Hanunoo

Hanunoo map
  • Location: SE Mindoro
  • Supergroup: Mangyan
  • Subsistence: Swidden corn and rice; beans, sweet potatoes, yams, taro, sugar cane.

One of the Mangyan cultures of Mindoro, the Hanunoo live on the southeast shore of the island. and employ the Mangyan Hindic script. Written on bamboo slivers by stylii or knives, this script is used to record ambalan or urukay, a type of poetry, in addition to songs. These are performed to the accompaniment of guitars, fiddles, flutes, and/or jew’s harps. Like other Mangyan groups, the Hanunoo live in settlements of five to twelve single-family houses, which are situated on slopes near mountain streams and named after the oldest resident.