Bicolano people
The Bicolano people (Bikol: Mga Bikolnon) are the fourth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group.[2] Their native region is commonly referred to as Bicolandia, which comprises the entirety of the Bicol Peninsula and neighboring minor islands, all in the southeast portion of Luzon. Males from the region are often referred to as Bicolano, while Bicolana may be used to refer to females.
Bicolano people are largely an agricultural and rural people, producing rice, coconuts, hemp, and spices. A great majority of Bicolanos are Roman Catholics, with many towns celebrating festivals in honor of patron saints, and Catholic Mass being celebrated daily in many of the Bicol region's churches. There also exists minority Protestant and Muslim populations among Bicolano people.[3] An undercurrent of animism persists as well; for instance, it is common for Bicolano people to believe that whenever a supernatural entity stalks a house, they will leave centavo coins as compensation.
Bicolano people speak about a dozen closely related dialects of Bikol, largely differentiated according to cities, and closely related to other central Philippines languages, all of which belong to the Austronesian (specifically Malayo-Polynesian) superfamily of languages.[4]
Area[edit]
Bicolanos live in the Bicol Region, which occupies the southeastern part of Luzon, now containing the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Sorsogon and Masbate (although the majority of Masbate's population are a subgroup of Visayans). Many Bicolanos also live in the southeastern towns of the Calabarzon province of Quezon. Bicolanos also live outside Luzon, particularly in Northern Samar in Visayas (due to its proximity to Bicolandia) and Davao Region, Misamis Oriental, Caraga and Soccsksargen in Mindanao.
Demographics[edit]
Bicolanos numbered 6,082,165 in 2020.[6] They are descended from Austronesian peoples who came from Taiwan during the Iron Age. Many Bicolanos also have some Han Chinese, Arab, and Spanish admixtures; most of the townsfolk have small traces of each heritage. Bicolanos have a high percentage of Spanish introgression; a government-sponsored study showing that 20 percent of the population have Hispanic ancestry. Bicolanos are also the ethnic group with the second largest amount of Spaniards/Hispanics as a percentage of the population, after Chavacanos.[7]
Like any other ethnic groups from Luzon, Bicolanos are also widely dispersed outside their regional homeland. As of 2000, they make up the largest non-Tagalog group in the following cities of Metro Manila: Caloocan City, 59,276 or 5.05% of the city’s population; Pasig City, 24,678 or 4.9%; and Valenzuela City, 21,896 or 4.55%. In Quezon City, they rank second in population size after the Visayans, numbering 108,293 or 5%. In Manila they number 39,295 or 2.5%, ranking third, after the Ilocano and Cebuano. They are the largest non-Tagalog group in the following provinces of Luzon: Rizal, 73,253 or 4.30%; Laguna 57,282 or 3%; and Batangas 11,661 or 0.42%. They rank second after the Visayans in the following provinces: Cavite, 52,031 or 2.54%, Bulacan 43,605 or 1.95%, and Quezon, 36,339 or 2.45%. They are found as well in the following provinces: Aurora, 7,079; Pampanga 6,685; Oriental Mindoro, 2,930; 247 in Marinduque; and in Cebu 1,534, which is 0.06% of the population. In just this random survey, the Bikol people make up a total of 545,544 or more than half a million, residing outside their region of origin. On the other hand, other ethnolinguistic groups in the Bicol region, besides the Tagalog, are the Visayans, particularly the Cebuano and Ilonggo; and the Kankanaey from northern Luzon.[8] Bicolanos are also found as a minority in Mindanao, especially in the Davao Region.[9]