Cuyo, Palawan

MUNICIPALITY OF CUYO,PALAWAN

             Known originally as Dapulo in 1200 AD, Cuyo is a group of 45 scattered islands and islets, the biggest of which is Cuyo main island  with an area of 22 square miles. long before the Spanish occupation of the archipelago in 1568, Cuyo was already stronghold of the Ati, Chinese and the Vishayan Malay who bartered dried fish, trepang,seashells edible birds' nests for porcelains, clothing and etc.

           The Cuyono - Vishayan dialect mixed with Spanish resembles the Maranao in delivery. The Cuyono dialect is called cuyono because the people who speak it is from the island of Cuyo, but actually it is first used as a dialect of Miag-ao, Iloilo province and brought into the island by the group of Datu Magbanua in 1250. This dialect is being used also in some parts of Antique, Aklan, Mindoro, and the entire province of Palawan that officially adopted it as the official provincial dialect.