_of_small_body_size_The_Mamanwa_negritos_of_northern_Mindanao The extent to which agricultural products are bought or exchanged varies in each Mamanwa settlement with some individuals continuing to farm and produce their own domesticated foods while others rely on purchasing food from market centers. The Mamanwa have been exposed to many of the modernities mainstream agricultural populations possess and use, such as cell phones, televisions, radio, and processed foods. The political system of the Mamanwa is informally democratic and age-structured. Elders are respected and expected to maintain peace and order within the tribe. The chieftain, called a ''Tambayon'', usually takes on the duties of counseling tribal members, speaking at gatherings, and arbitrating disagreements. The chieftain may be a man or a woman, which is characteristic of other gender-egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies. They believe in a collection of spirits, governed by the
supreme deity {{broad-concept article A supreme deity, supreme god or supreme being is the conception of the sole deity of monotheistic religions or, in polytheistic or henotheistic religions, the paramount deity or supernatural entity which is above all other ...
''Magbabaya'', although it appears that their contact with monotheist communities and populations has made a considerable impact on the Mamanwa's religious practices. The tribe produces winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers. ''Mamanwa'' (also spelled ''Mamanoa'') means 'first forest dwellers', from the words ''man'' (first) and ''banwa'' (forest). They speak the Mamanwa language (or Minamanwa). They are genetically related to the
Denisovans The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ( ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower Paleolithic, Lower and Middle Paleolithic, and lived, based on current evidence, from 285 thousand to 25 thou ...
.


Mandaya

"Mandaya" derives from "man" meaning "first", and "daya" meaning "upstream" or "upper portion of a river", and therefore means "the first people upstream". It refers to a number of groups found along the mountain ranges of Davao Oriental, as well as to their customs, language, and beliefs. The Mandaya are also found in Compostela and New Bataan in Compostela Valley (formerly a part of Davao del Norte Province).


Manobo

Manobo is the
hispanicized Hispanicization () refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic. Hispanicization is illustrated by spoken ...
spelling of the
endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
Manuvu (also spelled Menuvu or Minuvu). Its etymology is unclear; in its current form, it means "person" or "people". It is believed that it is derived from the root word ''tuvu,'' which means "to grow"/"growth" (thus ''Man vu'' would be " ativegrown" or "aboriginal"). The Manobo are considered the most diverse among the many
indigenous peoples of the Philippines The indigenous peoples of the Philippines are Ethnic groups of the Philippines, ethnolinguistic groups or subgroups that maintain partial isolation or independence throughout the colonial era, and have retained much of their traditional pre-col ...
, with the largest number of subgroups within its family of languages. The Philippines' National Commission on Culture and the Arts has been able to develop a tentative classification of Manobo subgroups, but notes that "the various subgroupings are not sufficiently defined" as of the time the classification was developed. The classification divides the Manobo into several major groups: (1) The Ata subgroup: Dugbatang, Talaingod, and Tagauanum; (2) The Bagobo subgroup: Attaw (Jangan, Klata, Obo, Giangan, Guiangan), Eto (Ata), Kailawan (Kaylawan), Langilan, Manuvu/Obo, Matigsalug, (Matigsaug, Matig Salug), Tagaluro, and Tigdapaya; (3) The Higaonon subgroup: Agusan, Lanao, and Misamis; (4) North Cotabato: Ilianen, Livunganen, and Pulenyan; (5) South Cotabato: Cotabato (with subgroup Tasaday and Blit), Sarangani, Tagabawa; (6) Western Bukidnon: Kiriyeteka, Ilentungen, and Pulangiyen; (7) Agusan del Sur; (8) Banwaon; and (9) Bukidnon and others. The total current Manobo population is not known, although they occupy core areas from
Sarangani Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سرڠان; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the ...
island into the Mindanao mainland in the regions of Agusan, Davao, Bukidnon, Surigao, Misamis, and
Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...
. A study by the NCCP-PACT put their population in 1988 at around 250,000. The geographical distribution of the subgroups is so great that some of the local groups have been noted to "assumed the character of distinctiveness as a separate ethnic grouping," as in the case of the Bagobo or the Higaonon. Part of what makes the classification more difficult is that a dialectical subgroup's membership within a supergroup can shift depending on specific points of view regarding linguistics. The Manobo possess
Denisovan The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ( ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, and lived, based on current evidence, from 285 thousand to 25 thousand years ago. D ...
admixture, much like the Mamanwa. Manobos also hold
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...
ancestry.


