Mangyan

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Tawbuid men waiting for a bus

Demographics of the Philippines Education
Religions
Languages

Peoples

Filipino
Ivatan
Ilocano
Igorot
Ibanag
Pangasinan
Kapampangan
Aeta
Sambal
Tagalog
Bicolano
Mangyan
Palawan tribes
Visayan
Ati
Chavacano
Lumad
Moro
Bajau
Mestizo

Chinese
Spanish
Africans
Americans
Arabs
Europeans
Indonesians
Japanese
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South Asians
Spaniards

Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found in Mindoro island, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs.

The ethnic groups from north to south of the island are: Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Tawbuid (called Batangan by lowlanders on the west of the island), Buhid, Hanunoo. An additional group on the south coast is labelled Ratagnon. They appear to be intermarried with 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.

The total population may be around 100,000, but no official statistics are available because of the difficulties of counting remote and reclusive tribal groups, many of which have no contact with the outside world.

Mangyan are mainly subsistence agriculturalists, planting a variety of sweet potato, upland (dry cultivation) rice, and taro. They also trap small animals and wild pig. Many who live in close contact with lowland Filipinos sell cash crops such as bananas and ginger.

Their languages are mutually unintelligible, though they share some vocabulary. Tawbuid and Buhid are closely related, and are unusual among Philippine languages in using the /f/ phoneme. Tawbuid is divided into eastern and western dialects. Western Tawbuid may be the only Philippine language to have no glottal phonemes, having neither /h/ or /ʔ/.

Their traditional religious world view is animistic (Animism). Around 10% have embraced Christianity, both Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism. New Testaments have been published in six of the languages.