Visayas
The Visayas, or the Visayan Islands, are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are also considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan peoples.
The major islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Samar. The region may also include the provinces of Palawan, Romblon, and Masbate, whose populations identify as Visayan and whose languages are more closely related to other Visayan languages than to the major languages of Luzon.
There are four administrative regions in the Visayas: Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas.
Etymology
Pre-colonial etymology
From the 1950s to 1960s there were spurious claims by various authors that "Bisaya" is derived from the historical empire of "Sri Vijaya" which came from the Sanskrit term "Śrīvijaya", arguing that the Visayans were either settlers from Sri Vijaya or were subjects of it. This claim is largely based only on the resemblance of the word Bisaya to Vijaya. But as the linguist Eugene Verstraelen pointed out, Vijaya would evolve into Bidaya or Biraya, not Bisaya, based on how other Sanskrit-derived loanwords become integrated into Philippine languages.The name has also been hypothesized to be related to the Bisaya ethnic group of Borneo, the latter incidentally recounted in the controversial Maragtas epic as the alleged origins of the ancestral settlers in Panay. However historical, archeological, and linguistic evidence for this are still paltry. The languages of the Bisaya of Borneo and of the Bisaya of the Philippines do not show any special correlation, apart from the fact that they all belong to the same Austronesian family. This is contested by Historian Robert Nicholl who implied that the Srivijayans of Sumatra, Vijayans of Vijayapura at Brunei and the Visayans in the Philippines were all related and connected to each other since they form one contiguous area. On a similar note, according to an early Spanish missionary and historian P. Francisco Colin, S.J. in the Philippines, the inhabitants of Panay Island were originally from north Sumatra. Similarly there are claims that it was the name of a folk hero or that it originated from the exclamation "Bisai-yah!" by the Sultan of Brunei who was visiting Visayas for the first time. All these claims have been challenged and remain as mere speculations and folk etymologies.
Colonial etymology
The exact meaning and origin of the name of the Visayas is unknown. The first documented use of the name is possibly by Song-era Chinese maritime official Zhao Rugua as the Pi-sho-ye, who raided the coasts of Fujian and Penghu during the late 12th century using iron javelins attached to ropes as their weapons.Visayans were first referred to by the general term Pintados by the Spanish, in reference to the prominent practice of full-body tattooing. The word "Bisaya", on the other hand, was first documented in Spanish sources in reference to the non-Ati inhabitants of the island of Panay. However, it is likely that the name was already used as a general endonym by Visayans long before Spanish colonization, as evidenced by at least once instance of a place named "Bisaya" in coastal eastern Mindanao as reported by the Loaisa, Saavedra, and the Villalobos expeditions. It is likely that the reason the Spanish did not use the term generally until the later decades of the 1500s is due to the fact that people were more likely to identify themselves with more specific ethnic names like Sugbuanon.
In Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas by Antonio de Morga, he specifies that the name "Biçaya" is synonymous with Pintados.
History
Among the Chinese, especially during the Ming era, the Visayans are called Peshiye.The areas known as Pisheye were probably located in lowland coastal regions with minimal agricultural activity, a description that primarily fit the Rajahnate of Cebu and secondarily, the neighboring kingdoms: Dapitan, Madja-as, and Butuan; fit well.
The Visayans, known for their seafaring prowess, frequently conducted raids on the southern coasts of China. Their targets included major cities such as Quanzhou, along with smaller towns like Shui'ao and Weito. These attacks were launched from their operational base located in Eastern Taiwan.
Wang's account of the locals' appearance aligns with descriptions of the Pintados people. He noted that both men and women gathered their hair into topknots and used ink to tattoo their bodies up to the neck.
After the defeat of the Magellan expedition at the Battle of Mactan by Lapu-Lapu, King Philip II of Spain sent Miguel López de Legazpi in 1543 and 1565 to colonize the islands for Spain. Subsequently, the Visayas region and many kingdoms began converting to Christianity and adopting western culture. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the effects of colonization on various ethnic groups turned sour and revolutions such as those of Francisco Dagohoy began to emerge.
Various personalities who fought against the Spanish colonial government arose within the archipelago. Among the notable ones are Teresa Magbanua, Graciano Lopez Jaena and Martin Delgado from Iloilo, Aniceto Lacson, León Kilat and Diego de la Viña from Negros, Venancio Jakosalem Fernandez from Cebu, and two personalities from Bohol by the name of Tamblot, who led the Tamblot Uprising in 1621 to 1622 and Francisco Dagohoy, the leader of the Bohol Rebellion that lasted from 1744 to 1829. Negros briefly stood as an independent nation in the Visayas in the form of the Cantonal Republic of Negros, before it was absorbed back to the Philippines because of the American takeover of the archipelago.
The short-lived Federal State of the Visayas was established as a revolutionary state during the Philippine Revolution. It designated Iloilo City as the Visayas capital and was composed of three governments: the Provisional Government of the District of Visayas, the Cantonal Government of Negros, the Cantonal Government of Bohol, and the island of Cebu, which was under revolutionary control.
On May 23, 2005, Palawan was transferred from Mimaropa to Western Visayas under Executive Order No. 429, signed by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was the president at that year. However, Palaweños criticized the move, citing a lack of consultation, with most residents in Puerto Princesa and all Palawan municipalities but one, preferring to stay in Mimaropa. Consequently, Administrative Order No. 129 was issued on August 19, 2005, that the implementation of E.O. 429 be held in abeyance, pending approval by the president of its Implementation Plan. The Philippine Commission on Elections reported the 2010 Philippine general election results for Palawan as a part of the Region IV-B results., the abeyance was still in effect, with Palawan and its capital city remaining under Mimaropa.
On May 29, 2015, the twin provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental were joined to form the Negros Island Region under Executive Order No. 183, signed by President Benigno Aquino III. It separated both, the former province and its capital city from Western Visayas and the latter province from Central Visayas.
On August 9, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 38, revoking the Executive Order No. 183 signed by his predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III, on May 29, 2015, due to the reason of the lack of funds to fully establish the NIR according to Benjamin Diokno, the Secretary of Budget and Management.
On June 13, 2024, the Negros Island Region was re-established, with the inclusion of Siquijor.