Manobo is the hispanicized spelling of the endonym Manuvu (also spelled Menuvu or Minuvu).
Its etymology is unclear; in its current form it means 'person' or 'people'.
It is believed that it is derived from the rootword tuvu which means "to grow"/"growth" (thus Man[t]uvu would be "[native]-grown" or "aboriginal").

The Manobo are probably the most diverse ethnic groups of the Philippines in the relationships and names of the groups that belong to this family of languages.
The total current Manobo population is not known, although they occupy core areas from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in the regions of Agusan, Davao, Bukidnon, Surigao, Misamis, and Cotabato.
A study by the journal NCCP-PACT put their population in 1988 at around 250,000.
The groups occupy such a wide area of distribution that localized groups have assumed the character of distinctiveness as a separate ethnic grouping such as the Bagobo or the Higaonon, and the Atta.
Depending on specific linguistic points of view, the membership of a dialect with a supergroup shifts.

The Manobo possess Denisovan admixture, much like the Mamanwa.
Manobo is the hispanicized spelling of the endonym Manuvu (also spelled Menuvu or Minuvu). Its etymology is unclear; in its current form it means 'person' or 'people'. It is believed that it is derived from the rootword tuvu which means "to grow"/"growth" (thus Man[t]uvu would be "[native]-grown" or "aboriginal").
The Manobo are probably the most diverse ethnic groups of the Philippines in the relationships and names of the groups that belong to this family of languages. The total current Manobo population is not known, although they occupy core areas from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in the regions of Agusan, Davao, Bukidnon, Surigao, Misamis, and Cotabato. A study by the journal NCCP-PACT put their population in 1988 at around 250,000. The groups occupy such a wide area of distribution that localized groups have assumed the character of distinctiveness as a separate ethnic grouping such as the Bagobo or the Higaonon, and the Atta. Depending on specific linguistic points of view, the membership of a dialect with a supergroup shifts.
The Manobo possess Denisovan admixture, much like the Mamanwa.
Lumad