The Karay-a are a Visayan ethnic group native to the islands of Panay and Palawan in the Philippines.
[1] They were first believed to be the descendants of immigrants from Borneo, through the epic-myth of the "Ten Bornean Datus".
Recent findings, however, revealed that the ancestors of the Karay-a are the Austronesian-speaking immigrants who came from South China during the Iron Age.
Several towns in Antique have the distinction of producing quality ware ranging from salakot and sawali from Belison, bamboo-craft from San Jose, ceramics from Sibalom, pottery from Bandoja, Tibiao; mats from Pandan and Libertad; and loom-woven patadyong (barrel skirt) from Bagtason, Bugasong, the only one of its kind in the Visayas and well known throughout Panay.
Music, such as courtship songs, wedding hymns, and funeral recitals, is well-developed, as it is with dance.