Lowland Cultural Group of the Tagalogs

Posted on June 1, 2015

Back to Article List

GRACE P. ODAL

Geographically, the Tagalog cultural group covers three regions of the Philippines – all of
the National Capital Region, most of Region IV and a portion of Region III. The National
Capital Region, which lies at the center of Luzon, is the heartland of the Philippines and
covers the following areas: the City of Manila, Kalookan City, Las Piñas City, Makati City,
Mandaluyong City, Marikina City, Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, Pasay City, Pasig
City, Quezon City, Malabon, Navotas, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela.The
Tagalog portion of Southern Luzon or Region IV comprises Batangas, Cavite, Laguna,
Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Quezon, Rizal and Romblon.
Palawan is considered part of Region IV though it is no longer considered part of the
Tagalog cultural group. Aurora is also part of Region IV, but its population is a mixture of
Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Ibanags, etc. The inhabitants of Southern Tagalog Region, though
predominantly still Tagalog in composition, have, in some islands off Luzon like Mindoro,
Palawan, Marinduque and Romblon, have mixed and integrated themselves with other
ethno-linguistic groups found in these areas.

The Tagalog portion of Central Luzon or Region III covers Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija
and some areas of Tarlac and Zambales. Here, the Tagalog have intermingled with the
Kapampangans, the Ilocanos and some Aeta cultural groups.

Through the years, the Tagalogs have spread out of their traditional geographical areas
in southern and central Luzon and migrated into the Visayas and Mindanao. Hence, the
Tagalog have become both a geographically-based cultural group as well as a nation-
based culturally-mixed group.

In the 1995 survey, the NCR has 9,940,722 inhabitants; Region IV has also 9,940,722
inhabitants; Region III-Bataan has 491,459 inhabitants; Bulacan 1,784,441, Nueva Ecija
1,505,827, and Zambales 569,266 –totalling 4,450,993 Tagalog for Region III. The total
number of Tagalog region residents in the geographical territories of the Tagalog is
23,735,795. This comprises about 34% of 68,614.16 million Filipinos in the entire
archipelago (1995 census). This number is a composite of various levels, degrees and
nuances of being Tagalog: Tagalog by geographical residence, by birth, by marriage, etc.
In fact, the “taal na Tagalog” or the culture-bearer of the indigenous Tagalogs is hard to
find these days in the cities. One has to go to the more secluded towns, municipalities
and barangays or visit farmlands in order to encounter what the old folks call “mga lumang
tao” – referring to the olden degree of Tagalog who really still reflect the true mold, the
noble culture and heritage of the ancient Tagalog. Presently the dominant population of
the region speak Tagalog, and are therefore, loosely called “Tagalog” regardless of
whether they still have a great understanding of the ancient Tgalog heritage. This group
of people , being cosmopolitan in orientation, already show traces of being “Filipino” – an
emerging consciousness of national identity among the people.

In terms of language, the National Statistics Office states that Tagalog is indicated as the
first language of some 20 million people. This language is considered to be predominantly
the basis of the national language called “Filipino” thus, the the notion of equating Tagalog
with Filipino.

The word “Tagalog” is believed to have been derived from either one or both sets of
contractions: “taga-ilog” and/or “taga-alog”. The prefix “taga” means “coming from” or
“originating from” referring to a place of birth or residence. The word “ilog” means river.
The word “alog” means a shallow place in a stream where people could wade to cross to
the other side. The first word “taga-ilog” is the version in the explanation of the name of
the Tagalog that they were river people.

The second word “taga-alog” is related to the first concept and was first articulated by
H.O. Beyer who said that the ancient Tagalogs were people of the lowland areas where
the “alog” was found.

The Tagalog culture was essentially a river and water-based culture. Fishing and
agriculture were predominant means of livelihood. Most of the ancient cultural centers of
the Tagalog regions were founded on river banks, specifically near the delta and the
“wawa” or the mouth of the river, where the river meets the sea.

Riverine communities, especially those by the delta and river-mouth became centers of
trade and commerce. In pre-Hispanic Philippines, some of these trade centers were
Maynila, Tondo, Sapa, Pasig through the Pasig River; Talim, Bay, Pila, Lumbang through
the Laguna de Bai; Balayan though Pansipit River; Lipa and Taal through Bonbon or Taal
Lake.

