Philippine E-Journals

Music and Dance of the Bukidnon of Mindanao: A Short Introduction

Hans Brandeis

 

Abstract:

The Bukidnon are one of the traditionalistic ethnic groups in the southern Philippines. They inhabit the northeastern part of Mindanao, the second largest island of the archipelago, especially the remote mountainous regions of Bukidnon province and the neighboring provinces. There is no connection with the Bukidnon on the island of Panay in the central Philippines. The term “Bukidnon” (“mountain dweller”) which is derived from the Cebuano language is generally accepted by the ethnic group referred to. The old term recorded by Fay-Cooper Cole in 1915 (1956: 5), which was used by the people themselves, is “Higaonon” (from the word “gaun.” “to remove from fire or water”).