The Aetas of the Philippines
Life after Mt. Pinatubo
Life after Mt. Pinatubo
| Heidi M. Pascual* Publisher & Editor * 2006 Journalist of the Year for the State of Wisconsin (U.S.-SBA) |
Lowland living by promoting tourism
By Heidi M. Pascual
The Aetas (eye-tas) are the Philippines’ indigenous people who live in
the mountains of western Luzon. They are also sometimes called Agta,
Ayta, or Ita, and they have long been considered one of the earliest
inhabitants of the country. During the Spanish regime, Spaniards called
the Aetas “Negritos,” meaning small, dark-skinned, curly haired mountain
people. The men wear G-strings while women wear wrap-around skirts.
The Aetas, like some other indigenous people of the country, were very
resistant to change. It was only after the repeated intrusions of lowland
folks — local and foreign — who made money through mining and
logging operations, did the Aetas’ way of living start to change.
Nevertheless, they were known for resiliency that allowed them to ward off
any pressure from the outside world for hundreds of years.
Mostly nomadic, the Aetas hunt for wild animals and practice slash-
and-burn farming. Thus, their world is made up of the mountain ranges
from where they get their livelihood. One of these mountains is Mt.
Pinatubo, located in the province of Zambales, which the Aetas consider
not only as their home, but the home of their god, Apo Mallari, a supreme
being. Mt. Pinatubo is also revered as the place where their forefathers’
By Heidi M. Pascual
The Aetas (eye-tas) are the Philippines’ indigenous people who live in
the mountains of western Luzon. They are also sometimes called Agta,
Ayta, or Ita, and they have long been considered one of the earliest
inhabitants of the country. During the Spanish regime, Spaniards called
the Aetas “Negritos,” meaning small, dark-skinned, curly haired mountain
people. The men wear G-strings while women wear wrap-around skirts.
The Aetas, like some other indigenous people of the country, were very
resistant to change. It was only after the repeated intrusions of lowland
folks — local and foreign — who made money through mining and
logging operations, did the Aetas’ way of living start to change.
Nevertheless, they were known for resiliency that allowed them to ward off
any pressure from the outside world for hundreds of years.
Mostly nomadic, the Aetas hunt for wild animals and practice slash-
and-burn farming. Thus, their world is made up of the mountain ranges
from where they get their livelihood. One of these mountains is Mt.
Pinatubo, located in the province of Zambales, which the Aetas consider
not only as their home, but the home of their god, Apo Mallari, a supreme
being. Mt. Pinatubo is also revered as the place where their forefathers’
spirits had taken the form of animals, trees, and earth mounds. Mt. Pinatubo has been their world, from
birth to grave. The Aetas’ lifespan, according to records, has been 16 1/2 years.
Mt. Pinatubo eruption
On June 12-15, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology, Mt. Pinatubo is a volcano that had been in slumber for more than 400 years. This
eruption was so violent that it ejected “more than five billion cubic meters of ash and pyroclastic debris,
and produced eruption columns 18 kilometers wide at the base and heights reaching up to 30
kilometers above the volcano’s vent.” Its ejected ash and debris even reached several countries and
harmed the environment for months. It killed and injured hundreds of people, displaced millions of
people, and destroyed millions of dollars in property and infrastructure. Most of all, the Mt. Pinatubo
eruption destroyed the home of the Aetas and the sacred place of Apo Mallari. The Aetas believed that
Apo Mallari caused the eruption because he was angry at illegal loggers and others who were
destroying the mountain.
Coincidentally, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption also forced the immediate evacuation of the United
States military personnel and their families from the U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay (a major ship repair,
supply and RR facility in the Pacific) and Clark Air Base in Pampanga. In 1992, the Philippine Senate
voted not to renew the U.S. Military Bases Agreement. The Philippine government then created the
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to clean up and develop the Subic Bay area into a major
international trading port that it is today.
Life After Mt. Pinatubo
In the days following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, hundreds of Aetas, young and old, were seen along
the highways and roads of Central Luzon, begging for food and looking for shelters. Many reached
urban areas including Metro Manila where they joined the ranks of the homeless and the very poor. It
was difficult not to feel the pain and the hopelessness of a group of people ill-equipped to live in the
lowlands.
