Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Our Spanish Heritage
Our Spanish Heritage
Our Spanish Heritage
The first Spanish missionaries who came to the Philippines were zealous soldiers of Christ. The Spanish priests destroyed the pagan idols and practices of the early Filipinos. The Beauty of Catholic rituals and the good character of the first missionaries attracted more and more new converts to Catholicism.
only the Philippines became a catholic nation in Asian world. Consider themselves as Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Believes the Pope in the Vatican and so Rome can change what the Bible says.
Many Catholic priest during the Spanish era helped improve our lives. They stopped the awful pagan practices of divorces, killing unwanted babies (abortion), offering human and animal sacrifices, and tribal wars. The practices of polygamy (having many wives) was banned, and marriage between a man and woman became a holy union.
Catholic church and the Government were united. But many Catholic priest abused their power. Abused the local inhabitants of the small town. They used their religious power to terrorize people into doing what they wanted, even if they were cruel and arrogant. The bible was banned at that time.
Having a Bible during the Spanish colonial era was considered a criminal offense, and the person with a Bible could be out in jail. The abuses of the Spanish friars and the Catholic Church in the Philippines became one of the reasons for the Phil. Revolution that the Filipinos started in 1896
In Clothing, The mens jacket and bahag were replaces by the Western coat and trousers. The lower-class men wore hats, instead of the putong. The women, instead of the sarong robe, they wore the saya (skirt) and the camisa (blouse). They learned to wear hair combs, shawls (monton de manila) and the handkerchiefs. they still wore jewelry, but gave up wearing armlets and anklets. Instead of bare feet, it started wearing slippers and shoes.
Family Life
Family ties were very close then. The Father was the breadwinner of the family. He consulted his wife on important decisions affecting the family. The Mother was the first tutor of the children. Taught them the alphabet and catholic prayers. There were a few broken families. It was considered a scandal to come from a broken home.
A New Calendar
Introduced western calendar. Dates similar to that used in europe. Governor General Narciso Claveria corrected the Phil. Calendar. Aug 16, 1844 he ordered that Tuesday, Dec 31, 1844 would be Wednesday, Jan 1, 1845. Until that time, our calendar had been one day behind European time.
Nov. 21, 1849 Governor General Claveria ordered all Filipino families to choose a surname from a catalog sent to all provinces.
About 5,000 Spanish words in our native dialects. Commonly used like mesa (table), silla (chair), oras (time), campana (bell).
The early spanish missionaries wrote the first grammar books and dictionaries of the Filipino languages.
1st newspaper was Del Superior Govierno. Appeared from Aug. 8, 1811- Feb. 7,1812. it was edited and published by Governor General Manuel Gonzales de Aguilar.
19th century. 1st daily newspaper (La Esperanza) ; 1st vernacular paper (El Ilokano) ; 1st womens magazine (El Hogar).
Literature
Phil. Literature was religious and taught lessons about good and evil. 1st tagalog pasion was by Gaspar Aquino de Belen. Other types of Lit. for the masses were awits(heroic poems) and corridos (religious legendary poems) Famous Francisco Baltazar was the Prince of Tagalog poets Famous Ilocano poet was Pedro Bukaneg.
Theater
2 kinds of play become popular. 1. The cenaculo (religious play about the life of Christ ; perform during lenten season) 2. the moro-moro ( adventurous play featuring fights between Christian and Muslims)
Music
Enriched by Spain. Phil. National Anthem shows Spanish influence. Our musical instruments, song, and dances were Westernized. Influenced Filipino dances like the cariosa, surido, pandango, and the jota. Musikong buh (bamboo musician)
Art
European painting and sculpture were brought to the Phil. By Spain. Thus, the 1st art works were religious art of official portraits of kings or governors general.
Science
They studied our plants and animals, and wrote many famous books on these subject.
The Filipino love of gambling came out in the introduction of horse races, lottery, and legalized cockfighting. Other amusements during Spanish era were family events like baptism, weddings and etc. Because there were no radios or televisions then, people played games indoors and outdoors. Favorite games poetical contests (duplo and balagtasan) and outdoors games like patintero, sipa, etc.
Spanish Blood
Peninsulares ( Spaniards who originally came from Spain to live and work in the Phil.) Insulares ( Spaniards who had been born and bred in the Phil.)
Because of Spanish Influences, the Filipinos have such a good character traits. 1. Christian Devotion. 2. Delicadeza (honor) 3. Palabra de honor (keeping promises) 4. Urbanidad (good manners) 5. Romanticism Inherited some bad traits 1. Maana habit (delaying work) 2. Sentimentalism 3. Siests (afternoon nap) 4. Seorito habit (dislike of maual work) 5. Aristocracy or snobboshness.