The Philippine's Ethnic Tribes

The indigenous peoples of the Philippines consist of a large number of indigenous ethnic groups
living in the country. They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of thePhilippines who have
managed to resist centuries of Spanish and United States colonization and in the process have
retained their customs and traditions. [1]CThe Philippine islands are inhabited by a number of
different ethnic groups. The majority of the population is composed of ethnolinguistic groups whose
languages are Austronesianalso known as Malayo-Polynesian in origin.

Many of these groups converted to Christianity, particularly the lowland-coastal groups, and adopted
many foreign elements of culture. These ethnic groups include the Cebuano, Ilocano, Pangasinense,
Kapampangan,Tagalog, Bicolano, Waray, Surigaonon and Hiligaynon also called Ilonggo. In
Mindanao, there are indigenous groups who practice Islam. The Spanish called themMoros after the
Moors (despite no resemblance or cultural ties to them apart from their religion).

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. The
Negrito are a pre-Mongoloid people who migrated from mainland Asia and were one of the earliest
human beings to settle the Philippines, around 30,000 years ago. [citation needed] (The known first
being that of the people of the Callao Man remains) The Negrito population are estimated to number
around 30,000.

Their tribal groups include the Ati, and the Aeta. Their ways of life remain mostly free from Western
and Islamic influences. Scholars study them to try to understand pre-Hispanic culture. Most Filipinos
are Malayo-Polynesian, another term for Austronesian. Other ethnic groups form a minority in the
Philippine population. These include those of Japanese, Han Chinese, Indians, Americans, Spanish,
Europeans, and other ethnic groups from other countries. Mixed-race individuals are known as
Filipino mestizo.

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