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The Sambal people are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group living primarily in the province of Zambales and the Pangasinan municipalities of Bolinao, Anda, and Infanta. The term may also refer to the general inhabitants of Zambales. They were also referred to as the Zambales (singular Zambal) during the Spanish colonial era.
In 1950s, hundreds of Sambal from the northern municipalities of Zambales migrated to and established a settlement in Quezon, Palawan; this settlement was named Panitian. The residents call themselves Palawenyong Sambal (Spanish: zambales palaweños) or simply Sambal.
The Sambals were known to be militant and fierce fighters, notorious for their bloody raids on Christian settlements. They were described by European writers as being excellent archers who used . They were also armed with sibat, a short blade or dagger, and carried large rectangular kalasag shields. Fr. Manuel Buzeta in Diccionario Geográfico, Estadístico, Histórico de las Islas Filipinas (1850) describes the Zambales region during the early Spanish period as being sparsely populated by a small number of Sambal villages, with huge distances between them. Each village had about ten to thirty families and were often at war with other villages. The Sambal were Headhunting, with similar headhunting traditions as the Cordillerans. A warrior's status was tied to the number of enemies they had killed. They kept a collection of heads or skulls to indicate this, which is also represented by certain ornaments worn on the body. When a person dies by violent or natural means, the immediate male relatives would wear a strip of black cloth to signify mourning. They would be forbidden from singing, dancing, or participating in festivities until they kill an enemy. Murderers within a community are also punished by death, unless a payment of a certain quantity of gold or silver or slaves is accepted by the family of the deceased.
In the Boxer Codex, they were said to immediately cut off the head of people they kill with a balarao dagger. They then make a crown-shaped incision on the head and remove the brains. The head is kept as a trophy. The Boxer Codex also mentions other customs whose veracity is questionable, including claims that they eat carabao intestines raw, or that only the first and second sons inherit their father's property while the rest are enslaved or sacrificed in a manganito ritual. (2025). 9789004301542, Brill. ISBN 9789004301542
The Sambals have been occasionally recruited by Indio commanders ( indio was the term used for the Austronesian natives) in campaigns against the Spanish, who then governed the islands. The Sambal were also once known to have captured and enslaved Diego Silang as a child, eventually being ransomed by a Recollets missionary in Zambales.
During the first hundred years of Spanish rule, the Sambal, like most other non-Spanish groups in the Philippines during the colonial era, had their barangay reorganized and were forced into reducciones in order to assimilate them into Spanish culture norms. They were gradually Christianized by Spanish missionaries, especially after the establishment of Fort Paynauen (Paynaven) in what is now Botolan.
During the colonial period, the Sambals primarily sold valuable timber, which they shipped by indigenous boats to Manila. This trade was often targeted by , contributing to the relative poverty of the province in the 18th and 19th centuries. The sparsely populated valley of the Zambales region was also later settled by migrants, largely from the Ilocos region and the Southern Tagalog, leading to the modern decline in the Sambal identity and language. The Historical Indúng Kapampángan: Evidence from History and Place Names Zambales Province, Home Province of Subic Bay and Mt. Pinatubo
During the 1950s, hundreds of Sambals coming from Candelaria, Santa Cruz, and Masinloc in Zambales migrated to an undeveloped and forested area in southern Palawan. They established a settlement which was later on named Panitian. Like in Masinloc, many residents of Panitian have their last names start with the letter E. Most common last names are Eclarino, Elefane, Echaluse, Echague, Español, Ebuen, Ebilane, Edquid, Escala, Edquilang, Ebueng, Ebuenga, Ebalo, Ejanda, Elacio, Elfa, Eliaso, Elgincolin, Edquibal, Ednalino, Edora, Espinoza, Ecaldre, Eufeminiano, Edilloran, Ermita, and Ecle. Those who came from Santa Cruz have their last names usually begin with the letter M, foremost of which are Misa, Mora, Moraña, Moralde and Meredor. Other common last names of Sambali people are Ángeles, Atrero, Agagas, Hebron, Hitchon, Hermoso, Hermosa, Hermana, and Hermogino. There are now approximately 6,000 Sambals residing in Palawan. Many of the Palawan Sambals have since moved to the provincial capital, Puerto Princesa, settling in Mandaragat and New Buncag, in particular, although a majority still resides in Panitian. These Sambals living in Palawan often learn to speak Cuyonon, Palawano and Tagbanwa with varying levels of fluency, along with their native Sambal language and Tagalog.
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