Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Palawan
Palawan
Palawan
Bug-os, Krisha
Galoyo, Prince
Garcia, Yves
Laureta, Razelle
Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines and is home to several
indigenous ethnolinguistic groups such as the Tagbanua, Palaw’an, Tao’t
Bato, Molbog, Batak, Agutaynen, and Cuyonon.
The Palaw’ans were originally nomadic, however, agrarian settlers began coming
and occupying their vast domain. The tribe used to exploit the most fertile piece of land
and move on to the next one; their family units were very small which was probably
caused by high mortality rates.They built their houses on a hillside that is close to a river
or a stream using four skinny trunks of trees. The floor of their houses is about 15 to 20
feet above the ground. Members of the family used a slanted log that is attached to the
entrance of their houses to get up and down the house, for those who were not married,
a hanging rope is more preferred. They hunt wild animals using spears with lethal
poison at the tip of it and catch fish by using a special root sap that is diluted in a
shallow river or stream. The Palaw’ans hardly domesticate chickens nor hogs, they
preferred dogs which comes very helpful during hunting. They are considered naïve
when it comes to socialization and would always welcome outsiders with great
precaution since they have always been scared of getting sick; this form of precaution
makes them abandon their area immediately to avoid acquiring any form of the disease
– even just a common cold. It is believed that the Palaw’ans have the shortest
lifespan of all peoples but there is no statistical data that could back up this claim. This
tribe has no concept of years when asked about when they were born, they would
usually use a tree as the reference of their age, saying that they were born when the
tree was just at a certain height. The men in this tribe wear g-strings while the women
wear patadyong which is a native wrap that is similar to the malong.
In food preference, the Palaw’ans do not usually use salt, their usual diet is
composed of rice, banana, cassava, vegetables, rimas or breadfruit, fruits, wild pigs
from hunting, birds such as wild quails and tikling, wild chicken / labuyo, and freshwater
fish. They prepare a delicious delicacy called the pinyaram which is closely similar to
the bibingka of the Tagalogs.
Which among their values, customs, practices and traditions and what are the
material culture (in particular their music, songs, dance and poetry) they still
practice up this day?
BIRTH
This tribe has no concept of years when asked about when they were born, they
would usually use a tree as the reference of their age, saying that they were born when
the tree was just at a certain height.
DEATH
It is believed that the Palaw’ans have the shortest lifespan of all peoples but
there is no statistical data that could back up this claim. This tribe has no concept of
years when asked about when they were born, they would usually use a tree as the
reference of their age, saying that they were born when the tree was just at a certain
height. Archaeologists have determined that the deceased were buried in Palawan in
pots about five thousand years ago. There are about fifteen hundred burial jars and a
wall painting of a funeral procession recovered. The burial jars were nicely decorated.
The Manunggul pot is one of the most beautiful art objects from the pre-colonial period
in the Philippines. Five hundred years after Christ people were buried in pots in
Palawan.
The main language among the Palawano community is Palawano. The New
Testament has even been translated into this language.
ECONOMIC/LIVELIHOOD
The Palawan grows most of their food on small plots of land in the forest. Before
clearing an area for planting, they consult and appease various spirits and interpret
omens in their dreams. Wild pig is the Palawan’s favorite meat, and they must make a
request to the pig animal ‘master’ before catching it. Bees are also believed to have
their own master, who can only be seen by the beljan (shaman) during trance. Some
communities perform a ceremony every seven years to ‘cleanse the world’ and restore
the cosmic balance. The Palawan collects and sell resin, rattan canes and wild honey.
The more settled of the Palawan also grow rice and coconut to sell, and raise domestic
animals such as cows, buffalos and pigs. Mining has already made it difficult for some
Palawan communities to grow and hunt enough food. Parts of their forests have been
devastated, their rivers have silted up and their sacred sites have been destroyed. The
huge nickel mining projects will destroy miles of forest, depriving the most vulnerable
Palawan of their livelihoods.
Due to the influence of newcomers, the source of livelihood for the majority of the
tribe has shifted to farming, with hunting, honey collection, and rattan gathering as
additional sources. Just like other tribes in the area, young Palawano boys and girls are
trained to weave at an early age. The males are assigned to gather and prepare the
materials, while women are tasked to accomplish the actual weaving, most of which are
done during daytime.
GOVERNANCE
MUSIC IN RITUAL:
ULIT (shamanic chant) - The shaman sings the difficult experience of the
voyage of his double, karuduwa, by specific chant, the lumbaga, whose melody is in all
points assimillable to any epic melodic line and it is precisely the ordeals that the soul of
the shaman overcomes in the course of his voyage. The encounters with the evil doers,
langgam or saqitan, the discussions, the bargaining engaged in with the invisible
beings. That constitute the shamanic chant.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC:
• aruding (Jew’s harp)
• kusyapiq (lute)
POETRY OF PALAW’AN