Cebuano people

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Cebuano people
Sugbuanon
Guardiacebuano.jpg
Cebuano men who served as guards in the early 20th century during the American period.
Total population
8,683,525 (2020) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
(Central Visayas, Negros Oriental, Masbate, western parts of Eastern Visayas, large parts of Mindanao)

Worldwide
Languages
Cebuano, Filipino, English
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism.
Minority others: Aglipayan, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism
Related ethnic groups
Boholano, Ilonggo, Waray, other Visayans
other Austronesian peoples

The Cebuano people (Cebuano : Mga Sugbuanon) are the largest subgroup of the larger ethnolinguistic group Visayans, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the country. They originated in the province of Cebu in the region of Central Visayas, but then later spread out to other places in the Philippines, such as Siquijor, Bohol, Negros Oriental, southwestern Leyte, western Samar, Masbate, and large parts of Mindanao. It may also refer to the ethnic group who speak the same language as their native tongue in different parts of the archipelago. The term Cebuano also refers to the demonym of permanent residents in Cebu island regardless of ethnicity.

Contents

History

A Visayan freemen (or timawa) couple, depicted in the Boxer Codex (c. 1595). Visayans 2.png
A Visayan freemen (or timawa ) couple, depicted in the Boxer Codex (c.1595).

The earliest European record of Cebuanos was by Antonio Pigafetta of the Magellan expedition. He provided some descriptions of their customs as well as samples of the Cebuano language. [2] [3] Ferdinand Magellan was killed in Cebu during the Battle of Mactan against the forces of Lapulapu. [4] [5]

Later early Spanish colonists referred to the Cebuanos (and other Visayans) as the pintados ("the painted ones"), due to their widespread practice of tattooing to record battle exploits. [5]

Culture and festivities

The Sinulog Festival, which is held annually on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City. Sinulog 2014 11.JPG
The Sinulog Festival, which is held annually on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City.

The majority of Cebuanos are Roman Catholic, with many in rural areas synchronizing Catholicism with indigenous Bisayan folk religion. A minority of Cebuanos (specifically those in Mindanao) are Muslim (due to their contact with the Moro people), or in mixed Chinese-Cebuano families, incorporate Catholic beliefs with aspects of Buddhism or Taoism. [6]

Among the island's notable festivities are the Sinulog [7] festival, which is a mixture of Christian and native cultural elements, celebrated annually every third week of January.

Language

The Cebuano language is spoken by more than twenty million people in the Philippines and is the most widely spoken of the Visayan languages. Most speakers of Cebuano are found in Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Biliran, Western and Southern Leyte, eastern Negros and most of northern, southeastern and western Mindanao.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visayas</span> Archipelago in the Philippines

The Visayas, or the Visayan Islands, are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are also considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siquijor</span> Province in Central Visayas, Philippines

Siquijor, officially the Province of Siquijor, is an island province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the municipality also named Siquijor. To the north of Siquijor is Cebu, to the west is Negros, northeast is Bohol, and to the south, across the Bohol Sea, is Mindanao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyte (province)</span> Province in Eastern Visayas, Philippines

Leyte, officially the Province of Leyte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region, occupying the northern three-quarters of Leyte Island. Its capital is the city of Tacloban, administered independently from the province. Leyte is situated west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran. To the west across the Camotes Sea is the province of Cebu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negros Oriental</span> Province in Central Visayas, Philippines

Negros Oriental, officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeastern half of the large island of Negros, and borders Negros Occidental, which comprises the northwestern half. It also includes Apo Island, a popular dive site for both local and foreign tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cebuano language</span> Austronesian language of the Philippines

Cebuano is an Austronesian language spoken in the southern Philippines. It is natively called by its generic term Bisaya or Binisaya and sometimes referred to in English sources as Cebuan. It is spoken by the Visayan ethnolinguistic groups native to the islands of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, the eastern half of Negros, the western half of Leyte, and the northern coastal areas of Northern Mindanao and the Zamboanga Peninsula. In modern times, it has also spread to the Davao Region, Cotabato, Camiguin, parts of the Dinagat Islands, and the lowland regions of Caraga, often displacing native languages in those areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visayans</span> Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups originating from Visayas, in the Philippines

Visayans or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, they are both the most numerous in the entire country at around 33.5 million, as well as the most geographically widespread. The Visayans broadly share a maritime culture with strong Roman Catholic traditions integrated into a precolonial indigenous core through centuries of interaction and migration mainly across the Visayan, Sibuyan, Camotes, Bohol and Sulu seas. In more inland or otherwise secluded areas, ancient animistic-polytheistic beliefs and traditions either were reinterpreted within a Roman Catholic framework or syncretized with the new religion. Visayans are generally speakers of one or more of the Bisayan languages, the most widely spoken being Cebuano, followed by Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) and Waray-Waray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisayan languages</span> Language family of the Philippines

The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Most Bisayan languages are spoken in the whole Visayas section of the country, but they are also spoken in the southern part of the Bicol Region, islands south of Luzon, such as those that make up Romblon, most of the areas of Mindanao and the province of Sulu located southwest of Mindanao. Some residents of Metro Manila also speak one of the Bisayan languages.

