| Lapu-Lapu |
| Total population |
|---|
| 20,000,000[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Cebu and overseas communities |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
Other Filipinos |
The Cebuano people (Cebuano: Sugbuanon), are a Visayan ethnic group in Cebu and form the second largest cultural-linguistic group in the Philippines.[2]
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The early people on the island were Austronesians who settled in Cebu around 30,000 years ago. They introduced a sea-faring ocean-sailing culture throughout Southeast Asia, the Polynesian islands and Madagascar. Like the rest of the population in the Philippine Islands, the Austronesian tribal groups, which became the Malay people encountered the Negrito population on the islands (Negros and Zambales).[3]
The early Cebuanos held animist beliefs and worshiped anitos (spirits) until the introduction of Roman Catholicism. Muslim traders from the Malay Archipelago i.e. present-dayMalaysia and Indonesia established trade relations with the islands between the 13th and 16th centuries, at the same time introducing Islam and being organized into a variety of tribal groups governed by chieftains called datus and rajahs. Both Spain and the United States colonized the island between the 16th and 20th century, achieving its independence from colonial rule in 1946. Today, the population of the island of Cebu stands at around 3,850,000 people.[4] A number of Cebuanos also have ancestries from other local ethnic groups in the Philippines; as well as foreign ancestries from Japanese,[5] Chinese and among others.
Cebuano culture is traditionally characterized as a blend of Malay[6] and tradition with influences from Asian culture, Spain, and the United States.The majority of its population are Roman Catholic[7] and there are also some followers of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and among others.
Among the island's notable festivities are the Sinulog[8] festival, which is a mixture of Christian and animist elements, celebrated annually every third week of January.
The Cebuano language is spoken by about 20,000,000 people in the country and forms the largest of the Visayan languages. It is the largest native language population. Most speakers of Cebuano are found in the Central Visayas and in certain parts of Mindanao. Other notable foreign languages spoken include Spanish and Chinese, which is spoken by its community, and among others.
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