Harriet R.

Reynolds

The Filipino Family

in its Cultural Setting
There is no unit of social structure more important in lktermining
behavior, outloo~, v41ues, and the grner41 tone of life in a society than
the family, however that is defined in the particular case. Family str·ueture
is a stable part of society, but it can and does change. With these changes
may come modem values 01 individual freedom, privacy, elevation of
the status of women and 0 youth, but the losses may be as great or
greater. Gone may be the security of belottging to an established, closely
~nit group, the undentanding of one's place and role in society, sanctions
for morality. and Teligious TOOts. In this paper the author outlines some
of the patterns of family structure which are neaTly universal in the
Philippines, and pictures some of the changes ~ing place with their
implications for the church.

SINCE World War II Roman Catholic
and Protestant churches in the Philippines
have had a growing interest and concern
in working with and through the family.
They have recognized it as the basic
structural unit and the most powerful
institution in Filipino society. However,
the family has usually been defined in
terms of the American background of
the missionaries, the strongly Spanish,
influenced family of the city,reared
leaders, or the present·day family of the
barrio people. Very often ideals have
been proposed and goals set with ref,
erence to the present and the hoped. for
future. The past, especially the distant
past, has had little or no consideration.
Harriet R. Reynold. i. a millionary
of the United Church of Chri.t in the
Philippine.. and ha. been In Vlgan,
Iloeol Sur, .Inee 1952. She and her
hUlband are al.o workinl' on reeeareh
and writiq their Ph.D. the.il on the
Chine.. in the Ilocol Province•.
223
During the same years, there has been
an increasing awareness of the need for
all of those who are associated with social
institutions, including religious organi-
zations, to understand more of the back,
ground and the development of the cultur-
al milieu, and to become aware of the
social processes affecting groups and in'
dividuals of that eociety.l
1 Indicative of this intereat has been the
holding of a Religious Acculturation Confer-
ence for three days each Christmas vacation
fr~~ 19'.' to 1961. Participantl have included
mlSSlonanes and others from Roman Catholic,
Anglican. and Eva.ngelical churches. Filipino
family life has also been studied by the East
Asia Christian Family Life Seminar-Conference.
Manila. the Christia.n Family Life Workshop
of the Philippines with headquarters at 1743
Taft Avenue, Manila. the Chriltian Fa1'llily
Movement of the Roman Catholic Church, and
in the Institute. sponsored by the various
Protestant churches with the help of the
Department of Home and Pamily Life o( the
Philippine Federation of Christian Church«.
224 PRACTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
This paper is an attempt to recognize
both the importance of the family
approach of the church and the need
for greater understanding of how the
Filipino family operates. It will try to
do two things: (1) use a depth per'
spective in a brief analysis of the Filipino
kinship system with comments on the
developments that have been and are
taking place, and (2) indicate some points
at which church leaders can find oppor-
tunities for promoting Christian growth
of individuals and churches through fami-
lies, and openings for Christian service
with and to members of families.
With more than 1SO language and
dialect groups,2 such varied cultural types
as pagan, Moslem, and Christian, and
such extremes of setting as isolated
mountain valleys and a great population
center like Manila. can we B.'lY there is
a Filipino family. or are there only Fili-
pino families?
Anthropologists generally agree that
there is a family structure which may
be designated as Filipino which is found
throughout the archipelago.I Fox says,
"There are many fundamental similarities
in the social organuation of the eight
major Christian groups," which, he goes
on to explain. make up more than 90
per cent of the total Philippine popu-
lation." Research by others on the
2 Harold C. Conklin, "Outline Ga~etteer
of Native Philippine Ethnic and Linguistic
Groups" (Chicago: Philippine Studies Program,
1952), p. 13.
3 Cf. A. L. Kroeber, "Kinship in the Philip'
pines," Anthropological Paper. of the Museum
of Natural HlItory. Vol. XIX. Part III, 1919.
pp. 69·S4: Fred Eggan, "Social Structure of the
Sagada Igorots" in Social Structure in South,
eMt Alia. edited by George P. Murdock
(London: 1961).
.. Robert Pox, "The Filipino Pamily in Per'
spective" in Saturday Parade Magazine of The
Euenlng New. (Manila: Oct. 1'. 1960).
