Figure 1.--This commercial postcard shows a boy from Mindanao in 1909. Some one wrote "a mountain boy of the Philippines on the back". This was presumably an outfit for special occassions.

Regional differences can be particularly pronounced in archepeligo countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. And we do see pronounced regional differences among the Philippines many islands. This has gradually declined since World war II as a result of improved transportation and mass media. The term region has a specific meaning in the Philippines. The country currently has 81 provinces (lalawigan) organized into 11 regions (rehiyon). The divisions and provinces change somewhat over time. The regions are organized geographically around three major islands (Luzon in the north, Visayas in the central region, and Minanao in the south). The smaller islands are grouped into one of the 11 large-island based regions. Mindoro is grouped with the Luzon regions. Visayas includes and numbder od islands including Cebu and Leyte. There are important ehnic, cultural, economic, and relgion differences between the various provinces. Manila on Luzon is a very modern city. Some of the other provinces are much less developed. This is particularly the case on Mindanao which is much less densly populated than Luzon. The Philippines is a largely Catholic country. There is the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) located on the western side of the island. This is the region of the Philippines that is predominantly Muslim and is made up of several provinces (Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi). It also includes the Philippines' only predominantly Muslim city--Marawi.

Created: 11:25 PM 6/25/2008
Last updated: 11:25 PM 6/25/2008