The term Filipino originally denoted a person of Spanish descent born in the Philippines and was comparable to the term Creole in the Spanish-American colonies. Since the 19th century it has been used to refer to the Christianized Malays who constitute the bulk of the Philippine population. The aboriginal inhabitants of the archipelago were pygmy Negritos. During the prehistoric period Malayan peoples invaded the islands in successive waves beginning about 200 bc. The present Filipinos, principally descendants of the Malay invaders, are divided mainly according to language and religion. The most important numerically are the Visayans, living primarily in the central portion of the archipelago, and the Tagalogs, in central Luzon. The Ilocanos (also spelled Ilokanos), the third most important group, live mainly in the Cagayan Valley on Luzon. People of Spanish and Chinese descent constitute the chief non-Malay groups. In the southern portion of the archipelago, particularly in western Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, and southern Palawan Island, are Moro Muslim groups. Mestizos, people of mixed Filipino and white or Chinese descent, form a small but economically and politically important minority.