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Tagalog people
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The Tagalog people is the second largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. The name Tagalog comes from the native term tagailog, meaning 'people living along the river'. The prefix taga- means "coming from" or "native of", while the word ilog means 'river'. Translated, tagailog means 'coming from the river' or 'native of the river', with 'the' being implied. There is also one theory that the name Tagalog developed from the name Tagal used by tribes from Borneo and Sumatra or Minangkabaw.
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Encyclopedia
The Tagalog people is the second largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. The name Tagalog comes from the native term tagailog, meaning 'people living along the river'. The prefix taga- means "coming from" or "native of", while the word ilog means 'river'. Translated, tagailog means 'coming from the river' or 'native of the river', with 'the' being implied. There is also one theory that the name Tagalog developed from the name Tagal used by tribes from Borneo and Sumatra or Minangkabaw. In more recent times, the people of this ethnolinguistic group rarely refer to themselves as "Tagalog", and instead, refer to themselves simply as "Filipino".
The Tagalogs are one of the most widespread groups of people in the Philippines. They form a majority in the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna, Marinduque, Metro Manila, Nueva Ecija, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Quezon, and Rizal. Other provinces with significant Tagalog populations include the provinces of Palawan, Tarlac, and in Zambales.
Recent Genelogy reasearch of the University of Manila has found out that some Tagalog people as well as a lot other Filipino people share similar traces and genes of Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan and & other South East Asians that possibly settled there around 4000-2000 B.C., as well as some Spanish and other Europeans who intermarried with some locals during the Pre-Hispanic era.
Demographics
Tagalog people number about 15,876,000 making them the second largest Filipino ethnic group. Tagalogs speak the Tagalog language, with many dialectal variations, although all Tagalog dialects are considered to be mutually comprehensible to each other. The main religion of Tagalogs is Christianity, mostly Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as other religions.
Culture
The Tagalog culture of the Pre-Hispanic times was totally different from its forms today. Tagalog culture grew steadily to accept foreign, especially Spanish, British, and American cultural influences. Traditionally, the Tagalogs are for the most part agriculturalists, although there are a few who engage in fishing. Tagalogs have a very strict adherence to conduct politeness and respect, and this is exemplified by practices and their language structure. Tagalogs are also depicted by examples of bravery and courage, as manifested by historical events, e.g., the Philippine Revolution and World War II.
Tagalogs are also focused on food preparation and culinary activities. Women (and sometimes, men) are trained early on to become culinary experts. This is depicted in lavish celebrations during Fiestas and gatherings.
History
The present "center" of the Tagalog culture and people is Taal, Batangas, being its birthplace, and is still the "Heartland of the Tagalog Culture". Most of the culture of the Tagalog people is passed on by oral tradition, despite the existence of a writing system. This is because even if they were literate and had a written tradition before the Spaniards arrived, they wrote their ideas on perishable leaves and branches.
A number of Philippine national heroes are of Tagalog heritage. The Tagalogs staged numerous revolts against Spanish colonization, and were also among the earliest. One such revolt was that of Apolinario de la Cruz (Hermano Pule), which was religious in orientation. José Rizal, the Philippine national hero from Calamba, Laguna has Tagalog heritage.
In 1898, many leaders of the Philippine Revolution were Tagalogs, including the first Philippine president Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini, Andrés Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, among others.
Since Aguinaldo, four other Tagalogs assumed the presidency: Manuel L. Quezon (who was a Spanish-mestizo with mostly Tagalog native ancestry), José P. Laurel, Corazon C. Aquino (partly of Tagalog and descent, from her maternal side), and Joseph Ejercito Estrada. Early Philippine history has always been actively participated by the struggles and triumphs of the Tagalog people and the Tagalogs came to take an active part in the present Philippine economy and politics. Tagalog prominence in the national character is well-founded, as Philippine history has shown Tagalogs to be persevering and forwarding the Filipino spirit.
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