Evolution of Society and Culture in the Philippines

Long before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, Filipinos had a civilization of
their own. This civilization partly came from the Malay settlers and partly from their
response to the new environment. Many of these customs and traditions, government
and way of life, have come down to the present day, despite the changes brought about
by westernization and modernization. This is why it is possible to know about our distant
past by simply observing some customs and practices that have resisted change and
modernization. Philippine pre-colonial society is both different and the same as in the
present. Some aspects of the pre-colonial period have survived into our time.

The locals of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Their primary ancestors are the
Malays who came from the southeastern Asian country or what is now called Indonesia.
Before the Europeans discovered the country, Filipinos have had connections with China
that resulted to a mixed Chinese-Filipino descent. Spanish-Filipinos came out during the
colonial period and Filipino-Americans added a few percentages as well during the
American occupation. They are easily distinguished by their fairer color, taller stature and
fairly formed nose structure. A few Arab and Indian blood added to the racial mixture of
the Filipinos during their trading years. Aetas- the aboriginal group of the Philippines has
a small percentage remained in the composition of the country’s ethnic groups.

The Philippines is a combined society, both Singular and Plural in form. Singular
as one nation, but it is plural in that it is fragmented geographically and culturally. The
nation is divided between Christians, Muslims, and other religion-ethno-linguistic groups;
between urban and rural people; between upland and lowland people; and between the
rich and the poor. Although different in a lot ways, the Filipinos are very hospitable and
give appropriate respect to anybody regardless of race, culture and belief.
Inside their mixed society, anyone who has not seen Filipinos will be surprised how
everyone differs from each other. Their looks, their cultural practices and beliefs show a
truly diverse blend of people and customs. Because of this inconsistent homogeneity of
race, the Filipinos naturally adapt and get influenced easily. They embraced the
spirituality of the Spanish during the colonial period and surpass it with the modernity of
the Americans in the recent years. In spite of these multifaceted customs and incongruous
mixture of people, visitors, however, find Filipinos enriched with uniqueness and variants.

Before the coming of the Spaniards and the introducing of Roman Catholicism, the
indigenous inhabitants were believer of animism, or the worship of nature. As in Roman
Catholicism, their pre-Hispanic beliefs consisted of a hierarchy of gods, goddesses, and
spirits which bear similarity to that of Roman Catholicism, which is why the latter has been
accepted easily by the inhabitants. Bathala was the supreme God of the Tagalogs,
symbolized by the araw, or sun. The supreme God of the Bikolanos was Gugurang. Other
Tagalog Gods and Goddesses include the buwan or moon, tala or stars, and even
objects, such as trees, shrubs, mountains, or rocks. The spirits consist of aswang (ghoul),
tikbalang (a man having the head of a horse), kapre (a giant that is smoking tobacco),
tiyanak ( vampire feeding on children's blood), santelmo (fireball), dwende (dwarves and
elves), ik-ik (witches), and a lot of engkanto (minor spirits) and diwata (fairies/nymphs).
Aside from that, voodoo practices were practiced by the pre-colonial inhabitants, such as
pangkukulam, or witchcraft. Beliefs such as usog (a child greeted by a stranger will get
sick) and lihi (unusual craving for something during pregnancy) are also present. These
beliefs were carried on up to the present generation of Filipinos, which has directed some
foreign authors to describe them as 'Pagan-Christians'

Scholars generally believe that these social groups eventually developed into
various settlements or polities with varying degrees of economic specialization, social
stratification, and political organization. Some of these settlements (mostly those located
on major river deltas) achieved such a scale of social complexity that some scholars
believe they should be considered early states.This includes the predecessors of modern-
day population centers such as Maynila, Tondo, Pangasinan, Cebu, Panay, Bohol,
Butuan, Cotabato, Lanao, and Sulu as well as some polities, such as Ma-i, whose possibly
location are still the subject of debate among scholars.

These polities were either influenced by the Indian Hindu religion, language,
culture, literature and philosophy from India through many campaigns from India including
the South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I,Islam from Arabia or were Sinified
tributary states allied to China. These small maritime states flourished from the 1st
millennium. These kingdoms traded with what are now called China, India, Japan,
Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The remainder of the settlements were independent
barangays allied with one of the larger states.

