Philippines Cultures and Foods

Culture of the Philippines

The culture of the Philippines reflects the complexity of the history of the Philippines through the blending of cultures of diverse indigenous civilizations, and foreign influences. Spanish colonization of the Philippines, governed from Spain and Mexico, lasted for over three centuries thus, there is a significant amount of Spanish-Mexican influence in many facets of Philippine custom, and tradition. Hispanic influences are most visible in Philippine folk music, folk dance, language, food, art, and religion.

Pre Hispanic indigenous Philippine culture had many cultural influences from India, through the Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia, particularly the Srivijaya Empire and the Majapahit Empire, in what is now Malaysia, and Indonesia. Many customs and Philippine psyche reflect these cultural influences. Philippine Mythology, like many Asian mythologies, has been influenced by Hinduism, and Buddhism.

The Philippines was a territory of the United States from 1898 until 1946. American influences are evident in the use of the English language, and in contemporary pop culture, such as fast-food, music, movies, and basketball.

The Chinese have been settling in the Philippine Islands since pre-colonial times, and their influence is evident in the popularity of noodles, and the gambling games of mahjong, and jueteng.

Various Muslim Filipinos living in the southern Philippine Islands also celebrate their own centuries-old customs, and traditions, such as concepts of local law (Agamat), and personal honor (Maratabat), which are related to both Islamic, and native concepts. The martial art of Kali emerged from the island of Mindanao.

The Kulintang gong-chime ensemble, which is still played by various groups in the south, is a celebrated icon of surviving ancient Philippine culture. Kulintang has a history that dates back hundreds of years before the Spanish period, and shares concepts with other court and folk gong ensembles in Southeast Asia, such as Gamelan.

Philippine society

The Philippines is a mixed society. The nation is divided between Christians, Muslims, and other religio-ethno-linguistic groups; between urban, and rural people; between high-land, and low-land people; and between the rich, and poor. Although different from one another in many ways, Filipinos across all of these culture groups are generally hospitable and will give appropriate respect to anyone regardless of race, culture, or belief.

Way of life

About two-fifths of the Philippine population live in urban areas, while three-fifths of the people live in rural areas, although the proportion of people living in towns, and cities is steadily increasing. Most people live in urban areas, while farmers, with agriculturalists living in rural towns, and villages. The majority of the people follow an old-age tradition in addition to the latest contemporary life styles, and fashion trends.

Social life is an important aspect of Philippine society. It implies family or togetherness in a group, and the cause of one’s being socially accepted. It requires someone yielding to group opinion, pressuring him to do what he can for the advancement of his group, sacrificing individual welfare for the general welfare. Consensus takes precedent over individual needs or opinion. The concept of "hiya" or "shame" plays a central role in social harmonization.

Social harmony implies smooth social interaction. Relationships, no matter with whom and on what level, should be without open conflict. Most Philippine nationals in general will avoid verbal confrontations, or using rude words or gestures, the direct decline of a request, and will try to act politely and calmly even when agitated. You will seldom hear no to a request or question. To an expatriate this will be confusing, and sometimes lead one to think Filipinos are insincere or otherwise misleading with their answers. It is not so. Maybe is a standard reply which often means no, or sometimes yes, and other times maybe. If you are now totally confused, it is understandable. It takes exposure, and time to understand the difference.

The concept of social harmony may partly stem from the hierarchal structure of Filipino society. The hierarchy itself stems from the family, where the father, who is traditionally seen as the bread winner, is considered the "king" of the household. However, the title of "king" is inaccurate as the mother often controls the finances and discipline over the children. In Filipino folklore, both the husband and wife came from a single piece of bamboo. So, there is an egalitarian concept to the role of husband and wife in Philippine society. This egalitarian concept, however, may have evolved through the eras of colonization, when Philippine culture began to adopt some aspect of Spanish machismo culture and the Hindu and/or Confucian concepts of familial and social hierarchy.

The Filipino hierarchy extends towards the children, where the eldest child is seen as having the oner of responsibility over the other siblings. The hierarchy, thus, continues in descending order from oldest to youngest. What this means in practice is that the younger sibling must obey the elder sibling. Yet, all the children must obey the parents. In some families, the mother must obey and sometimes "serve" the father. The children, of course, must also serve both parents. This idea of filial service is tied to "utang na loob" or debt of gratitude (see below). Children are deemed to have eternal debt of gratitude to the parents. As a general rule of hierarchy, anyone who is younger must obey or defer to anyone who is older, a rule that also exists in many other Asian cultures. The strength of obedience or deference depends, but is not dependent, on consanguinity.

