The
Waray people are a subgroup of the
Visayan people whose primary language is the
Waray-Waray language, an
Austronesian language native to the islands of
Samar,
Leyte and
Biliran, which together comprise the
Eastern Visayan region of the
Philippines. Waray people inhabit the whole island of Samar and there they are called Samareños while on the island of Leyte they are called Leyteños. On Leyte island, Waray people occupy only the northern part of the island as it is divided by a mountain range in the middle of the island. Hence the language division between the Waray-Waray speaking people in the northern part and the
Cebuano speaking people in the southern part. On the island of Biliran, Waray-Waray speaking people live in the eastern part of the island facing the island of Samar. They are commonly referred to using the Waray-Waray term
Biliranon. On the island of Ticao, which belongs to the province of
Masbate in the
Bicol region, Waray-Waray speaking people live in most parts of the island. They are commonly referred to as Ticaonon. However, the Ticaonon have their affinity with the Bicolano speaking people of Masbate island as it is their home province. The Bicol and Waray-Waray languages are more similar in vocabulary to each other than to the Cebuano language.