HILIGAYNON

also called Ilongo, or Panayan, fourth largest ethnolinguistic group of the Philippines, living on Panay, western Negros, southern Mindoro, Tablas, Romblon, Sibuyan, Guimaras, and northwestern Masbate. Numbering about 6,540,000 in the late 20th century, they speak a Visayan (Bisayan) language of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family. Geographically and culturally, the heartland of the Hiligaynon area lies along both sides of the broken straits separating Panay and Negros. The coastal cities of Iloilo, on the former, and Bacolod, on the latter, serve as economic and administrative centres for the region. Most Hiligaynon, however, live in small rural barrios where the main economic activity is farming or, occasionally, fishing. The major crops are rice, corn (maize), sugarcane, and coconuts.