Visayas Islands
Visayan Islands
Next up is the Visayan Islands. There is speculation that the area was first inhabited by Austronesian peoples from Taiwan around 30,000 years ago by way of Luzon and enroute to Indonesia and Malaysia, thence to the Pacific Islands and possibly to the Americas, although that depends upon whom you ask.
By the time the Spanish came along, the Visayan People were a broad group of indigenous people of various ethnic backgrounds. To the Spanish they were simply the Visayans, who couldn't tell the natives or their languages apart. They did notice that some of the natives were pintado, or painted, whereas the rest were "white", however. The painted ones were in fact tatooed, a black powder being applied to fresh wounds caused by sharp implements. These decorative tatoos were in fact not decorative per se, they were won in battle; the warlike Sebwano and Waray people were continually raiding as far away as China and they were in fact head hunters.
Today, the islands are tropical paradises with beautiful beaches, coral reefs, lots of sugar and bug-eyed monkeys. Tourists will find in these islands such places as the beautiful island of Boracay, the Chocolate Hills, Oslob, where you can dive with whale sharks, and The Ruins - the Taj Mahal of the Philippines. Just take a tip and, as you board your plane to return home with your friends, do a quick head count.