Sept.,Oct.
mountain peoples, including that of the
research team in Apayao during April
and May 1961, of which the writer was
privileged to be a member, show that in
these minority groups, basic structure and
main details of social usages may also be
included in the generalization.!
The fundamental characteristics of the
Filipino family can be traced back to
pre-Spanish times. Historical develop'
ments, population movements, invasion,
and colonization have brought modifica-
tions and elaborations, but these have
not erased the early structural form.
The Spanish-type, American-type, and
Oriental-type Filipino families that exist
today are sub-familial types in which
the general framework is still evident to
a greater or lesser degree.
Probably in the remote mountain
regions, where the Spaniards were not
able to impose their rule and the Amer-
icans entered comparatively recently. the
form most like that of the earliest Filipino
family is found today. It has not yet
been possible to determine which Filipino
group is nearest the early pattern for it
is certain that all have undergone some
significant changes.
Characteristics of
the Fnipino Family
The Filipino family is a part of the
Indo-Malayan cultural area. but it must
be remembered that it is not the only
family type found in the Malayan region
of Southeast Asia. As in all known
ancient and modern societies, Philippine
societies have nuclear family units (also
called primary families or elementary
5 See writings by R. F. Barton, Otley H .
Beyer, Pay Cooper-Cole. Fred Eggan, Robert
Pall, E. A. Jenks. Pelix Kelling, and others.
1962 THE PIUPINO PAMILY
families) each of which ha. a certain
degree of autonomy. These are composed
of father, mother, and unmarried children
(the Civil Code speaks of "unemancipated
children").6 However, in the Philippines,
the autonomy of nuclear units is limited
as regards residence, authority, and obli-
gation, for they are usually closely linked
to the larger family.
This linkage occurs within the tra-
ditional bilocal extended family "which
unites the nuclear family of a married
couple with those of some but not all
of their sons, [and/or] of some but
not all of their daughters, and of some
but not all of their grandchildren of
either sex."? (In other words, a group
consisting of more than one nuclear fami-
ly in various combinations.) In the past
not all families had two complete nuclear
units in the same household, nor was
this either the group "ideal" or the actual
practice among all the peoples, but the
pattern of one or more married children
living with or near the home of either
or both of the sets of parents has been
sufficiently accepted and followed to be
characteristic.
Since residence practices are the nrst
family pattern to show change and lead
to further change, this form, which allows
for a considerable degree of flexibility,
is important. When couples marry, it has
been usual for them to live in or near
the home of the man's parents. But
there are many cases when, because of
the preeminence of the bride's family,
the failure of the husband to complete
the dowry payments and the consequent
work obligation to the wife's family, or
other reasons, the two go to live in the
6 Civil Code of the Philippinea (Bureau of
of Printing, Philippine.. 1957), p. 67.
7 George P. Murdock, SOcUll St1UCture (New
iork: MacMillan, 1949), p. 35.
225
place of the wife's family. In the past,
relatively few nuclear families lived nee-
locally (in a separate home located away
from the family of either the husband
or the wife).
At the present time a young couple
may live with the husband's or wife's
parents for a year or several years, then
move to their own home, usually, but
not always, near one of the parental
homes. Even when they live separately, a
nuclear family will frequently have one,
two, or several relatives living in the
household either permanently or for short-
er periods.
Under the impact of professional am'
bition, educational opportunity, high cost
of living, and the developing cash econ-
omy, the number of neolocal family
residence units is increasing. This is bring'
ing problems such as emotional conflicts
between generations over location, diffi,
culties in caring for the children and for
meeting the needs of other dependents,
and strains in fulfilling the customary
family obligations in support and hospital-
ity. It, of course, also brings opportunities
such as encouragement to individual initi-
ative and advancement, mobility in terms
of location and type of vocation, ac-
ceptance of new patterns of family living
and child care, simpler entertaining, and
less complex family living arrangements,
with more privacy.
The Filipino family is bilateral in that
children are related equally to members
of their father's and their mother's fami-
lies. The active kinship group is known
as personal 1{indred. Here, also, flexibility
is possible, and an individual may be
closer to one set of relatives than to the
other due to proximity, prestige,rating, or
compatibility. The family is bilineal, for
it traces descent and passes on inheritance
through the line of both the father and
226 PRACTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
the mother. Because the kinship group
increases in number very rapidly and
becomes cumbersome, relation depth and
obligation is usually considered only as
far as third cousins (descendants of the
great-great-grandparents), with a practical
range of only four or five generations.
