Ivatan people

{{Short description|Austronesian ethnolinguistic group}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Good article}} {{Infobox Ethnic group |group = Ivatan people |native_name = Ibatan |image = 200px |caption = An Ivatan woman |population = '''38,622''' (2020 census)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://psa.gov.ph/content/ethnicity-philippines-2020-census-population-and-housing|title=Ethnicity in the Philippines (2020 Census of Population and Housing)|publisher=Philippine Statistics Authority|access-date=July 4, 2023}}</ref> |regions = {{Flagcountry|Philippines}}<br />{{Smaller|(Batanes)}} |languages = Ivatan, Ilocano, Tagalog, English |religions = Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholicism),<br />minority also, ancestral worship |related = Tao people, Taiwanese aborigines, Ilocanos, other Austronesian peoples }}

The '''Ivatan people''' are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group native to the Batanes and Babuyan Islands of the northernmost Philippines. They are genetically closely related to other ethnic groups in Northern Luzon, but also share close linguistic and cultural affinities with the Tao people of Orchid Island in Taiwan.<ref name="Loo">{{Cite journal|last1=Loo|first1=Jun-Hun|last2=Trejaut|first2=Jean A|last3=Yen|first3=Ju-Chen|last4=Chen|first4=Zong-Sian|last5=Lee|first5=Chien-Liang|last6=Lin|first6=Marie|date=2011|title=Genetic affinities between the Yami tribe people of Orchid Island and the Philippine Islanders of the Batanes archipelago|journal=BMC Genetics|language=en|volume=12|issue=1|page=21|doi=10.1186/1471-2156-12-21|pmc=3044674|pmid=21281460|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Quismundo">{{Cite news|last=Quismundo|first=Tarra|date=6 April 2015|title=Taiwan's 'Rock Star' Tribal Folk Share Same Ancestry with Filipinos|language=en|work=Inquirer.net|url=https://globalnation.inquirer.net/120343/taiwans-rock-star-tribal-folk-share-same-ancestry-with-filipinos|access-date=11 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="Datar">{{Cite web|last=Datar|first=Francisco A.|title=The Batanes Islands|url=http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/comarticles.php?artcl_Id=226|url-status=|access-date=2008-04-06|website=National Commission for Culture and the Arts|language=en}}{{dead link|date=September 2023}}</ref>

The culture of the Ivatans is partly influenced by the environmental conditions of Batanes. Unlike the old-type nipa huts common in the Philippines, Ivatans have adopted their distinctive stone houses made of coral and limestone, designed to protect against the hostile climate.

==Origins== {{See also|Austronesian peoples|Philippine jade culture}} A 2011 genetic study has concluded that it is likely that the Batanes Islands were initially only used as "stepping stones" during the early stages of the maritime Austronesian expansion from Taiwan into the Philippine Islands (c. 3000 BCE). It was later re-colonized by Austronesians from northern Luzon at around 1200 BCE, which became the ancestors of the Ivatan people.<ref name="Loo" /><ref name="bellwoodbatanes" />

