Mythologies of the Agta (Dumagat Remontados) Tribe

Aeta (Ayta /ˈaɪtə/ EYE-tə), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous Filipinos who live in various parts of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They are also known as "Philippines Negrito", and included in the wider Negrito grouping of Southeast Asia, with whom they share superficial common physical characteristics such as dark skin tones, short statures, frizzy to curly-hair, and a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair colour (blondism) relative to the general population. They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations. Regardless, modern Aeta populations have significant Austronesian admixture and speak Austronesian languages.

The Aetas, pronounced as “eye-tas,” are among the earliest known migrants or inhabitants of the Philippines. Over the years, the majority of their population managed to keep their cultural practices and traditions. But sadly, as one of the indigenous groups thriving in the country, they also face challenges such as displacement, marginalization, and poverty. Most historians point to the Bering Land Bridge Theory to explain the history of the Aetas. This theory suggests that the Aetas reached the Philippines because of the land bridges or narrow strait that connected all land masses in the world. According to this theory, hunters at the time crossed these land bridges but due to the movement of plates underneath the Earth’s surface, these migration paths eventually disappeared. Therefore, even those with no intent to colonize new lands, were unable to return to their original homes.

It's possible that "Aeta" is derived from the Malay term "hitam," which means "black," or from its cousin in the Philippine languages, "itom or itim," which means "people." Aeta, also known as Ayta, Alta, Atta, Ita, and Ati in early ethnographic records of the people, were sometimes referred to as "little blacks" because of their dark skin. Short and slender, the Aeta are also dark-skinned; their typical height is 1.35 to 1.5 meters; their frame is petite; their hair is kinky; and they have large black eyes. Later migrants are thought to have driven them into the highlands and hinterlands of the Philippines, where they are thought to have been the country's earliest settlers or aborigines. Negritos are a diverse group of people who dominate the Philippines' archipelago from north to south, despite a perceived lack of inclusive terms to describe them. Philippine Negrito groups is the best term to use when referring to the Agta and Aeto in northeastern Luzon; the Aeta, Ayto and Alta in Central Luzon; the Ati or Ata in Panay and Negros; the Batak in Palawan; and Iraya Mangyan in Mindoro. Remontado of Rizal province, the Remontado of Sibuyan Island in Romblon province, and the Ati are also included in this group. Baluga or Ita is also known as Remontado or Ita in the provinces of Pampanga and Zambales; in Tarlac they are named Kulaman, Baluga or Sambal, while on Panay they are known by the names Ita or Ati. Aeta also goes by the names Kofun, Diango, Paranan, Assao, Ugsing, and Aita in the province of Cagayan.

The Aeta people are indigenous to the northern part of the Philippines — specifically the island of Luzon. Historians and anthropologists still debate when and how they migrated there, the consensus being that they crossed from the island of Borneo between twenty and thirty thousand years ago, using a land bridge that was partially covered by water around five thousand years ago (the remaining part of which is now the island of Palawan). Whatever their migration path was, the Aeta are without doubt among the first — if not the first — inhabitants of the Philippines. One area of that country where the Aeta had lived for thousands of years is around Mount Pinatubo. An active volcano, it erupted in June of 1991. It was one of the worst volcanic eruptions in history and was devastating to the nearby Aeta population. Around a quarter of a million people lost their homes — many of them Aetas. Although the area is still being cleaned up, the Aetas have long since re-settled in urban areas of Luzon. It is doubtful they will ever return to their former homeland.

The Aeta, Agta, or Ayta people are what’s known to be the original Black race who inhabited the remote and mountainous regions of Luzon, the Philippines before the Austronesian migrations of the Malays and Asian group. While history buffs debate on their timeline on when and how they migrated there, anthropologists and historians estimate that they crossed from the island of Borneo between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago. The Aeta were called Negritos during Spanish colonial rule. They are comprised of approximately 25 different ethnolinguistic groups, widely scattered throughout the archipelago, totaling an estimated 15,000 people. Negritos are described as people who are dark to very dark brown-skinned with curly to kinky afro-textured hair. Some Aetas reportedly had lighter hair color what we would consider in modern-day as a blonde. Another key feature, according to historians, is their small statures and small frames.

The Aeta (pronounced as “eye-ta,”), Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured hair with a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair color (blondism) relative to the general population, small nose, and dark brown eyes. They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations. The Aeta were included in the group of people termed “Negrito” duringSpanish colonial rule as Negritos. Various Aeta groups in northern Luzon are known as “Pugut” or “Pugot,” a name designated by their Ilocano-speaking neighbors, and which is the colloquial term for those with darker complexions. In Ilocano, the word also means “goblin” or “forest spirit.” The Aeta people in the Philippines are Australo-Melanesians. Today other groups of Australo-Melanesians are the Aborigines in Australia, Papuans and the Melanesians of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia etc. The history of the Aeta continues to confound anthropologists and archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines, who, contrary to their sea-faring Austronesian neighbors, arrived through land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. Unlike many of their Austronesian counterparts, the Aetas have shown resistance to change. The attempts of theSpaniards to settle them in reducciones or reservations all throughout Spanish rule failed. The Aeta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of the Philippines. Aetas are considered as the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations. They are nomadic and build only temporary shelters made of sticks driven to the ground and covered with the palm of banana leaves. The well-situated and more modernized Aetas have moved to villages and areas of cleared mountains. They live in houses made of bamboo and cogon grass. Aetas are found in Zambales, Tarlac, Pampanga, Angeles, Olongapo, Panay, Bataan and Nueva Ecija. But because of the Mount Pinatubo eruption, some of them moved to resettlement areas in Pampanga and Tarlac.