However, the Ifugao and some other
groups are genealogical experts and trace
their ancestry back many generations. On
the other hand, many Isnegs could not
tell the names of all four grandparents.
The behavior of individuals within the
kinship system is clearly defined as to
generation, relative age, and degree of
collaterality (distance of relationship),
and the practices regarding reciprocal
duties and privileges are carefully fol-
lowed.
Authority has been centered in the
parents who have traditionally had
complete control over their unmarried
children. The father is recognized as the
head of the family, but the mother shares
responsibility, is usually consulted about
family matters, and may own property.
Generation and relative age affect the
general authority structure, to the extent
of there being a provision in the Civil
Code, "Grandparents shall be consulted
by all members of the family on all
important family questions." Children
are expected to be respectful and obedient
in all instances to those older than them'
selves, especially to parents, and in cases
when one or the other must give way,
the welfare of the parents is to be placed
before that of the children.
Most of the language groups have
kinship terminologies which provide de'
scriptive terms for each relationship with
the same tenn being used for the corre-
sponding member of both parents' fami-
• Op. clt., p. 66.
Sept.,Oct.
lies. But, in usage, the terms for father
and mother and for the grandparents
are often applied to their siblings as well,
and possibly as terms of respect to other
elderly people. Sibling terms may be
extended to cousins. The degree distinc-
tions of these relationships are noted in
behavior - the merging of terms seems
more related to respect and emotional
closeness than to an identity of expected
behavior.
When an individual marries, his spouse
and the parents and siblings of the spouse
become a part of his kinship group. Thus,
there is a strong, closely interwoven
complex of relationships which binds to-
gether fairly large and sometimes widely
distributed groups on the basis of kin,
ship, but there is no evidence of clans
now or at any time in the past. The
traditional unit of identification other
than the family has been the village,
which varies in complexity of social organ,
ization among the various language groups.
Even if some of the family lives in another
location for many years, the family village
is still considered "home. ''9
Courtship and Maniage
The Philippines has courtship and
marriage patterns which traditionally and
at present are quite varied. Traditionally
the attitudes toward premarital contact
of young men and women have been
relatively permissive, but this changed
under Spanish influence. Invariably, sane-
tions have been more restrictive for the
9 Mr. Corpuz, a retired municipal treaaury
employee, who has raised fifteen children in
the larger town, still considers his "home" ..
the small municipality of San Isidro, ten kilo-
meters away. In the last election, he was chosen
municipal councilor of San Isidro. Many Manila
residentl consider "home" to be a provincial
barrio.
1962 THE FILIPINO FAMILY
female than for the male, but generally
less rigid than in many societies. These
do not so much reflect moral judgment
as the fact that in some groups virginity
calls for a higher dowry to be given for
the girl. In most groups there is some
kind of dowry given by the man's family
to that of the girl. This may be Chinese
jars and beads in the mountain areas,
or land, animals, money, clothing, or
other property in either highland or low'
land areas. Sometimes in the lowlands
professional success and a lavish wedding
paid for by the groom's family suffices,
hut in other cases those who have been
educated are expected to pay a higher
dowry price.
There are groups, however, which place
highest value on the assurance that chil-
dren will be produced. Among these,
marriage may not be negotiated in some
cases until impregnation has occurred.
Exceptions are often made in marriages
for the wealthier girls, for whom parents
almost always arrange a marriage which
will serve to keep property and other
wealth under family control. In the
Philippines as a whole, arranged marriages
(sometimes in infancy or before, some'
times during adolescence or even for
older unmarried individuals) have been
common, and various uses made of go-
betweens, usually members of the family.
Marriage has been considered to be a
contact between families rather than an
agreement between two individuals. How,
ever, young people themselves have often
had a good deal to say about the selection
of a mate. Where the parents have not
been willing to heed the desires of their
children, elopement has often occurred. In
most cases parental forgiveness follows,
if not immediately, after dowry payments
or after the birth of the first child.
