Lesson 12

corrido-narrative poem composed of eight syllables in verse and sung in a quick manner

moro-moro-drama performed on stage which depicts the battle between the Christians and the Muslims and in which the Christians always win Passion Play (cenaculo)-drama that portrays the life, passion, and death of Jesus Christ

zarzuela-Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, as well as dance; usually involves a romantic story

CHANGES IN FILIPINO CULTURE DURING THE SPANISH PERIOD

The 333 years of Spanish occupation of the Philippines had a tremendous impact on Filipino culture. Despite these changes, the Filipinos did not entirely lose their innate culture.

The cultural changes brought about by the coming of the Spaniards further developed and enriched the knowledge of Filipinos. This could be the reason why they were able to easily adapt to these changes.

Spanish influences profoundly changed the lives of the Filipinos. These influences are mirrored in the different aspects of Filipino culture.

Material Culture

Manner of Dressing

Filipino men learned to wear hats, shorts, pants, jackets, and shoes, while the Filipino women learned to wear the terno, skirts, and shirts with loose sleeves. Also, the women started using scarves, shawls, and combs (payneta).

Food

The Filipinos learned to cook Spanish food and dishes like menudo, pochero, estofado, embotido, asado, relleno, afritada, and others.

* They became fond of leche flan, ham, longganisa, tocino, chorizo, atsara (pickled vegetables), and sardines.

* They began to like drinking coffee, chocolate, and beer.

* They learned to use spoons and forks, knives, plates, and napkins for eating.

Architecture

* Stones, bricks, and hardwoods, like mulawin and narra, were used for constructing buildings and houses. Baroque designs were used in building churches, convents, and schools like the University of Santo Tomas.

Old houses made of stone had azoteas which commonly served as places for rest when the weather was warm.

Nonmaterial Culture

Religion

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PASYON

Christianity spread throughout the country.

Filipino went to church and prayed the rosary.

* They learned prayers, like the "Angelus," "Our Father," "Hail Mary," "Glory Be," and the "Apostle's Creed."

* They participated in the sacraments of the Catholic Church, like baptism, confession, communion, marriage, and the anointing of the sick and the dying.

* They honored and celebrated the lives of saints through fiestas.

* They celebrated Christmas to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

* They observed the Holy Week to remember Christ's passion and death.

* They prayed for the souls of the dead and visited the graves of their departed loved ones.

* They learned to sing "Passion of Jesus Christ" during the Holy Week.

Education

Parochial schools headed by the friars or the parish priests were built. Religion was the center of education.

* Secondary schools were established by the missionaries to prepare students for the different educational courses in college.

Colleges and universities were established in the major cities of the country. Theology, Christian doctrines, Latin and Spanish languages, geography, mathematics, ethics, philosophy, logic, rhetoric, and poetry were taught. The Jesuits founded the Colegio Seminario de San Ignacio, which was the first school established exclusively for boys in Manila in 1590. The school later on became Ateneo de Manila. The Colegio de Santa Potenciana was the first exclusive school for girls and it was founded in 1594. The University of Santo Tomas was the first university established in Manila in 1611.

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Government and Society

A central government headed by the governor-general was established. Barangays were gathered together and formed a pueblo or a town, and the combinations of different towns formed into different provinces.

* The plaza were constructed in each pueblo. Found nearby were the public school, municipal hall, market, church, and the convent and monasteries. The setup was called plaza-vista complex. Around the pueblo were the houses owned by wealthy families and government officials.

Spanish Names

* Christian names like Juan, Maria, Carlos, and Juana were used.

* Spanish surnames like Cruz, Garcia, Valles, and Santos were used. A list of Spanish surnames called Catalogo Alfabetica de Apellidos from where our ancestors chose their family names was released by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1849.

Language and Literature

* Filipinos learned to speak the Spanish language. They adapted many Spanish words like mesa, silya, bintana, sabon, tasa, sibuyas, kutsilyo, mantekilya, kabayo, and many more.

* Poetry, stories, novels, and other literary works in Spanish were written.

The Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo of Dr. Jose Rizal were two well-known novels written in Spanish during the Spanish colonial times.

These books exposed the abuses of the Spaniards. Cecilio Apostol, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, and Jose Palma were famous poets of the time.

Filipinos learned religious literature, like the different prayers, novenas, and the stories about the lives of saints.

Filipinos wrote awit, corrido, and pasyon. The awit is a long narrative verse that usually depicts the heroism of the main character who is noble. It consists of verses with twelve syllables in each, and it is sung in andante (slowly). A famous example is the Florante at Laura, which was written by Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar who is known as the "Prince of Philippine Literature." The corrido, another narrative poem, consists of verses, each with eight syllables. It is sung in allegro, or in a fast and quick manner. It usually features romance or religion as a theme. A popular corrido is the Ibong Adarna. Lastly, the Pasyon is a long narrative of the life of Christ. The narrative is sung during the Holy Week.

