The seven thousand islands that make up The Philippines are home to a very diverse collection of indigenous, ethnic minorities. Populated primarily by Malay, and colonized later by the Spanish, these islands were actually settled long before either of these events in history by dozens of different tribal groups.

Of all the Philippine islands, Mindanao, in the far South, has the largest concentration of ethnic minorities. It is also an island of political unrest on which westerners have been kidnapped. (We were refused passage to the island in February, 2001, for our own safety!) Following the rescue attempt of kidnap victims by Filippino military personnel on June 7, 2002, it is now believed that all former hostages have been accounted for (with two deaths and one survivor). As a result, this part of the world is now an active focus of the "war on terrorism." On August 20, 2002, six Filippinos were kidnapped in the southern Philippines - allegedly by members of the Abu Sayaf. On August 22, two of those were confirmed to have been be-headed. The potential visitor should stay regularly informed of developments regarding this situation before deciding to go there.

Palawan, now an island that once connected Luzon to Borneo, is home to one of the world's most recently discovered (in 1978) ethnolinguistic minorities, the Tau't Batu ("People of the Rock"). The visitor should be advised, however, that these people are protected from intrusion by outsiders since, numbering less than 200, they are obviously endangered by extinction. Nor should the visitor venture down to Mindanao in search of the Tasaday tribe. Although they were publicized in places as prestigious as National Geographic in the early 1970's, there is in fact no such ethnolinguistic minority group in The Philippines or anywhere else - their "discovery" was an orchestrated hoax by a government minister!

Most Westerners do not visit The Philippines to visit its ethnic minorities. For that reason, in most areas tourism into their villages is not as "developed" as it is in some other Southeast Asian countries. So visitors may have to spend some time seeking out a local guide if they are to make contact with the indigenous peoples.

We have sponsored five indigenous students in The Philippines. Please consider making a donation so we may sponsor more.

Books

Anti-slavery Society., (1983), The Philippines: Authoritarian Government, Multinationals, and Ancestral Lands. London: Anti-slavery Society.