WHERE DID THE NAME PALAWAN CAME FROM?

The Chinese named it as “Pa-La-Yu” which means “land of beautiful harbors.” The Indian
called it “Palaws” which meant “territory.” The natives of the Palawan Island named it after a
plant which was called “Palwar” and the Spanish referred to it as “Paragua” which means
umbrella, due to its shape.

PALAWAN
Whenever “Palawan” is mentioned, the first thing that comes to people’s minds are the
majestic sceneries that are found on the island that was recently proclaimed as the most
beautiful island in the world for the second time. However, Palawan is more than just crystal
clear waters, white sand, sand bars, corals, marine fauna, and rainforests. Palawan does not
only have its natural beauty to offer, what most people are not aware of is that, this
masterpiece of an island is not only rich in natural resources but is also rich when it comes to
culture and heritage.

Palawan – the best island in the world - has become popular among travelers thanks to its
scenic islands beauty and its natural wonders

The Palawan Island is among the most historically significant islands in the Philippine
Archipelago. This elongated piece of land in the westernmost part of the Philippines, plays a
major role in the discovery of ancient Philippine inhabitants and their way of living. Even its
name is arrayed in a colorful history of evolution.

Festival in Palawan
Palawan is not just an island of beauty and abundant resources but a place with colorful and
creative culture.

In these festivals, the people of Palawan would usually conduct colorful street parades and
wear creative costumes. These street dances are one of the most awaited competitions
during festivals.

The people of Palawan are given the opportunity to exhibit their unique culture, each
municipality’s delicacy, and products and many other things related to the festivity.

FOR EXAMPLES:
● Puerto Princesa City Foundation Day and Balayong Festival
● Baragatan Sa Palawan
● Anihan Festival or Palay Festival

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF PALAWAN

Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines and is home to several indigenous
ethnolinguistic groups such as the Tagbanua, Palaw’an, Tao’t Bato, Molbog, Batak,
Agutaynen, and Cuyonon.

These groups of people live in remote villages throughout the province that are found in
mountains and coastal areas. According to the province’s history, the ancestors of these
indigents have occupied Palawan long before the Malay settlers from the Majapahit Empire
of Indonesia arrived in the area during the 12th century.

In the year 1962, a team of anthropologists from the Philippine National Museum unearthed
various fossils at the Lipuun Point which is now commonly known as the Tabon Cave in the
municipality of Quezon in Palawan.

TYPES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

BATAK
● The Batak tribe is a group of indigenous people who live in the rugged interiors of the
northeast portion of the province of Palawan. These group of people lives close to
nature and are extremely peaceful and shy. They believe in nature spirits with whom
they communicate with through the aid of a “babaylan” or a shaman
AGUTAYNEN
● These groups of people are believed to belong to the family of Austronesians and
Malayo-Polynesians whose have a long inhabited the province of Palawan. They
have lexical similarity with Cuyonon and the Calamian Tagbanua, who are also
indigents in Palawan​.
TAGBANUA
● As mentioned earlier, the Tagbanuas are believed to be descendants of the Tabon
Man due to the many similarities that they have when it comes to language, alphabet,
the practice of kaingin, and a common belief in soul relatives.
CUYUNON
● This group of indigents is considered as an “elite class” among the hierarchy of the
natives who live in Palawan. During the Spanish colonization in the Philippines, Cuyo
was one of the territories of Palawan that had the strongest Spanish presence.
TAO’T BATO
● The term “Tao’t Bato” literally means “people of the rock”, they are not actually a
separate language or a separate ethnic group but rather a small community of
traditional southwestern Palawanos who happen to live in the crater of an extinct
volcano during certain seasons of the year, their houses are built on raised floors
inside caves though others have set their homes on the open slopes.
PALAW’AN
● This indigenous group belongs to large Manobo-based linguistic groups of the
southern Philippines. They were originally found in the interior regions of South
Apuruan on the West Coast and South of Abo-Abo on the East Coast, these regions
may be located in the Southern part of the province of Palawan. The Palaw’ans have
become popularly known as Palawans which is pronounced faster than the name of
the province.
MOLBOGS
● The Molbogs are indigents in the province of Palawan who is believed to be among
the migrants from North Borneo and is now living in the Balabac Island in Palawan.
Referred as Molebugan or Molebuganori in many literary works, Molbogs do a lot of
farming, fishing, and occasional barter trading with the Sulu Bangsa Moro and nearby
Sabah market centers as means of their subsistence.
THE FAMOUS TOURIST SPOT IN PALAWAN ARE THE FOLLOWING
● Puerto Princesa
● Coron el nido
● Sabang Mangrove Forest.
● Plaza cuartel