Republic of the Philippines

DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY

Candaba Campus

Region V
BICOL REGION
Indigenous Communities

Objectives:
• Identify the provinces and cities of the Bicol Region.
• Describe the indigenous groups present in the Bicol Region.
• Recognize the specific areas where these indigenous groups are found.
• Learn about the beliefs, traditions, and cultural practices of the indigenous peoples in the Bicol Region.

BICOL REGION

The Bicol Region is commonly shortened to Bicol and designated as Region V, is an

administrative region of the Philippines. It is the fifth largest cultural-linguistic group in the
Philippines.Their indigenous region is commonly considered to be “Bicolandia”

It is composed of 6 provinces: Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay,

Sorsogon and Masbate and seven cities namely: Legazpi, Naga, Iriga, Tabaco, Ligao, Sorsogon, and
Masbate.

INDIGENOUS GROUPS IN THE BICOL REGION

The AGTA are the main Indigenous Cultural Community of the Bicol region, and may be found in all
six (6), provinces.

It is composed of different Agta (Aeta) groups namely:

 Agta Isarog
 Agta Cimmaron
 Agta Tabangnon
 Mastabeño
 Kabihug
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INDIGENOUS GROUPS IN THE BICOL REGION

1. Agta Isarog
Mt. Isarog in the background of the photograph, is part of the ancestral domain of the Agta, of Camarines Sur Province.

Agta Isarog are characteristically small, dark-skinned, curly-haired, and small-nosed.

Tapis (skirt) - traditional clothing for women.
Bahag (breechcloth) - traditional clothing for men.
Uban - breastfeeding mothers wear uban, a piece of fabric
slung from the shoulders.
Traditional Agta houses are built in clusters and made
from indigenous materials such as bamboo, wood, talahib (cogon),
coconut leaves, and abaca bark. Agtas as young as 14 marry the partner chosen by their parents.

Hunting is their main means of subsistence.

They use pointed sticks called galud to kill birds, wild deer,
monkeys, and wild pigs.

The Agtas worship the spirits of their ancestors or Anitos; their rituals include dances and a
depiction of hunting movements. They have no formal leaders. The old males in their community
only serve as consultants for arbitration purposes.

2. AGTA CIMARRON
 Found in Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte, and Sorsogon
 The Cimarron, a term derived from Spanish meaning untamed
or wild.
 Known for their fierceness, their raids on lowland areas during
colonial times were asource of fear.

The "minasbad," a one-of-a-kind weapon in Bicol, is often associated with the Cimarrones. It
serves as both a weapon and a farm tool, similar to the Tagalog region's bolo. The minasbad stands
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Candaba Campus

out among Philippine blades with its ornate animal figurehead handle made of carabao horn and its
intricately engraved wooden scabbard.

3. AGTA TABANGNON
They are the result of intermarriage between a lowlander and an Agta. This ethnic group is also
nomadic, their resemblance to their parent lowlander is apparent,
thus, an improved version of the parent Agta in physical features
such as wavy hair, complexion and taller structure.

WHAT WAS THE AGTA TABANGNON WAY OF LIVING?

Agtas-Tabangnon were forced to adopt to
lowland cultural life. In time, they became mostly farm laborers competing
with the non-indigenous rural poor for farm work, the least remunerative
employment in the area.

CULTURE, TRADITION, and BELIEF

They were nomadic but have adopted some Christian practices while still
retaining their own identity and traditional beliefs and rituals. They prefer to
use tobacco, known as "nga-nga" to alleviate their pain rather than visiting government healthcare
centers.

AGTA-TABANGNON DANCES
TYPE OF DANCES
 ILMARO
- is being danced for entertainment and merry-making during festivities or ordinary
celebrations in the tribe.
 PANTOMINA
- is also being danced in their own version and is being danced by newlywed couples.
 PANGAPUDAN
- dariced during the "Pangapudan Celebration" which is an annual thanksgiving celebration
for the good harvest and the good life of the tribe and to request another abundant year ahead.

4. MASTABEÑO
 Masbate
• The province is known for its Cattle industry.
• A first class province located at the center of the Philippine
archipelago.
• The indigenous people in Masbate are known as "Masbateño".

ECONOMY
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They have cottage industries, furniture and cabinet making, and cattle raising. The province
is also known for its gold mines and is dubbed as the Philippines Cattle Capital of the due to its vast
cattle industry.

TRADITION/ BELIEF
Beliefs on god, the soul and the afterlife are strongly held by Masbateños.

CULTURES

The Rodeo Masbateño, held annually during April. They also celebrate Corn Festival, a harvest festival.

LIFESTYLE
Masbateños are involved in farming, fishing, and livestock raising.

5. KABIHUG
 Kabihug which literally means "friend" is a cultural minority
believed to be of pre- historic origin.
 They have preserved their culture due to not marrying
lowlanders.

CULTURE, TRADITION, AND BELIEF

 Their culture highlight a profound respect for nature. Their tradition of Kabihug, the concept of
"bayanihan," or communal cooperation, is a significant cultural value.

LIVELIHOOD
 They also grow root crops, rice and vegetables in their farm, which is often substituted with a
root crop called "dugma".

LANGUAGE
 The Kabihug have their ethnic language called Manide,
which is used as age as their existence.

CLOTHING
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Kabihug women uses tapis as their skirt to cover their lower body parts while the upper
portion of their body is covered with bare. Men of the tribe only wears bahag to cover their private
parts.

HOUSE
The Kabihug tribe's houses known as Batukan are built mainly on higher
grounds and are chosen based on a plant called Tagbak Vela found that the
Kabihug buried Tagbak to the ground to select their housing site carefully,
believing that if the plant produces shoot, it will bring good luck and cheer.