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The Ilocano or Ilokano people are the third largest Filipino ethnic group. Aside from being referred to as Ilocanos, from "i"-from, and "looc"-bay, they also refer to themselves as Samtoy, from the Ilocano phrase "sao mi ditoy", meaning 'from our language'. The word "Ilocano" came from the word "Iloco" by the natives of the Upper part of the land known as "Cordillera."
Area Originally indigenous to the narrow coastal strip of northwestern Luzon, the migration of Ilocanos has been great. To this day, the Ilocanos are the dominant ethnic group in Northern Luzon, and their language, the linguæ francæ of the region. The Ilocanos are the majority in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Tarlac, and form a significant proportion of the populations of the provinces of Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Zambales, Benguet, Batanes, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, and Mountain Province. Further government-sponsored migrations have led to the resettlement of Ilocanos to Mindanao, particularly to the provinces of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. There is also an important Ilocano community in Manila. Demographics Ilocanos number about 9,136,000. The Ilocanos are primarily of Austronesian stock, the same as with the rest of the Filipinos. Some are fair-skinned and have almond eyes, owing to Chinese admixtures. Their homeland is the closest region in the Philippines to China. Few Ilocanos living in the Cordilleras also do have some Cordillerano blood. Ilocanos speak the Ilokano language (also called Iloko language), which is part of the Northern Philippine subgroup of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages. Most all Ilocanos are Roman Catholics, though some being Protestants mostly belonging to the Aglipayan Church (which began in Ilocos Norte). History The Austronesian ancestors of the present-day Ilocanos came to the Philippines through bilogs, or outrigger boats during the Iron Age. In 1572, when the Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo conquered the Ilocanos, he described them as being more barbarous than the Tagalogs. During the Spanish Colonial Era, the Ilocanos were one of the first ethnic groups to revolt against the Spaniards. The first Ilocano revolt occurred during 1661, when the Ilocanos proclaimed Pedro Almazan as their king. Almazan was executed by the Spaniards after the kingdom was dissolved. Diego Silang and his wife Gabriela Silang declared independence of Free Ilocos on 1762-1764 during the British occupation of Manila. The said republic was dissolved on September 20, 1763 through the execution of Silang and his Ilocano associates. During the American Colonial Period and up to the Independence Years, leaders encouraged the Ilocanos to resettle in Mindanao. On 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was the second Ilocano to be elected president of the Philippines. Under his presidency, thousands of Ilocanos benefited from his land reforms. Culture They are characterized as being hardworking and frugal, and they engage primarily in farming and fishing. Arts and Literature The greatest Ilokano literary work written in Iloko is the Biag ni Lam-ang, an epic about the fantastic life and escapades of an Ilokano hero named Lam-ang Ilocanos Abroad Ilocanos composed the largest number of expatriates in the United States, though most are bilingual with Tagalog. There is a significant Ilocano community in Hawaii, in which they make up more than 90% of the Filipino population. | ||||||||
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