The Central Philippine languages are the most geographically widespread demonstrated group of languages in the Philippines, being spoken in southern Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Sulu. They are also the most populous, including Tagalog, Bikol, and the major Visayan languages Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Kinaray-a, and Tausug, with some forty languages all together.

Camotes Islands is a group of islands in the Camotes Sea, Philippines. Combined area is 236.36 kilometres (146.87 mi). The island group is located east of Cebu Island, southwest of Leyte Island, and north of Bohol Island. It is 34 nautical miles from Cebu City and is part of Cebu. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 102,996. Population has grown 34.3% since 1990, equivalent to an annual growth rate of 1.19%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in the Philippines</span> Demography of the Philippines

The Philippines is inhabited by more than 182 ethnolinguistic groups, many of which are classified as "Indigenous Peoples" under the country's Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997. Traditionally-Muslim peoples from the southernmost island group of Mindanao are usually categorized together as Moro peoples, whether they are classified as Indigenous peoples or not. About 142 are classified as non-Muslim Indigenous People groups, and about 19 ethnolinguistic groups are classified as neither indigenous nor moro. Various migrant groups have also had a significant presence throughout the country's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waray people</span> Ethnic group in the Philippines

The Waray people are a subgroup of the larger ethnolinguistic group Bisaya people, who constitute the 4th largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines. Their primary language is the Waray language, an Austronesian language native to the islands of Samar, Leyte and Biliran, which together comprise the Eastern Visayas Region of the Philippines. Waray people inhabit most of Samar where they are called Samareños/Samarnons, the northern part of the island of Leyte where they are called Leyteños, and the island of Biliran. In Leyte island, the Waray-speaking people are separated from the Cebuano-speaking Leyteños by the island's mountain range at the middle.

The Hiligaynon people, often referred to as Ilonggo people or Panayan people, are the second largest subgroup of the larger Visayan ethnic group, whose primary language is Hiligaynon, an Austronesian language of the Visayan branch native to Panay, Guimaras, and Negros. They originated in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the region of Western Visayas. Over the years, inter-migrations and intra-migrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynon to different parts of the Philippines. Today, the Hiligaynon, apart from the province of Iloilo, also form the majority in the provinces of Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Capiz, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato.

The Surigaonon people are an ethnolinguistic group who inhabited on the eastern coastal plain of Mindanao, particularly the provinces of Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands. They are also present in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and in Davao Oriental. They are part of the Bisaya people, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boholano people</span>

The Boholano people, also called Bol-anon, refers to the people who live in the island province of Bohol. They are part of the wider Visayan ethnolinguistic group, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu</span> Catholic archdiocese in the Philippines

The Archdiocese of Cebu is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and one of the ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church in the country. It is composed of the entire civil province of Cebu. It is the Mother Church of the Philippines. The jurisdiction, Cebu, is considered as the fount of Christianity in the Far East.

Malay is spoken by a minority of Filipinos, particularly in the Palawan, Sulu Archipelago and parts of Mindanao, mostly in the form of trade and creole languages, such as Sabah Malay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filipinos of Malay descent</span> Ethnic group

Malays played a significant role in pre-Hispanic Philippine history. Malay involvement in Philippine history goes back to the Classical Era with the establishment of Rajahnates as well as the Islamic era, in which various sultanates and Islamic states were formed in Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, and around Manila.

Boholano is a variant of the Cebuano language spoken in the island province of Bohol in the Visayas and a major portion of Southern Leyte, as well as parts of Mindanao, particularly in Northern Mindanao and Caraga. It is sometimes erroneously described as a separate language even though Binol-anon originated as a dialect continuum of the Cebuano language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiligaynon language</span> Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines

Hiligaynon, also often referred to as Ilonggo or Binisaya/Bisaya nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen, most of whom belong to the Hiligaynon people. It is the second-most widely spoken language in the Visayas and belongs to the Bisayan languages, and it is more distantly related to other Philippine languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Visayas</span> Administrative region of the Philippines

Central Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VII. It consists of four provinces: and three highly urbanized cities: Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue).

References

  1. "Ethnicity in the Philippines (2020 Census of Population and Housing)". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  2. Donald F. Lach (1994). Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume I: The Century of Discovery. University of Chicago Press. pp. 175, 635–638. ISBN   9780226467320.
  3. Sebastian Sta. Cruz Serag (1997). The Remnants of the Great Ilonggo Nation. Rex Bookstore, Inc. p. 95. ISBN   9789712321429.
  4. Blair, Emma Helen (August 25, 2004). The Philippine Islands. The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, Volume II, 1521-1569, by Emma Helen Blair. p. 126, Volume II. [EBook #13280].
  5. 1 2 Paul A. Rodell (2002). Culture and Customs of the Philippines. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 50. ISBN   9780313304156.
  6. "Culture and Lifestyle". Cebu Province official website. Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  7. "Cebu Philippines Festivals, Fiestas and Cultural Event". eTravel Pilipinas-Discover the Wonders of Island Paradise. Archived from the original on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2009-11-18.