Agta

Agta is the generic term used in Bikol to refer to its 40,000 natives with dark-colored skins, short stature and

kinkyhair. Though some Agtas now live in permanent settlements, there are still some in Camarines Norte who are

semi-nomadic and who build temporary elevated shelters called “Butukan.” The Butukan is made from tree

branches and leaves. An area is believed to be ideal for building a butukan if six tagbac tubers planted there will

grow or where decayed organic matter is present or where the desired spot for the Butukan can be reached by

reflected light from a river. The light is believed to prevent evil spirits from having access to the shelter and

bringing death to its occupants. The traditional attire of the Agta is the tapis/skirt for females and bahag/breech cloth

for males. Their clothing is made from the bark of the Gumihan tree. A number of them now wears casual and

modern urban attires, although they still adorn their heads, however, with a multi-purpose container called

“Takupis” made from the Kalagimay plant where they keep their lime from burnt seashells, nganga/betel nut and

pepper leaves called “ikmo” or “lukmoy.” To take the place of body ornaments, the natives scar/“asde” their bodies

with designs bequeathed to them by their ancestors. Asde is supposed to rid the body of “dirty blood” and protect it

from different illnesses. To carry her baby, a breastfeeding native wears the “uban,” a piece of cloth slung from the

shoulders. The Agtas grow root crops, rice and vegetables in their farms. Rice takes time to harvest, so they

substitute it with a boiled root crop called “dugma,” which gives them a shorter harvest time.Hunting is another

means of subsistence for the Agtas. They catch running game by spearing them with pointed sticks called “galud” or

by means of pit-traps. Birds are caught by using slingshots locally known as “labtik” and traps made from a glue-

like sap called “dikit.” To achieve a successful hunt for animals, the Agtas perform a ritual at the grave of a skilful

hunter. The process includes scattering of banana stalks – used as substitute for meat - around the grave as offering.

They also erect arched bamboos to symbolize traps for a big game. Fishing and catching crabs are other means of

livelihood for the Agtas. Their instruments include the: “baslay,” a bow and arrow used for fishing; “banwit,” a set

of fishing instrument that includes the “boro,” a slender bamboo with a few meters of nylon at one end that has a

hook where bait is placed; “sulo,” a small torch used to attract the fishes and crabs during night-time fishing;

“agahid,” a net used for catching fishes and crabs; “kawit,” a hooked wire used to dislodge crabs from their hiding

places; “sagad,” a rattan basket where the catch is placed; “bobo,” a trap made from split bamboo fastened together

with rattan; and “alawa,” a fishnet for shallow waters during low tide. Mollusks are also caught to augment the

Agtas' diet. Some of these are the bivalves, finger-like mollusks called “sihi,” and the slender-bodied mollusks

called “bagisara.” Many Agtas have also engaged into other income generating jobs, such as copra making,

charcoal making, and gold panning. In their hierarchy, the father and the elder sons usually hunt. The mothers and
“Until the 1970s, all Agta boys knew how to shoot small bows and arrows by the time they were

four, and by age 10 they often came home with small birds they had shot in the nearby forest.

These children would typically pluck and clean their birds (often just one tiny sparrow), roast the

meat on coals, and then divide and distribute small portions among their playmates. Today, bows

and arrows are no longer seen, and young men know neither how to make nor shoot them.

Young men are skilled, however, at playing basketball on cement courts in nearby lowlander

settlements.”

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The most salient economic activity of the

Casiguran Agta, until the 1960s, was hunting. Men spent a major part of their time hunting large

game (wild pigs, deer, monkeys) with bow and arrow or borrowed homemade shotguns. Their

economy for many hundreds of years has revolved around an institutionalized exchange

relationship with non-Agta farmers. Until recently, the main feature of this exchange was the

trade of wild meat for starch foods from farmers. As the game declined during the 1960s, the

Agta gave more and more of their economic time to working as unskilled laborers for the

growing farming population. In 1984 Agta men gave only 6 percent of their daily activity time to

hunting. Agta are no strangers to agriculture. They have helped non-Agta farmers seasonally in

their fields since prehistoric times, and they were cultivating small slash-and-burn fields of their

own when first observed by Spaniards in the eighteenth century. Each year about 25 percent of

Agta families make tiny desultory fields that average one-seventh of a hectare in size. In a good

year these fields produce enough rice (their main starch food) to feed the population for only 15

days. Only 6 percent of the daily activity of all adults (both men and women) is given to working

in these fields. The biggest single economic activity of the Agta is collecting forest products for

trade. The main product was formerly wild meat. In the 1980s it was rattan. In 1984 men spent
25 percent of their daily activity in rattan collecting, and women, 17 percent. They also work

frequently on nearby farms for wages (12 percent of the daily time of men, and 6 percent of

women).

Division of Labor. There is a very weak division of labor between the sexes. Women

participate with their husbands in hunting on about half of the hunting trips (in Cagayan some

women even secure game with bow and arrow themselves). Both sexes contribute equal

amounts of time to work in their own gardens. Both sexes collect forest products for trade, and

both work as casual laborers for farmers. Both men and women collect firewood for their own

hearths, and both engage in housebuilding, carrying water, etc. Only women weave baskets and

mats, and only women wash clothes. Only men spear fish in deep water on coral reefs, and only

men climb high trees to collect wild honey.

Land Tenure. Agta do not own land, nor usually show interest in doing so. Land tenure is a

foreign concept to them. Instead, they see land as a free good.

Agta language

The Agtas are found in the Bicol Peninsula and on the slopes of Mt. Asog, Iriga City. The group

population was 11, 078 in 1987. Like any other Aeta group, they call themselves and their

language Agta. They are darkskinned, kinky-haired, pug nosed and think lipped people with a

height less than five feet tall. They generally go bear footed. Men wore G-strings without shorts,

but now wear shorts, the women wear clothes similar to lowlanders. They can speak varied

languages such as Bicolano, Tagalog, and Agta language. Indigenous materials such as wood,

bamboo, cogon or talahib, abaca barks and coconut leaves are used in the house. Houses are built

in clusters ranging from two to five families for economic and security purposes. They get their
food by means of the kaingin system. They also work for landlords but receive a very minimal

daily wage, not even enough for subsistence. They marry at an early age of fourteen to their

chosen partner but since they have no marriage rites, the couples simply live together as husband

and wife. They practiced polygamy and at the present, the Agtas do not subscribe to family

planning, believing that marriage is to produce offspring and that only God determines the

number of children a couple will have. The Agta believes in the Anitos and the Spirits of the

ancestors to whom they offer dances during rituals. Some dances depict the movements of

animals, insects, and hunting movements. There is no organized political leadership. However

the older and more experienced males in the community are consulted for arbitration purposes.

The following list of words is from the Agta language of the Central Cagayan Valley in the

Northern island of Luzon, in the Philippines. There are now only about 600 speakers of this

variety of Agta, although there are perhaps 10,000 people in the Philippines who speak other

varieties also known as Agta. The Agta people now speak an Austronesian language similar to

other languages spoken in the Philippines. However, they are descended from the Melanesian

people who were present in the Philippines before the Austronesian peoples arrived. The Agta

language is now seriously endangered.

1. wer 'creek'
2. balabahuy 'little pig'
3. talobag 'beetle'
4. bakbakat 'granny'
5. palapirak 'little money'
6. bahuy 'pig'
7. bag 'loincloth'
8. walawer 'little creek'
9. balabag 'little loincloth'
10. takki 'leg'
11. labang 'patch'

Sample:

Translation:

Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done

on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we

forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thin is the

kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.