PHILIPPINES CULTURE

The culture of the Philippines is a combination of cultures of the East and West.

[1]
 Filipino identity was created primarily as a result of pre-colonial cultures, colonial
influences and foreign traders intermixing and gradually evolving together. In pre-colonial
times, the Philippines was a divided set of nations, islands and tribes being ruled by their
own kings, chieftains, lakans, rajahs, datus and sultans. Every nation has its own identity and
some are even part of a larger empire outside of what is now the Philippines. Manila, for
example, was once part of the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei, and the Sulu Archipelago was also
part of the Hindu Majapahit. The advent of colonial rule in the islands marked the beginning
of the Philippines as an entity, a collection of Southeast Asian countries united
under Spanish Empire.
The culture of the Philippines comprises a blend of traditional Filipino and Spanish
Catholic traditions, with influences from America and other parts of Asia. The Filipinos
are family oriented and often religious with an appreciation for art, fashion, music and
food.