The Bohol Ati Tribe

I was surprised to find out that the river cruise we took in Bohol was a different one. I was expecting to see the Loboc children's choir but our tour guide Dolly said that we were going on the lesser congested route. I was pleasantly surprised with the route we took since it was an all nature route and the food was way much better.

We disembarked down the river to take a look at the Ati Tribe. I dug around the internet and found out that the Ati Tribe is believed to be the first inhabitants of our country. They are part of the Negrito ethnic group in Panay and speak their own dialect. However this dialect is believed to be "endangered" since only about 1,500 of them still speak it. Because of exposure to outsiders things are also changing a lot for the tribe including clothing and how they do things.

Here's some photos I took of the Ati Tribe.

One of the kids show off his pet lizard. 

The were building this huge replica of a crab. Instant death for me since I'm allergic to crabs!

A warrior. 

A juxtaposition of the old vs. new, nature vs. gadgets. 

See the tiny turtle? 

It was a hot day and I couldn't help but feel envious how he jumped into the river. 

The river cruise was part of the countryside tour. We paid PhP6,000 each inclusive of 3 days, 2 nights stay in Dumaluan Beach Resort. The countryside tour includes the Blood Compact, Chocolate Hills, Butterfly House (we skipped that though), the river cruise (yummy food!), tarsiers and some shopping time with a huge van and personal tour guide. It was definitely fun to have my boys see Bohol!