Archaeological excavations also reveal that the islands were part of the extensive trade in jade artifacts (''lingling-o''), a network that extended to Taiwan, Vietnam, Palawan, Luzon, and northern Borneo. The Ivatan also maintained close trade relationships and intermarried with the neighboring Tao people of Orchid Island in Taiwan.<ref name="bellwoodbatanes">{{Cite book |url=https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/terra-australis/4000-years-migration-and-cultural-exchange |title=4000 Years of Migration and Cultural Exchange: The Archaeology of the Batanes Islands, Northern Philippines |date=2013 |publisher=ANU E Press |isbn=9781925021288 |editor-last=Bellwood |editor-first=Peter |language=en |doi=10.22459/TA40.12.2013 |editor-last2=Dizon |editor-first2=Eusebio |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hung |first1=H.-C. |last2=Iizuka |first2=Y. |last3=Bellwood |first3=P. |last4=Nguyen |first4=K. D. |last5=Bellina |first5=B. |last6=Silapanth |first6=P. |last7=Dizon |first7=E. |last8=Santiago |first8=R. |last9=Datan |first9=I. |last10=Manton |first10=J. H. |date=2007 |title=Ancient Jades Map 3,000 Years of Prehistoric Exchange in Southeast Asia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=104 |issue=50 |pages=19745–19750 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0707304104 |pmc=2148369 |pmid=18048347 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="jade">{{Cite book |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |url=https://www.earth.sinica.edu.tw/content/people/EPMA/papers/Published%20PDF%20files/Archaeology%202004-2013/A14%20PathsofOrigins_pp30-41_2011.pdf |title=Paths of Origins: The Austronesian Heritage in the Collections of the National Museum of the Philippines, the Museum Nasional Indonesia, and the Netherlands Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde |last2=Hung |first2=Hsiao-Chun |last3=Itzuka |first3=Yoshiyuki |date=2011 |publisher=ArtPostAsia |isbn=9789719429203 |editor-last=Benitez-Johannot |editor-first=Purissima |language=en |chapter=Taiwan Jade in the Philippines: 3,000 Years of Trade and Long-distance Interaction}}</ref>

The archaeological assemblages of Batanes can be divided into four distinct phases, with minor variation between islands. Phase 1 (2500 to 1000 BCE), is characterized by red-slipped and fine cord-marked pottery similar to the pottery assemblages of prehistoric Taiwan. Phase 2 (1300 BCE to 1 CE), is characterized by circle-stamped and red-slipped pottery that later also developed rectangular and "fishnet" designs. Phase 2 also features Fengtian nephrite sourced from Taiwan. Phase 3 (500 BC/1 CE to 1200 CE), is characterized by plain red-slipped pottery. Phase 4 (c. 1200 CE onwards), is characterized by imported pottery, indicating trade contacts with the Song and Yuan dynasties of China.<ref name="bellwoodbatanes" />

==History== thumb|left|An Ivatan man fresh from work On June 26, 1783, Batanes was incorporated into the Spanish East Indies.<ref name="ncip">{{Cite web |title=The Ivatan |url=http://www.ncip.gov.ph/resources/ethno_detail.php?ethnoid=60 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311204203/http://www.ncip.gov.ph/resources/ethno_detail.php?ethnoid=60 |archive-date=March 11, 2008 |access-date=2008-04-07 |website=National Commission on Indigenous Peoples |language=en}}</ref> In 1786, Ivatans were forced to resettle in the lowlands of Batanes.<ref name="Rowthorn">{{Cite book |last=Rowthorn |first=Chris |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781740592109 |title=Philippines |date=2003 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=1-74059-210-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781740592109/page/203 203] |language=en |url-access=registration}}</ref> The Ivatans lived under Spanish rule for 115 years and gained their independence on September 18, 1898. Be that as it may, June 6 is celebrated in Batanes as its founding day.<ref name="ncip" />

==Demographics== In 1990, the population of the Ivatans was 15,026, an increase of 24% over the 1980 population of 12,091. These were distributed to the six municipalities, with 38% residing in Basco, 23% in Itbayat, 12% in Sabtang, 11% in Mahatao and 8% each for Uyugan and Ivana.<ref name="Datar" /> In the 2000 census, 15,834 Ivatans were among the 16,421 residents of Batanes.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Population in Batanes Showed an Upward Swing |date=July 10, 2002 |url=https://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2002/pr0285tx.html |language=en |last1=Philippine National Statistics Office |access-date=2008-04-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403060928/http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2002/pr0285tx.html |archive-date=2008-04-03}}</ref>

Ivatans can be found in almost every part of the country as a minority, especially in Metro Manila, nearby Cagayan Valley (most specifically Cagayan), Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Palawan and Mindanao particularly in Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur and Cotabato.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ivatan People of the Philippines: History, Customs, Culture and Traditions [Batanes Islands] |url=https://www.yodisphere.com/2022/09/Ivatan-Batanes-History-Culture-Traditions.html |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=yodisphere.com}}</ref>

