SULTAN KUDARAT STATE UNIVERSITY

ISULAN CAMPUS
9805, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat

KINARAY’A TRIBE

Karay-a, Kinaray-a, or Hiniray-an is gotten from iraya signifying "upstream," ka,

signifying "buddy," with infixation in, signifying "to have gone through something."
Karay-an alludes to the ethnolinguistic bunch dominatingly situated on Panay island in
Western Visayas. Recorders of the Spanish frontier period allude to them as the "Araya.
The Karay-a populace is amassed in the territory of Antique, which extends upward
along the whole western bank of Panay island, limited by the Cuyo East Pass, which is
a piece of the West Philippine Sea. It is limited on the east by the Madiaas Mountain
goes slicing upward from north to south. Its three adjoining regions are Aklan to its
upper east, Capiz toward the east, and Iloilo toward the southeast.

"Collectible" is the Hispanized spelling of Hamtic or Hantic, which signifies 'a huge, red
subterranean insect or wasp'. Antique has a space of 252,200 hectares (ha). The region
has 18 districts, or towns: 14 on the coast, 3 inland and 1 region made out of a
gathering of 6 islands. The seaside towns are Anini-y, Barbaza, Belison, Bugasong,
Culasi, Hamtic, Laua-an, Libertad, Pandan, Patnongon, San Jose de Buenavista,
Sebaste, Tibiao, and Tobias Fornier (once Dao). The inland towns are San Remigio,
Sibalom, and Valderrama. Caluya is the district of six islands, lying between the islands
of Mindoro and Panay. Antique has four significant streams flooding its towns, coming
from the mountains along Central Panay, crossing the area evenly, and all purging into
the Cuyo East Pass. From Mt Madiaas on the north, the Dalanas River passes between
the towns of Culasi and Tibiao toward the ocean; from Mt Balabag, the Paliwan River
passes among Bugasong and Guisihan; from Mt Agbalon, the Cangaranan stream
passes among Bugasong and Valderrama; and from Mt Tigatoy on the south, the
Sibalom River, passes between San Remigio, Sibalom, and San Pedro.

The Karay-a populace is fanned out also across Antique's three adjoining territories of
Panay Island. They are situated on the upland pieces of focal Panay, where they are
limited on the north by the Taganhin and Siya mountain ranges, on the south by the
Iggabun-Tigaylo ranges, on the east by Mount Baloy, and on the west by Agburi-
Mayuqui-Takayan edges. They are additionally found in critical numbers on Guimaras
Island, a few pieces of Negros Occidental, and Mindanao. The baludnon 'lowlanders'
call individuals in the mountains of Central Panay "Bukidnon" (from bukid, or mountain),
"Panay Bukidnon," or "Sulod," to signify "individuals of the insides." Spanish annals
allude to them as "monteses." Their self-assignment is "tumandok." The Karay-a
group's language is differently called Kinaray-a, Kinaray-a Bukidnon, or Hiniraya,

VERGIE C. GALVE
BSCCE 2B
 SULTAN KUDARAT STATE UNIVERSITY
ISULAN CAMPUS
9805, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat

perhaps getting from "Iraya." Haraya was the language expressed by most of the Panay
individuals that the main Spanish colonizers happened upon when they showed up
between the late sixteenth and mid seventeenth hundreds of years. A Kinaray-a
variation expressed by a couple of older folks in some Bukidnon people group is Ligbok,
which shares components and elements practically speaking with the old language of
the Karay-a sugidanon 'epic poem'. Individuals have a divergent jargon, with utilization
contrasting marginally from one town to another. For instance, the English "here" could
be rigya, rugya, digya, di-a, contingent upon the area. Nevertheless, the Kinaray-
speakers comprehend each other, regardless of whether they come from Antique,
Capiz, or Iloilo. The all out number of Kinaray-a speakers dwelling in the Philippines is
somewhere around 1,056,093. They include half of Antique territory's all out populace of
546,000, different half comprising of transient ethnolinguistic gatherings, like the
Tagalog, Ilonggo, Ilocano, Kankanaey, Cebuano, and other Bisaya. The absolute
populace of native people groups in the region of Antique is 44,899, which incorporates
the Aeta/Ati, the tumandok 'native Karay-a', like the Iraynon and Panay Bukidnon, and a
local area of the Cuyunon on Caluya island.

In Iloilo region, there are 406,632 Kinaray-a speakers, scattered among 30 of its 46
districts, from the southeastern piece of Panay island and up along the bank of the area,
including Tigbauan, Santa Barbara, San Joaquin, Miag-ao, Tubungan, Igbaras, Leon,
Alimodian, Maasin, Janiuay, Lambunao, San Miguel, Pavia, Cabatuan, New Lucena,
Passi, Barotac Nuevo, Bingawan, Dueñas, Zaraga, Pototan, Anilao, and Dingle. In focal
Panay, still inside the limits of Iloilo territory is the deepest town of Calinog, with a
Kinaray-a talking populace of 12,000. Iloilo City, notwithstanding, enrolls just 1,261
Karay-a persons. Two other Karay-a-populated towns in the insides of Panay Island and
inside the limits of Capiz area are Tapaz, with 15,000, and Jamindan, with 6,000. Ligbok
is yet spoken by a couple of older individuals in these two towns of Capiz. Outside of
Panay Island, countless Kinaray-speakers are in Cotabato, Mindanao, at 44,960. There
are, in addition, 21,307 in Romblon region; 6,940 in Occidental Mindoro; 4,147 in
Negros Oriental, 3,960 Guimaras; 1,184 in Sulu; and 32 in Surigao City.

VERGIE C. GALVE
BSCCE 2B