In cases of premarital pregnancy, social
227
pressure is applied to force marriage. If
the young man is not willing to marry
the girl, his family is expected to pay
a heavy nne. Formerly such matters were
readily handled by family groups; now
because young people have wider contacts
and family authority is less absolute, new
tensions and problems are arising in such
situations.
Among lowland groups, the veneer of
Spanish culture and the strong influence
of the Roman Catholic Church have
produced a rigid chaperonage of un-
married girls. So strong has it been that
a girl who is inadvertently or intention'
ally placed in the company of a man
unchaperoned is expected to be com'
promised, and the opportunity for Be'
duction may be made as strong a basis
for demanding marriage as pregnancy
itself would be.10 At present a good deal
is said about girls being expected to
remain virgins, but in families closely
related to the Church, and even among
young people who have entered Church
vocations, premarital pregnancy often oc-
curs. While it is not "socially approved,"
when it occurs there usually seems to
be no lasting stigma.ll
Girls in areas not !D penetrated by
10 In the neighborhood of our home in the
I1~oa region, a neighbor lad had taken his girl
fnend to the movies. When he took her home,
her mother said: "She cannot return here after
being out at night with you. Take her to your
house." He did this. He explained that they
could not be married until the next year, for
one of the girt's sisters had been married in the
current year. One January morning before we
had risen, he knocked at our door to mvite us
to his wedding breakfast - right away. The
couple had just been married by the local
priest.
11 Sometimes members of the family of a
young man will encourage relations before
marriage to make lure that the girl will marry
into their family.
228 PRACTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Spanish culture, are not considered so
helpless that they cannot defend their
bonor if they wish, and they are not
expected to become pregnant until they
are ready to be married.
It can be easily seen that both the
traditional and the Spanish-era patterns
have laid a foundation for frustrations
and problems as the Church has tried
to insist on sexual relations within the
marriage relationahip only. The situation
has been intensified by the introduction
of coeducation, close association in many
vocational and recreational activities, and
the emphasis on romantic love in modem
maguines and movies.
Traditionally the Filipino family prac-
ticed both monogamy and polygyny. Mo-
nogamy is now the national legal form,
and, 80 far as is known, has been the
form practiced by the majority of fami-
lies throughout history, There are fairly
numerous inst:ance8 of polygyny as
approved practice in some minority groups
now, and concubinage, known in the
Philippines as "the qumda system," and
extra-legal marriage in a common-law
arrangement seem to be increasing. The
fact that divorce is not legal, and legal
separation is given only for adultery and
attempted murder, does not mean that
there are no family problems such as
lead to divorce in other countries and
have made divorce rather common and
relatively easy in areas in the Philippines
not strongly influenced by the Roman
Catholic Church. The Civil Code, which
prohibits divorce, has given special con-
aideratioo to proviaion for children born
out of wedlock. A question may be raised
as to the wisdom of enacting rigid laws
which express an imposed ideal, such as
do the parts of the Civil Code dealing
with the family, then baving to balance
the strietne18 of one atatute by laxneas
Sept.-Oct.
of another as a stop-gap measure. Church
people might well promote serious dis,
cussion of national laws regarding the
family and exert influence toward having
them brought into line with social needs.
Ceremonial Kinihip
The Filipinos have a strong and im-
pressive compadre system baaed on cer-
emonial relationships which developed
within the Roman Catholic Church. These
were intended to be mainly spiritual, but
since they imply social privilege and
obligations similar to /K)me of those of
relatives, they have become a ritual co-
parenthood which brings into use many
kinship concepts and terms. As a part
of the mal system, the ceremonial kin-
ship has come to include many of the
other aspects of society which among
other peoples would be dealt with through
less personal, associational relationships,
an approach which is still unfamiliar to
and uncomfortable for many Filipinos.
Originally the Roman Catholic Church
provided for godparents at baptism, a
sponsor at confirmation, and legal witness-
es at marriage. Even with these, the ritual
kinship ties of a family with several
children sometimes extended to most of
the village. However, now the breadth
of the system is tremendous. The writer
was one of forty sponsors at a wedding
recently. The mayor of a provincial capital
town invited more than two hundred to
be sponsors at the baptism of hia infant
son. Asking persons of property, prestige,
and influence to serve as godparents or
sponsors has become a means of social
climbing, securing or repaying votes or
political patronage, and of "sharing the
wealth" of those who will give gifts or
contribute toward an elaborate feast.
