Visayan Islands, also called Visayas or Bisayas, island group, central Philippines. The Visayan group consists of seven large and several hundred smaller islands clustered around the Visayan, Samar, and Camotes seas. The seven main islands are Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar. These islands and their smaller neighbours make. Top things to do in Western Visayas 2021.1. Trip.com features the best things to do in Western Visayas Philippines, including travel-guide, attractions, restaurants, and cheap hotels. Visayas DINAGYANG FESTIVAL, is an annual event, when the whole town rejoices, shouting their pride of being an Ilonggo and telling their culture. It is a wonderful looking back to the past.
The Sinulog Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, and is the center of the Santo Niño celebration in the Philippines. Other places likeMaasin City, Balingasag,Misamis Oriental and Southern Leyte also have their own version of the festival in honour of the Santo Niño.
The Sinulog commemorates the Filipino people's acceptance of Christianity (specifically, Roman Catholicism), and their rejection of their former animist beliefs. The first of these conversions happened in 1521 on the island ofCebu, when Rajah Humabon and his queen Amihan (Humamay) were baptised along with their subjects, becoming Carlos and Juana of Cebu.
One of the main highlights of the festival is the grand street parade which lasts for 9 to 12 hours (practically the entire day) with participants coming from the different towns and cities of Cebu and from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao across the Philippines. The Sinulog dance contingents are dressed in bright coloured costumes dancing gracefully to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a 'Sinulog sa Kabataan' performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the parade. Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex. The Sinulog Festival competition is divided into three (3) categories namely the Street Dancing Category, Free Interpretation and Sinulog base categories. The free interpretation category has the most number of participating contingents coming from outside Cebu. The dance steps are fast and the storyline and theme varies from folkloric, mythical and historical lines. The Sinulog based category centers more on the Sinulog ritual dance worship and the choreography is more 'formal' the dance steps depicts the prayer dance which is the true identity of the Sinulog ritual dance. The Sinulog based participants wear Filipiniana and Hispanic inspired costumes. The Grand Champion of the Free Interpretation and Sinulog base categories wins one million pesos (P1,000,000.00) respectively. The Sinanduloy Dance Troupe of Tangub City, Misamis Occidental is a consistent winner in the Sinulog based category. Carcar City of Cebu also proved their mastery of the Sinulog dance and they always end within the top 5 places in the Sinulog Competition. The famous Lumad Basakanon dance contingent of Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City has won several Free Interpretation titles in Sinulog and made history when they were elevated to the Aliwan Fiesta Hall of Fame for winning the national streetdancing champioship during Aliwan Fiesta 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2014. Sinulog Festival showcases the most number of participants and the best choreographic exhibition of any festival in the Philippines.
The Sinulog celebration lasts for nine days, culminating on the final day with the Sinulog Grand Parade. The day before the parade, the religious Fluvial Procession sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cebu is held at dawn with a statue of the Santo Niño carried on a beautifully decorated pump boat which sails from Mandaue City to Cebu City, decked with hundreds of flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino de Cebu where a re-enactment of the baptism to the Christian faith (that is, the acceptance of Roman Catholicism) of Cebu is performed. In the afternoon, a more solemn procession takes place along the major streets of Cebu City, which last for hours due to large crowd participation in the event.
Ati-Atihan
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The Ati-Atihan Festival is a feast held annually in January in honor of the Santo Niño (Infant Jesus), concluding on the third Sunday, in the island.
The festival consists of tribal dance, music, accompanied by indigenous costumes and weapons, and parade along the street. Christians, and non-Christians observe this day with religious processions. It has inspired many other Philippine Festivals including the Sinulog Festival of Cebu and Dinagyang of Iloilo, both adaptations of the Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival. and town of Kalibo, Aklan in the Philippines. The name 'Ati-Atihan' means 'to be like itas' or 'make believe Ati's.' itas were the primary settlers in the islands according to history books. They too are the earliest settlers of Panay Island where the province of Aklan is situated.
| Total local government units | |
|---|---|
| Regions | 3 |
| Provinces | 16 |
| Cities | 27 |
| Municipalities | 369 |
| Barangays | 11,444 |
| Population (2015) | 19,373,431 |
The Visayas (also known as the Visayan group of islands) is one of the three island groups making up the Philippine Archipelago. Its largest islands are Samar, Negros, Panay, Leyte, Cebu, and Bohol.
As of 2015, the Visayas had a total population of 19,373,431, representing 19.19% of the entire population of the Philippines.
Location
The island group has three (3) regions, namely, Region VI (Western Visayas), Region VII (Central Visayas), and Region VIII (Eastern Visayas).
The Visayas is bordered, clockwise from the North, by the Tablas Strait, Sibuyan Sea, Jintotolo Channel, Visayan Sea, Samar Sea, Ticao Pass, San Bernardino Strait, Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, Surigao Strait, Bohol Sea, Dipolog Strait, and the Sulu Sea.
map of regions
List of regions
The regions of the Visayas encompass a total of sixteen (16) provinces, with an aggregate of twenty-seven (27) cities, and 369 municipalities. The total number of barangays in the island group is 11,444.
| Region | Population (2015) | Regional center | Provinces | Total cities (HUC) | Total cities (ICC) | Total cities (CC) | Total mun | Total brgy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Visayas(Region VI) | 7,536,383 | Iloilo City | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 117 | 4,051 |
| Central Visayas(Region VII) | 7,396,898 | Cebu City | 4 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 116 | 3,003 |
| Eastern Visayas(Region VIII) | 4,440,150 | Tacloban | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 136 | 4,390 |
| Visayas Total | 19,373,431 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 369 | 11,444 |
Historical population
The population of the Visayas grew from 7,642,073 in 1960 to 19,373,431 in 2015, an increase of 11,731,358 people. The latest census figures in 2015 denote a positive growth rate of 1.41%, or an increase of 1,369,491 people, from the previous population of 18,003,940 in 2010.
| Census date | Population | Growth rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2,863,077 | – | |
| 3,810,750 | 1.82% | |
| 5,590,104 | 1.93% | |
| 6,414,595 | 1.42% | |
| 7,642,073 | 1.55% | |
| 9,032,454 | 1.65% | |
| 10,133,392 | 2.33% | |
| 11,112,523 | 1.86% | |
| 13,041,947 | 1.61% | |
| 14,158,443 | 1.55% | |
| 15,528,346 | 2.00% | |
| 17,159,481 | 1.39% | |
| 18,003,940 | 1.76% | |
| 19,373,431 | 1.41% |
Sources
In Visayas&& Larong Pinoy Philippines
- Historical population derived from the sum of populations of regions currently under the island group. These region populations are derived from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
- Maps utilize OpenStreetMap data available under the Open Data Commons Open Database License.
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