The first recorded visit by Europeans is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan. He

sighted Samar Island on March 16, 1521 and landed the next day on Homonhon Island,
now part of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Spanish colonization began with the arrival of Miguel
López de Legazpi's expedition on February 13, 1565 from Mexico. He established the
first permanent settlement in Cebu. Much of the archipelago came under Spanish rule,
creating the first unified political structure known as the Philippines. Spanish colonial rule
saw the introduction of Christianity, the code of law and the oldest modern university in
Asia. The Philippines was ruled under the Viceroyalty of New Spain. After which, the
colony was directly governed by Spain.

Spanish rule ended in 1898 with Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War.
After intense debate The U.S. decided to take control to keep it away from Japan and
Germany, but to prepare it for eventual independence. The Philippines then became a
territory of the United States. U.Ss forces suppressed a Philippine Revolution led by
Emilio Aguinaldo. The United States and established the Insular Government to rule the
Philippines. In 1907, the elected Philippine Assembly was set up with popular elections.
The U.S. promised independence in the Jones Act. The Philippine Commonwealth was
established in 1935, as a 10-year interim step prior to full independence. However in 1942
during World War II, Japan occupied the Philippines. The U.S. military overpowered the
Japanese in 1945. The Treaty of Manila in 1946 established an independent Philippine
Republic.
 Desirable Traits of Filipinos

Every country has its differing values and stereotypes, and the Philippines is no
exception. We Filipinos firmly believe that our country has the best values in the world.
Although we have been colonized by several countries, many core values from our
ancestors remained intact and are still honored to this day. Filipinos are not perfect, but
we have great characteristics and qualities every one of us should be proud of. Below I've
listed some of the most well-known positive and negative traits of Filipinos.

1. Hospitality

This is one of the most popular qualities of Filipinos. Foreigners who have gone to
the Philippines find themselves falling in love with the warm hospitality they are shown.
It's a different kind of value system, which has existed for thousands of years. Here are
some examples of the hospitality that Filipinos show, not only to foreigners, but also to
their fellow citizens:

1. When a person visits a friend's house, the host greets him or her with a very
warm welcome. The host will immediately let their visitor sit down and will
prepare a meal or a snack plus drinks for the visitor. The host will insist that
the friend not leave the house with an empty stomach. A host will always
make sure you had a great time visiting them.
2. People offer their guest room to visitors if they're going to spend the night.
3. Meals offered to guests are very special. A host always finds a way to
prepare great tasting food that her visitor wants to eat.

This Filipino attribute makes the Philippines one of the most favorite destinations
by tourists who want to enjoy the beauty of our nature and the friendliness of our people,
not to mention we can also understand and speak English.

2. Respect

Filipinos are courteous people. The children and young Filipinos will always use
the words “po” and “opo” to show respect to someone who’s older or who’s in the higher
position than them. We also do the “mano po” gesture (bringing the back of the hand of
an elder to one’s forehead) as a sign of respect to our elders. Moreover, Filipino workers
will always address their customers with “sir” or “ma’am” to show humility and honor to
serve them.

This is often observed—not just by younger people—but also by people of all ages.

1. Children respect elders by saying "po" and "opo," which mean "yes," when
answering their elders.
2. Children or young adults also show respect by putting their elders' hands on
their foreheads.
3. Filipinos also show respect at work by making a bow to their employers.

3. Strong Family Ties and Religions

Filipinos are willing to make big sacrifices just to make sure that their loved ones
will have a good life. Our parents will do anything just to give us a brighter future. They
are even willing to work in a foreign soil just to achieve such goal. And in return, we study
hard and even sacrifice our personal love life just to fulfill the dreams of our parents for
us. Furthermore, many Filipino breadwinners work extraordinarily hard just to earn money
to support their family.

Filipinos value their families so much that they tend to keep families intact through
the generations. Families go to church and pray together because their religion is
important and creates a strong bond, marking God as the center of their lives. Families
make sure to have quality time together especially after a day's work. Just watching
television or eating a family meal will be valued and prioritized in everybody's schedules.