The hierarchal nature of Philippine society perhaps partly explains the perpetuation of avoiding social disharmony no matter how brief or slight. The hierarchy assures that those who are in the lower rung of the hierarchy cannot question social norms and belief systems. A common explanation to many questions may be that "that's just the way things are." Yet, social hierarchy itself does not fully explain the avoidance of social disharmony, which has become embedded in Filipino identity. The hierarchal social structure itself stems from Hindu and/or Confucian philosophy. Yet, other Asian philosophies like Taoism might also help explain the desire to avoid social conflict. There is a culture "go with the flow" attitude among Filipinos, which is sometimes referred to as "pakigsama." Pakigsama seems to have Buddhist and Taoist roots.

Arguing, disagreeing, and being very straightforward or frank, is considered by many Filipinos as a breach of etiquette. The avoidance of social conflict has helped create the idea of "bahala na" or "let's see" philosophy. When a problem arises, a Filipino will often respond by saying "bahala na" or "let's see what happens." In this sense, the avoidance of conflict has become internalized in Filipino psyche. In order to avoid conflict, a Filipino would rather avoid discussing a "sensitive" or an "uncomfortable" topic. Pushing the discussion of an "uncomfortable" topic can be deemed as a lack of etiquette. One tool for avoiding an uncomfortable discussion is through humor or by changing the topic of discussion completely. Yet, almost anything controversial can become taboo or sensitive. Thus, there can become a lack of serious dialogue over some serious social issues, including sexuality. The avoidance of social confrontation may also help perpetuate social injustices in the Philippines, including the systemic problems of graft and corruption.

Often, critical matters are negotiated through third parties to avoid direct conflict. Sometimes a quarrel between two individuals escalates to an unsolvable row between two clans or families. The only way to resolve the conflict peaceably, is to go to the local barrio or barangay chief captain, and use him as a mediator. The town chief will explain to both parties in private why he is doing them a favor by entertaining their side of the argument. In the end all go home satisfied that they have been heard and perhaps nothing was gained or lost in the process.

Harmony, is most important at work places, and is considered as an important factor in Philippine society. Harmony has many manifestations in Philippine society, one of which is extending support or offering help to neighbors who are in need. This comes from the still relevant necessity to bind together to survive as a group. When food is scarce, and rice is expensive, all eat, for the good of the group. Harmony reflects the togetherness spirit, which involves cooperation among fellow men to come up with a certain idea or accomplish a certain task.

Nonetheless, feuds, vendettas, and violence are not uncommon in Philippine society.

Debt of gratitude

A debt of gratitude is sometimes repaid by giving special favors to the other person regardless of the moral outcome.

Philippine personal alliance systems are anchored by kinship, beginning with the nuclear family. A Filipino's loyalty goes first to the immediate family, and personal identity is deeply embedded in the matrix of kinship. It is normal that one owes support, loyalty, and trust to one's close kin and, because kinship is structured bilaterally among relatives, one's kin can include quite a large number of people. With respect to kin beyond this nuclear family, closeness in relationship depends very much on physical proximity.

A bond between two individuals may be formed based on the concept of Dept of gratitude. Another way of saying obligation to repay a loan or debt. Although it is expected that the debtor will attempt repayment, it is widely recognized that the debt, as in one's obligation to a parent, can never be fully repaid and the obligation can last for generations.

Saving someones life, providing employment, or making it possible for another to become educated are "gifts" that incur utang na loob. Moreover, such gifts initiate a long-term reciprocal interdependency in which the grantor of the favor can expect help from the debtor whenever the need arises and the debtor can, in turn, ask other favors. Such reciprocal personal alliances have had obvious implications for the society in general and the political system in particular.

There is also a tying between Asian, European and Latin American etiquettes from previous external travelers and explorers who have influenced the Filipino culture as these behaviors and social norms and beliefs are found in the Filipino mainstream culture. Some of these behaviors continue over with Overseas Filipinos.

Family

It should be emphasized that close familial ties are upheld to the highest extent. The primary social welfare system for the Filipino is the family. Many Filipinos live near their family for most of their lives, even as independent adults. A nuclear family is very common among Filipinos. Divorce does not exist in the Philippines.

Courtship among the Philippine nationals is heavily influenced by Spanish, and Roman Catholic traditions. Many parents disapprove of girls visiting boys' homes. Usually, the boy comes to the girl's house to formally introduce himself to her parents, and family. The Filipino must win the Filipina's parents' approval.