Mansaka

The term "Mansaka" derives from "man" with literal meaning "first" and "saka" meaning "to ascend", and means "the first people to ascend mountains/upstream". The term most likely describes the origin of these people who are found today in
Davao del Norte Davao del Norte (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes Sam ...
and
Davao de Oro Davao de Oro, officially the Province of Davao de Oro (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Nabunturan while Monkayo is the most populous. It used to be part ...
and some parts of Davao Oriental, specifically in the Batoto River, the Manat Valley, Caragan, Maragusan, the Hijo River Valley, and the seacoasts of Kingking, Maco, Kwambog, Hijo, Tagum, Libuganon, Tuganay, Ising, and Panabo.


Matigsalug

Bukidnon groups are found in the Valley in Kitaotao in Bukidnon province, Philippines. Their name means "people along the Salug River (now called the
Davao River The Davao River is the third largest river by drainage basin in the southern Philippines on the island of Mindanao. It drains an area of over with a total length of . Most of the area is uplands. Average flows within the river near the mouth ...
)". Although often classified under the Manobo ethnolinguistic group, the Matigsalug are a distinct subgroup.


Sangil

The Sangil people (also called Sangir, Sangu, Marore, Sangirezen, or Talaoerezen) are originally from the Sangihe and
Talaud Islands The Talaud Islands Regency () is a Regency (Indonesia), regency of North Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The Talaud Islands form an archipelago situated to the northeast of the Minahasa Peninsula, with a land area of 1,251.02 km2. It had a populati ...
(now part of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
) and parts of
Davao Occidental Davao Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Davao Occidental (; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is the municipality of Malita, the most populous town in the province. To the east lies ...
(particularly in the Sarangani Islands),
Davao del Norte Davao del Norte (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes Sam ...
,
Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...
,
Sultan Kudarat Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ; Ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Ku ...
,
South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...
, and
North Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao. Its capital is the city of Kidapawan, the ...
. Their populations (much like the
Sama-Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...
) were separated when borders were drawn between the Philippines and Indonesia during the
colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...
. The Sangil people are traditionally animistic, much like other Lumad peoples. During the colonial era, the Sangil (who usually call themselves "Sangir") in the Sangihe Islands mostly converted to
Protestant Christianity Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible sour ...
due to proximity and contact with the Christian
Minahasa people The Minahasans or Minahassa are an Austronesian ethnic group native to North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan pre-Christi ...
of
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
. In the Philippines, most Sangil converted to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
due to the influence of the neighboring
Sultanate of Maguindanao The Sultanate of Maguindanao ( Maguindanaon: ''Kasultanan nu Magindanaw'', Jawi: كسولتانن نو مڬیندنو; Filipino: ''Kasultanan ng Mangindánaw'') was a Sunni Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao, in th ...
. However, elements of animistic rituals still remain. The Indonesian and Filipino groups still maintain ties and both
Manado Malay Manado Malay, Manadonese or simply the Manado language, is a creole language spoken in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia, and the surrounding area. The local name of the language is , and the name Minahasa Malay is also ...
and Cebuano are spoken in both Indonesian Sangir and Filipino Sangil, in addition to the Sangirese language. The exact population of Sangil people in the Philippines is unknown but is estimated to be around 10,000 people.


Subanon

The Subanons are the first settlers of the Zamboanga peninsula. The family is patriarchal while the village is led by a chief called a Timuay. He acts as the village judge and is concerned with all communal matters. History has better words to speak for Misamis Occidental. Its principal city was originally populated by the Subanon, a cultural group that once roamed the seas in great number; the province was an easy prey to the marauding sea pirates of Lanao whose habit was to stage lightning forays along the coastal areas in search of slaves. As the Subanon retreated deeper and deeper into the interior, the coastal areas became home to inhabitants from Bukidnon who were steadily followed by settlers from nearby Cebu and Bohol.


