Aeta people

Aeta (Ayta  ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live as hunter-gatherers in various parts of Luzon in the Philippines. They are included in a wider Negrito grouping in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia, with whom they share superficial common features, characterized by dark skin tones; short statures; frizzy to curly hair; and a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair colour (blondism) relative to the general population.

Aetas are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines — even before the Austronesian migrations. The modern Aeta populations are noted to have significant Austronesian admixture, and speak Austronesian languages.

Etymology
The endonyms of most of the various Aeta peoples are derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ʔa(R)ta (also reconstructed as *qata or *ʔata)  meaning "[dark skinned] person." This is in contrast to the other terms for "person" in other Philippine (and Oceanian) groups derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau (e.g. Tagalog tao), which refers to lighter-skinned groups with majority Austronesian descent. 

Lawrence A. Reid, the notable linguist, wrote that *ʔa(R)ta may have originally been the Negrito word for "person" in Northern Luzon, but was adopted into Austronesian languages with the meaning of "dark-skinned person", after the arrival of Austronesian migrants to the Philippines from Formosa island.

Demographics
In 2010, there were 50,236 Aeta people in the Philippines. The indigenous peoples of the Philippines such as the Aeta are diverse groups of people who have preserved their traditional culture and practices, in areas isolated from mainstream society.

References

Category:Indigenous peoples of the Philippines
Category:Ethnic groups in the Philippines