Tasaday

The Tasaday (tɑˈsɑdɑj) are a Philippine indigenous people of the Lake Sebu area in Mindanao. They are considered to belong to the Lumad group, along with the other indigenous groups on the island. They attracted widespread media attention in 1971, when a journalist of the Manila Associated Press bureau chief reported their discovery, amid apparent "Stone Age" technology and in complete isolation from the rest of Philippine society. Multiple agencies were also contacted, such as National Geographic. They again attracted attention in the 1980s when some accused the Tasaday of living in the jungle and speaking in their dialect as being part of an elaborate hoax, and doubts were raised as to their isolation and nature as a separate ethnic group. The Tasaday language is distinct from that of neighboring tribes, and linguists believe it probably split from the adjacent Manobo languages 200 years ago.