Tagabawa

Tagabawa is the language used by the Bagobo-Tagabawa. They are an indigenous tribe in Mindanao. They live in the surrounding areas of Mt. Apo.


Tagakaulo

Tagakaulo is one of the tribes in
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
. Their traditional territories is in
Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...
and the Sarangani Province particularly in the localities of Malalag, Lais, Talaguton Rivers, Sta. Maria, and Malita of Davao Occidental, and Malungon of the Sarangani Province. Tagakaulo means "from the head(waters)". The Tagakaulo tribe originally came from the western shores of the Gulf of Davao and south of Mt. Apo. a long time ago.


Talaandig

Talaandig are originally from the foothills of
Mount Kitanglad Mount Kitanglad is an inactive volcano located in the Kitanglad Mountain Range in Bukidnon province on Mindanao island. It is the fourth highest mountain in the Philippines and has an approximate height of . It is located between Malaybalay a ...
in
Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...
, specifically in the municipalities of
Talakag Talakag, officially the Municipality of Talakag ( Bukid and Higaonon: ''Banuwa ta Talakag''; ; ), is a municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 77,027 people. It is located on ...
and
Lantapan Lantapan, officially the Municipality of Lantapan (Bukid language, Bukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: Banuwa ta Lantapan; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Bukidnon, Philippine ...
.


Tasaday

The Tasaday is a group of about two dozen people living within the deep and mountainous rainforests of Mindanao, who attracted wide media attention in 1971 when they were first "discovered" by western scientists who reported that they were living at a "stone age" level of technology and had been completely isolated from the rest of Philippine society. They later attracted attention in the 1980s when it was reported that their discovery had in fact been an elaborate
hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...
, and doubt was raised both about their status as isolated from other societies and even about the reality of their existence as a separate ethnic group. The question of whether Tasaday studies published in the seventies are accurate is still being discussed.


Teduray

The
Teduray people The Teduray are an indigenous peoples in Mindanao, Philippines. They speak the Teduray language. Their name may have come from words ''tew,'' meaning people, and ''duray,'' referring to a small bamboo hook and a line used for fishing. The Teduray ...
live in the municipalities of Datu Blah T. Sinsuat,
Upi United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
, and South Upi in southwestern Maguindanao Province; and in Lebak municipality, northwestern
Sultan Kudarat Province Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'', Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ; Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Kudarat''; ), is a province in the Philippines located ...
. They speak the
Teduray language Teduray or Tiruray is an Austronesian language of the southern Philippines spoken by the Teduray people, in the Datu Blah T. Sinsuat and Upi municipalities (southern Maguindanao del Norte Province), South Upi municipality (western Maguindana ...
, which is related to
Bagobo The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous peoples in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially ado ...
,
B'laan The Blaan people, are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Philippines, indigenous peoples of Soccsksargen, Southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Their name may be derived from "bla", meaning "opponent", and the "people"-denoting suffix "an". Ac ...
, and
T'boli The T'boli people () are an Austronesian indigenous people of South Cotabato in southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Ethnology T'bolis currently reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upper Alah Valley and the coastal area of ...
. Coastal Tedurays are mostly farmers, hunters, fishermen, and basket weavers; those living in the mountains engage in dry field agriculture, supplemented by hunting and the gathering of forest products. Tedurays are famous for their craftsmanship in weaving baskets with two-toned geometric designs. While many have adopted the cultures of neighboring
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
people, a high percentage of their population still believe and practice their indigenous customs and rituals.


