GEC 07

ART APPRECIATION

LECTURE 1.2
The Humanities and the Filipino Personhood (Pagkatao)

In lecture 1.1, it discussed the meaning and definition of Humanities. As it is

translated in Filipino, it is pagpapakatao from pagkatao and tao. In this discussion,
Covar’s (2015) Kaalamang Bayang Dalumat ng Pagkataong Pilipino will be used
to understand the Filipino personhood (pagkatao).

In his discussion of pagkatao and katauhan, he started it by introducing a

Filipino saying, “Madali ang maging tao; mahirap pagkatao”. Then, he explained
that the words makatao, tumao, tauhan come from the base word “tao” Although
they have similar base word, they do not have similar meaning. This means that,
as you affix letters to the word “tao” it
generates other meaning. He cited Ramos
about the latter’s explanation about the
formed word as “kahan” would be affixed
to the word “tao” . The word “katauhan”
would be formed which has meaning in
English as humanity. He said that for
Miranda, it means humanhood.
Covar wants to explain that “ang
salitang pagkatao ay angkop na konsepto
bilang ‘personhood’ o pagiging taong
Pilipino” For him, being a human being is
biological which means a person is already born as human being. But the cultural
process makes it difficult to “become human” The “magpakatao” can be achieved
in the process call “pagpapakatao”

How does a human being become a Filipino?

He later explained the metaphor for a human

body and a jar. Here, you can refer to the Manunggul
Jar that was found at the Tabon Cave in Palawan.
It is perceived as a work of a great craftsman, a
master potter. The image on top of the jar cover is a
boat with two human figures representing two souls
on a voyage to the afterlife. It clearly shows the belief
of early Filipinos in life after death. It is dated to the
late Neolithic Perios, about 890 - 710 B.C.
(Panisan, Bongabong,Boongaling&Trinidad, 2018, p. 65-66)
Gabelo (2018) explained that Manunggul jar is 66.5 cm in height and 51 cm in
diameter as its widest part. She elaborated that its somewhat
oval body is crowned by a unique cover. She said that it is
surmounted by a group sculpture which is a
representation of the soul of the dead person being
transported by the figure rowing the bot into the after life.
In his discourse as how human being is comparable
to a jar, Covar said, it is part of Christian belief that ang
tao ay nagmula sa isang kipil na putik, hiningahan ng
Maykapal at naging si Adan. He also added the idea in
literature that human beings are like clays that can be transformed in various
shapes and figures. Moreover, he cited the burial tradition of placing handful of
soil on top of the coffin as way of recognizing the perspective that from dust we
come, from dust we shall return. Also, he mentioned the use of flower offering
during burial that later on according to him would turn to soil as time passes by.
MARIA GLORIA R. BECO-NADA
Southern Luzon State University
College of Art and Sciences
 GEC 07
ART APPRECIATION

Furthermore, he proceed with the nature of “banga” that it is naturally made of

clay. Then, figuratively, “tao” also comes from “putik”
Similarly, Covar said that the body of a human being is just like a jar that has
loob, labas, and lalim. Also, he said that, “ang banga ay may labas, loob, at ilalim.
Gayundin naman ang kaluluwa ng tao. Sisidlan na banga. Ang laman nito ay
kaluluwa. Sa ilalim tumatahan ang kaluluwa kaniig ang budhi.”
The Filipino personhood has labas, loob,and lalim. Filipinos have
physical,intellectual,moral,emotional and spiritual characteristics.

Just like a jar, you cannot see what is inside of it, unless
you try take a look at it. In knowing a person, you can not
judge him by merely looking at his physical
appearance or labas ng pagkatao(kulay ng balat,
tinidg, iling, dibdib).You need to know the person in
order to fully understand who he really is by looking
at his loob ng pagkatao o kalooban (isip, talino,
ugali) Each person has unique personality, attitude,
behavior, ability, etc. Also, similar to a jar, every person
has lalim ng pagkatao. It is the spiritual aspect of man that is why, there is maitim
ang budhi and maputi ang budhi.
To fully understand the idea about kaluluwa in pagkataong Pilipino, read the
excerpt from Covar’s discourse.

Nuong unang panahon at magpahanggang ngayon, ang babaylan, baglan, katalonan, mambunong, talaytayan ang
nakapag-aalis ng langkap, o sapi sa pamamagitan ng karapatang ritwal gaya ng tawas, pagbuhos ng kumukulong tubig sa
katawan ng sinasapian na hindi ito nalalapnusan o pag-ipit ng mga daliri ng sinasapian, nagagalaw o inalangkapan.
Ibinabalik nila ang dating kaluluwa ng may katawan.

