BANGSAMORO AND LUMAD PEOPLES

HOW MANY ARE THE PEOPLE OF MINSUPALA AS OF 2012 AND OTHER CENSUSES?

Below is a table that shows the population of the various ethnolinguistic groups as of 2012 and
other censuses conducted by the National Statistics Office.

TRADITIONAL
BANGSAMORO TRIBE POPULATION
HOMELAND
Tausug Sulu 1,155,000

Samal Tawi-Tawi 381,300

Badjao South Sulu 116,000
Yakan Basilan 168,000
Kalibugan Zamboanga 26,700
Maguindanao Cotabato/ Maguindanao 1,220,000
Province

Iranun Lanao provinces 176,000

Maranao Lanao provinces 1,167,000

Kalagan Davao provinces 33,300

Sangil Sarangani Prov. & Samal 8,560

Island

Molbog South Palawan 10,600

Jama Mapun Cagayan de Sulu Island and 50,800

Tawi-Tawi

Panimusan/ Palawan 13,000

Palawani
Source: Population as of 2012 taken from the Joshua Project: Orientation and Subsistence (Peralta’s Glimpses)

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 SIMILARITIES AMONG THE BANGSAMORO
FACTORS:

1. Islam Religion
2. Sultanate-datuship political institution
3. Moro (Muslim) psychological image
4. Islamic-Malay cultural lines

DIFFERENCES AND PECULIARITIES AMONG THE BANGSAMORO

1. Language or dialect
2. Subsistence pattern (livelihood adaptation)
3. Historical development (extent and contacts)
4. Degree of Islamization (conservatism vs. liberalism, etc.)
5. Social complexity (rural vs. urban, etc.)
6. Literary traditions (prose & poetry, darangen, etc.)
7. Art & music (bayok, pagabbang, panolong, torogan, other wood & metal crafts, etc.)
8. Dances & sports (pangalay, singkil, sipa,, sagayan, kuntaw martial arts, etc.)
9. Food delicacy and cakes (randang, tiyula itum, daral, etc.)
10. Socio-psychological traits (stereotyping, norms & values, temperament) and relationships

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 LUMAD TRIBE TRADITIONAL HOMELAND POPULATION
Subanon Zamboanga Peninsula, 356,400
Misamis Occidental
Manobo Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, 436,060
Davao provinces, Cotabato provinces,
Sarangani Province, & Sultan Kudarat
B’laan Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Sarangani 280,600
Province
T’boli South Cotabato (Lake Sebu, Siluton, Lahit) 122,000
Higaonon Bukidnon, Rogongon in Iligan City, Agusan del 41,800
Norte, Misamis Oriental
Tiruray/Teduray Maguindanao, North Cotabato 61,800
Bagobo south and east of Mt. Apo, eastern part of 145,000
Cotabato, Davao del Sur
Tagakaolo Davao del Sur, south of Mt. Apo, Sarangani 125,000
Province
Mansaka Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley 74,100
Mangguwangan Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao no data
Oriental
Mandaya Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Surigao del 53,850
Sur
Bukidnon Bukidnon 186,900
Dibabawon Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Agusan 21,300
del Sur
Mamanwa Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte 1,922 (c. 1990)
Ata/ Ata Manobo West and northwest of Mt. Apo, Davao del 33,400
Norte, Davao City
Talaandig/Tigkasalan Bukidnon 5,190
Banwaon Agusan del Sur 8,200 (c. 1992)
Matigsalug Bukidnon (Tigwa-Salug Valley) 37,100

Source: Population as of 2012 taken from the Joshua Project: Orientation and Subsistence (Peralta’s Glimpses)

We can surmise that the above-enumerated tribes just like the Moros, may have long
wanted to articulate their wish to exercise their right to self-determination; but for quite
some time, they were incapacitated by their lack of organization. Thus, in June of 1986, right
after the EDSA 1 Revolution, representatives from fifteen tribes converged and decided to
organize the “Lumad Mindanao People’s Federation”, the first ever Lumad organization
whose goal was to achieve “self-governance within their ancestral domain in accordance
with their culture and customary laws. “ The term Lumad was actually a borrowed word
from Cebuano, which literally means “indigenous”. The tribes deemed it necessary to adopt
the Cebuano term because they had no common language except Cebuano.

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MOST BASIC & SHARP CONTRAST BETWEEN BANGSAMORO & LUMAD:
1. Adherence to their respective belief/religion
a) the Moros generally believe in the Islamic Monotheism
b) most indigenous groups are still animists with traces of early Hindu beliefs and
Islamic influences (although many of them at present have already embraced
Christianity as their religion)
2. Political institutions
a) the Moros are highly patriarchal under the sultanate-datuship system,
b) the indigenous are generally in the primitive stage of baganiship (tribal heroism),
timuay (local chief) or gumotanship (tribal kingship).

Conclusion: *

At a very superficial level, we are always proud to claim that the Philippines is a
multicultural country. Especially in the presence of tourists, we are proud to point out the
linguistic, religious and cultural diversity of our people. But at times, we can be very
ambivalent about our differences. Perhaps this is a product of our colonial experience
where our colonizers exploited our tribalistic and regionalistic tendencies which
psychologically conditioned us to be suspicious, unwelcoming or even hostile to other
groups. As proof, we hear every now and then tales of bias, stereotypes and
discrimination; stories of exclusive subdivisions where certain ethnic or religious groups
are not welcome; violent conflicts involving individuals belonging to different tribes, etc.
Hence, we sometimes view our diversity as a problem, a weakness and a hindrance to our
having a strong sense of community. In not a few instances, we are unsure if we should
be happy or sad about each other’s uniqueness.

Paradoxically though, we always say “there can be harmony in diversity.” We

always boast that Filipino culture is made more colorful by the peculiarities of our
languages, religions, festivities, traditional clothing, cuisine, customs and tradition. But
shall we limit our appreciation only to these things? Are we not supposed to look at the
commonalities that we share with other groups of Filipinos?

While it is true that we are different from one another, we nonetheless have
plenty of commonalities that should be looked into. For instance, many of our ethnic
groups belong to the same racial stock, our languages originate from the same mother
Malayo-Polynesian language; we share common vocabularies, material culture and even
values. We even share the same homeland now as Mindanao becomes a shared territory
whether we like it or not.

* MSU-IIT History 3 module