- Karay-a
The Karay-as, or, Hamtikanon, are part of the wider Visayan ethnolinguistic group, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. The name of their tribe was derived from the word "iraya", which means "upstream".
Area
The Karay-a people live primarily in the province of Antique, but are also numerous in the provinces of
Iloilo ,Capiz , and Aklan, as well as inPalawan .Demographics
Karay-as number about 363,000. They are first believed the descendants of immigrants from Borneo, through the epic-myth of the
Ten Bornean Datus .However, recent findings revealed that the ancestors of the Karay-as are the Austronesian-speaking immigrants who came from South China during the Iron Age. They speak the
Kinaray-a language and Ilonggo,Tagalog, and English as second languages. Most are Christians. About half are Roman Catholics, and the remaining half are Protestants. Some people belonging to theSuludnun tribe, are animists.Culture
Most Karay-as engage in agriculture, as well as in cottage industries. Several towns in Antique have the distinction of producing quality ware ranging from salakot and sawali from Belison, bamboocraft from San Jose, ceramics from Sibalom, pottery from Bandoja, Tibiao; mats from Pandan and Libertad; and loom-woven patadyong (barrel skirt) from Bagtason, Bugasong, the only one of its kind in the Visayas and well-known throughout Panay. Music, such as courtship songs, wedding hymns, and funeral recitals, is well-developed, as it is with Dance.
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