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 with characteristics introduced via foreign influences.

Spanish colonization of the Philippines from Mexico, governed from Spain, lasted for over three centuries (1565-1898); thus, there is a significant amount of Spanish-Mexican influence in many facets of Filipino custom and tradition. Hispanic influences are most visible in Philippine folk music, folk dance, language, food, art, and religion.

Pre-Hispanic indigenous Filipino culture had many cultural influences from India, through the Indianized kingdoms of Southeast Asia, particularly the Srivijaya and Majapahit Empires, in what is now Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Many customs and the Filipino psyche reflect these cultural influences. Philippine Mythology, like many Southeast Asian's, has been influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism. The people of Mindanao and the Southern islands are mostly Islamic. Filipino martial arts, like Kali, Sikaran, etc., emerged from Mindanao.

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 upland and lowland people. Although different in many ways, Filipinos in general are very hospitable and will give appropriate respect to anyone regardless of race, culture, or belief. “Lonely planet guide” describes them as the “happiest people on hearth”.

These traits are generally positive but these practices also have the tendency to be applied in the wrong context. Close familial ties can foster nepotism. Pakikisama (getting along with others) can lead to intolerance or even outright hostility of differences and of individual liberty. A debt of gratitude (utang na loob) is sometimes repaid by giving special favors to the other person regardless of the moral outcome.

The creation of alliances with neighbors and a helping attitude whenever one is in dire need is what Filipinos call bayanihan. This bayanihan spirit can be seen in action when a bus gets a flat tire. By standing or surrounding Filipinos will assist the bus driver in whatever is needed to get the bus back on its way. This can be contrasted with the individualistic attitude more prevalent in some other societies, especialy in the West.

Before the arrival of the Spaniards and the introduction of Roman Catholicism, the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippines (Maharlican Islands) were adherents of a mixture of Animism, Hinduism, and Vajrayana Buddhism ("Esoteric" or "Advenced" Buddhism). Bathala was the supreme God of the Filipinos, represented by the langit, or sky. Other Filipino spiritual Beings (manifestation of the Suprem God, like the Indian Devas) include araw (sun), buwan (the moon), tala (the stars), and natural objects (such as trees, shrubs, mountains, or rocks). As the Abrahamic religions began to sweep the islands, most Filipinos became Christians. Other Filipinos became Muslims, especially in the southern islands of the country such as Mindanao and Sulu.

The Filipinos are also well known for their Martial Arts (FMA). There are many styles of traditional Filipino Martial Arts known under various names over the years. Kali, also called Arnis or Eskrima, has varying sources of origin depending on the island and/or tribe of origin. It is difficult to ascertain a single originating or "pure" Filipino martial art due to the lack of written historical record. There is considerable controversy on this subject, but most researches indicate that there are 4 main influences in FMA: Local sword fighting styles, Malay Pencak Silat, Hakka Kuntao from Southern China and European fencing.

The distinguishing characteristic of martial arts originating from the Philippines is the emphasis in curriculum of teaching weapons before (or simultaneously) with the empty-hand techniques, as well as the famous concept of "angles of attack". FMA practionners are able to perform in any of the 3 distances of a fight: Long, medium or short (Largo, Medio, Corto), nevertheless, FMA are famous for being close range fighting arts.

This article was written based on a “wikipedia” text.