A History of the Negrito

A History of the Negrito

The Negrito is a term that compasses over 20 ethnic groups in the Philippines. These include the Aeta, the Agta, the Ati, the Ita, the Baluga and several others. As of 1985 the population of the Agta was recorded at 609 in eastern Luzon.

The origins of the Negrito have been under discussion for decades. Even today, scholars still have no conclusive proof as to their origins. It has been suggested that the Negrito’s are the descendants of the early African people who migrated to south-east Asia. This is mainly due to their likeness of African pygmies – the dark skin, short stature and the thick Afro-type hair.

One early scholar stated that “He [the Negrito] is a scattered survivor of the pygmy negro race, at one time undoubtedly far more important and numerous; brachy- cephalic, platyrhinian, woolly headed, and, when unaffected by the higher culture of the surrounding peoples, a pure forest-dwelling savage”. Indeed, the term Negrito is derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word ‘negro’ which means ‘little black person’.

In 1973 cranial tests were carried out which showed that there were close genetic links with Asia rather than with Africa. Experts then stated that the Negrito were possibly the ancestors of the Aboriginals in Australia and Papuans of New Guinea.

It has been said that a large proportion of the population in the Philippines are Negrito or are of mixed heritage. An early scholar stated that “There is no doubt that there is a large amount of absorbed Negrito stock in the pagan peoples of all this great island. Even among the Subanon of the Samboanga peninsula, who are perhaps as purely Malayan as any, I have seen occasional individuals with marked Negrito characters”.

The Negritos are an interesting race to study in the fact that they have seemed to develop in isolation. Studies have shown that they have missed the mass of Indo-Aryan and Asiatic migratory settlers and it is astonishing to find that they are one of the longest races to avoid contact with other cultures.

The language usually spoken by most of the Negritos of the Mountain Province is Ibanag, the language of the Kagayan, although in some places it differs slightly from ordinary Ibanag, and here and there shows traces of Isneg. The culture of the Negrito a century ago was a hunter-gatherer society; the characteristic Negrito weapon was the bow and arrow, the arrow being often poisoned.

The ever puzzling question of the origins of the Negrito is still being explored. In the meantime, studies on the culture and traditions of the Negrito are underway, giving us an interesting insight into the history of these fascinating people.

Bibliography:

Barrows, David P. (1910) The Negrito and Allied Types in the Philippines, American Anthropologist, Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological Association.

Vanoverbergh, Morice (1933) Philippine Negrito Culture: Independent or Borrowed? Primitive Man, The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research.