Indigenous Peoples FPIC Protocols

Subanon (also spelled Subanen or Subanun) is a tribe indigenous 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 the Subanon language. The name means "a person or people of the river."[1] These people originally lived in the lowlying areas. However, due to disturbances and competitions from other settlers like the Muslims, and migrations of Cebuano speakers to the coastal areas attracted by the inviting Land Tenure Laws, further pushed the Subanen into the interior.[2][3]

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. Wikipedia