The mother tongue of the Ivatans is the ''Chirin nu Ibatan'' but is commonly known as Ivatan. A distinct Austronesian language, the Ivatan has two dialects including ''Basco'', the ''Itbayáten'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Galvez Rubino |first=Carl R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qG-zAa_rjoMC |title=Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar |date=2000 |publisher=University of Hawaii |isbn=0-8248-2088-6 |page=213 |language=en |access-date=2008-04-06}}</ref> and possibly Tao.<ref name="ncip" /> The Ivatans widely speak and understand the Ilocano (''lingua franca'' of northern Luzon), Tagalog, and English languages.<ref name="Datar" /> Ivatan residents of Mindanao and their descendants are also fluent speakers of Cebuano (majority language of large parts of Mindanao), Hiligaynon (main lingua franca of Soccsksargen) and various indigenous Mindanaoan languages in addition to their native language. However, the Ivatan language has been endangered, especially among newer generation of Ivatans born in Mindanao due to their assimilation into the Cebuano-speaking majority, with Cebuano is their main language with varying fluency in their ancestors' native language or none at all.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372483339|title=Islandness in the Province: The Language of a Migrated Ivatan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ivatan People of the Philippines: History, Customs, Culture and Traditions [Batanes Islands] |url=https://www.yodisphere.com/2022/09/Ivatan-Batanes-History-Culture-Traditions.html |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=yodisphere.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| title=Cohesion in Ivatan | author=Betty Hooker | url=https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-10-01-1972/hooker%20cohesion%20in%20ivatan.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817192743/https://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-10-01-1972/hooker%20cohesion%20in%20ivatan.pdf | archive-date=2022-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ivatan Language of the Batanes Islands |url=https://iloko.tripod.com/Ivatan.htm |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=iloko.tripod.com}}</ref>

Today, most Ivatans are Catholics, like the rest of the country, although some have not converted and practice ancestral worship to their ''anitos''.<ref name="ncip" /> However, there are growing Protestant denominations especially in Basco, the capital town of Batanes.<ref name="Datar" />

==Culture== [[File:Ivatan Woman.png|thumb|200px|An Ivatan woman wearing a ''vakul'' made from vuyavuy palm fiber<ref name="Madulid2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Madulid |first1=Domingo A. |last2=Agoo |first2=Esperanza Maribel G. |date=2009 |title=Notes on The Economic Plants of Batanes: ''Citrus'' Species and ''Phoenix loureiroi'' Var. ''Loureiroi'' |url=https://minpaku.repo.nii.ac.jp/index.php?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=3928&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=21 |journal=Bulletin of National Museum of Ethnology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=191–205 |doi=10.15021/00003920 |doi-access=free}}</ref>]] The Ivatans’ culture has been largely influenced by the climate of Batanes. Due to severe climatic disruptions to their agriculture, Ivatans have developed numerous successful strategies to protect their food supply and way of life.

Traditionally, because of frequent typhoons and drought, they plant root crops able to cope with the environment. These crops include yam, sweet potato, taro, garlic, ginger, and onion, as they ensure higher chances of survival during awry climate conditions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bankoff |first=Greg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5O8qU49LIzQC&q=Ivatan+in+Batanes&pg=PA165 |title=Cultures of Disaster: Society and Natural Hazards in the Philippines |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |date=2002 |isbn=0-7007-1761-7 |page=165 |language=en}}</ref> The Ivatan study the behavior of animals, sky color, wind, and clouds to predict the weather. Ivatans usually gather their animals and stay in their houses when they see that the cows take shelter from the {{Transliteration|ivv|payaman}} (communal pasture) and birds taking refuge in houses or in the ground. A pink sky with an orange hue also heralds a storm.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Trinidad-Echavez |first=Andrea |date=2008-06-29 |title=Ivatan of Batanes Share Secrets of Survival in Typhoon Belt |language=en |work=Inquirer.net |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080629-145400/Ivatan-of-Batanes-share-secrets-of-survival-in-typhoon-belt |url-status=dead |access-date=2008-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629232325/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080629-145400/Ivatan-of-Batanes-share-secrets-of-survival-in-typhoon-belt |archive-date=2008-06-29}}</ref>