Ang pagkataong Pilipino sa konteksto ng kaluluwa ay may ilang tambalang kategorya: (1) maganda/pangit na
kaluluwa; (2) matuwid/ halang na kaluluwa; at (3) dalisay/maitim na kaluluwa. Ang budhi ay katambal ng kaluluwa. Kung ang
kaluluwa ay siyang nagpapagalaw ng buhay, ang budhi naman ay siyang humuhusga sa buhay na naganap na. Ang budhi
ay nag-uusig at siya ring umuukilkil. Ang pagsisisi at paghingi ng kapatawaran, pati na rin ang pagbabayad ng anumang
masamang nagawa ang maaaring magpatigil sa budhi sa pagpapatuloy ng pang-uusig at pang-uukilkil nito. Marahil ito ang
kalagayan ng mga kaluluwang ligaw, ligalig, lagalag kaya hindi matahimik hanggang hindi makapagparamdam at
ipinagdarasal. Sa aking hinuha, ang budhi ay hindi kaparis ng konsiyensya. Katulad ng budhi, may sapantaha akong ito’y
bagong salta sa ating wika at kamalayan. Sa aking palagay, ang lokasyon ng konsiyensya ay malapit sa kaisipan. Ito ang
nagtutulak sa paggawa ng mabuti o masama at nag-uusig kung masama ang nagawa. Ang lokasyon ng budhi katulad ng
kaluluwa ay laganap sa buong katauhan ng pagkatao, sa ilalim o kaibuturan. Tulad ng loob hindi natin maapuhap o
maipupuwesto ang mga ito sa parte ng ating katawan. Ang talaban ng kaluluwa at budhi sa isang dako; at loob at labas sa
kabilang ibayo, ang siyang kinasasadlakan ng iba’t ibang pagkatao na may iba’t ibang damdamin, isipan, kilos, at gawa…

…Aking natalos na nababago ang pagkatao ng isang Pilipino kung siya ay linalangkapan, sinasapian, o sinasaniban.
Ang paliwanag ni Bulatao sa pagbabago ng pagkatao ay altered state of consciousness. Ngunit ito ay nananatiling isang
hinuha lamang sapagkat hindi pa natin talos kung anong prosesong pisikal ang nagbabago. Kung baga, nananatili tayong
nakagapos sa mga palantandaan lamang. Ang palantandaan ay ipinahihiwatig sa pagbabago ng damdamin, isipan, kilos,
gawa, pati na ang wika. Ang mga pagbabagong ito kaipala ay itinatakda ng iba’t ibang bahagi ng katawan, at ng kaluluwa.
Sa madaling salita, may dalawang klase ng pagkataong Pilipino na pinatotoohan ng pag-aaral na ito: (1) likas na pagkatao
at (2) pagkataong may sapi. Marahil marami pang kategorya ng pagkatao ang ating matatalos sa pamamagitan ng malawak
at malalim na pag-aaral

Pagpapakatao is the process how a

human being becomes Filipino. In study of
Humanities through art, students are
expected to discover and realize their own
identity as Filipinos. In the essay Legazpi,
he said that through a study of Philippine art,
we get evidence of how our ancestors lived
and died. Their art survives as an
imperishable record of their physical and
psychological experiences, their dreams,
and ideals.

MARIA GLORIA R. BECO-NADA

Southern Luzon State University
College of Art and Sciences
 GEC 07
ART APPRECIATION

Read the essay of Leonardo Z. Legaspi to comprephend how art becomes

vehicle in understanding national identity.
Understanding Through the Arts
Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P.

Fr. Leonardo Z. Legazpi is the 88th rector of the University of Santo Tomas. He is also the first Filipino rector of that
institution. He was born in Meycauyan, Bulacan, and finished his philosophical studies at St. Albert’s Priory in Hong Kong
and, in 1962, his doctoral degree in Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas. He was a recipient of the TOYM
Award in 1974.
The essay which follows is the foreword to a special issue of Unitas, a UST journal dealing with the subject of the
search for national identity through the arts.