Aeta leader Rouvilane Margarito had grown up under the shadow of Mt. Pinatubo.
As a young girl, she and her family lived near the US Clark Air Base in Pampanga where she
led a life like any modern girl her age. But during weekends and holidays, her father would
take her up to his parents’ village in the mountains and deliver her to his mother to be taught
the old ways. “Grandmother made sure we knew the old way of doing things, the old beliefs,
how to cook food the way our people did it,” recalled Margarito of those visits to her
grandmother who still lives in the old community. While in the old Aeta village, Margarito
experienced to have her head traced by the blunt side of a machete as a protection from
lightning during storms. When she gets up from the banana leaf where she’s been napping,
grandmother shakes her awake to be certain her soul does not stay asleep. And when
Margarito goes back to her home in the lowlands, grandmother makes sure to call out her
name while sending the girl home to make sure no part of her being is left behind.

The Aeta Magbukún of Bataan in Luzon, the Philippines remain one of the least known and documented Indigenous tribes. They retain primarily subsistence hunter-gathering strategies to supply their basic needs. They also strive for recognition of their ancestral connection with, and rights to inhabit their ancestral forest domains, which is threatened by the expansion of agriculture and urban development by non-Aetas, primarily the majority Tagalog population. The Aeta continue to endure dispossession, poverty and political discrimination through decades of protracted land rights processes. This review explores the potential use of recent genetic evidence in anthropology and human geography to legitimize the Aeta's status as Indigenous people and contradict the perspective of some governments in the Asia Pacific region who question the existence of Indigenous peoples generally, often from fear of land tenure and associated political repercussions. The acquisition and use of genetic research on Indigenous populations is both socially and politically contested through fear of the potential to jeopardize sovereignty claims and lead to biologically-based discrimination. However, the full implications of the potential use of genetic research to legitimize Indigenous status, as described within this research, has yet to be thoroughly explored. By exploring both the genetic and anthropological evidence using a case study of the Indigenous Aeta, this paper provides a unique approach to building a case for Indigenous rights, occupation, use of ancestral lands, self-determination, and ultimately, recognition as Indigenous people.

The Aeta are one of the most prevalent ethnic groups in the Philippines. Nevertheless, anthropologists and archaeologists are amazed at their historical and cultural contributions. One theory in their history is that they are descendants of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, which may be the reason for their wide population distribution. Aetas are considered one of the gems of the Filipino race. They have believed to be the first natives of the Philippines. They do have rich cultures and traditions that are very unique. They are highly distinguished due to their beautiful dark complexion, curly hairs, and height. Aetas has a lot of stories to share. The hidden historical stories influenced and have been a part of the Filipino culture. There are native Filipinos and they deserved distinctions and attention. To know more about the Aetas, please read the details down below.

The Aetas, Agta or Ayta are the original black race (Africans) that live in scattered, isolated mountainous northern part of The Philippines on the island of Luzon before the Austronesian (Malays and Asian groups) migrations. Historians and anthropologists debate precisely when and how they migrated there, the consensus being that they crossed from the island of Borneo between 20 and 30 thousand years ago, using a land bridge that was partially covered by water around 5,000 years ago - the remaining part of which is now the island of Palawan. Whatever the migration path was, they are without doubt among the first - if not the first - inhabitants of The Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured hair with a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair color (blondism) relative to the general population, small nose, and dark brown eyes.

The Aeta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations. The history of the Aeta continues to confound anthropologists and archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines, who, contrary to their sea-faring Austronesian neighbours, arrived through land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. Unlike many of their Austronesian counterparts, the Aetas have shown resistance to change. The attempts of the Spaniards to settle them in reservations all throughout Spanish rule failed. Mining, deforestation, illegal logging, and slash-and-burn farming has caused the indigenous population in all parts of the Philippines to steadily decrease to the point where they number in the thousands today. The Philippines affords them no protection. In addition, the Aeta have become extremely nomadic due to the social and economic strain on their culture and way of life that had previously remained unchanged for thousands of years.

The Aetas are the aborigines of the Philippines, considered to be the first migrants to the Philippines during the last glacial period about 20,000 years ago when the sea level sank nearly 100 meters and land bridges appeared. Belonging to the Negrito ethnic group, these mountain dwellers have a small stature, kinky hair, dark brown skin and big round eyes. They resembled the American Negroes or the Africans, only they are much smaller averaging 4 to 5 feet in height (CCP Encyclopedia of Philippines Art, 1994). Based on research, the Aetas preciously occupied the outlying areas near the coastline and riverbeds of Zambales, but were forced to resettle in the mountains by the coming of later migrants of Indonesian and Malay type people. The Aetas are also known to be nomadic in nature, that is, they do not reside in a permanent location rather, they tend to keep on moving. However, according to Shimizu (1989), it is important to note that the movements of the Aetas take place within a particular fixed area only. At present, the Aetas are scattered around certain areas in the Philippines and the Pinatubo Aeta is the largest group with thirty or forty thousand population including those of mixed blood.