Filipinos were introduced to Western drama or stage plays, like the zarzuela, moro-moro, and cenaculo.

The zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates spoken and sung scenes, as well as dance; it usually features a romantic story.

The moro-moro is a religious drama depicting the battle between the Christians and the Muslims in which the Christians are always triumphant. Lastly, the cenaculo shows the life and passion of Christ.

Music, Dance, and the Arts

Filipinos learned Spanish dances, like the fandango, rigodon de honor, polka, curacha, habanera, jota, and cariñosa.

Filipinos were introduced to musical instruments, like the organ, violin, viola, and the flute. The song "Sampaguita" composed by Dolores Paterno and the "Lupang Hinirang" of Julian Felipe were influenced by Spanish music

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Filipino painters bacame popular. Juan Luna-who was best known for his masterpiece, the Spoliarium-won numerous awards in Madrid, Spain. In addition, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo won a silver medal for his work, La Barca de Aqueronte.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SPANISH COLONIZATION

It is undeniable that the Filipino culture was enriched under the Spanish colonial period. The Filipinos' talents and abilities were honed in the different fields of literature, science, religion, arts, music, dance, architecture, and many others. Together with the changes in Filipino culture and values, the early Filipinos acted and behaved like the Spaniards. This is reflected in the way of life of Filipinos even to this day.

* In the same way, there were many negative effects that Filipinos learned and inherited from the Spanish. Some negative attitudes/values in life are the following:

a. mañana habit or procrastination-Filipinos putting off intentionally things that could/should be done right away to some other time.

FIESTA

b. ningas-cogon-The Filipinos' way of showing eagerness only at the beginning of a project, for example, then immediately losing interest afterward.

c. Filipinos often down on manual labor, like the Spanish aristocrats who did not want to soil their hands in manual work

d. laziness-Filipinos learned from the Spaniards that those who worked either belonged to the lower class or were poor.

e. dependence on maids or house help

f. taking long hours of rest or sleep instead of using the time for worthwhile endeavors

g. Inclination to some vices like:

placing bets on horse racing which was the favorite pastime of wealthy Filipinos. This is why a place for horse racing was built in Santa Ana, in Manila.

learning to gamble. They played cara y cruz or card games, like juego de prenda, pangguingui, and tres sietes.

h. Filipinos learned to spend lavishly on social gatherings. They would spend their savings lavishly during fiestas. In some cases, they would even borrow money to have something to serve their guests.

ROLE OF CHRISTIANITY (CATHOLICISM) IN FILIPINO CULTURE AND TRADITION

It can be said that Christianity (Catholicism) is the biggest Spanish influence in the Philippines. The beliefs of precolonial Filipinos were replaced by the beliefs taught by the Spanish missionaries. Headed by Father Andres de Urdaneta, the Augustinian missionaries pioneered in the propagation of Christianity in the Philippines. They accompanied Legazpi in his arrival in the country in 1565. They were followed by the Franciscans in 1577, the Jesuits in 1581, the Dominicans in 1587, and the Recollects in 1606. The missionaries taught the early Filipinos to pray and read the Holy Bible, the book of the Christians.

The Filipinos learned to pray the "Angelus" and the rosary together as a family at six o'clock every afternoon. Also, they joined processions which helped strengthen their family bond. They were also introduced to the celebration of masses as well as reverence to images of the saints. They easily accepted these since they were worshipping images even before the arrival of the Spaniards. They believed that miracles could happen through fervent prayer to the images of the saints as the missionaries had inculcated in them.

Also, the missionaries taught songs and hymns to early Filipinos using their native language. The missionaries did not have a hard time with this because early Filipinos were fond of singing and dancing.

The missionaries also built churches where they taught the importance and value of attending the mass and participating in the sacraments.

The Filipinos had a high regard for the missionaries, the altar, and the images of saints. They celebrated fiestas as a way to honor the patron saints of their village. They also learned to celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. They observed the Holy Week to commemorate His passion and resurrection.

The Filipino values and traits were truly transformed by Christianity. They easily imbibed and lived by the many teachings of the Spaniards because they were inherently prayerful and pious.

→ The Filipino culture was enriched under the Spanish colonial period.

→The Filipinos easily wove the culture they learned from the Spaniards into their own culture.

→The Filipinos, who became experts and famous in their fields, were proof that Filipinos are genuinely creative.

→The effects of the Spanish culture can be seen in the manner of dressing of Filipinos and in their cuisine or food, architecture, religion, education, government, language, literature, music, dance, and arts.

→The negative effects of Spanish colonialism can be seen in the traits, beliefs, and points of view of early Filipinos.

→Christianity (Catholicism) is the biggest Spanish influence in the Philippines which can still be felt at present.