Tboli

The Tboli are one of the indigenous peoples of South Mindanao. From the body of ethnographic and linguistic literature on Mindanao, they are variously known as Tboli, Teboli, Tau Bilil, Tau Bulul or Tagabilil. They self-identify as T'boli. Their whereabouts and identity are to some extent confused in the literature; some publications present the Teboli and the Tagabilil as distinct peoples; some locate the Tbolis to the vicinity of the Buluan Lake in the Cotabato Basin or in Agusan del Norte. The T'boli, then, reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upper Allah Valley and the coastal area of Maitum, Maasim, and Kiamba. In former times, the T'boli also inhabited the upper Allah Valley floor.


Tigwahanon

The Tigwahonon are a subgroup of Manobo originally from the Tigwa River basin near San Fernando, Bukidnon.


Umayamnon

The Umayamnon are originally from the Umayam River watershed and the headwaters of the
Pulangi River The Pulangi River ( Cebuano pronunciation IPA uˈlaŋi; (), also spelled Pulangui, is one of the major tributaries of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, an extensive river system in Mindanao, Philippines. With a length of , it is the longest river ...
. They are a subgroup of the Manobo.


Languages

The Lumad peoples speak
Philippine languages The Philippine languages or Philippinic are a proposed group by R. David Paul Zorc (1986) and Robert Blust (1991; 2005; 2019) that include all the languages of the Philippines and northern Sulawesi, Indonesia—except Sama–Bajaw (language ...
belonging to various branches. These include: *
Mindanao languages The Mindanao or Southern Philippine languages are an obsolete proposal for a subgroup of the Austronesian languages comprising the Danao languages, the Manobo languages and Subanon, all of which are spoken in Mindanao, Philippines. Blust (1991) ...
**
Manobo languages The Manobo languages are a group of languages spoken in the Philippines. Their speakers are primarily located around Northern Mindanao, Central Mindanao (presently called Soccsksargen) and Caraga regions of the Philippines, regions where they are ...
**
Subanon language The Subanen languages (also Subanon and Subanun) are a group of closely related Austronesian languages belonging to the Greater Central Philippine subgroup. Subanen languages are spoken in various areas of Zamboanga Peninsula, namely the provin ...
*
South Mindanao languages The South Mindanao or Bilic languages are a group of related languages spoken by the Bagobo, Blaan, Tboli, and Teduray peoples of the southern coast of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. They are not part of the Mindanao language family that ...
*
Mansakan languages The Mansakan languages are a group of Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. Dabawenyo is the principal native language of the Davao region; however, there is a high degree of bilingualism in Cebuano among their speakers. Most speake ...
* Mamanwa language *
Sangiric languages The Sangiric languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in North Sulawesi, Indonesia and several small islands to the north which belong to the Philippines. They are classified as a branch of the Philippine subgroup. Classific ...


Musical heritage

Most of the Mindanao Lumad groups have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles – ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed
gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...
s which act as a drone without any accompanying melodic instrument. Lumad groups also have traditional stringed instruments, such as the hegalong, and various forms of wind and percussive instruments. Traditional vocal music include love songs, lullabies, funeral songs, narrative songs, and songs about nature. Music may be used to accompany dances in rituals and celebrations.


Social issues

Lumad peoples confront a variety of social issues. Identical with other Indigenous peoples (IPs) across the globe, the IPs in the Philippines represent the country's poorest sector who endure disproportionate access to healthcare, education, and human rights. There are claims that Lumad social issues arise from ethnic grievances that develop into an issue of economic greed. They face loss of ancestral lands due to
land grabbing Land grabbing is the large-scale acquisition of land through buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and Multinational corporation, transnational companies, governments, and individuals. While used broadly throughout history, land g ...
or militarization, economic and
social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...
, and threats to their traditional culture and identity. Lumad groups contend with displacement,
extrajudicial killings An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, ...
, harassment of Lumad rights defenders, and forced closure of Lumad schools.