Many Ptoteatant families have adopted
1962 THE PILIPINO FAMILY
the customs of inviting sponsors and rec-
ognizing ceremonial relationships.
Ceremonial kinship is now an integral
part of the Filipino family which has its
roots in the fairly recent rather than in the
distant past. Its connection with social
obligation, hospitality, and the prestige
structure lends importance to its inclusion
in consideration of matters relating to
the family.
The Filipino Famfiy
and the Social System
Under the traditional social organi-
zation, the community was relatively
homogeneous, isolated, and family-cen-
teredo This type sociologists have called the
gemienScMft (or, in Tagalog, d4m4Y) ,
characterized by face' to-face relationships
and the direct, personal kind of contacts
between its members.P This is in contrast
to gesellscMft with its organized, im-
personal relations which is developing at
the present time. All institutions were in
the past an extension of kinship relations
or their counterpart. If an actual kinsman
was not the employer or head of the
household in which work was done, then
some form of the feudal lord-serf or
landlord-sharecropper or master-servant
arrangement was followed. The spirit of
paternalism became characteristic, not only
of the family, but of the Church, the
private school, the economic system, and
the functioning units of govemment. The
"father" figure (who might really be the
mother or the mother and father) headed
the sub-syseem: others were responsible
to him as authority, owed respect, gift8~
share of crop or wage income, and subli-
12 Chester L. Hunt. Richard W. Coller, So-
corro C. E.piritu. John I. de Young, Severine
P. Oorpus, Sociology in th, Philippine Settmg
(Manila: 1954), chapter 4.
229
mated their interests to his. In tum. he
"cared" for them. and they acquired
status because they were within his kin'
ship. compadre, or other influence group.
The economic system has depended very
heavily on the family. In the barrios it
is the main productive unit; in business
concerns, factories, companies, and even
in private schools, there is usually a family
hierarchy in control. One of the very
real problems in securing the efficiency
and degree of service necessary for Man'
cial success in 'some Filipino businesses
has been the conflict of these standards
and their enforcement with kinship obli-
gations. Families exert pressure on church'
es in the matter of the selection of a
pastor or deaconess, or refuse to let a
Christian leader be assigned to another
locality if he still has dowry obligations to
fulfill. The vocation of a young person
has been chosen not so much on the basis
of his interests and abilities as by the
criteria of what the family wants and
expects him to do to bring honor and
financial gain to them. Most Christian
families want one child to become a
priest or a pastor; one or more is expect,
ed to stay at home, possibly forgoing
educational advantages. to remain with
the parents. !fone is. in a position to
employ others, his first obligation has been
to hire members of his own family.
Who is to be the leader in social or
political enterprises has been largely
decided by family factors: wealth, size
of family, and prestige of the kinship
group. In the field of government the
concept of democratic precedure based on
equality of opportunity and responsibility
for those of equal ability haa not been
in keeping with the stratification growing
out of strong family patterna based on
230 PRACTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
generation, age, and reciprocal obli-
gation. 13
Religiously, the family has had a
central place, and, as is characteristic,
kinship fonns and religious beliefs and
practices are generally resistant to social
change. Those interested in change will be
wise to study carefully the relationship of
family patterns and religious beliefs and
practices of both the past and present.
In the Roman Catholic families the cere-
monials have been family-centered, the
home had a shrine, the role of the Church
in the life cycle events of baptism of
children, marriage, and death were rigidly
prescribed and fitted into the family
schedule along with other feast and fast
days. The Church tended to support
rather than challenge the authoritarian
role of the older members of the family
on the one hand, and, on the other hand,
often ignored the areas where tensions
were apt to develop, so long as one
influential member, often the mother, saw
that religious forms were carried out,
and Church obligations met. Fox speaks
of the typical Filipino family as folk-
Catholic. 14 The same tenn has been used
in Central and South America to imply
that the present religious beliefs have
been added to, imposed upon, and mixed
with the traditional and largely family-
centered beliefs : and practices of pre-
Christian origin. Instead of being a faith
that replaces the previous religion in
beliefs, concepts, and loyalties, it has
accommodated itself to it, and the people
have tried to make place for two sets
13Mary R. Hollnstelner, "Reciprocity in the
Lowland Philippines" (Ateneo de Manila Uni-
versity, Que~on City, 1961).
