The Indigenous Group - Aetas

Aetas are dark skinned, short, small framed, kinky haired, snub nosed, with big black eyes that occupies the forests of Mt Pinatubo. They are believed to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippineswho arrived through land bridges that linked the country with the Asian mainland about 30,000 years ago. They are an important widespread ethnic group and to have retained their cultural identity through the centuries, they are the biggest in number.

Can you spot Mt Pinatubo?

Clothing  
Young women wear wrap around skirts. Elder women wear bark cloth strip that passes between the legs and attached with a string around their waist while elder men wear loin cloths.



Practices

The Aetas are skilful in weaving and plaiting.  Women weave winnows and mats. Men make armlets. They also produce raincoats made of palm leaves.

Art

A traditional form of visual art is body scarification. The Aetas intentionally wound the skin and then irritate the wounds with fire, lime and other means to form scars. The most common form is the etching found in their daily tools and implements. One example is the bamboo comb.

Music

Music is an integral part of Aeta cultural life. Rituals and ceremonies are incomplete without this. These instruments include a two string bamboo zither, bamboo flute, a gong, bamboo violin and a five-string guitar carved from solid wood.

Traditions

The Aeta religious practices include prayers and dances at certain occasions. The night before the pig hunt, Aeta women collect shellfish and perform a dance. This dance is meant to give thanks and apologize for the killing of fish, as well as pray for a successful hunt. Aeta men participate in a bee dance the night before and after journeys to collect honey. Overall, the Aeta religion involves prayer and dance surrounding large food-gathering events.

Dance
Some of the traditional Aeta folk dance include the Pandanggo sa Ilaw, Maglalatik and Sakuting.

Pandanggo sa Ilaw: Pandanggo requires
excellent balancing skill to maintain
 the stability of three oil lamps

Maglalatik: It has a four-part performance such as the palipasan
 and the baligtaran showing the  intense battle, the paseo and the
 escaramusa - the reconciliation 

The sakuting is a mock duel dance that interprets a mock fight between Ilokano Christians and non- Christians with training sticks as props.

Here's a video for your appreciation!