Relic of the ancient culture of the Tagalog can be seen in the existence of petroglyphs in
a rockshelter at Angono, Rizal. Jesus Peralta, who wrote about these Angono petroglyphs
for his masteral thesis, states that the petroglyphs could not be exactly dated but were
certainly pre-Hispanic in time-frame. This includes the Tagalog among the ancient
peoples of the world to have a record of the past preserved as “rock art”.

A more recent artifact discovered in the Tagalog region is the famous Laguna
copperplate. Found at the junction of the river mouth of Sinoloan, Laguna and the
lakewaters of the Laguna de Bai, the relic has been deciphered and dated 1000 AD, the
earliest date recorded so far to refer directly to actual and specific places of the Tagalog
region now considered parts of the provinces of Laguna and Bulacan.

The Tagalog mix many traditions or combine simultaneously two opposing traditions as
seen in the phenomenon of “folk Christianity”. For instance, many “folk Christian”
festivities may be seen in present-day celebrations of religious feasts such as that of the
feast in Quiapo, the feast in Angono, the feast of Sto. Niño in Tondo, the feast of Obando,
the feast in Lukban, the feast of Pakil, Laguna, and in some other more feast of the region.
The strong sense for praise, joy and celebration among the Tagalogs could be seen in
these town fiestas. The spirit of “bayanihan” or group effort is also very evident in the
holding of such feasts.

Relics of Spanish colonization amongs the Tagalogs could be seen mostly in the
churches that they built. Many Spanish-built churches still exist in the Tagalog region,
some of which are the San Agustin Church, the Manila Cathedral, the Lipa Cathedral, the
Tayabas Cathedral, the Taal Cathedral, the Pila church, the Paete church, the Majayjay
church and many more. Intramuros, a great relic of Spanish grandeur, built upon the
ruins of the Old Maynila of Rajah Soliman and Rajah Lakandula of Tondo, was destroyed,
together with its old churches, cathedrals and houses during the Second World War. The
“Bahay na Bato” is another relic of the Spanish times combining the traditional “bahay-
kubo” concept of the folks with modern wood and stone materials introduced by the
Spaniards for house construction.

Jose Rizal is a truly great contribution of the Tagalog people to the Philippines in general.
This Tagalog hero – a scientist, educator, linguist, artist, etc. appears great
simultaneously in both history and myth. He has captured the hearts and minds of not
only of the Tagalog folks, but also the whole Filipino people as well. This also holds true
internationally because Germany and Malaysia have formally recognized the greatness
of this Tagalog Filipino and international hero.

Reference/s:
Abigan, Edmundo R. The Philippine Atlas. Manila: Philippine Guides, Inc., N.D.Bellwood,
Peter. Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago. Sydney: The Academic Press,
1985Beyer, Otley H. “The Origin and History of the Philippine Rice Terraces.”
Proceedings of the Eight Pacific

Science Congress. Q.C.: National Research Council of the Philippines, 1953

Ibon Philippines Profile. “National Capital Region.” “Region III” “Region IV”. 1996 Edition

Jocano, Landa F. Philippine Prehistory. Diliman, Q.C.: Philippine Center for Advanced
Studies, 1975

Kalaw-Katigbak, Maria Kalaw. “The Tagalog”. Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Filipino
Nation. Manila:

Lahing Pilipino Publishing Co., 1978

“The Languages of the Philippines.” Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People. Vol.
10 A Timeline of

Philippine History. Asia Publishing Co., Ltd.., 1998

Manuel, Arsenio E. Documenting Philippineasian. Q.C.: Philippine Asian Society, 1994

____________. Interviews with Dr. Arsenio Manuel on the Pre-History of the Tagalogs

Peralta, Jesus T. “The Petroglyphs of the Angono Rockshelter, Rizal, Philippines.

University of the

Philippines, Diliman, Q.C.: M.A.Thesis, 1979

Postma, Anton. “The Laguna Copper-plate Inscription (LCI).” National Museum Papers
Vol. II, No. 1 (1991)

Tiongson, Nicanor et al. “Tagalog”. CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. Vol. II Peoples
of the Philippines.

Manila: Sentro Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, 1994

About the Author:Grace P. Odal is an Associate Professor I at the Department of Arts

and Communication-Colleg of Arts and Sciences at the University of the Philippines,
Manila. She serves as consultant on native Filipino rituals for the Asian Social Institute
and National Security Council.