The Matigsalug are an Indigenous group who live in the Tigwa-Salug Valley in San Fernando in Bukidnon province, Philippines. "Matigsalug" means "people along the Salug River" (now known as the Davao River). Although often classified under the Manobo ethnolinguistic group, the Matigsalug are a distinct subgroup from the Manobos.

Matigsalug
Total population
30,176 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
 Philippines (Bukidnon)
Languages
Matigsalug language, Cebuano language
Religion
Traditional religion and Folk Christianity (Roman Catholic).
Related ethnic groups
Lumad, other Filipino peoples, other Austronesian peoples

Way of life

edit

The Matigsalug previously practiced a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle with minimal agriculture. Recently,[when?] influenced by migrant farmers and traders from the northern Philippines and the island provinces, the Matigsalug shifted to sedentary land cultivation with more or less permanent villages.

Signs of their earlier lifestyle are now found in their cultural and artistic expression, as evidenced by their costumes of bright colored mid-rib blouses and short skirts, and skilled hunting and gathering techniques. This early lifestyle is also depicted in their music, songs, dances, poetry, epic, and spiritual expressions. Matigsalug men wear knee-length tight-fitting pants and turbans decorated with beads and fringed with goat or horse hair.

The traditional Matigsalug house has modest windows which is used as part of a early warning system against mangayaw (lit.'someone seeking justice').[2]

Language

edit

SIL Internationalunavailable.[3]

Ancestral lands

edit

Matigsalug-Manobo ancestral domain include a 102,324.818-hectare territory that straddles Bukidnon, Davao City, and Arakan Valley in North Cotabato. The Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) was issued on October 31, 2003.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ "2010 Census of Population and Housing: The Philippines" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ "Kadayawan sa Davao: Celebrating diversity". Philippine Information Agency. August 3, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "Most Outstanding Literacy Program!". Archived from the original on October 29, 2002.
  4. ^ Balane, Walter (August 2, 2011). "Tribal chief to DAR: keep off our ancestral domain". Mindanews. Retrieved February 25, 2024.