The Evolution of Panay Bukidnon Identity

Originally, Panay Bukidnon speaks ligbok, an archaic form of kinaray-a evident in the original transcripts of the Sugidanon epic. Though contemporary Panay Bukidnon no longer speak ligbok, the phonemes of the language are still present in their intonation when speaking kinaray-a. They are distinguished by their unique accent in contrast with the lowlanders.

 The origin of the term Pan-ayanon, as many refer to themselves to distinguish them from other Panay Bukidnon (Halawodnon, Akeanon, Iraynon), dates back during the olden times when feudal and clan wars were prevailing. They refer to Pan-ayanon as those living in the headwaters of the Pan-ay river, the major tributary and the longest river of Panay island. The head of the river is a place called mamarang Pan-ay. They originally refer to themselves, in contrast with the ethnic groups of other provinces, as Pan-ayanon since they take their subsistence from Pan-ay River. Nonetheless, they refer to other Panay Bukidnon as kaangay (the same) since they all live in mountainous areas and share the same practices.

  There was no definitive and universally accepted ascription among the mountain people of Panay. This is supportive of the claims of Jocano (1968) wherein he stated the use of Sulod as a compromise term rather than definitive. The use of the generic term bukidnon does not separate the non-negrito mountain people from the ati (negrito) who also live in the mountains. He added that the people in the mountain communities have no single, universal term for their group but are called bukidnon by the lowlanders to refer as “from the bukid (mountain).”

 The term Panay Bukidnon was first used by Magos (1999) as a term to refer to the non-negrito indigenous people of Panay Island. Though she stated that there are separate dwellers in every major rivers of the island (Pan-ay, Halawod, Akean), and each distinguish themselves from each other, she posed that about 90% of their practices, culture and lifeways are the same. Thus, they belong to the same ethnic groups and may have been separated during the anaw (flooding) and inwards of western civilization during the Spanish colonial period. The ascription “Panay Bukidnon” became popular among the mountain people when the recordings of the Sugidanon epics were published, together with the awarding of Federico “pedring” Caballero of Garangan, Calinog, Iloilo whose ancestors are originally from the community of Nayawan, Tapaz, as Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA). Additionally, the works of Muyco (2016) and the interventions of NCIP adopted the term to refer to the mountain people. Consequently, the term was widely recognized as their identity. Panay Bukidnon was the identity taught by the elders to their children and grandchildren, it had been the name they respond and accepted.