Subanon people

The Subanon (also spelled Subanen or Subanun) is an indigenous group to the Zamboanga peninsula area, particularly living in the mountainous areas of Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental, Mindanao Island, Philippines. The Subanon people speak Subanon languages. The name is derived from the word soba or suba, a word common in Sulu, Visayas, and Mindanao, which means "river", and the suffix -nun or -non, which indicates a locality or place of origin. Accordingly, the name Subanon means "a person or people of the river". These people originally lived in the low-lying areas. However, due to disturbances and competitions from other settlers like the Moros, and migrations of Cebuano speakers to the coastal areas attracted by the inviting land tenure laws, further pushed the Subanon into the interior. The Subanon are traditionally farmers and regularly move from one location to another to clear more forest for fields. They cultivate crops, with rice as the most important crop, but they are also known to raise livestock including pigs, chickens, cattle, and water buffaloes. Subanon houses are built along hillsides and ridges overlooking family fields. The homes are usually rectangular and raised on stilts with thatched roofs. Subanons generally refer to themselves as a whole as the gbansa Subanon, meaning "the Subanon nation". They distinguish themselves from each other by their roots or point of origin. These are based on names of rivers, lakes, mountains, or locations. The groups that traditionally remained animist call themselves Subanen in the area closer to Zamboanga City. Outsiders often call the Subanon Subano, which is a Spanish version of the native name. Other groups, who are linguistically members of the Subanon language subgroup but adopted Islam, call themselves Kalibugan in the central area and Kolibugan in western areas. Kalibugan means "mixed, or half-breed, especially of roosters" in Tausug and Cebuano.