13 Facts About Tagbanwa people

Tagbanwa people are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Philippines, and can be mainly found in the central and northern Palawan.

Research has shown that the Tagbanwa people are possible descendants of the Tabon Man, thus making them one of the original inhabitants of the Philippines.

These two Tagbanwa people sub-groups speak the same languages but different tone and pronunciation and do not exactly have the same customs.

Formal history of the Tagbanwa people tribe began in 1521 when Magellan's ships docked in Palawan for provisions.

Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, recorded that the Tagbanwa people practiced the ritual of blood compact, cultivated their fields, hunted with blowpipes and thick wooden arrows, valued brass rings and chains, bells, knives, and copper wire for binding fish hooks, raised large and very tame cocks for fighting, and distilled rice wine.

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Coron Island Ancestral Domain of the Tagbanwa people covers the two villages of Banuang Daan and Cabugao, and the neighboring Delian Island.

Tagbanwa people have their own native languages and writing system, however, they are proficient in speaking the Palawano language and several other dialects like Tandulanon, Silanganon, and Baras in each locality, while a significant number of them can comprehend Tagalog, Batak, Cuyonon, and Calawian languages.

Traditional costumes of the Tagbanwa people were fashioned from the bark of trees, particularly the salugin.

At present, while many Tagbanwa still wear their traditional apparel, western-type clothing has found its way among the people.

Tagbanwa people women wear bright body ornament and brightly colored clothes.

Dancing accompanying the runsay, performed about midnight and lasting until daybreak, is possibly the most moving of all Tagbanwa people dances, since it is a part of a sacred ritual that takes place only once a year, and is performed on the beach from where the ritual raft has been launched towards the sea world.

Drama in Tagbanwa people society is expressed in the mimetic dances imitating animals, such as busak-busak, and those showing occupations, such as batak ribid and bugsay-bugsay.

Highest potential source of income for the Tagbanwa people are handicrafts particularly woodworking, mat making and basketry, the raw materials for which are readily available to them.