Among great distances of the family, balikbayan boxes are transferred through vast distances as some are compelled to move to international territories. These overseas Filipinos send huge boxes called the balikbayan box to their families back in the motherland containing goods, gadgets and/ or popular trendy items. They also bring balikbayan boxes when they return to their motherland on vacation to visit their family. Sometimes their families in the Philippines return the favor and send exotic food items only found in the Philippines or indigenous property expressing Filipino workmanship. It is another way to express cultural exchange and a way of helping out their families at home.

Community

The creation of community friendship with neighbors, and a helping attitude whenever one is in dire need is what Filipinos cal

l bayanihan, which means togetherness. Philippine nationals get around by riding in jeepneys, buses, and cars. In urban areas, there are trains such as the LRT and MRT as well as boats, taxis, and ferries. In rural areas carabaos are often used for transport. Bus transportation is used to get from one major city to another. Taxis or tricycles are used to get from place to place within a city. The driving style in the country follows that one honks the horn to warn of an oncoming vehicle.

Religion and Superstition

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, and the introduction of Roman Catholicism, and Western culture in the 1500s, the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippine Islands were adherents of a mixture of animism, Sufi, Islam, Hinduism, and Vajrayana Buddhism. Bathala was the supreme God of the Tagalog people, represented by the "langit" (sky), The Ninuno, or the ancient ancestors, were the people who taught believed in the supreme God. For the Bikolanos, the supreme God was Gugurang. Other indigenous gods, and goddesses include "araw" (sun), "buwan" (the moon), tala (the stars), and natural objects (such as trees, shrubs, mountains, or rocks). However, they were not the Western kinds of gods and goddesses; they were representations for some Ancient Filipino believe; or they were representations as gifts. As the Abrahamic religions began to sweep the islands, most Filipinos became Christians, consequently believing in only one God. Other Filipinos became Muslims, especially in the southern islands of the country such as Mindanao. Spirits such as the "aswang" (ghoul), the "tikbalang" (a creature with the head of a horse and the physique of a man), the "kapre" (a giant that is seen smoking tobacco), the "tiyanak" (monster-like, vampire-esque child), the "santelmo" (fireball), "duwende" (dwarves, and elves), the manananggal (witches that can split their bodies at their torsos and feed on baby's blood), "engkanto" (minor spirits), and "diwata" (fairies/nymphs), are believed to pervade the Philippines. Aside from that, voodoo practices (such as pangkukulam) and witchcraft were practiced by pre-colonial inhabitants. Beliefs such as usog (a child greeted by a stranger will get sick) and lihi (the child will resemble the food craved during pregnancy) are also present. These beliefs have been carried up to the present generation of Filipinos, which has led some foreign authors to (incorrectly) describe them as Pagan-Christians.

Voodoo, psychic surgery, and the rituals of medicine men and women are commonly practiced in most indigenous Filipino societies. These spiritual-ritual practices are found mostly in rural areas throughout the islands. In Tagalog, people who cast spells and lay curses are called "mangkukulam"; people who curse their enemies by putting insects inside their bodies are called "mambabarang"; and, in contrast to these two, the healers of these curses are called "albularyo".

Psychic surgeons are people who appear to remove tumors and diseased tissue by sticking their hands into a patient's body and extracting bloody human flesh, but leaving the patient scar free. Some see this practice as just sleight of hand fakery, others accept it as true, still others accept it as an alternative healing method and a way to take advantage of the placebo effect.

Wealth and beauty

The belief that white is beautiful is held by many Filipino women, leading them to stay out of the sun to keep their skin from getting dark. Even at a young age, children are taught and practice this belief. Furthermore, many of these women use bleaching or whitening skin products to keep their skin white, and also use anti pimple or anti blackhead products. This bias towards favoring white skin came from the influential behaviours of the Spanish, and the American during the colonial period, and continues to be used among many Filipinos to this day.

Fatness was once associated with wealth, while being too skinny, on the other hand, a sign of poverty. Nowadays, being slim has become a trend not only among the young but also among the older generations.

Rebonding, and hair relaxing are popular among teenagers. Spa treatments are also famous. Indulging in various salon treatments is a common activity among well-off Filipinos which helps the rising popularity of many salons.

In formal gatherings, men wear the Barong Tagalog, a translucent pearl white shirt, usually made of piña (pineapple) fibers or jusi [hoo-si] (banana) fibers. But in informal settings, such as at home or at picnics, Filipinos either go barefoot or wear slippers. Due to the humid tropical climate, men are often found in a tank top or go barechested, wearing shorts and with a towel on their shoulder to wipe away the sweat.

