Kongkings of the Mountain

Bloodlines of the Mamanwa

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Kongkings of the Mountain – Bloodlines of the Mamanwa

11 August 2025 Feature | Surigao Historical Society | Local History

The First Peoples of Surigao

Long before Visayan traders built balanghai, before Spaniards carved mission towns, and before mining roads cut across the mountains, there were already communities in Surigao who called the forests and hills their home. These were the Mamanwa, often dismissed by outsiders as “Negritos,” yet in truth far older, far more complex, and far more deeply rooted than colonial labels suggest.

In Surigao Across the Years (Chapter III: In the Beginning – The Escalon Man), Dr. Fernando A. Almeda Jr. describes the Mamanwa as one of the earliest surviving populations of the Caraga Region. Hunters, gatherers, and small-scale swidden farmers, they occupied the mountainous interiors of Surigao, living in close rhythm with nature. For centuries, they endured the twin pressures of marginalization and survival, yet carried with them a cultural heritage that may hold clues to the very beginnings of the Filipino people.

A Challenge to Anthropology: The Japanese Studies

For most of the 20th century, Philippine anthropology placed the Mamanwa under the catch-all category of “Negritos,” a label used to group together small-statured, dark-skinned, curly-haired peoples across the archipelago, including the Aeta of Luzon and the Ati of Panay. They were thought to be remnants of the earliest migration waves, displaced by later Austronesian-speaking settlers.

But when Japanese anthropologists conducted field and genetic studies among the Mamanwa, they uncovered results that shook this neat narrative. Their findings suggested that the Mamanwa might not simply be an offshoot of the Aetas. Instead, their genetic profile showed distinct lineages that pointed to an even older ancestry, possibly one of the most ancient in the entire Philippines, if not in Island Southeast Asia.

If true, this meant that the Mamanwa were not just “leftovers” of early migrations but could be a foundational people, a living link to the first human populations that set foot in the archipelago tens of thousands of years ago.

“Kongkings” of the Mountain

Among lowland Surigaonons, the Mamanwa were often called “Kongkings”, a term half-respectful, half-derisive, marking them as rugged mountain-dwellers. To some, they were curiosities; to others, remnants of a vanishing age. Yet the name also captured something essential: they were the people of the highlands, living where few others could, and adapting to an environment that demanded resilience.

Their culture reflected this resilience. Through rituals like the panuhug (offerings to spirits) and community dances such as the uyauy, the Mamanwa expressed a worldview where spirits, ancestors, and nature were bound together. Their chants and oral traditions, handed down across generations, preserved histories of migration, kinship, and survival that colonial archives ignored.

While marginalized, the Mamanwa were never erased. They remained “lords of the mountains,” embodying both endurance and dignity even as lowland society tried to push them aside.

Marginalization Across the Centuries

Colonial and postcolonial policies often made life harsher for the Mamanwa. Spanish missionaries attempted to gather them into mission towns but failed, as the Mamanwa resisted permanent settlement. American administrators described them as “non-Christian tribes,” a category that placed them at the fringes of governance.

In the modern era, development projects, logging, mining, and road construction, further displaced them from ancestral domains. Many were forced into wage labor or dependent relationships with lowland communities, while others withdrew deeper into the mountains. Still, they adapted, maintaining their practices while negotiating survival in a world that constantly sought to marginalize them.

Redefining Filipino Ancestry

The Japanese anthropologists’ genetic research reframed the place of the Mamanwa in history. If their lineages are indeed older than those of the Aetas, then the narrative of the Filipino must shift. Instead of being “others” at the periphery, the Mamanwa become central figures in the story of human arrival in the Philippines.

This redefinition is profound. It tells us that Surigao is not just a recipient of history, it is a cradle of ancestry. The Mamanwa, often hidden in mountains and overlooked by mainstream society, may hold the deepest bloodlines in the archipelago, connecting the present to the dawn of human settlement.

Legacy of Survival

Despite centuries of neglect, the Mamanwa endure. Their survival is itself a testament to cultural strength. They remind us that civilization does not only reside in towns, fortresses, or churches, it also resides in the quiet knowledge of forests, in the chants that recall ancestors, and in the ability to persist against the odds.

Dr. Almeda stresses that the tragedy of the Mamanwa is not that they were “primitive,” but that dominant society failed to recognize their richness. Yet their legacy lives: in their dances, in their bloodlines, and in the continuing struggle for recognition of their ancestral domains.

Five Questions to Spark Your Curiosity

What specific genetic markers did the Japanese studies uncover among the Mamanwa, and how do these compare with other Philippine Negrito groups?
How do Mamanwa rituals like the panuhug and uyauy reflect their spiritual worldview?
What role did colonial and postcolonial governments play in shaping the marginalization of the Mamanwa?
How does the label “Kongkings” reveal both prejudice and recognition of their resilience?
If the Mamanwa are among the oldest Filipinos, how should this reshape our understanding of national identity and ancestry?

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