Visayas is one in all the three major geographical divisions of the Philippines, together with Luzon and Mindanao. It consists of several islands, mostly surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeastern end of the whole Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are mainly Visayan people.
The essential islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and Samar. The region may include the islands of the provinces of Romblon and Masbate, whose populations discover as Visayan and whose languages are more closely related to the Visayan languages than to the essential languages of Luzon.
There are 4 administrative regions inside the Visayas: Western Visayas (4.47 million), Negros Islands Region (4.41 million), Central Visayas (6 million) and Eastern Visayas (4.44 million).
The Visayas archipelago, also generally known as Kabisay-an, has turn out to be the tourist hub of the Philippines.
Several years ago, the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) recognized the importance of connecting the whole Visayas archipelago with the Bicol area to create a tourism “megaregion.”
The Visayas archipelago stretches from the West Philippine Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Its nine essential islands are divided by narrow seas and straits. Around them are a whole lot of small islands, most of which haven’t yet been mapped and a few still don’t have any names. Boracay is probably the most famous of the smaller islands, with all the fundamental and exclusive tourist facilities. Malapascua and Bantayan in Cebu are already seasonal tourist destinations, while the quiet Calicoan Island is currently being transformed into the “Boracay of the Pacific” of Eastern Samar, a brand new browsing destination within the country.
The Visayans’ proud 18 million individuals are descendants of noble Malay migrants from the decaying Sri Vijaya Empire (in Indonesian, “Sriwijaya,” an enormous maritime kingdom centered in southern Sumatra, Indonesia) who settled in Panay within the twelfth century AD. It was from Sri Vijaya that Visayas took its name, and thus serves as a living reminder of this ancient kingdom that when exercised influence over much of Southeast Asia. Settlers from the decaying Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya Empire, led by Datu Putih and his entourage, settled on Panay and its surrounding islands.
There are three essential Visayan languages, that are closely related and have diverged into 36 varieties of speech. Incredibly, each of the three barangays of the seven-kilometer island of Boracay has its own dialect.
The Visayans are also proud that despite the dearth of architectural monuments, the nice Sri Vijaya Empire has left a vivid mark on the name of the archipelago and its people, who’re even romanticized by the Sanskrit origin of the word “Vijaya” which suggests “victory” or “excellence”. The Visayans are joyful that a major starting of events in Philippine history took place of their homeland.
History tells us that island hopping within the Visayas should have been popular in prehistoric times. Long before Magellan arrived in Homonhon in 1521, merchants from China, Arabia, Siam, and even Greek traders from as far-off as 21 AD were already trading in numerous parts of Kabisay-an. This is evidenced by various relics of pots, porcelain, and semi-precious stones from different eras, unearthed mainly on the coasts of Iloilo, Cebu, and Bohol. These ancient relics at the moment are housed in museums and personal collections within the cities of Cebu and Iloilo.
Source :
- G. Nye Steiger, H. Otley Beyer, Conrado Benitez, History of the OrientOxford: 1929, Ginn and Company, p. 120
- Boracaymagazine.net
- Enrique Maluku, the world’s first explorer |
