Philippine Culture and Heritage Notes
Understanding the Filipino Culture
Filipinos are an ethnically diverse people mostly of Malay descent from Southeast Asia (Indonesia).
Contemporary Filipino society consists of numerous culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups.
Significant groups:
Cebuano of the Visayan Islands
Tagalog of Luzon (each forming about one-fifth of the country’s population)
Hiligaynon (Ilongo) of Panay and Negros
Ilocano of northern Luzon (each comprising roughly one-tenth of the population)
Bicol (Bikol) of the Bicol Peninsula
Waray-Waray of Samar and Leyte in the Visayas (jointly comprise another one-tenth)
Kapampangans (Pampango) of south-central Luzon
Filipino mestizos (each make up small percentages of the population)
Remainder of the Philippine population comprises smaller groups of indigenous and immigrant peoples.
Indigenous people: Negritos (Aeta, Ita, Agta), a tiny percentage of the population (Cullinane, 2022).
Kapwa: A shared inner self at the core of Filipino values, emphasizing a common sense of identity and consciousness.
Social acceptance and harmony are highly valued, influencing social behavior.
Common Filipino Traits and Values
The Family: Strong family ties are prevalent.
Multiple generations/families living in one house is normal.
Family is at the center of Filipino society.
Children stay with parents until marriage.
Couples stay with or close to parents.
Expected to care for elderly parents.
Importance of family reflected in the care provided by Filipino caregivers and nurses abroad.
Humor and Positivity: Optimism, humor, and positivity are common traits.
Filipinos enjoy festivities and celebrations.
Many national and local holidays.
Quality time for family celebrations (birthdays, Christmas, etc.).
Encouragement to find the good in challenging situations.
Humor and positivity as a survival mechanism due to frequent natural calamities (typhoons, Pacific Ring of Fire).
Flexibility and Adaptability: Valuing adaptability and quick thinking.
"Bahala na" (whatever happens, happens) embodies this value.
Belief in a higher power and submitting to uncontrolled elements.
Seen as positive encouragement to face problems by some.
Viewed as a way to avoid responsibility by others.
Faith and Religion: Deeply embedded spirituality.
Catholic Church's opinions impact lawmaking.
Towns celebrate fiestas to honor patron saints.
Non-working national holidays for religious events.
Religion forms values and principles.
Filipino Hospitality: Warmly welcoming guests regardless of origin or familiarity.
Providing food, entertainment, and local tours.
Offering pasalubong (souvenirs) to visitors.
Respect for the elderly: Includes parents, showing respect by practicing "mano po".
Industrious attitude: Resourceful and hardworking, determined to finish goals despite challenges.
Generosity: Naturally generous and helpful, giving and helping family and strangers, seen through charity drives and foundations.
Cultural Heritage Tourism in the Philippines
Cultural heritage (UNESCO, 2009): Artifacts, monuments, buildings, sites, and museums with symbolic, historical, artistic, aesthetic, ethnological, anthropological, scientific, and social significance.
Includes tangible and intangible aspects.
Tangible Cultural Heritage: Physical artifacts, monuments, or collections transmitted intergenerationally.
Intangible Cultural Heritage: Folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge.
Preserving cultural heritage keeps cultural practices and identities alive.
Tangible and intangible heritages are intertwined and work in partnership.
Tangible Cultural Heritage Sites in the Philippines (DOT Listed)
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park:
Located in Palawan province.
Distinct geological features.
Subterranean River flows to the sea.
Home to endemic and threatened flora and fauna.
Inhabited by mouse deer, Calamian deer, Palawan bearcat, porcupines, skunks, wild pigs, flying squirrels, rats, bats, and monkeys.
Cave-inhabiting reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Banaue Rice Terraces:
Located in Ifugao province, Cordillera Mountain Range.
Terraces sliced into steep mountain slopes.
Connects man with nature.
Reflects how man has shaped the landscape to grow rice.
Significant national symbol of the Philippines.
The Historic City of Vigan in Ilocos Sur:
Established in the 16th century.
Best-preserved Spanish colonial town in Asia.
Third most important city after Manila and Cebu during the Spanish colonial era.
Center of Spanish colonial power in northern Luzon.
Reveals the town's story through buildings: religious, political, grand homes, modest structures.
Political, economic, religious, and artistic center.
Living testament to the Spanish colonial era.
Architecture reflects Filipino adaptation of foreign ideas.
Baroque Churches of the Philippines:
Four Roman Catholic churches built between the 16th and 18th centuries.
San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila
Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur
Saint Augustine Church (Paoay Church) in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
Santo Tomas de Villanueva Church (Miagao Church) in Miagao, Iloilo.
Reinterpretation of European Baroque by Chinese and Philippine artisans.
Squat, enormous appearance for protection against pirates and seismic activities.
Follows Ley de las Indias (Laws of the Indies).
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park:
Located in the middle of the Sulu Sea.
Includes Tubbataha and Jessie Beazley Reefs.
Wide diversity of marine life: whales, sharks, dolphins, turtles, Napoleon wrasse.
360+ coral species and nearly 700 fish species.
Protects remaining colonies of breeding seabirds.
Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary:
Mountain ridge along the Pujada Peninsula in southeastern Mindanao.
Critical habitat for plant and animal species.
Haven for endangered and endemic flora and fauna.
Eight species found nowhere else, including threatened trees, plants, Philippine Eagle, and cockatoo.
