Republic of the Philippines

CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

DAANBANTAYAN CAMPUS
Agujo, Daanbantayan, Cebu, Philippines
Website: http://www.ctu.edu.ph E-mail: info-daanbantayan@ctu.edu.ph
Phone: +6332 437 8526 loc. 102
______________________________________________________________________

Name: JERALD P. CEJAS Term: 2nd Semester A.Y. 2022

Subject: ED 709- EDUCATIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY Date: August 28, 2022
Curriculum: DOCTOR OF DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION Professor:

LEARNING ELEMENT
I. A Brief Glance at Pre-Western Cultural Heritage
The ancient cultural heritage of the Philippines can be traced to the different influences
brought about by our contact with the culture of our neighbors. These influences may be
summarized as follows:
A. Community Organizations (gi-unsa pagmugna sa kumunidad sa panahon sa wala
pa maabot ang mga colonizers)
Aside from the nuclear family (a group of people who are united by ties of partnership
and parenthood and consisting of a pair of adults and their socially recognized
children. In short, bana’g asawa ug ang ilahang mga anak), the social and political
unit of society was the barangay. It is an independent unit larger than a family. The
barangay is a social institution which is based on kinship relations (meaning blood
relation. In short, mga paryente) and a network of loyalty obligations to the chief called
datu, rajah or hari.
B. Social Organization
Social organization was based on kinship relationship which recognized the family as
the most important unit. Clear genealogical recognition was extended equally to both
maternal and paternal lines up to the third and fourth generation. Meaning, kasagaran
sa ilahang social organization is mga kamilya ug kaparyentehan ra up to third or
fourth generation due to the mere fact, that barangay was formed based on blood
relation. Women occupied a very high status, being considered the equal of men.
Elders were highly respected and children were valued. So, diri nato nakuha ang
atong pagka.family oriented. Diin, we put our family and loved ones at the core of our
priorities where in we draw our strength from our family. Bahala ng og magkalisod
basta para sa pamilya.
C. Economic Activities
Economic activities were very diversified but mostly relied on swidden agriculture
(kaingin system or slash and burn). Their products were traded through barter.
 Filipinos before already engage in barter from other neighboring countries like
Chinese and Arabs. Honesty among the people was outstanding. Wala pud sila
anang word nga alkanes, alkanes kay mahal ang iyaha then ang e.elis kay barato.
Mutual agreement ra gyud na nila sa magbarter batsa magkasinabot lang.
D. Religion
Highly integrated into the social life of the people were their religious beliefs. Being
pagans (worshipping many Gods), the early Filipinos practiced ancestor, or anito
worship. They also worshipped nature liked rivers, mountains, trees, and even
animals in the belief that these things in nature were habitats of the spirits. They had
elaborate rituals to mark all important events in life like planting, harvesting, travelling,
marriage, birth and death. Kasagaran aning mga rituals, hangtod karon gipractice
lang gihapon. Mahinumdum ko sauna sa bata pako nga everytime magbirthday ko,
inig kadlawn magkagulyang ang manok, daghan man mig manok sa amoang silong,
unya inig taud-taud ana, mo saka dayon akoa lola sa taas , dayon pakafeel ko nga
gikurusan ang akoa agtang. Ang gikuros kay dugo sa manok. Unya magtuo dayon ta
nga lami tag sud.an kay nag-ihaw og manok, gipasngan ra diay ang tapay sa manok.
Karon ra nako na realized nga dugay na diay ng PRANK! Karon lang nis ikat.

The literature and music of that time were mostly related to religion. Ethno epic verses
recount the exploits of the gods. Islam was introduced by the Arab traders during the
15 century which became deeply rooted in South Philippines. Aside from the anitos
and lesser gods, the tagalogs had a supreme God whom they called Bathala.
E. Language
The ancient Filipinos developed a language of their own derived from what was
known as original Indonesian. There was scarcely a man or a woman who could not
read or write in a form of a syllabic writing which was taken from India but later
discovered to have Malayan origin (Father Chirino). They wrote to one another to
perpetuate their tradition, epic literature, laws and customs. Unfortunately, most of
their writings were burned by the Spaniards as “works of the devil”.
F. Agriculture
The early Filipinos has some form of wet and dry agriculture and lived in bamboo
houses with roofs of thatch and palm leaves. Houselots gardens abounded in the
yards. In Visayas, Filipinos relied more on swidden agriculture where they grow staple
crops like rice, millet, bananas and root crops. Some Filipinos adopted the wet-rice
agriculture and modified landscape. Already in existence at that time were the Banaue
Rice Terraces, now considered one of the wonders of the world and feat of
engineering genius.
 G. Society
The barangay was both a social and political organization. A social class system
existed, consisting the datus and their equivalents, the ruler and chiefs of the
barangay; the maharlikas, the noblemen and the close relatives of the chiefs; the
aliping namamahay, the serfs (laborer) or commoners (ordinary person without
rank); the aliping saguiguilid, slaves.

