Buhid

• Location: Interior of Mindoro Island.
• Supergroup: Mangyan
• Population: Swidden corn and rice; beans, sweet potatoes, yams, taro, sugar cane.

One of the Mangyan cultures of Mindoro, the Buhid live between the Batangans in the north and the Hanunoo to the south, and employ two different versions of the Mangyan Hindic script. Written on bamboo slivers by stylii or knives, this script is used to record ambalan or urukay, a type of poetry, in addition to songs. These are performed to the accompaniment of guitars, fiddles, flutes, and/or jew’s harps. Like other Mangyan groups, the Buhid live in settlements of five to twelve single-family houses, which are situated on slopes near mountain streams and named after the oldest resident.