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Philippines (UNESCO Definition)
ICH includes traditions or living expressions inherited from ancestors and passed on to descendants.
Oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge, and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.
Examples of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Philippines (Vivas, 2021)
Buklog ritual of the Subanen of Zamboanga Peninsula:
Inscribed in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO (December 2019).
Largest ritual of the Subanen people.
Appeases spirits for recovery from sickness, bountiful harvest, or acknowledgment of a new leader.
Lasts several days with attendant rituals.
Tall structure with a flexible platform for rituals and community dance.
Powerful cultural symbol of the Subanen's identity and uniting force.
Piña handloom weaving of the Aklanon of Panay Island:
Woven by the Aklanon in Aklan, Western Visayas.
Made from pineapple leaf fibers using a handloom.
Procedure unchanged since it began.
Finest among handwoven textiles.
Used in fashion and finery and passed down as heirlooms.
Produced through conventional means.
Igal, the traditional dance of the Sama people of Tawi-Tawi:
Performed for different occasions and reasons with many variants.
Shared heritage among the Sama and other people in western Mindanao.
Called Pamansak in Yakan and Pangalay in Tausug (all mean "dance").
Graceful movements imitating natural motions (birds' flight, sea waves).
Use of finger extensions called janggay.
Lepa and other watercraft and boat-building practices of the Sama people of Tawi-Tawi:
Sama people are famous for boat making.
Lepa is the most common boat used for fishing, traveling, and as a house.
Constructing these boats is passed on from father to son.
Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia of Naga City, Bicol Region:
Image of Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia (Our Lady of Peñafrancia) is a subject of devotion.
Considered the region’s patroness and the Queen of Bicol.
Millions of devotees flock to Naga City every September.
Reverence marked by prayers, masses, and fluvial processions.
Using mud as a mordant in the traditional dyeing process of the Ifugao of Northern Luzon:
Ifugao weave textiles by hand using back-strap and pedal looms.
Textiles are dyed using the ikat technique and natural dyes from plants and mud.
Mud acts as a mordant to repair colors and create unique shades.
Iron-rich mud is collected from rice paddies with reverence.
Traslacion of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila:
The Black Nazarene inspires intense adoration.
Traslacion reenacts the transport of the Black Nazarene’s replica image from Intramuros to Quiapo Church in 1787.
The original statue initially brought to the Philippines by the Augustinian Recollects in 1606.
Held annually on January 9.
Attracts millions of devotees who pray to and honor the image.
Mask making for the Moryonan Lenten tradition of Marinduque:
Lenten penitential rite involves wearing moryon masks.
Local penitents wear Roman soldier costumes with wooden masks.
Moryon masks are sculpted from wood by traditional artisans.
Festivals in the Philippines
Festivals are a great way to experience authentic culture.
Most celebrations are rooted in Christianity due to Spanish colonial rule.
Influential in spreading Christianity.
Commemorate significant historical events or honor seasons (harvest, earthquake).
Often celebrated with frenzied dancing, loud music, feasts, costumes, and alcohol.
Famous Festivals in the Philippines (Lagandaon, 2022)
Sinulog Festival:
Held in Cebu City every 3rd week of January.
Honors the Sto. Niño (the Holy Child Jesus).
Dance ritual indicates Filipino's pagan past and conversion to Christianity.
Parade participants dress in multi-colored costumes and dance to music.
Dinagyang Festival:
Held in Iloilo City every 4th Sunday of January.
The Ilonggo term for merrymaking or revelry.
Commemorates the Santo Niño and the arrival of Malay settlers.
Dagyang Tribes Dance Competition: tribes covered in body paint present folkloric scenarios.
Masskara Festival:
Held every October in Bacolod City.
Monthlong street-dancing, drinking, and merrymaking.
Began in 1980 during an agricultural crisis as escapism.
Masskara means "many faces", performers wear smiling masks.
Ati-Atihan Festival:
Celebrated every January in Kalibo, Aklan.
Philippines' oldest festival, "The Mother of all Philippine Festivals".
Inspired most Philippine festivals.
Celebrated for over 800 years in honor of the Holy Child Jesus.
Named after the Ati-people.
Week-long street parties and dancing competitions.
Pahiyas Festival:
Harvest celebration held every May in Quezon province.
"Pahiyas" means to decorate.
Houses adorned with farm crops and kiping.
Traces back to the 15th century when farmers presented crops at the church.
Farmers display harvests at houses for the priest to bless.
Panagbenga Festival:
Yearly flower festival celebrated every February in Baguio City.
"Panagbenga" means "season of blooming".
Reflects history, traditions, and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras.
Showcases floral float parades, street dances, and food streets.
Moriones Festival:
Held during Holy Week every April in Marinduque.
Religious event to remember St. Longinus.
The Centurion was healed by Jesus' blood converted and left the army.
The word "morion" means the helmet of Roman soldiers.
Men wear masks, Roman armor, and helmets.
Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival:
Celebrated in Tacloban every June.
First celebrated in 1987 to showcase the tattooed tribespeople of Samar and Leyte called the Pintados.
Street dancing where participants wear vibrant costumes and body paint.
Giant Lantern Festival:
Held every December in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Christmas Capital of the Philippines.
Traces its roots to the Christmas tradition called lubena.
Participants craft giant Christmas lanterns.
Lanterns are paraded around each barrio on Christmas Eve.