The Spanish influence in Philippines

In 1521, Spanish arrived in the Philippines, which at that time was just an undeveloped

archipelago, containing mostly tribes and villages where people lived like nomads. The Philippines

were under the power of Spain for 337 years, until it was invaded by America and became its

colony, when Spain lost the 1898 Spanish-American War. The US then ruled the country for 48

years, until it formally gave the independence in 1946. Even though the Philippines has been seen

as more like Central America than South East Asia in term of liveliness and religion, there were

some Spanish cultures appeared in the country. After being ruled by the Spanish, Philippine was

united and modernised resulting the influence in three main areas; religion, food, and clothes.

Currently, more than 90 percent of Filipino population are Roman Catholic. It is the only

Christian nation in Asia, besides East Timor, which was colonized by the Portuguese, and is one of

the countries with the largest Christian populations in the world. Before the arrival of the Spanish,

Filipinos were mostly animistic, however, a huge number of them were converted to Christianity

during the Spanish colonial era. There were a large number of religion propagation throughout the

history, nevertheless, the spread of Roman Catholicism in Philippines could be counted as one with

the greatest success. There were four main reasons why missionaries were successful in propagating

the religion in this area, according to Professor Susan Russell. Firstly, the lack of authority and

centralized power made it easier for such a small number of Spanish rulers to convert Filipinos who

desired for more organized nation. Secondly, the baptism, the initial Christian ritual by sprinkling

water onto a persons forehead, was attended by a massive number of Filipinos at one time. They

also adapted this rite with their healing rituals which enabled more people to be converted. Thirdly,

the reduction policy, the relocation of scattered settlement into a larger town, was designed to

collect more taxes from Christianized Filipinos. This was a population management strategy which

enabled friars to instructed them the Christian principles. Fourthly, Catholic practices which
blended with their indigenous rituals were introduced to the poeple. Consequently, they were able to

follow and practise the rituals in the more effective way.

Moreover, Filipino cuisine reflects the combination of both Spanish influence and its own

cooking style. During the pre-hispanic era, the common cooking methods were mostly from

Austronesian, which include roasting, steaming, and boiling. Most of the ingredients were livestock,

for instance, pigs, seafood, water buffaloes, chicken, and cows. In addition to this, due to the

contact with China, they brought soy sauce, tofu, and fish sauce to Philippines. When the Spanish

started to take control of the country, they brought a lot of ingredients from their country, for

examples, chilli peppers, corn, potatoes, and tomatoes. They also introduced sauting method,

frying all ingredients at once by using small amount of oil in a pan over relatively high heat. Some

characteristics of Spanish dishes appeared in Filipino main dishes, especially those for special

occasions. Menudo, a traditional Filipino stew, was an example of food influenced by the Spanish

and is popular nowadays. It involves the method of Sauting, and contains some Spanish

ingredients which are tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic. The Spanish influence made Filipino food

become more fascinating since the Filipino had an opportunity to use the ingredient and cooking

methods they had never had before.

The popular national clothes of Philippines the one for men is called Barong Tagalog

which look a lot different from other national clothes in their neighbour counties are influenced by

the Spanish. At the beginning of the colonization, the Spanish forced the Filipino men to wear

Barong Tagalog. Since they wanted to distinguish between their people and the natives, tucking the

Barong under the waistband was prohibited in order to mark the inferiority of them. In addition to

this, fabric used to weave this clothe had to be transparent , making it infeasible to hide weapons

inside. Any pockets on the top were also not permitted in order to prevent thievery. Nonetheless, its

appealing design and slight decoration showed the resistance of native people toward the Spanish

colonization making it turn to be Filipino national clothes. The Spanish influence also affected how
people weave their clothes. In the pre-hispanic era, people used fibres from abaca, pineapple,

cotton, and bark cloth. Nevertheless, the Spanish introduced the usage of fabric called nipis and the

weaving technique including the decorative flower designs. Currently, in special occasions, for

instance, wedding day, Filipino will wear the long-sleeved version of Barong Tagalog, while the

short-sleeved one is usually worn in normal days (Manila L, n.d). For women, the popular costume

is Maria Clara which has the combination of indigenous and Spanish influences. Its name was

derived from the fictional heroine, Maria Clara, who represented the virtues and nobility of the

Filipina woman. There are four main separated pieces of outfit which are the baro, the saya, the

panuelo and the tapis. The baro or the camisa is a collarless shirt with wrist-length beautifully-

decorated sleeves which have wide bell shapes. The saya is a bubble-shaped long sheer skirt, and

the tapis is a knee-length overskirt worn in order to cover the torso and prevent it from being seen.

These three pieces are originally from Philippines and the only piece which is influenced by the

Spanish is the panuelo. The name comes from the word pao meaning scarf in Spanish. It is a

triangular scarf covering the back and fastened in the front by gold brooches or pins. Nowadays, it

is considered as formal clothes and usually worn in weddings, political and social gatherings, and

during art performance such as folk dance (Lydia D, n.d).

Philippines has a huge number of Roman Catholic Christians , as well as remarkable food,

and distinguish clothes due to the Spanish influence during the colonisation era. Although there

were some Filipino traditional cultures being distorted, the combination of both cultures made the

country become one of the most attractive places in the world.

 References

Aradmin. Spanish Influence on Filipino Food. Retrieved from http://www.asian-recipe.com/

philippines/spanish-influence-on-filipino-food.html

Doreen, F. Philippine Food Culture and History. Retrieved from http://www.asian-

recipe.com/philippines/philippine-food-culture-and-history.html

Jack, M. Religion in the Philippines. Retrieved from http://filipinokastila.tripod.com/

religion.html

Lydia, D. Evolution of Philippine Costume. Retrieved from http://

philippinefolklifemuseum.org/portfolio_category/evolution-of-philippine-costume/

Manila, L. Barong Tagalog explanations for the specific features. Retrieved from http://

www.philippines.hvu.nl/clothes2.htm

Margot, C. Hola! Asian Call Centers Lure Back Spanish. Retrieved from http://

yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/hola-asian-call-centers-lure-back-spanish

Susan, R. Christianity in Philippines. Retrieved from http://www.seasite.niu.edu/crossroads/

russell/christianity.htm