Ancestral land rights

Lumads face loss of ancestral lands due to land grabbing or militarization. Some communities have been forced out of their lands for resisting encroachment by mining, logging, and energy companies. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lumad controlled an area that now covers 17 of Mindanao's 24 provinces, but by the 1980 census, they constituted less than 6% of the population of Mindanao and Sulu Province, Sulu. Significant migration to Mindanao of Visayan people, Visayans, spurred by government-sponsored resettlement programs, turned the Lumad into minorities. The Bukidnon province population grew from 63,470 in 1948 to 194,368 in 1960 and 414,762 in 1970, with the proportion of indigenous Bukidnons falling from 64% to 33% to 14%. Lumad have a traditional concept of land ownership based on what their communities consider their ancestral territories. The historian B. R. Rodil notes that "a territory occupied by a community is a communal private property, and community members have the right of usufruct to any piece of unoccupied land within the communal territory." Ancestral lands include cultivated land as well as hunting grounds, rivers, forests, uncultivated land, and the mineral resources below the land. River systems indicate the Lumad people's generations of civilization. Water is used as a "hermeneutic" for how Lumads orient themselves in relation to other ethnic groups, the state, modern Filipino culture, and their own cultural customs. Unlike the
Moros In Greek mythology, Moros /ˈmɔːrɒs/ or Morus /ˈmɔːrəs/ (Ancient Greek: Μόρος means 'doom, fate') is the personified spirit of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. It was also said that Moros gave people the abi ...
, the Lumad groups never formed a revolutionary group to unite them in armed struggle against the Philippine government. When the migrants came, many Lumad groups retreated into the mountains and forests. For the Lumad, securing their rights to their ancestral domain is as urgent as the Moros' quest for self-determination. However, much of their land has already been registered in the name of multinational corporations, logging companies, and other wealthy Filipinos, many of whom are, relatively speaking, recent settlers to Mindanao. Mai Tuan, a
T'boli The T'boli people () are an Austronesian indigenous people of South Cotabato in southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Ethnology T'bolis currently reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upper Alah Valley and the coastal area of ...
leader explains, "Now that there is a peace agreement for the Moro National Liberation Front, MNLF, we are happy because we are given food assistance like rice... we also feel sad because we no longer have the pots to cook it with. We no longer have control over our ancestral lands."


