Aeta people
| |
|---|---|
 Young Aeta girl from Bataan, year 1901 | |
| Total population | |
| 50,236 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Philippines | |
| Languages | |
| Negrito languages, Kapampangan, Ilocano, Filipino, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Anito, folk religions | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Batak, Manobo, Mamanwa; other Negrito |
Aeta (Ayta /ˈaɪtə/ EYE-tə), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live as hunter-gatherers in various parts of Luzon in the Philippines. They are included in a wider Negrito grouping in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, with whom they share superficial common features, characterized by dark skin tones; short statures; frizzy to curly hair; and a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair colour (blondism) relative to the general population.[1]
Aetas are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines — even before the Austronesian migrations.[2][3] The modern Aeta populations are noted to have significant Austronesian admixture, and speak Austronesian languages.[4]
Etymology
[change | change source]The endonyms of most of the various Aeta peoples are derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ʔa(R)ta (also reconstructed as *qata or *ʔata) meaning "[dark skinned] person." This is in contrast to the other terms for "person" in other Philippine (and Oceanian) groups derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau (e.g. Tagalog tao), which refers to lighter-skinned groups with majority Austronesian descent.
Lawrence A. Reid, the notable linguist, wrote that *ʔa(R)ta may have originally been the Negrito word for "person" in Northern Luzon, but was adopted into Austronesian languages with the meaning of "dark-skinned person", after the arrival of Austronesian migrants to the Philippines from Formosa island.[5]
Demographics
[change | change source]In 2010, there were 50,236 Aeta people in the Philippines.[6] The indigenous peoples of the Philippines such as the Aeta are diverse groups of people who have preserved their traditional culture and practices, in areas isolated from mainstream society.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Assessment of Visual Status of the Aeta, a Hunter-Gatherer Population of the Philippines (An AOS Thesis) | National Library of Medicine
- ↑ "The Aeta". peoplesoftheworld.org. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
- ↑ Larena, Maximilian; McKenna, James; Sanchez-Quinto, Federico (2021). "Philippine Ayta possess the highest level of Denisovan ancestry in the world". Current Biology. 31 (19): 4219–4230. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.022. PMC 8596304. PMID 34388371.
- ↑ Reid, Lawrence A. (2013). "Who Are the Philippine Negritos? Evidence from Language". Human Biology. 85 (1): 329–58. doi:10.3378/027.085.0316. PMID 24297232. S2CID 8341240. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ↑ Reid, Lawrence A. (2013). "Who Are the Philippine Negritos? Evidence from Language". Human Biology. 85 (1): 329–58. doi:10.3378/027.085.0316. PMID 24297232. S2CID 8341240. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ↑ "2010 Census of Population and Housing, Report No. 2A: Demographic and Housing Characteristics (Non-Sample Variables) - Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ↑ The Indigenous World 2021: Philippines | International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
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