Why It's Called That
Spain called the Visayans the painted ones
Before they were called Visayans, Spain called them Pintados, for tattoos earned by bravery. Where the word Bisaya comes from, nobody knows for sure; a Bornean legend has its own answer.
0:51 · The Visayas · October 8, 2026
The story
Spain didn't first call them Visayans. It called them the painted ones. Pintados. The paint was tattoos, over the whole body, from youth. The Jesuit Pedro Chirino wrote that the skin was pricked with sharp points, until the blood came.
And in ancient times, each new tattoo had to be earned with a new act of bravery. Chirino also wrote that the islands' proper name was Bisayas. Here's the twist. In 1544, a Spaniard on Mindanao was told of a province there called Bisaya.
So where does the word come from? A popular theory says the Srivijaya empire. But one study says the sounds don't match. And a legend from Borneo says a sultan saw these islands, and cried out... Bisai-yah!
How beautiful! From the Visayas? What story did you grow up with? Tell us in the comments.
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