It took some time before the Aetas, with the help of the government and many charitable
organizations, local and foreign, were able to start rebuilding their lives. While many Aetas decided to
go back to the mountains close to Mt. Pinatubo, hundreds of families decided to stay in the lowlands,
preferring the rural areas in sitios and districts of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. Many, particularly
the younger ones, have learned to assimilate.
The Aetas in Subic Bay
The former U.S. Naval Base, Subic Bay, is now home to Zoobic Safari, the adventure park noted for
numerous Bengali tigers and wildlife from the Philippines and other parts of the world. Zoobic Safari
has become a major tourist attraction in Subic Bay, and a major employer of the Aetas in this part of
Zambales. Aetas take care of the animals in captivity in the zoo, and they perform before tourists and
guests twice a day, sharing some of their tribal dances, such as their wedding and war dances. During
my last visit with my family in Subic, I noticed that the Aetas who performed were definitely bicultural
children already, a clear sign of assimilation and intermarriage with the lowlanders. I learned that a
number of them go to school, speak lowland dialects and some English. When not performing, they are
fully clothed and wearing sandals or shoes. They have adapted in the lowland.
I guess Apo Mallari had decided that the Aetas should each live longer than 16 1/2 years.
birth to grave. The Aetas’ lifespan, according to records, has been 16 1/2 years.
Mt. Pinatubo eruption
On June 12-15, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology, Mt. Pinatubo is a volcano that had been in slumber for more than 400 years. This
eruption was so violent that it ejected “more than five billion cubic meters of ash and pyroclastic debris,
and produced eruption columns 18 kilometers wide at the base and heights reaching up to 30
kilometers above the volcano’s vent.” Its ejected ash and debris even reached several countries and
harmed the environment for months. It killed and injured hundreds of people, displaced millions of
people, and destroyed millions of dollars in property and infrastructure. Most of all, the Mt. Pinatubo
eruption destroyed the home of the Aetas and the sacred place of Apo Mallari. The Aetas believed that
Apo Mallari caused the eruption because he was angry at illegal loggers and others who were
destroying the mountain.
Coincidentally, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption also forced the immediate evacuation of the United
States military personnel and their families from the U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay (a major ship repair,
supply and RR facility in the Pacific) and Clark Air Base in Pampanga. In 1992, the Philippine Senate
voted not to renew the U.S. Military Bases Agreement. The Philippine government then created the
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to clean up and develop the Subic Bay area into a major
international trading port that it is today.
Life After Mt. Pinatubo
In the days following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, hundreds of Aetas, young and old, were seen along
the highways and roads of Central Luzon, begging for food and looking for shelters. Many reached
urban areas including Metro Manila where they joined the ranks of the homeless and the very poor. It
was difficult not to feel the pain and the hopelessness of a group of people ill-equipped to live in the
lowlands.
It took some time before the Aetas, with the help of the government and many charitable
organizations, local and foreign, were able to start rebuilding their lives. While many Aetas decided to
go back to the mountains close to Mt. Pinatubo, hundreds of families decided to stay in the lowlands,
preferring the rural areas in sitios and districts of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. Many, particularly
the younger ones, have learned to assimilate.
The Aetas in Subic Bay
The former U.S. Naval Base, Subic Bay, is now home to Zoobic Safari, the adventure park noted for
numerous Bengali tigers and wildlife from the Philippines and other parts of the world. Zoobic Safari
has become a major tourist attraction in Subic Bay, and a major employer of the Aetas in this part of
Zambales. Aetas take care of the animals in captivity in the zoo, and they perform before tourists and
guests twice a day, sharing some of their tribal dances, such as their wedding and war dances. During
my last visit with my family in Subic, I noticed that the Aetas who performed were definitely bicultural
children already, a clear sign of assimilation and intermarriage with the lowlanders. I learned that a
number of them go to school, speak lowland dialects and some English. When not performing, they are
fully clothed and wearing sandals or shoes. They have adapted in the lowland.
I guess Apo Mallari had decided that the Aetas should each live longer than 16 1/2 years.
| An Aeta Idol guards the entry to the Aetas' Village |
(From top left) Entertaining Zoobic
Safari guests with a python; a typical
Aeta house in the mountain; an
all-male parade; youths at play;
showing off a bear cat; Aeta
wedding dance
Safari guests with a python; a typical
Aeta house in the mountain; an
all-male parade; youths at play;
showing off a bear cat; Aeta
wedding dance