MindaNews fact-checked a Facebook post by one Joel Lopez about the Mamanwa indigenous people living in parts of Caraga Region, and Leyte and Samar provinces. The post said the Mamanwas “are also known as ‘Kong King’ due to their kinky hair, a term possibly derived from the Spanish word ‘conquista’ (conquered ones).” This is false.
On August 18, Joel Lopez posted an item about the Mamanwa (also Mamanua), a group of indigenous people inhabiting parts of the Caraga Region and Southern Leyte. His article, which did not mention any sources, said that the Mamanwas are also called Kong King “due to their kinky hair, a term possibly derived from the Spanish word ‘conquista’ (conquered ones).”
Studies made by at least two experts showed that this is a false claim and that the word is derogatory.
In the paper “Theorizing Mamanuan Diaspora: from Vanishing Mediator to Performative Indigeneity,” Jan Gresil S. Kahambing, of Leyte Normal University in Tacloban City, notes:
“As Aetas, their (Mamanuas) physiognomy of black skin and curly hair earned some discriminatory remarks that they are often called Kongkings, a derogatory play of words associated with the giant black ape King Kong, or Mamaws, monsters that frighten children equivalent to that of the boogeyman.”
Kahambing’s study traces the movements of the Mamanwas from their original homelands in Agusan and Surigao provinces to the nearest islands in the Visayas, Leyte and Samar, due to a confluence of factors. These include displacements due to Bisayan migration, armed conflicts between government and rebel forces, and entry of logging and mining ventures.
In “A Conceptual Framework For the Study And Teaching of Philippine History and For Nation-Building,” Leslie Bauzon highlights the tendency to assign derogatory terms for minority populations. The paper, which was presented during the 2nd National Conference on the Teaching of Philippine and Asian History and Culture (12-16 April 1999, U.P. Diliman) and Japanese audiences at Kyoto University, Soka University and University of Tsukuba in the Autumn term of 2000, states:
“The indigenous upland inhabitants, not to mention the Muslims, have come to be considered as outsiders by those claiming ethnic and cultural dominance in the Christianized lowlands and coastal areas. This utter social segmentation is reflected in the disparaging words used by the dominant Christianized majority in describing those in the minority communities…”
“In the Southern Philippine island of Mindanao, the Christian inhabitants there display their own biases toward the island’s highlanders, known across Mindanao as the lumads or ‘sons of the soil’. There is one lumad group in Northeastern Mindanao, especially in the Surigao and Agusan provinces, known as the Mamanwa or ‘people of the forest.’ The Christianized Surigaonon and the Agusanon lowlanders have a term for the Mamanwa: ‘Kong King’ which is a play of ‘King Kong’ the gorilla! The implication is that the Mamanwa are no better than monkeys dwelling in trees up in the Eastern Cordillera ranges of Mindanao.”
Kahambing, citing several sources, further notes:
“Generally, the Mamanuas are descendants of the Aetas or Negritos who came to the Philippines the earliest (30,000-25,000 BC) as nomadic hunters and foragers (Burton, 2003; cf. Stoneking, 2008). They speak the Proto-Manobo language (cf. Dyen, 1965/1963; Pallesen, 1985) and sought habitat in Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Surigao del Norte. They are the original inhabitants of the region (see Garvan, 1964; Almeda, 1993; Tiukinhoy, 1997; Trinidad, 2012). On the outset then, before we understand their migrancy, it is important to note that the Mamanwas first set-up home in forestal uplands along these regions because these have rich resources like feral plant food and wild animals. There [sic] are called Mamanwa or first forest dwellers as stemmed from man (first) and banwa (forest).
As of 1pm on August 27, Lopez’s post had generated 2,100 reactions, 140 comments and 713 shares. He has 7,500 followers.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories.
MindaNews is a verified signatory to the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