In rural areas of the country, some Filipino children resort to bathing naked in public.Those who live near rivers take baths there, and natives will use river stones as washcloths to scrub themselves. Since water pressure is lacking in many areas of the country, many people resort to using buckets (timba at tabo) for bathing. People are so used to the routine of using the bucket bath method that they will continue to use it even when water pressure is more than adequate for shower use. Places that have adequate water pressure like hotels do have running shower heads.

Communication

Some urban, and rural Filipinos often call for attention by saying "hoy!" (meaning: Hey!, in the Tagalog language) or use a rising hiss like a snake by saying "psst."

To greet a friend, or express "what's up," one usually whips his head upward for acknowledgment. Sometimes, people who know with each other high-fives called by the locals as “apir” or “appear”.

The use of lips to point is widely practiced. Instead of using their pointer fingers, Filipinos may point with their lips extended out to indicate the position of an object.

Telecommunications, and e-mail are popular as well as the usage of cell phones. Many Filipinos, even those who live in poverty, own mobile phones. Sending SMS messages is a common way of communication, as it is cheaper than making a call. The Philippines is considered to be the Txt capital of the world sending millions of SMS messages a day.

Arts, culture and music

Philippine cultural arts cover a variety of forms of entertainment. Music in the Philippines features several styles. Some are contemporary such as Filipino rock and Filipino hip hop. Some are traditional such as Filipino folk music with indigenous instruments. The Cinema of the Philippines includes many comedies, accounts of hardship, action films, and love stories.

Arts

Weaving is popular with the northern mountain Filipinos. Pottery was also common in pre-Hispanic societies. Ornate carvings are found in the southern Philippine islands. Similarly, wooden art is also quite popular and is displayed in various parts of the home.

Filipinos began creating artistic paintings in the 17th century during the Spanish period, and have continued up to the present, with such revered artists as Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo, and Fernando Zóbel. Other popular artists include Hugo C. Yunzon reflecting an earthy style that touches on indigenous culture in pieces such as Early Risers and Mariang Makiling, Nestor Leynes with Mag-ina Sa Banig, and Tam Austria with Mag-Anak.

Philippine folk dances have unique folk dances like tinikling where assistants take two long bamboo sticks and rapidly and rhythmatically clap them together while dancers artistically and daringly try to avoid getting their feet smashed between them. Also in the southern part of the Philippines, there is another dance called singkil using long bamboo poles found in tinikling; however, it is primarily a dance showing off lavish Muslim royalty. In this dance, there are four bamboo sticks arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing sticks. The dancers try to avoid all 4 bamboo sticks as the sticks clap together in the middle. They can also try to dance an entire rotation around the middle avoiding all sticks. Usually these stick dances are performed in teamwork fashion, not solo. The Singkil dance is identifiable with the use of umbrellas and silk clothing. See YouTube tinikling video and YouTube singkil video.

Architecture

Pre-Hispanic architecture is usually characterized by its use of indigenous woody materials. The bahay kubo is the mainstream form of housing. It is characterized by indigenous materials such as bamboo and coconut as the main sources of wood. Cogon grass and Nipa palm leaves are used as roof thatching, although coconut fronds are also used. Most native homes are built on stilts due to frequent flooding during the rainy season. Regional variations include the use of thicker and denser roof thatching in mountain areas, longer stilts on coastal areas especially if the structure is built outright on the water. The architecture of some tribes in other regions, especially in Mindanao, is characterized by very angular wooden roofs, bamboo in place of leafy thatching, and ornate wooden carvings.

The Spanish introduced stones as housing materials. The introduction of Christianity brought western style churches which subsequently became the center of most towns. Colonial era architecture still survives in Intramuros, and Vigan.

Contemporary architecture usually favors western style structures although pre-Hispanic housing is still largely common in rural areas. American style suburban gated communities are popular in the cities, especially Metro Manila, and the surrounding provinces.

Cuisine

Filipinos cook a variety of foods influenced by Spanish, and Asian cuisines. A typical Philippine meal consists of at least three meals a day served with boiled or fried rice, and other dishes. Filipinos regularly use spoons together with forks, as opposed to knives, and forks in Western culture. They also eat with their hands, especially in informal settings and when eating seafood. Accompanying rice, popular dishes such as adobo (a meat stew made from either pork or chicken), lumpia (meat or vegetable rolls), pancit (noodle dish), and lechón (whole roasted pig) are served on plates.

