Mangyan Day – A Day of Celebrating Culture, Defending the Land, and Sustaining the Future

Mangyan Day – A Day of Celebrating Culture, Defending the Land, and Sustaining the Future
Photo source: Raymond Panaligan, Altermidya

The Mangyan people of Mindoro, are composed of eight distinct Indigenous groups, each with its own language and customs. Traditionally, they have led subsistence-based lifestyles, cultivating crops like sweet potatoes, upland rice, and taro, and engaging in hunting and gathering. Some communities participate in trade, selling products such as bananas and ginger to lowland markets. 

Every April, the island of Mindoro reverberates with song and dance, and the spirit of resistance, as the Mangyan people gather to celebrate Mangyan Day. Mangyan Day is far more than a cultural festival, it is a living testament to the unity, resilience, and the continuous struggle of the eight indigenous groups: Alangan, Bangon, Buhid, Hanunuo, Iraya, Ratagnon, Tadyawan, and Tau Buid – who all have long called the mountainous forests of Mindoro their ancestral home. Mangyan Day showcases traditional attire, music, oral literature, and crafts, affirming identity in a world that often seeks to erase indigenous cultures. For the Mangyan people, preserving these traditions is not nostalgia, but resistance. It is a refusal to be erased by centuries of colonization, militarization, and exploitation. 

Photo Source: altermidya.net

The festival is particularly meaningful for younger generations. In communities where formal education is scarce and inaccessible, Mangyan Day serves as an educational platform. According to Bulatlat, many Mangyan children grow up without access to basic literacy and formal education, prompting communities to organize their own learning centers. These efforts are community-led, rooted in indigenous knowledge and guided by the dream of a future where young Mangyans grow up proud of who they are. Cultural celebrations such as Mangyan Day thus double as lessons in heritage and culture.

Photo Source: bulatlat.com

At the heart of the celebrations is the call to protect Daga Kagurangan, the ancestral land that sustains both their physical and cultural survival. The Mangyan people have long resisted land encroachments from mining companies  and government-backed development projects. Tribal leaders warned that mining interests threatened over 40,000 hectares of their forested lands, putting at risk not only the biodiversity but their very existence. 

The Mangyan’s ancestral domain is being eyed by mining firms, dam projects, and renewable energy developers, many of them operating with state support. According to Climate Tracker Asia, large-scale renewable energy projects in Oriental Mindoro are displacing indigenous communities, without consultation or consent. As one Alangan Mangyan put it: 

“We, indigenous peoples, should not be left behind. We talked person to person, and we hope they will too because ‘Mangyan’ means ‘human,’ after all.” 

To counter these, the Mangyan organized. Organizations like HAGIBBAT (Hanunuo, Alangan, Gubatnon, Iraya, Buhid, Bangon, Tadyawan), a federation of Mangyan communities, have emerged as frontline defenders of the land. HAGIBBAT serves as a unifying force that empowers Mangyan groups to stand against displacement and destruction. Their advocacy connects the fight for the land with the broader struggle for indigenous rights across the Philippines.

Photo Source: hagibbatmangyanmindoro.wordpress.com

The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) also acknowledges Mangyan Day as a vital moment for solidarity. Their statement on the 2018 celebration emphasized that the Mangyan struggle is emblematic of indigenous peoples worldwide– fighting for autonomy, dignity, and the right to determine their future. They also denounced militarized development as a violation of international humanitarian law, emphasizing that under the guise of counterinsurgency, indigenous territories are being militarized to silence dissent and facilitate land grabbing. 

Photo Source: ipmsdl.org

The threats aren’t only environmental or economic. The Mangyan people also face militarization under the guise of counterinsurgency programs. In 2019, Bulatlat reported the forced evacuation of over 600 Mangyan due to military operations under “Oplan Kapanatagan”. These incursions often target indigenous areas under suspicion of harboring rebels, creating fear that further marginalizes already vulnerable communities. Such militarization disrupts daily life and displaces families, cuts off access to farms, forests, and water sources. It deepens the trauma of a people already burdened by historical neglect. 

Photo Source: idpipst.wordpress.com

Despite the severe exploitation, the Mangyan continue to thrive in spirit and purpose. Their way of life, centered on farming, environmental stewardship, and peaceful coexistence offers a model for sustainable living. They cultivate crops like upland rice, sweet potatoes and bananas while maintaining respectful relationships with the forest and its resources. 

Mangyan Day is a reminder that the defense of culture is inseparable from the defense of land and life. It challenges all– Filipinos and the international community– to stand with indigenous peoples in their struggle for land, rights, and self-determination. Their struggle is our struggle too. 

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