- Sambal people
Infobox Ethnic group
group = Sambal
regions =Zambales , Bolinao, Anda,Olongapo ,Metro Manila
languages = Tina, Bolinao, Botolan, Ilokano, Kapampangan, Filipino, English
religions = Predominantly Roman Catholic
related-c = OtherFilipino people sThe Sambal (Spanish: "zambales") are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group living primarily in the province of
Zambales , the city ofOlongapo , and the Pangasinense municipalities of Bolinao and Anda.Traditions
The Sambal are the original Austronesian inhabitants of the province of Zambales and the city of Olongapo in the
Philippines . They speak Tina, Bolinao, or Botolan, all of which areSambalic languages . The Sambalic languages are most closely related to Kapampangan and to an archaic form of Tagalog still spoken in Tanay in the province ofRizal . This has been interpreted to mean that the Sambal originated from that area, later being displaced by migrating Tagalogs fromMarinduque around600 BC , pushing the original inhabitants northward to what is now the province of Zambales [ [http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about_cultarts/ebook_subcont.php?subcont_Id=33 About Culture and Arts ] ] , in turn, displacing theAetas .The Spanish, in their first encouters with the Sambal, supposedly found them to be highly
superstitious and who worshipped the spirits of their ancestors. To this day, most Sambal still believe in superstitions and mysteries.Like the Moros, the culture and customs of the Sambal are different from that of neighboring groups. This is evident in their traditional dress, which consists of a single-shoulder short-sleeved shirt, paired with short trousers. Usually worn at the chest and shoulder areas of the shirt are badges that resemble multicolored crosses. [http://www.elaput.org/loarca05.htm Ninuno Mo, Ninuno Ko: Miguel de Loarca 5 ] ] The way they do their hair is also different. They shave off half of their head at the front, the remaining hair flowing from the top of the skull and hanging at the nape, and making their foreheads look wider.
The Sambal were known to be fierce warriors [ [http://www.elaput.org/chrmlong.htm Aklasan Ng Charismatic Pinoys: Andres Malong ] ] [ [http://www.elaput.com/chrmalmz.htm Aklasan Ng Charismatic Pinoys: Si Gumapos at si Almazan ] ] , notorious for their bloody raids on Christian settlements. [http://www.geocities.com/lppsec/pp/zambales.htm The Provincial Profile of Zambales ] ] They have been occasionally recruited by "Indio" commanders ("
indio " was the term used for the Austronesian inhabitants of the Philippines) in campaigns against the Spanish, who then governed the islands. The Sambal were also once known to have captured and enslavedDiego Silang as a child, eventually being ransomed by a Recollect missionary in Zambales. [ [http://www.elaput.org/chrmslng.htm Aklasan Ng Charismatic Pinoys: Diego Silang ] ] [ [http://www.globalpinoy.com/ch/ch_category.php?category=heroes&name=Diego+Silang&table=ch_heroes&startpage=1&endpage=15 Cultural Heritage - Home ] ]It was recorded as customary for the Sambal to perform an execution as punishment for those who have taken another person’s life. Their manner of execution was to bore a hole at the top of the skull and then scrape out the
brain s._]During the first hundred years of Spanish rule, the Sambal, like most other non-Spanish groups in the Philippines during the colonial era, had their village structures reorganized and were forced into "
reducciones " in order to assimilate them into Catholicism and Spanish cultural norms._]References
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