The sea is vital to the Ivatan's way of life.<ref name="Rowthorn" /> They depend on the flying fish (dibang) and dolphinfish (arayu) present on the shores of Batanes in the months of March through May.<ref name="Datar" /> They have a native delicacy called ''uvod'' (the pith of the banana stalk) which is served with the wine ''palek'', on festive occasions such as weddings.<ref name="ncip" />[[File:Oldest House in Ivatan.jpg|thumb|A ''Sinadumparan'' Ivatan house, one of the oldest structures in the Batanes islands. The house is made of limestone and coral and its roofing of cogon grass.]]Before Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, Ivatans built their houses from cogon grass. These homes were small, well-situated, and designed to protect against strong winds.<ref name="Datar" /><ref name="Rowthorn" /> The Spaniards introduced large-scale production of lime to the Ivatan for the construction of their now-famous stone houses. Meter-thick limestone walls,<ref name="Rowthorn" /> are designed to protect against the harsh Batanes environment,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Jessica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=By2ynKov1LYC&q=Ivatan+in+Batanes&pg=PA103 |title=The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community |date=2005 |publisher=The World Conservation Union |isbn=2-8317-0797-8 |page=103 |language=en |display-authors=etal }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> which is known as a terminal passage of typhoons in the Philippines. The basic cogon grass is still preserved as roofs of their houses, thickly constructed to withstand strong winds.<ref name="Datar" /> These houses are comparable to the white houses in New Zealand, Ireland, and the Scottish Highlands.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Calubiran |first=Maricar M. |date=January 16, 2008 |title=Ivatan Joins Dinagyang to Promote Batanes Tourism |language=en |work=The News Today |url=http://www.thenewstoday.info/2008/01/16/ivatan.joins.dinagyang.to.promote.batanes.tourism.html |access-date=2008-04-17}}</ref> Pre-colonial Ivatans also constructed fortified hills protected by sheer embankments known as ijang (or idjang).<ref name="Bellwood and Dizon 2013">{{Cite book |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |title=4000 Years of Migration and Cultural Exchange: The Archaeology of the Batanes Islands, Northern Philippines |last2=Dizon |first2=Eusebio |date=2013 |publisher=ANU E Press |isbn=9781925021288 |editor-last=Bellwood |editor-first=Peter |pages=1–8 |chapter=The Batanes Islands, Their First Observers, and Previous Archaeology |doi=10.22459/TA40.12.2013.01 |jstor=j.ctt5hgz91.6 |editor-last2=Dizon |editor-first2=Eusebio |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Dizon and Santiago 1996">{{Cite journal |last1=Dizon |first1=Eusebio Z. |last2=Santiago |first2=Rey A. |date=1996 |title=Archaeological Explorations in Batanes Province |url=https://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/695/697 |journal=Philippine Studies |language=en |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=479–499 |jstor=42634196}}</ref>

One of the endemic garments of the Ivatans is the ''vakul''. A ''vakul'' is headgear designed to protect the wearer from sun and rain. It is made from vuyavuy palm fiber.<ref name="Rowthorn" /><ref name="Madulid2009" />

The Ivatans have three folk song styles: the ''laji'', the ''kanta,'' and the ''kalusan''.<ref name="Datar" /> The ''laji'' are ancient lyrical songs that are supposed to be sung when they are merry or just finished work.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quindoza-Santiago |first=Lilia |title=Early Philippine Literature |url=http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/comarticles.php?artcl_Id=132 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115215306/http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/comarticles.php?artcl_Id=132 |archive-date=2007-11-15 |website=National Commission for Culture and the Arts |language=en}}</ref> The ''kalusan'' is sung during work.<ref name="Datar" />

