Although the historical existence of Pinay cannot be confirmed, more recent studies that combined linguistic analysis with oral history and genealogical research provide evidence that the Eskaya language was most likely created and disseminated within a generation by a charismatic individual.

[5][6] A number of reports have suggested that Eskaya linguistic and cultural education has been in steady decline since the mid-1980s,[7][8][9] although promising revitalisation efforts have also been documented.

Most members of the Eskaya community inhabit a mountainous area that intersects the municipalities of Duero, Guindulman, Pilar and Sierra Bullones in the once-forested region of Bohol's southeast interior.

This variety is used in their close familial interactions, in their conversations with their neighbors in the community, in their transactions in the barangay, school meetings, social gatherings, church rituals and in the trade and commerce.

[13] The Eskayan writing system takes the form of a syllabary of over 1,000 characters, all modeled on parts of the human body including internal organs.

[14] Community members revere the entity Suno which is conflated with the Santo Niño,[17] and in addition to weekly church services they are served by appointed spiritual leaders known as biki and beriki.

Formerly, Eskaya men would wear shirts made of piña raffia with a Chinese-style collar, black breeches, and cotton berets.

Women wore piña dresses with bulging sleeves similar to the Spanish-influenced Boholano style (mostly in Biabas) and covered their hair with cotton habits (mostly in Taytay).

Brenda Abregana, a former curator of the Bohol Museum, has mentioned a folded book of esoteric knowledge written in Spanish but its existence has not been established.

[3] Although the Eskaya had been known to people living in the vicinity of Bohol's southeast highlands prior to World War II, it was only in the early 1980s that they came to wider public attention when government agricultural advisers toured the province to introduce Green Revolution policies.

[14] Some of the more unusual proposals are that the Eskaya people are a Semitic proto-Christian tribe;[15] that they possess the lost book of Enoch;[25] that they are descended from the builders of King Solomon's temple;[15] that their existence proves the imminence of a second Messiah in Bohol; or that they guard esoteric secrets.

[4][12][14][26] In an article written by Nickie Wang for the Manila Standard Today on 25 March 2009, Boholano actor Cesar Montano mentioned that he was interested in producing a feature film on the Eskaya.

[27] The following month, Montano announced a working title for his project, Eskaya: The Quick Brown Fox, and discussed his casting preferences which included the possibility of A-list Hollywood actors like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, with Manny Pacquiao in the lead role.