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Race and Ethnicity in the Philippines

What is a Human Race?


Race has been defined as, "human population, that is believed to be distinct in some way from other human beings based on real or imagined physical differences". The racial classification is rooted more in the idea of biological classification of humans, based on the morphological features, such as skin color or facial characteristics. More often than not, an individual is externally classified into a racial group, instead of the individual choosing, where does he/she belong as part of his/her identity. The whole concept of race and specific racial groupings is often controversial, because of their impact on social identity and how the identity influences a person's position in the social fabric. Some examples of race include, Chinese, the Indians, the Arabs, etc. Read on African-Americans.

What is Ethnicity?
The term ethnicity is derived from the Greek word ethnos, which roughly translates to 'nation'. More commonly it is said to be people of the same race, who share a distinctive culture. In the modern-day usage, the word ethnicity is used to reflect the different kinds of encounters industrialized states have with the different types of so-called 'subordinate' groups, such as immigrants and colonized subjects. To explain it further, ethnicity refers not to the physical characteristics, but to the social traits, which are shared by a certain group of human population. The distinction is made on the basis of nationality, tribe, religion, faith, language, culture and traditions. The examples of ethnicity include the Hispanics or the Latin American community, the Native Americans in the United States of America, etc. To understand ethnicity better, take a look at the list of different ethnic groups in the Philippines.

Ethnic groups in the Philippines identify themselves based on one or several factors like ancestry, language, religion or a shared history. The large majority of the population is composed of lowland groups whose languages are Austronesian, and who had converted to Christianity from animism, Hinduism, or Islam in the three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. From north to south, the most numerous of these groups are the Ilocanos, the Pangasinenses, the Kapampangans, the Tagalogs, theBicolanos and the Bisaya. These groups are sometimes said to part of the Malay race, however the delineation based on "race" is considered by many to have no scientific basis.

Ethnic Groups
The Philippine islands are inhabited by number of different ethnic groups. The majority of the population is composed of ethnolinguistic groups whose languages are Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) in origin. Many of these groups converted to Christianity, and adopted many foreign elements of culture. These ethnic groups include the Cebuano, Ilocano, Pangasinense,Kapam pangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, and Waray. In Mindanao, there are people who practice Islam. The Spanish called them Moros after theMoors. In some highland areas of Mindanao, there are mountain-dwelling ethnic groups collectively known as lumad. These people do not practice Islam, and maintain their animistic beliefs and traditions.

Bicolano
The Bicolanos originate from the southeastern tip of Luzon: Bicolandia or the Bicol region. There are several Bicolano languages, of which there is a total of 3.5 million speakers. Bicol played a major role in shipbuilding for the ManilaAcapulco trade.[ However, possibly due to its being located in the typhoon belt,Bicol remains one of the countrys most economically depressed areas, with the lowest income recorded among the regions, despite its abundant mineral reserves, and its lumber, abaca and tourism industries. The most popular religious icon of Bicol is the Nuestra Seora de Peafrancia, Patroness of Bicol. This image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is endearingly addressed as ina (mother).

Kapampangan
The Kapampangan or Capampagan (Engli sh: Pampangan; Spanish: pampangueo o rpampango) people originate from the central plains of Luzon, starting from Bataan up to Nueva Ecija. The Kapampangan language is spoken by more than two million people, and has been shown to be related to some Indonesian dialects.Most Kapampangans are Catholics. In the Spanish colonial era, Pampanga was known to be a source of valiant soldiers. There was a Kapampangan contingent in the colonial army who helped defend Manila against the Chinese Pirate Limahon. They also helped in battles against the Netherlands|Dutch, the England|English and Muslim raiders. Kapampangans, along with the Tagalogs.

Bisaya
The Bisaya or Visayan people are a multilingual ethnic grouplocated in the Visayas and a large part of Mindanao. Visayan languages with the most number of native speakers are Cebuano, with 20 million;Ilonggo (or Hiligaynon), with 7 million; and Waray-Waray, with 2.5 million. There are some ethnolinguistic groups however that have languages which are classified as Visayan but do not refer to themselves as Bisaya. For instance, the Muslim ethnolinguistic group Tausug only use Bisaya to refer to those who are Christian. Meanwhile, there are people who identify as Bisaya (primarily those from Metro Manila and the United Statesbut do not speak Visayan languages. The Bisaya were initially animists who were known for being traders and raiders. Magellans landing in the Visayas in 1521 marks the start of Christianization of the Bisaya and the rest of the Philippines. This event is celebrated by the feast of the Sto. Nio, the most popular religious icon of the Visayas.

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Ferdinand Marcos

Raul Roco

Tribal Groups
There are 100 or so different sea-based or highland-based tribal groups in the Philippines. Among Filipinos, they are ones least influenced by western or Islamic cultures. Some of the people in this category include the Cordillerano(Igorot), who live in the highlands of Luzon; the Mangyan of Mindoro; the scattered Negritos including the Aeta in Luzon and the Ati of Panay; the tribes of Palawan ; the Lumad of Mindanao (including the Manobo, Tasaday, Mamanwa, Mandaya, and Kalagan); and the Bajau of the Sulu Archipelago. While some tribal groups living in Luzon have been Americanized and Westernized--an example of which is the predominance of Protestantism in Cordillera Administrative Regionthe tribal groups living in Mindoro and Palawan are still generally animistic, while many of those in Mindanao practice folk Islam.

The following are the twenty one largest ethnic groups in the Philippines:[2] Cebuano (20,160,000; largest) Tagalog(13,928,000; second largest) Ilocano(9,527,000; 3rdlargest) Hiligaynon(8,068,000; 4thlargest) Central Bicolano(3,504,000; 5th largest) Waray(3,426,000; 6thlargest) Kapampangan (2,667,000; 7th largest) Albay Bicolano (2,155,000; 8th largest) Pangasinan (1,637,000; 9th largest) Malay (1,287,000; 10thlargest) Maranao (1,091,000; 11thlargest) Maguindanao (1,077,000; 12thlargest) Tausug (1,020,000; 13thlargest) Min Nan Chinese (922,000; 14thlargest) Masbateo (764,000; 15thlargest) Capiznon (724,000; 16thlargest) Ibanag (703,000; 17thlargest) Zamboangueo (662,914; 18th largest - Zamboanga City Alone) Aklanon (555,000; 19thlargest) Suriganon (485,000; 20thlargest) Kinaray-A (485,000; 21thlargest)

Created by: Kurt Rae H. Jarales

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