Other popular dishes include: afritada, asado, chorizo sausages (used in pancit or fried rice), empanadas, mais (corn), mani (roasted peanuts), paksiw (fish or pork, cooked in vinegar and water with some spices like garlic and pepper), pan de sal (salted bread rolls), pescado (fried or grilled fish), and torta (omelette). Indigenous Filipino and regional cuisines include: dinuguan, kare-kare (ox-tail stew), kilawen, pinakbet (vegetable stew), pinapaitan, and sinigang (tamarind soup with a variety of pork, fish or shrimp). Some delicacies eaten by the Filipino people but which may seem unappetizing to the western palate include balut (boiled egg with a fertilized duckling inside); longanisa (a sweet sausage); and dinuguan (black soup made with animal blood).

Popular snacks and deserts indulged are chicharon (deep fried pork or chicken skin), halo-halo (crushed ice with condensed milk, flan, and sliced tropical fruits), puto (little white rice cakes), bibingka (rice cake with butter or margarine and salted eggs), ensaymada (sweet roll with grated cheese on top), polvoron (powder candy), and tsokolate (chocolate) are eaten outside the three main meals. Local liquors such as lambanog, tuba, and basi are served on cup.

Sports

Sipa is the national sport in the Philippines. Other popular recreational sports include boxing, patintero, billiards, basketball, chess, ten-pin bowling, and football (soccer). Boxing, billiards, basketball, and soccer are popular among Filipinos. The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was founded in 1975. Dodge ball, or mistakenly called "touch ball", is also a favorite sport of those who play in schools during break time.

Sports where Filipinos have gained international successes are boxing, billiards, ten-pin bowling, chess, and football (soccer). Notable champions include Paulino Alcántara, Francisco Pancho Villa, Manny Pacquiao, Mansueto Velasco, Flash Elorde, Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Rafael Nepomuceno, and Eugene Torre.

The Palarong Pambansa, a national sports festival, has its roots in an annual sporting meet of public schools that started in 1948. Private schools and universities eventually joined the national event, which became known as the Palarong Pambansa in 1976. It serves as a national Olympics for students, with victors from competitions at the school, province, and regional level emerging to participate. The year 2002 event included soccer, golf, archery, badminton, baseball, chess, gymnastics, tennis, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, track and field, and volleyball.

There are also many styles of traditional Filipino Martial Arts known under various names over the years. Filipino Martial Arts traditionally center on the use of bladed weapons--specifically on the knife and the sword--while also including training in empty-hand attack and defense, including striking and grappling. There are a number of different styles of the martial arts in the Philippines; divided, in general, by geographic region and occasionally by ethnic group. Much debate has arisen in terms of the "proper" name, or names, for the Filipino Martial Arts, and these terms have evolved through recent decades, corresponding with the growth of popularity of the arts around the world. "Arnis," "Escrima," and "Kali" have been interchangeably used, depending (again) on region, ethnic group, organization, individual, and even publication. In the eighties and nineties, the use of the term, "Kali" has become popularized by various teachers and martial arts organizations.

It should be noted that while individual teachers or regions may have used the term "Kali" for decades or longer to describe their own specific practices,the claim of the word "Kali" as a proto-term for an ancient, umbrella, "mother" Filipino Martial Art has little historical proof. It is difficult to ascertain a single originating or Filipino martial art due to the lack of written historical record. There is considerable controversy on this subject. However, in general it can be said that evolution of native fighting techniques--which could vary considerably from one region to the next--were influenced by various cultural migrations/exchanges to the Philippine Islands; including Indian, Indonesian, mainland Southeast Asian, and perhaps most notably, Chinese and Spanish. The distinguishing characteristic of martial arts originating from the Philippines is most commonly the emphasis in curriculum of teaching weapons before or simultaneously with the empty-hand forms and also for the curriculum concept of angles of attack. Native toys and games Pusoy dos is described as a variant where one tries to get rid of all his cards by choosing poker hands wisely. Pusoy originally came from Chinese pai gow, blended with poker, while pusoy dos came from coastal China around 1980

Filipinos also play sungka, a board game using small sea shells in which players try to take all shells but the winner is determined by who has the most shells at the point when all small pits become empty. Filipinos are creative in that they have made toys using insects such as tying a beetle to string and sweeping it circular rotation to make an interesting sound. Salagubang gong is a toy described by Harvard entomologist Charles Brtjes in his trip to Negros illustrating a toy using beetles to create a periodic gong effect on a kerosene can as the beetle rotates above the contraption. Filipino games also include piko, patintero, jack-en-poy, bang!, bahay-kubo, nanay-tatay, and many more. Many children enjoy these games.

The yo-yo is often credited as having been invented in the Philippines centuries ago. The name yo-yo may have been derived from the Filipino word 'tayoyo' which means to spin.