Mangyan

Mangyan people

Top: A Mangyan woman in traditional attire, c.1912; Bottom: A Mangyan man in traditional attire with bahag loincloth, c.1904
Regions with significant populations
Philippines (Mindoro)
Languages
Buhid, Taubuid, Hanunoo, Alangan, Iraya, Tadyawan, Tagalog, English
Religion
Animism (majority), Christianity (Predominantly Catholic and Evangelical Protestant)

Mangyan is the generic name for the eight Indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro, southwest of the island of Luzon, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. The total population may be around 280,001, but official statistics are difficult to determine under the conditions of remote areas, reclusive tribal groups and some having little if any outside world contact.

The ethnic groups of the island, from north to south, are: Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Tawbuid (called Batangan by lowlanders on the west of the island), Buhid, and Hanunoo. An additional group on the southernmost tip is the Ratagnon, who appear to be intermarried with neighboring Bisaya (Cuyonon) lowlanders. The group known on the east of Mindoro as Bangon may be a subgroup of Tawbuid, as they speak the 'western' dialect of that language. They also have a kind of poetry called the ambahan.