Lumad killings

Lumad communities contend with extrajudicial killings and Red-tagging in the Philippines, red-tagging. Defenders of Indigenous land rights, environmentalists, and human rights activists have also been harassed. The Lumad are people from various ethnic groups in
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
island. Residing in their ancestral lands, they are often evicted and displaced because of the
Moro people The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...
's claim on the same territory. The Lumad have lost parts of their ancestral land because of a failure to understand the modern land tenure system.FIANZA, MYRTHENA L. "Contesting Land and Identity in the Periphery: The Moro Indigenous People of Southern Philippines." https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu. PSI-SDLAP, n.d. Web. 5 November 2015. Some NGOs have established schools that teach Indigenous communities how to protect their rights, property, and culture. However, the Lumad communities are located in mountains that are distant from urban areas. These areas are also the sites of Moro conflict, armed conflict between the New People's Army (NPA) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Caught in the conflict, the Lumad people's education, property, and security are endangered by the increasing amount of Asymmetric warfare, violent confrontations between the armed parties. In Surigao del Sur, a barangay was evacuated to shelter sites in Tandag City because of increasing military and NPA activity. There are claims that Lumads account for about 70 percent of the fighting force of the NPA, with the communists collecting revolutionary tax of P1.2 billion per year in Davao Region alone according to NCIP chief and former army colonel. Human rights watchdogs, Indigenous peoples groups, and environmentalists claim that Lumad territories were being militarized by the AFP and that community leaders and teachers were being detained by the military on suspicion of being rebels. They also say that alternative schools within the communities (aided by NGOs and universities) face closure or demolition, with some buildings converted for military use. They have staged demonstrations to gain the public's attention, calling for a halt to the alleged militarization of Lumad communities. Organizers of the Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya support the Lumad by raising awareness on the plight of Indigenous peoples through protest marches, concerts, cultural festivals, and commemoration of Lumad leaders that have been killed. The Philippines Commission on Human Rights (Philippines), Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has been investigating the 2015 murder of Lumad leaders and a school official by paramilitary group Magahat-Bagani (in line with the idea of Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, CAFGU) created by the AFP to hunt for NPA members. The AFP denied the allegation and attributed the killings to tribal conflict, though the AFP has admitted that CAFGU has Lumad recruits within its ranks while asserting that the NPA has also recruited Lumad for the group. CHR postponed the presentation of their initial report to December 2015 to include reports of subsequent killings and displacement. Indigenous women leaders organized the Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women. Being located in the mountains, community evacuations have become the highest form of protest for the Lumad. Communities pack up and move en masse to urban areas to set up camp in evacuation centers. Through this, the Lumad people emphasize to the public, "We are here, and we are not going back until our land is free from troops and corporations, so that we can take back our ancestral land." Relocating to urban centers allowed Lumad leaders to broadcast their plight to local and international audiences. Shortly after, Lumad people themselves realized they needed to have an umbrella organization through which advocates from around the world could work together, leading to the creation of the Liyang Network. The organization Liyang Network works alongside Lumad communities to amplify the voices of their environmental defenders and highlight Lumad social issues. Liyang Network organizes forums, webinars, and educational discussions on current sociopolitical issues and their root causes—mainly the needs of Lumad and rural communities. Under the President Benigno Aquino III administration (2010–2015), a total of 71 Indigenous leaders were killed. Ninety-five cases of attacks against the 87 Indigenous schooling for children were also recorded. More than 40,000 Indigenous peoples—whole communities whose social, political, and economic life had been obstructed—had no choice but to evacuate because their schools were attacked or their leaders had been murdered or incarcerated. On 8 December 2017, human rights group Karapatan asked the United Nations to probe Lumad killings, including the killing of eight
T'boli The T'boli people () are an Austronesian indigenous people of South Cotabato in southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Ethnology T'bolis currently reside on the mountain slopes on either side of the upper Alah Valley and the coastal area of ...
and Manobo people, Dulangan Manobo farmers, allegedly by members of the Philippine Army. A pro-AFP and pro-mining datu of the Langilan Manobo people in Davao del Norte, during an AFP-sponsored press conference, claimed that the NPA were responsible for the killings and that none of the alleged "militarization" was actually happening. Another datu accused protesters in Manila of pretending to be Lumad by wearing Lumad clothing. They have also held anti-NPA rallies in Mindanao. The military has attributed to the NPA the assassination of a Lumad leader sympathetic to the government. Some of which are acknowledged by NPA members. In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to shut down or destroy NGO-funded community schools because of suspicions that they radicalize Lumad students into joining the NPA communist rebels. Lumad leaders working with the military supported the closure, saying that they were being infiltrated by the NPA and their children being exploited. Former Bayan Muna Representative Eufemia Cullamat and convener of the Save Our Schools Network refuted the allegations, adding that ALCADEV students in fact perform well when they enter other schools. In August 2019, after spending time in refugee camps, Lumad evacuees in Surigao del Sur formally returned to their home after army soldiers left their communities. In December 2019, the Philippines under Duterte became the deadliest for farmers and Indigenous peoples.


Lumad schools

Many Lumad youths live in indigent, hard-to-reach communities. In the 1980s, the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS) began a functional literacy program for Indigenous children in these communities. TRIFPSS established 10 schools in 10 Indigenous people's communities in three municipalities of Surigao del Sur in 1997. The Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture Livelihood Development (Alcadev), formed in 2004 with support from TRIFPSS, established community schools for Lumad communities using lessons tailored to suit Indigenous culture and tradition. The Department of Education (Philippines), Department of Education (DepEd) recognized community schools and the Alcadev system through the Indigenous framework of education now observed by alternative tribal schools nationwide. The policy framework was signed in 2012 by then-Secretary Armin Luistro. The Department of Education also accredited and authorized Salugpongan Schools to run 54 community schools in the Davao region. SOS Network convenor and former Representative Eufemia Cullamat stated that the schools enable IP youths to teach Indigenous traditions needed to defend ancestral lands and preserve Indigenous culture.


