Ivatan people
Ibatan | |
|---|---|
An elderly Ivatan woman | |
| Total population | |
| 38,622 (2020 census) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Philippines (Batanes) | |
| Languages | |
| Ivatan, Ilocano, Tagalog, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholicism), minority also, ancestral worship | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tao people, Taiwanese aborigines, Ilocanos, other Austronesian peoples |
The Ivatan people are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group native to the Batanes and Babuyan Islands of the northernmost Philippines. They are genetically closely related to other ethnic groups in Northern Luzon, but also share close linguistic and cultural affinities with the Tao people of Orchid Island in Taiwan.
The culture of the Ivatans is partly influenced by the environmental conditions of Batanes. Unlike the old-type nipa huts common in the Philippines, Ivatans have adopted their now-famous stone houses made of coral and limestone, designed to protect against the hostile climate.