Esperidión Arsenio Manuel (1909 - 2003), known as E. Arsenio Manuel, was a Philippine academic, historian, and anthropologist best known for his contributions to Philippine anthropology, history, literature, and linguistics.
[1] During a three-decade academic career at the University of the Philippines, he wrote a seminal survey of Philippine folk epics, and was responsible for discovering and publishing folk epics from the Manuvu, Matigsalug, and Ilianon peoples.
[1] He is sometimes referred to as the "Dean of Filipino Anthropology" and "Father of Philippine Folklore.
"[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Among the most significant honors awarded to E. Arsenio Manuel were the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Gawad Para sa Sining in 1989; and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts' Dangal Alab ng Haraya Award for a lifetime achievement in cultural research, in 2000.
[1] E. Arsenio Manuel was made a National Social Scientist of the Philippines in 1991.