The datus or chiefs of the barangays served a judges and lawmakers, with the advice
of a council of elders. Oral and written laws existed, the most famous of which were
the Code of Sumakwel (Datu Sumakwel – Leader of the 10 Bornean Datus. He settled
in Antique. Datu Marikudo – the Ati (Aeta) Datu of Panay, from whom the 10 Bornean
Datus purchased the lowlands of the Island, in exchange for a golden Salakot
(Bulawan nga Saduk), and a long pearl necklace that could touch the ground
(Manangyad).), and the Code of Calantiao (The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw was a
supposed legal code in the epic history Maragtas that is said to have been written in
1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of Negros in the Philippines.).
H. Family Life
Marriage and family life were highly regarded. Parents usually selected their children’s
mates, although young people entered into the pacts and sandugo which they kept
even after marrying other partners. Marriage was considered more of a union of two
families and their fortunes.

The dowry (bigay-kaya) system was practiced. This system requires the groom to give
money or property or some kinds of special gifts for the condition of marriage at the
bride’s parents and relatives.

II. Western Influence of Philippine Culture

A. Spanish Influences on the Philippine Culture
The time that the Philippines was under Spanish rule makes up a major part of their
history. Spain had control of the Philippines for more than 300 years, so it’s no
surprise that there are many Filipino customs, traditions, and cultural norms that can
be traced back to the Spanish. They left their mark probably more than any other
foreign nation to which the Philippines was subjected. First on the lists,
a. LANGUAGE
It is no surprise that over this long period of time, the Spanish language and Latin
alphabet made its way into the Filipino dialects. Today it is estimated that about
20% of Tagalog words are Spanish. In fact, the common Tagalog greeting
“Kumusta” was derived from the Spanish “Como esta” (How are you). Here are a
 few very common words that came from Spanish (the spellings have been Filipino-
ized):

Diyos (God), Eskwela (school), Gwapo (handsome), Kalye (street), Kabayo

(horse), Kwento (story), Karne (meat), Pamilya (family), Sapatos (shoes), Bintana
(window)

In some parts of the Philippines especially in southern Philippine island group of

Mindanao, there are Filipinos who are still speaking the Spanish-based creole
language known as Chavacano.

b. NUMBERS AND MONEY

Trade among the early Filipinos and with traders from the neighboring islands was
conducted through barter. The inconvenience of barter later led to the use of some
objects as a medium of exchange. Gold, which was plentiful in many parts of the
islands, invariably found its way into these objects that included the piloncitos,
small bead-like gold bits considered by the local numismatists as the earliest coin
of the ancient Filipinos, and gold barter rings.

Spanish-American coins minted to the currency system of 8 reales = 1 peso were

brought over by the Manila galleons between the 16th and 19th centuries. The first
coins brought over were odd-shaped silver cobs called macuquinas or hilis-
kalamay. They were then succeeded starting 1726 by the famous columnarios
(silver pillar dollars) or dos mundos.

The Spanish money system (based on pesos) was adopted into the Filipino
lifestyle as well as the use of Spanish numbers in business and money
transactions. Today, using Spanish numerals is the marketplace norm.

c. CATHOLICISM
Did you know that the Philippines is the only predominantly Christian nation in
Asia? That’s because when the Spanish took over, they brought their long tradition
of Catholicism with them. It was part of the Spanish conquest to convert all the
natives to Christ through their Catholic tradition. Today as a result, the Catholic
church still remains a very powerful force in the Philippines. For example, divorce
is illegal because of the Catholic church’s influence in the government and law-
making. Filipinos still celebrate and participate in many Catholic holidays and
customs. Practically everywhere you go you will see big Catholic cathedrals. In
 many homes, you’ll see pictures of the virgin Mary or the last supper, and many
people carry around rosaries with them. On public transportation, there are
plastered posters of Jesus and Mary and religious sayings. Because of the
Spanish conquest, there is a strong tradition of Christianity among the Filipino
people.

d. LAST NAMES
One very interesting thing that the Spanish changed about the Philippines was the
use of native last names. In 1849, the Governor sent out an order that all families
were to choose a new last name from a list of Spanish last names (in order to
create a more organized system of keeping track of people). As a result, today
there are many Spanish last names still in use, such as Garcia, Cruz, Reyes,
Mora, Vasquez, Valdez, Flores, Ramos, Perez, Villanueva, Ortiz, etc. However,
there were some Filipinos who did not want to change their native last names, and
so today there are still some native names remaining. Examples of native Filipino
last names include Macaraeg, Matapang, Masipag, Dimaguiba, Guinto,
Magsaysay, Makapagal, Batungbakal, etc.