The Ivatan have legends that are called ''kabbata''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peralta |first=Jesus T. |title=Glimpses: Peoples of the Philippines |publisher=National Commission for Culture and the Arts |language=en |chapter=Ivatan/Itbayat |access-date=2008-04-07 |chapter-url=http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/ebook_subcont.php?subcont_Id=23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121071243/http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/ebook_subcont.php?subcont_Id=23 |archive-date=January 21, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They have the {{Transliteration|ivv|rawod}}, chants that chronicle the adventures of the Ivatan's forefathers as they escape a disaster.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Espiritu |first=E. V. |date=2007-09-06 |title='Tatayak' Making Keeps Ivatan Seafarers Alive |language=en |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |url=http://blogs.inquirer.net/beingfilipino/2007/09/26/tatayak-making-keeps-ivatan-seafarers-alive/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2008-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417165433/http://blogs.inquirer.net/beingfilipino/2007/09/26/tatayak-making-keeps-ivatan-seafarers-alive/ |archive-date=2008-04-17}}</ref>

==Indigenous Ivatan religion== {{Main|List of Philippine mythological figures}}

===Immortals=== {{div col|}} *Supreme Being: referred to as Mayo, in one account;<ref name="Hornedo 1994">{{Cite journal |last=Hornedo |first=Florentino H. |date=1994 |title=Death and After Death: Ivatan Beliefs and Pracices |url=https://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/860/851 |journal=Philippine Studies |language=en |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=509–527 |jstor=42633468}}</ref> probably regarded as remote as fear and meticulous ritual care are often related instead towards the Añitu<ref name="Hornedo 1980">{{Cite journal |last=Hornedo |first=Florentino H. |date=1980 |title=The World and the Ways of the Ivatan Añitu |url=https://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/view/4229/6288 |journal=Philippine Studies |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=21–58 |jstor=42632505}}</ref> *Mayo: a fisherfolk hero who introduced the {{Transliteration|ivv|yuyus}} used to catch flying fishes called dibang, which are in turn used to catch the summertime fish arayu<ref name="Hornedo 1994" /> *The Giver: the entity who provides all things; the souls of the upper-class travel to the beings' abode in heaven and become stars<ref name="Hornedo 1994" /> *Añitu: refers to the souls of the dead, place spirits, and wandering invisibles not identified nor tied down to any particular locale or thing<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Añitu between Chavidug and Chavayan: place spirit Añitus who were reported to create sounds when the gorge between Chavidug and Chavayan were being created through dynamite explosions; believed to have shifted their residences after the construction of the passage<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Rirryaw Añitu: place spirit Añitus who played music and sang inside a cave in Sabtang, while lighting up the fire; believed to have change residences after they were disturbed by a man<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *ji Rahet Añitu: a grinning place spirit Añitu who lived in an old tree; a man later cut the tree and found an earthen pot believed to have been owned by the Añitu<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Nuvwan Añitu: good place spirit Añitus who saved a woman from a falling tree; they are offered rituals through the vivyayin<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *ji P'Supwan Añitu: good place spirit Añitus who became friends and allies of a mortal woman named Carmen Acido; sometimes taking in the form of dogs, they aided her and guided her in many of her tasks until her death from old age; despite their kindness towards Carmen, most people avoided the farm where they live<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Mayavusay Añitu: place spirit Añitus living in a parcel of land in Mayavusay; sometimes take in the form of piglets, and can return cut vegetation parts into the mother vegetation<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Cairn-dwelling Añitu: place spirit Añitus who lived in cairns and put a curse towards a man who destroyed their home; appearing as humans, the shaman Balaw conversed with them to right the wrong made by the man against their home<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Mayuray Añitu: a wandering Añitu who expanded and was filled with darkness; encountered by a young boy who the spirit did not harm; referred to as a kapri, Añitus who walk around and grow as tall as the height for their surroundings<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> *Dayanak Añitu: a type of very small Añitu with red eyes and gold ornaments; accepting their gold ornaments will cause misfortune<ref name="Hornedo 1980" /> {{Div col end}}

==Notable Ivatans== *Vicente Barsana, member of the Philippine Assembly from 1912 to 1916 and governor of Batanes from 1916 to 1917

==References== {{Commons category|Ivatan|Ivatan people}} {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivatan People}} Category:Ethnic groups in the Philippines Category:Batanes Category:Ethnic groups in Luzon Category:History of Batanes