14 Robert B. Fox, "The Filipino Family in
Perspective" in Saturday Parade Magallne of
The Evmlng New. (Manila: Oct. 15, 1960).
Sept-Oee.
of patterns that are somewhat in conflict
in principle.
We can see that Protestantism has
also done a certain amount of accom-
modating. Instead of a "new birth" with
its new spirit and fresh commitment we
find that sometimes pagan fears and su-
perstitions have remained, and on top
has been brushed a thin coating of super-
ficial Christian beliefs and ceremonials to
produce a folk-Protestantism.
At the present time among both Roman
Catholics and Protestants some are trying
to find means of correcting this situation.
Also, there are very commendable efforts
being made to express the essence of the
Christian faith in ideas, liturgical music,
family festivals, buildings, and other forms
which are truly Filipino and lend them-
selves to Christian use.
A Society in Transition
This is a time of transition from a
largely rural society to a more urbanized
social system in the Philippines. It is a
time of movement with a great deal of
instability of individuals and within
society in general. Urban standards and
ideas are increasing, but the vast majority
of Filipinos are still rural in locale and
in orientation. More than 75 per cent
of the people still live in the rural areas,
and the city population includes many
typicalIy rural families and individuals.
The young people and adults who go
back to their rural localities after educa-
tion in the cities, and those who hope to
act as innovators in their capacities as
teachers, pastors, rural extension leaders,
and community development workers, find
in most cases a resistant rather than a
receptive response when they attempt to
introduce change, and are often frustrated.
Those in the city doing social work,
and in politics, education, and religious
1962 THE PIIJPINO FAMILY
vocations find that many of the people
with whom they work are confused, be'
wildered, and bitter about the conditions
of city life. A good many newcomers to
the urban areas have changed their ad,
dresses but not their mental and social
orientation.
A transitional society is often plagued
by a condition which has been spoken
of as "normlessness," but is really a
confusion of norms which causes the
society and the individual to vacillate
between more than one set of goals and
standards.15 This seems to be the con'
dition of the Philippines now. A few
random questions will illustrate the diffi-
culty of making some decisions. When one
is asked about a matter does he answer
according to the bare facts of the case,
what he thinks the questioner wants to
hear, or in a way to show the person or
persons about whom he is speaking in
the very best light as he sees it? If one
signs a contract or makes a verbal agree'
ment, does he expect to adhere to it, or
i8 it to be automatically canceled if his
father becomes ill or a compadre needs
his help to complete some job within
a certain time limit? If a family cannot
give a big marriage celebration without
going into debt will it borrow money
to meet the necessary social obligations
for such a wedding, will the couple delay
the marriage, or will they slip away and
be quietly married with a minimum of
expense?16
15 Ruben Santos.Cuyugan, "Social-Cultural
Change and the Filipino Family" in Sdmce
Review (Manila: March 1961).
16 In the latter cue the couple might be as
resourceful as one reporting in a conference
discu88ion: "We planned a traditional wedding
and feast, but set the date in the rainy season.
We invited all our relatives and others to
whom we were obligated, but we were pretty
lure the weather would cooperate to keep the
231
In many of these and other situations
we can see that there is no completely
right or wrong choice. There may be a
traditional Filipino way, or there may
be one that is typically American. Which
is "Christian"? The need of the times
seems to be for the people concerned to
think and to help each other think through
the best possible alternatives for the
present time, which will in many cases
be something new, a fresh solution for
a new problem situation. In searching for
new answers let us not forget that some
of these may arise out of some of the
Filipino heritage of the past. Among some
sub-groups such as the Tingguian and
the Isneg, one finds democratic procedures
which the nation 3S a whole could adopt
with profit. In the basic culture and at
the present time women have been given
some share in the authority structure and
opportunities that have prepared them
to assume a more responsible place in
making new adjustments than can be done
readily in some other societies. The Fili,
pino kinship system is comparatively flex'
ible in structure and behavior patterns
and of a type more amenable to change
than are some others, and the absence of
a firmly entrenched and uniform heredi-
tary class system reaching back into an'
tiquity leaves the whole social system more
open to change.