We are today going through a crucial but exciting period in our history. We are engaged in the difficult adventure of
shaping our nation’s destiny, of searching for our national identity. In this search, all the resources of our people should be
mobilized. And the arts, to my mind, are a most important vehicle by which the search can be ended.
We cannot find our national identity unless we have a clear picture of our history, our customs, our thoughts, and
aspirations. We cannot reach our goal unless we are able to identify those factors which, when synthesized, will define our
national soul and lead us to an understanding of ourselves and of our fellowmen.
Through a study of Philippine art, we get evidence of how our ancestors lived and died. Their art survives as an
imperishable record of their physical and psychological experiences, their dreams, and ideals.
Because we are a heterogeneous, polygot people with cultural differences made sharper by regional and geographic
divisions, the task of understanding becomes more complex because of the language barrier. Art, fortunately, knows no
diversity of language since it speaks directly to our senses. Therefore, understanding can be more felicitously reached
through it.
Through art, therefore, we gain notion of how the different races and cultures operated: through art, we become more
receptive to their ideas. The moment we realize that the differences are genuine, that they were not occasioned by
ignorance but by variations in background, religion, and social systems, we make an important step toward understanding
our fellowmen.
The auditive and visual arts, because of their persuasiveness and delicacy, penetrate the intelligence and the
sensitiveness of the spectator or listener. They help us become acquainted with each other or to get intuitive knowledge of
one another. And they enable us to pool our respective resources so that we can complement one another and arrive at an
authentic understanding of each other.
But if art is to accomplish its glorious mission of promoting understanding, harmony and peace, if it is to do it with
dignity and fruitfulness, it should not weigh down the soul and nail to the earth. Rather, art should lend wings to the soul so
that it can rise above trifles and paltriness, so that it can reach out to that which is eternal and true, beautiful and good, so
that it can get us to the only union that counts - union with God.
Only in this way can the splendid vision of St. Paul be literally realized. “For the invisible things of him, from the world,
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made: his eternal power also, and divinity.”
It is with these twin objectives in mind, then - to participate in the search for national identity through the arts and to
promote unity, harmony, and peace through the understanding of art - that this publication was conceived.
Queddeng, G. (2013), Philippine Literature

What will be the possible effect to a person who will be blind about his
national identity? According to del Leon(2011), cultural identity is the world view
and values, beliefs, systems, knowledge, skills, practices,core principles and
ideas shared by a society. Then, based from his discussion, cultural identity is

MARIA GLORIA R. BECO-NADA

Southern Luzon State University
College of Art and Sciences
 GEC 07
ART APPRECIATION

“source of social empowerment” He added that, a person who is robbed by his

identity will become passive, lost, indolent, uncreative, and productive.
Colonialization led Filipinos to lost their identity that make them look at their
culture as inferior to other cultures specifically the Western culture. There are
many forms of alienation caused by westernization of Filipino culture such as
alienation from community, from our sources of cultural energy: thinking in
borrowed forms and the economics of dependency, from our race: The Doña
Victorina syndrome, from indigenous: denigrating the local, from land, from being
Filipino, and from sustainable living. With those alienations, Filipinos became
ashamed of their being Filipinos. According to de Leon, lack of pride in being
Filipino results in lack of commitment to the nation and, consequently, a low level
of achievement or even mediocrity—the “pwede na ‘yan” mentality.
It is a challenge on how Filipinos will again view themselves in a positive way.
A drastic “deconstruction” of the negative image is needed because having a
positive image will help them boost their morale. But how can Filipinos achieve it?

Below are the suggested recommendations and the communal character of

Philippine traditional cultures as reflected in the arts by de Leon:

Some Recommendations for Developing The Communal Character Of Philippine

a Filipino and Humanistic Perspective Traditional Cultures As Reflected In The Arts
 Heightening social consciousness and sense of  Integration of the arts with other values and functions
responsibility to the nation.  Unity of the arts
 Promoting people participation, local genius, and  Art is integrated with everyday life and not regarded
cultural diversity. as a separate activity.
 Promoting the local but thinking national or global:  Equality of opportunity for participation in the artistic
human communities, not the state, are the ultimate and creative process.
actors in the development process  Flexibility of material, technical, and formal
 Integrating the arts to social and cultural phenomena requirements
as lucid mirrors of social consciousness.  Use of available resources for artistic creation
 Emphasis on the creative process rather than the
finished product
 Simultaneity of conception and realization

Thus, art can be used as vehicle in

reaffirming and reclaiming national identity
among Filipinos. It will confer them strong ad
concrete definition of their identity as Filipinos.
The study of art will aid in the process of
Filipinos’ pagpapakatao because art can
provide us the most vivid images of social
relations and cultural values. They are perhaps
the most lucid symbols of a people’s quality of
being or consciousness.

MARIA GLORIA R. BECO-NADA

Southern Luzon State University
College of Art and Sciences