Bakwit schools

Lumad schools faced closure after the schools were alleged to be radicalizing youth into joining the communist insurgent New People's Army, according to National Security Adviser and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict vice chair Hermogenes Esperon Jr. Since President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao in 2017, 200 Lumad schools had been closed as of 2024, displacing an estimated 10,000 students, according to the Save Our Schools (SOS) network, which campaigns for Lumad students' right to education. Students whose schools were shut down moved to Lumad "bakwit schools" for refugees, organized by parents, teachers, and community elders. "Bakwit" is the local term for "evacuate". The students are from different Lumad communities, such as Mandaya, Manobo, Blaan, and Matigsalo; the teachers come from Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat. The students have taken part in protest rallies and caravans to express their plight to the general public. In July 2019, Senator Leila de Lima filed a resolution calling for a Senate probe on the closure of Lumad schools. In December 2024, ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro and the rest of the Makabayan, Makabayan bloc filed a resolution in the House of Representatives to investigate the closure of Lumad schools and look into reports of human rights violations.


= Lumad 26

= On February 15, 2021, 22 students (who had evacuated from Davao del Norte), 2 teachers and 2 tribe elders were arrested in a Bakwit school in Cebu without a warrant on 15 February 2021, in what was labeled as a "rescue operation". Philippine media dubbed this raid as "Lumad 26", as they were taken into custody by members of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) Central Visayas office (PRO-7) and charged with illegal detention and kidnapping. Local officials claimed the operation aimed to reunite the children with their parents while human rights groups condemned the raid as part of a pattern of harassment of Indigenous peoples. Video footage of the incident showed police pinning down, cuffing, and dragging Lumad students. The raid was conducted after six parents reported their children missing. The parents stated that their children were initially taken by a group to continue their studies in Davao City after Lumad schools were shut down by the DepEd, but that they did not consent for their children to go to Cebu City. They said that contrary to statements by the SOS Network that they remained in contact through video calls, they did not know how to use cellphones and their areas were outside of cellphone coverage, and alleged that they have been unable to contact their children since 2018.
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is the agency of the national government of the Philippines that is responsible for protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. The commission is composed of seven comm ...
director, Marlon Bosantog justified the operation by alleging the absence of parental consent and the kidnapping of minors. Bosantog also alleged that the students were being used to join rallies and to scam international charity organizations. In the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero, Representatives Eufemia Cullamat, Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, Arlene Brosas, France Castro, and Sarah Jane Elago called for an investigation of the raid. Deputy Speaker Benny Abante opined that the raid was unconstitutional and that the arrests were illegal, and called to dismiss the police officers involved. Senator Risa Hontiveros sought to investigate the raid and related issues of violent police operations and the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, Anti-Terrorism Law. The House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights held an inquiry on the raid on May 26, 2021. During the hearing, the Commission on Human Rights said that they were able to obtain the parents' consent forms for the students. One of the students who was able to take a cellphone video of the raid also testified that she was at the bakwit school with her parents' consent. Lorena Mandacawan, one of the parents and a member of the Parents and Teachers Association of the Salugpongan Community Learning Center, said at a press conference that she and other parents gave consent to send their children to study in Cebu. On May 14, 2021, the Davao del Norte court dismissed charges of kidnapping, detention, and human trafficking against seven of those arrested during the raid.


Climate change

The Philippines is vulnerable to the effects of climate change and was ranked third globally among countries most at-risk to disasters, according to a 2012 report. Climate change is threatening Effects of climate change on agriculture, food security among Lumads whose farmlands are affected by stronger typhoons and more intense droughts. Climate change is also giving rise to various Effects of climate change on human health, health issues, with Lumad communities reporting health problems brought about by rising temperatures and diseases that spread with changing rainfall patterns, such as dengue. In 2019, Lumad youth and urban poor children joined the School strike for climate, global climate strike to demand protection for environmental activists, protest destructive mining operations within ancestral lands, and promote climate justice.


See also

* Ethnic groups in the Philippines * Indigenous peoples of the Philippines *
Moro people The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...
* Igorot people


References


External links


Portraits of Lumad People





The indigenous people of Central and Eastern Mindanao
{{Authority control Lumad, Ethnic groups in Mindanao