Changes and Some Effects
on the FamUy
The changes most affecting the family
may be summarized as follows: (1) There
is increased mobility and productiveness
with the developmentof a higher standard
of living for more of the population. (2)
From the ascribed status of Spanish times
and the present, movement is toward
crowd to be fed sullidently small to fit what
we could afford."
232 PRACTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
more democratic society with greater rec-
ognition of individual ability and achieve'
ment within the social framework. (3)
Individuals and couples and the nuclear
families are having more participation in
making choices and carrying responsibility
within the family. (4) The family now
shares many of its functions with other
institutions so that it has a more special-
ized function, and there is growing empha-
sis on aseociational rather than family-
dominated relationships.
In the society as a whole there is
movement toward differentiation rand spe-
cialization in contrast to the relative
simplicity of organization and the wide
use of unskilled labor in the earlier times.
This has brought tensions within the
family as old patterns are no longer
applicable or are challenged, and new
techniques have not been fully developed.
One of the most difficult steps in meet'
ing the new day is to encourage family
members themselves to accept the fact of
change. It is not a matter of choice as
80 many who cling to old customs and
traditions with blind tenacity seem to
think. The war, the influence of other
countries, the coming of opportunity for
more democratic govemment have all
played their parts, but they have been
factors in an on-going process which is
present in all dynamic groups. The Philip.
pines has been moving as have Europe
h U . d ' and authoritarian-strucrored Filipino
t / ~lth Sta~ and Japan, andWhasall
o . . t east .a must move. . en
SOCieties open the.l~ d~rs to othe~ influ-
ences, when families give up their self-
~ufficicncy and isolation, the coming of
other changes is inevitable. The question
to be asked today is: ch "How can we
un d. erst~n d an d use th~ anges for. the
&at18factlOn. and happiness of members
of the society; and how, to some extent
at least, can we help to direct change?"
Sept.•Oct.
There have been both gains and losses
for the family and its members. The fami-
ly now, particularly in urban areas, usu-
ally cannot provide the individual his
job, protect him from outside pressures,
support him at all costa in political
matters, and propel him into a more or
less established set of religious patterns
as it did in the past. On the other hand,
the family has great significance as the
basic institution which brings him into
being, cares for him, gives him a person'
ality as an individual, and socializes him
so he may be able to adjust to his larger
society. The home continues to serve as
the center for emotional satisfaction,
moral guidance, and psychological securi-
ty. Instead of being the center of a
tightly interlocking network of relation-
ships as it has been traditionally, it is
now becoming the balance mechanism
~hich should se~e to b~ng. equilibrium
~n ~~ whole SOCial organization and help
mdlvlduals. absorb the stresses a.nd strains
produced In ~h.e leas personalized parts
of everyday living,
Psychologist Mrs. Estefania Aldaba-Lim
speaks of the changes taking place from
a more personal point of view:
The younger generation, especially
in the urban co~munities, is eager for
change - aome~lmes at gre~t &ac~'
fice t.o the. family, ~ere. t;hlS desire
conflicts W1~h t?e stll1.tradltlon'??~nd
family, mental stress, irresponsibility
amounting even to delinquency, and
insecurity on the part of both the
older and younger generation results.
She continues, regarding the handling of
this situation:
Our concern, m th ere fore, IS
. how to
prepare parents and children to live
in a changing community without
diaturbing their integrity and merci-
leasly leaving them prey to the
1962 THB PIUPINO FAMILY
h ~ds 0 f change...• It haa been
demonstrated that change is safest
when people choose progress them-
selves and when they move together
- grandparents, parents, children -
as a total community into the new
way of life. II'
The changes within the family cannot
he judged just as good or bad in them'
selves, but must be considered as they
conflict or harmonize with the rest of
the social structure. Under any social
system, kinship is one aspect only; it
is integrated, for better or for worse,
with all other parts. It will do no
good to look at the changes in the family
only and try to deal with them in iso-
lation, although it is necessary to note
and try to analyze them. There must be
an attempt to try to understand the place
of each change in its relation to the whole
social system. In this way it is possible to
evaluate the way in which the family is
or should be changing to maintain its own
place and contribute to the well-being of
its members in the whole Filipino society
and culture.
