Filipino Tradition Handout.

Filipino Tradition
Filipino people are known as settlers in many parts of the world. They are like
the chameleon who easily adapts to different environments. They thrive to survive.
Survival of the fittest is their banner.
Language
There are 175 estimated languages spoken in the Philippines. Almost all are classified
as Malayo-Polynesian languages. Among those languages, there are 13 indigenous
languages with nearly 1 million speakers.
For more than three centuries Spanish was the official language under Spain's colonial
rule. It was spoken by 60% of the population as either a first, second or third language
in the early 20th century. However, the use of Spanish began to decline after the
United States occupation in the early 1900's. In 1935 the Constitution of the Philippines
named English and Spanish the official languages. In 1939 the Tagalog language was
named the national language. The language was renamed "Pilipino" in 1959 and finally
"Filipino" in 1973. The present Constitution names Filipino and English as joint official
languages.
Culture
The Philippines is a country that has varied cultural influences. Most of these influences
are results of previous colonization, deriving mainly from the culture of Spain and the
United States. Despite all of these influences, the old Asian culture of Filipinos has been
retained and are clearly seen in their way of life, beliefs and customs. Wherever you go,
Filipino culture is very evident and has largely been appreciated and even applauded in
many parts of the world.

Music, Arts and Literature
Filipinos are very fond of music. They use various materials to create sound. They love
performing dances (Tiniking and Carinosa) and group singing during festive
celebrations. Settlers from Spain introduced to them a variety of musical instruments
like the ukulele, trumpet, drums and violin. Most of their music is contemporary and
they have also learned to write their own songs based on real life events. People are
also fond of folklore, which was influenced by the early church and Spanish literature.
Jose Rizal, the country's national hero, is famous for his literature and novels inspired
from the independence story of the country
Religion
The majority of Filipino people practice the Christian religion. Spain highly influenced
the people to the extent that the Philippines became one of the two predominantly
Christian nations in the Asia Pacific, the other being East Timor. According to Wikipedia,
Christianity is the religion of about 80% of the Philippine population (mostly Catholics)
while Islam is the religion of 11%, and other religions and beliefs comprise the 9% of
the rest of the population.
Celebrations
Christmas is one of the most loved celebration by Filipinos. Families and relatives gather
on the 24th of December, to celebrate food prepared for "Noche Buena," a Spanish
term which means "midnight meal" to greet Christmas Day. New Year is another
celebration that gathers the Filipino families. Wearing dotted clothes and preparing
round fruits on the table, which symbolize prosperity, is one of the many customs of the
Filipinos.
Sports
Filipinos are not only skilled when it comes to industry but also in sports. The national
sport of the Philippines is called arnis, a form of martial arts. Filipinos love watching
American games like basketball, football and recently boxing which made the
Philippines more famous all over the world. Filipino sport star, Manny Pacquiao, has
been put on a pedestal due to his skill in boxing and more Filipinos have risen to
stardom in the sports arena.
Family Structure
The basic social unit of the country
is the family, which also includes the intermediate family members (aunts, uncles,
grandparents, cousins) and other outside relations (godparents and close friends). As
such, many children have several godparents and when parents are out of the country
to work, children are mostly left to the grandparents to watch over them. It is common
for members of the same family to work for the same company, a practice which was
influenced by the first Chinese settlers in the Philippines. Filipino families live in different
kinds of house structures depending on their status or area. For families in rural areas,
they live in a nipa hut which is made of bamboo and roofed with leaves from palm trees
or corrugated metal. Filipinos that are ranked as "middle class" live in houses made of
bricks and stones.
Meals
Filipinos are big eaters, even though it is not obviously seen in their petite bodies. The
Philippines is known as Asia's melting pot because of the uniqueness and variety of
their food. Filipinos can't go a day without including rice in their meals. They love plain
rice matched with salted fish, chicken and meat. They serve rice first followed by the
various viands they have grown to eat and cook. Filipinos have a very regular eating
schedule: morning, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon (merienda) and dinner.
They enjoy a variety of sweet foods adopted from other countries which encouraged
them to make their own desserts like "mahablanca" a dessert made of coconut milk,
corn, sugar, or "puto" and "palitaw" which are also made of coconut milk. They also
enjoy eating "halo-halo" for their afternoon snack which means "mixture," a popular
dessert that consists of layers of cornflakes, ice cream, small pieces of gelatin, milk and
shaved ice.
During special occasions like a town's big event in celebration of their saint's feast, a
favorite food called "lechon," a suckling pig that has been roasted until the skin turns
crusty is served. Some street foods are also common in the country like the famous
"balut," a boiled duck egg with an embryo, and fish and squid balls on a stick that are
dipped on spicy and sweet sauces.

Bayanihan
Back in the days where land titles weren’t a thing, people in the provinces simply built a
hut on a small piece of land that they claimed as their own. They ether farmed on the
land or went to town to work while their wives stayed to care for their children. If they
wanted to move, they took their whole house with them since it was mainly made with
light material like bamboo and palm. Bayanihan is the act of the whole neighborhood
getting together and helping to move the house to the new location. Thesedays,
bayanihan is synonymous to our trait of national helpfulness, and that we should help
our fellow Filipinos in times of need.
Harana
As the song goes, Uso pa ba ang harana? (Is harana still popular?). Harana is a
traditional form of courtship where in the man would sing and woo woman outside her
window at night. In the old days, there was a set of protocols, a code of conduct and a
specific style of music when performing harana. An acoustic guitar was used and
Spanish-influenced songs were sung. It’s not uncommon for the man to bring his
friends along, or even the best singer or haranista in town, to help. Thus, the harana
wasn’t always a solitary endeavor, in fact some considered it as a social event.
Paninilbihan
Another traditional courtship practice, this is when the man “serves” the woman’s family
by doing manual labor (cutting wood for cooking, fetching water from the well). This is
to show that he is capable of taking care of her and their future family. Now, this is not
that applicable to modern times, but courtship back then involved “phases” or “stages”
that the man had to pass through before he could get married with his sweetheart.
Courtship was never easy, and you had to win not only the girl’s affection, but her
family’s as well.
Republic of the Philippines
Commission on Higher Education
Region V (Bicol)
Polangui Community College
Polangui, Albay
Filipi
no
Tradi
Mr. Rafallo, Mark Anthony
tion N.
BSED TLE – 3C
Mr. Ramil R. Ubante

Instructor

Filipino Tradition Handout.

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Filipino Tradition

Commission on Higher Education

Polangui Community College

Mr. Ramil R. Ubante

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