Body tattooing was an important rite of passage for men in the Visayas and was often related to head-hunting or heroism. At festivals, wrestlers wore loincloths to expose their tattoos making them appear more fierce and entreating protection from the spirit world. The first Europeans in the Philippines refered to the Visayans as ???os Pintados?? meaning ???he Painted Ones??

The name ???isayan??refers to any of several ethnic groups, including Austronesian and Negroid peoples, that inhabit the regions of the Visayas and some parts of Mindanao in the Philippines.