And then there was light....

So, in the beginning... there was wave migration. That means first the "Dawn Man" then the Negritos then the seafaring Indonesian tool-users, then the Malay iron-agers.

That’s the story, at least, by an American/Iowan born in 1883 to Bavarian pioneers, named H. Otley Beyer. He was the founder of the Anthropology Department of the University of the Philippines and headed it for 40 years. He also apparently liked young filipinas, having married the 16 year old daughter of a village chief when he was 29. He became the unquestioned expert on Philippine prehistory, but it’s now disputed by some.According to Otley and still many others, the "Dawn Man's" migration was 250,000 years ago. He was a cave-man who came across the land bridges from the south and west.

Then about 30,000 years ago the first nomadic negritos (aborigines) came across the land bridges, but no one is sure exactly from where. The Spaniards, having named and disparaged quite a lot of things in the country, named them “negritos” (little blacks). Now they are sometimes called Aeta, but that’s really just one type of negrito, since they dispersed into many different cultural groups, about 25. In some places of the Philippines they are called Pugot or pugut, a name used for people with dark skin, but which also means “goblin” or “forest spirit.”

They are compared with Pygmies of Africa. It’s said their arms are abnormally long and feet are too large in proportion to their bodies. They also have a large toe that extended inward, which might have evolved as consequence of constantly having grasped tree branches with their toes. It’s also said that their sense of smell is so extraordinary that they can track down snakes that way - by smell.

It’s said their boundless journey around the Malay Peninsula resulted to their widespread existence in the Philippines. By the time the Spaniards came, they were so widespread that the Spaniards failed to "settle" them in one area, although they tried.

And they still exist, about 20,000 of them. They are still nomadic and vacate their homes upon scarcity of surrounding food. The prosperous ones generally live in grass and tree branch houses, and the others just live under two forked sticks covered with palm or banana leaves. Now they usualy have to migrate when food is scarce from depressed lowlanders exploiting the forests for food.

They believe in a myriad of animal and environmental spirits but aside from the pig hunt, shellfish hunt, or bee honey dance, they don't have special praying occassions. They weave and make rattan hammocks and palm leaf raincoats. They used to wear wrap around skirts, bark cloth and loincloths, but today often wear T-shirts, pants and rubber sandals. Some wear neckbands with pig bristles. They are said to live a simple life and enjoy decorative disfigurement, such as scarification and dying their teeth black in late puberty.

It’s also said they have no sense of money or land ownership and sometimes can be seen camping out in city parks or panhandling.

I will check on all this.