The Churches and the Famny
This brief and incomplete review of the
traditional Filipino family and the changes
that have occurred and are in the process
of taking place seems to point to four
definite matters about which churches and
church leaden may well be concerned:
1. The Filipino family needs help in
re-orienting its value system to meet
the more complex social situation. The
churches should be well,grounded in
17 Eatelania AIdaba-Lim, "Cultural Change
and the FilIpino Panu1y" in Saturd", P"rad,
Mag4Cln, of Th, BlImln, N,w, (Manila: Oct.
15. 1960). She relen espedally to planned
rapid change dlllcribed in the book. by Marga,
ret Mead. Comm, of Ag, in Sam04 (1928)
and New Lill" for Old (1956).
233
theology and Christian ethics and be able
to interpret these to their members and
prospective members in terma of God-
man and man-man relationships, 80 that
families can nod in the church resources
for selecting and implementing values and
norms for setting. their own standards
and patterning behavior. They also need
the strength that comes from belief in
God as well as through worship and
fellowship in the Christian community.
2. The family is still a dominant factor
in the orientation of Filipino society. The
churches, to do effective work, ahould
recognize this and work with the home
in a manner befitting its importance. The
churches, in spite of lip-eervice to the
place of the family in society, have placed
main emphasis on individual initiative
and most of their evangelistic work has
been aimed either at individuals or at
masses of people. Their educational work
has taken people out of the family
into compounds, schools, and dormitories,
rather than making first emphasis on
education within the family where all
members can participate and the family
be encouraged to make changes together.
(This is not a call to abandon the indi-
vidual and mass approaches, but to realize
the need to undergird them with programs
in the home and for the family in the
churches, to bring commitment and build
character.) Christian families can help
through efforts to enlist parents in the
Christian education of their children, and
by noding ways by which both family and
church can more effectively guide young
people in selecting their partners, planning
their marriages, and setting up their
homes.
3. The churches should go forward in
the processes of analyais and planning.
The leaders ahould keep abreast of social
change - if possible, move ahead of it-
234 PRACTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
80 that families may be given guidance
to strengthen their homes, and the indi-
vidual members helped to enable them to
meet the points of strain and tension
which they face. Also, there should be
provision within the "family of Chris'
tians" for purposeful development of
facilities for giving aid in ministering to
special needs and in helping to solve
problems. The churches should also en'
courage their members to understand and
Use the facilities provided through psy-
chology, aociology, anthropology, and
social work.
4. Churches and church leaders can
extend their efforts to encourage and,
where possible, participate in study proj-
ects which will gather information, de'
velop techniques, train leaders, and
promote evaluation relative to matters
important to family and church. IS
18 Two example. of .uch.tudie. are: (1)
The work of a sub-committee of the Faith
and Order Committee of the Department of
Christian Education of the United Church
of Christ in the Philippinee, on "Problem.
of Chri.tian Marriage as Related to Church
Membership and Leadership," which involves
case Itudies and analYliI, and theological inter'
pretation in the light of the Filipino cultural
eetting. The final report is to be given to
administrators of churches and conferences for
we in guiding decisionl regarding practical
"We Ifugao must do what our ances-
tors have told us," is the expression which
one tribal group has used "since time
immemorial" to determine right or wrong,
good or bad, obligatory and essential-
"the hundred-handed norm which is
invested with unchallenged power and
authority. "19 Today, the Filipino should
surely get acquainted with all that his
ancestors have to teach him about the
family. He should then be alert to
the scientific information and techniques
which present-day experience in the Phil,
ippines and resources from other countries
have to offer him. Then, in the light of
the value system which the church should
help to formulate, rapid social change
can be dealt with in ways to secure the
greatest possible amount of successful
adjustment and satisfaction, with the least
possible disruption and strain for families
and their members.
field problems. (2) Three missionary couples
of the United Church were granted two
months' time from regular assignment to be'
come members of a team of eight which has
done research and writing on cultural change
among the Isneg in Apayao, Mountain Pro'
vince, Philippines.
19 Francie Lambrecht, in Proceedings of the
Religious Acculturation Conference (Baguio:
1961) .