e. CAPITAL CITY AND COUNTRY NAME

Also interesting to note is that the Spanish were the ones who appointed Manila as
the capital city of the Philippines. They also named the islands “Filipinas” after
Prince Philip II, who later became the King of Spain.

f. WESTERN CULTURE
During the Spanish rule, westernized culture gradually began to seep into the
Filipino way of life. Western music, dance, art, recreation and customs were
adopted by Filipinos. Even their beliefs and perspectives about life experienced a
bit of a drift away from Eastern muslim philosophies to a more westernized
perspective. One example of this was the abolishment of slavery. Classes
between the rich and poor, however, remained.

g. EDUCATION
During the Spanish reign, they established Catholic-run schools. Friars and nuns
were the teachers at these schools. The Filipino people were literate before the
Spanish ever arrived, but the Spanish added new subjects to their academia such
as math, Spanish, and business. In time, the Spanish also set up colleges
(segregated by gender). One of the more well-known of these colleges is the
university of Santo Tomas, which was established back in 1611.
B. American Influences on the Philippine Culture
America has had a huge influence on the culture of the Philippines. Here’s a few fun
facts as well as a few specific ways in which American culture has influenced Filipino
culture.
a. Religious Freedom
When the United States took over the Philippines, the people began to be free to
join whatever religion they wanted. (During the Spanish rule, the Catholic church
was established as the national religion and was strongly enforced). Because of
this new found religious freedom, there began to be many different churches
besides Catholicism. Today, it’s remarkable to see just how many different
Christian churches there are in the Philippines – this religious diversity has
become a big part of the culture.

b. Free Education
Americans introduced the idea of free education to the Philippine islands. The
United States even sent teachers to help establish schools where the Filipino
children could have a free education. A large group of these teachers were called
“Thomasites,” named after the boat that they came on, called Thomas.

c. English Language
During this time, English began to be taught in the schools, and this is the
language that the teachers would use. Even today, most Filipinos can’t help but
mix in English words when they speak. “Taglish” has literally become part of the
culture. In fact, English is now the 2nd national language. Lots of English words
have made their way into the Tagalog language. Often they are pronounced the
same, but the dictionary spelling is Filipino-ized. Here are a few fun examples:

Cake = Keyk

Cookie = Kukis

Biscuit = Biskwit

Ballpen= Bolpen

Interview = Interbyu

Computer = Kompyuter

X-ray = Eksrey

d. Clothing
Here are a few types of clothing that America introduced to the Filipino culture:
 Belts
Suspenders
Polo shirts
Tennis shoes
Short skirts/dresses
Bonnets/hats
High heels
Pantyhose
Make-up
e. Food
Here is a list of some of the food that Americans introduced to the Philippines that
have been widely adopted into their lifestyle:

Hamburgers
Sandwiches
Oatmeal
Ketchup
Chewing gum
Apple pie
Mayonnaise
Hot dogs
Steak
Ice cream
Corn flakes
And more. . .
Some American restaurants that have become very popular in the Philippines are:

McDonald’s
KFC
Dunkin Donuts
Other American influences:

Jeepneys, Swing Dance, Democracy, etc.

III. Who is the Filipino?
History tell us of our long struggle to attain unity among the tribes through a series of
revolts and revolutions. This term Filipino was used by Spain in the beginning to apply to
the inhabitants born of Spanish parents (mestizos). Later on, these mestizos developed
loyalty to the Philippines distinct from Spain and assumed the name of “Filipino” , thus
Filipino came to include all inhabitants of the Philippines irrespective of racial strain and
economic status.

The term Filipino today means a lot more. It means love of country; it means an
appreciation of everything that is beautiful in our land; it means a strong feeling of
belonging , a feeling of oneness and togetherness with all the people irrespective of
status, religion, or social position. The school should teach the young to take pride in
their country and its culture. It must develop in the young the desire to serve and
contribute to the common welfare. The young must be taught love and loyalty to the
country and its people. Only then can one stand with pride and say “I am a Filipino.” This
is the kind of Filipinism that the school is called upon to teach and develop.

Through the different colonial periods in our history the Filipinos survived and
strengthened the common ties that bound them together historically, politically, socially
and culturally. This developed the Filipino nationalism and the Philippine society for which
the great Filipino heroes have sacrificed their lives.

Thank you!