 Cebuano men who served as guards in the early 20th century during theAmerican period. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8,683,525 (2020)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Philippines (Central Visayas,Negros Oriental,Masbate, western parts ofEastern Visayas, large parts ofMindanao) Worldwide | |
| Languages | |
| Cebuano,Filipino,English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity: PredominantlyRoman Catholicism. Minority others:Aglipayan,Protestantism,Islam,Buddhism,Hinduism,Taoism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Boholano,Ilonggo,Waray, otherVisayans otherAustronesian peoples |
TheCebuano people (Cebuano:Mga Sugbuanon) are the largest subgroup of the largerethnolinguistic groupVisayans, who constitute the largestFilipino ethnolinguistic group in the country. They originated in the province ofCebu in theregion ofCentral Visayas, but then later spread out to other places in the Philippines, such asSiquijor,Bohol,Negros Oriental, western and southernLeyte, westernSamar,Masbate, and large parts ofMindanao. It may also refer to theethnic group who speak the same language as their native tongue in different parts of the archipelago. The termCebuano also refers to thedemonym of permanent residents in Cebu island regardless of ethnicity.
The earliest European record of Cebuanos was byAntonio Pigafetta of theMagellan expedition. He provided some descriptions of their customs as well as samples of theCebuano language.[2][3]Ferdinand Magellan was killed in Cebu during theBattle of Mactan against the forces ofLapulapu.[4][5]
Later early Spanish colonists referred to the Cebuanos (and otherVisayans) as thepintados ("the painted ones"), due to their widespread practice of tattooing to record battle exploits.[5]
The majority of Cebuanos areRoman Catholic, with many in rural areas synchronizing Catholicism with indigenous Bisayan folk religion. A minority of Cebuanos (specifically those inMindanao) areMuslim (due to their contact with the Moro people), or in mixed Chinese-Cebuano families, incorporate Catholic beliefs with aspects ofBuddhism orTaoism.[6] A recent genetic study found 10-20% of Cebuano ancestry is attributable toSouth Asian (Indian) descent,[7] dated to a time when Precolonial Cebu practiced Hinduism.[8] Meanwhile, according to Spanish era tribute-censuses,Spanish-Filipinos compose 2.17% of the Cebuano people's recorded population.[9]: 113
Among the island's notable festivities are theSinulog[10] festival, which is a mixture of Christian and native cultural elements, celebrated annually every third week of January.
TheCebuano language is spoken by more than twenty million people in the Philippines and is the most widely spoken of theVisayan languages. Most speakers of Cebuano are found in Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, southeastern Masbate,Biliran, Western and Southern Leyte, easternNegros and most of Mindanao exceptBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Like with other Filipino ethnolinguistic groups,Tagalog (Filipino) andEnglish are also spoken by Cebuanos as second languages.
Despite being one of the largest ethnic groups, Cebuanos outside their homeland tend to fluently learn the languages native in areas where they settled and assimilated, along with their native language.Hiligaynon is spoken and understood by the Cebuanos living inNegros Occidental andSoccsksargen. They often speak a mixture of Cebuano and Hiligaynon inSagay and neighboring municipalities of Negros Occidental facing Iloilo and Cebu and municipalities borderingNegros Oriental,Bukidnon andDavao del Sur. Cebuano residents inZamboanga City andCaraga Region are fluent inZamboanga Chavacano,Butuanon andSurigaonon respectively, with the two latter are related to Cebuano. They have also varying fluencies in various Lumad languages, theDanao languages,Tausug (linguistically related to Cebuano),Yakan, andSama, in which these languages are native to the areas where Cebuanos also inhabit, coexist with and even assimilated to the natives, and to the lesser extent,Ilocano (a language originated inIlocandia), which is also spoken in Soccsksargen and various parts of Bukidnon,Misamis Oriental, Caraga,Zamboanga Sibugay andDavao Region. Cebuanos in Masbate and Eastern Visayas can also speakMasbateño, one of theBicol languages andWaray.
