Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CITY LIFE
Rural means "relating to or characteristic of the country or the people who live
there." If you move to a rural area, you won't see a lot of skyscrapers or taxis
but you'll probably see a lot of trees.
You may have known people who live on country roadsmail to their houses must be
addressed to a rural route, abbreviated as RR. Rustic is a near synonym but
emphasizes the supposed qualities of country people: being simple, awkward, and
even rude and rough or relating to the country, country people or life, or agriculture
LIGAWAN
COURTSHIP IN PHILIPPINE CULTURE
Panliligaw or ligawan are the Tagalog terms for courtship, which in some parts
of the Tagalog-speaking regions is synonymous with pandidiga or digahan (from
Spanish diga, 'to say, express'). Manliligaw is the one who courts a girl; nililigawan
is the one who is being courted.
In Philippine culture, courtship is far more subdued and indirect unlike in some
Western societies. A man who is interested in courting a woman has to be discreet
and friendly at first, in order not to be seen as too presko or mayabang
(aggressive or too presumptuous). Friendly dates are often the starting point,
often with a group of other friends. Later, couples may go out on their own, but
this is still to be done discreetly. If the couple has decided to come out in the
open about their romance, they will tell their family and friends as well.
In courting a Filipina, the metaphor often used is that of playing baseball. The
man is said to reach 'first base' if the girl accepts his proposal to go out on a date
for the first time. Thereafter, going out on several dates is like reaching the
second and third bases. A 'home-run' is one where the girl formally accepts the
man's love, and they become magkasintahan (from sinta, love), a term for
boyfriend-girlfriend.
During the old times and in the rural areas of the Philippines, Filipino men would
make harana (serenade) the women at night and sing songs of love and affection.
This is basically a Spanish influence. The man is usually accompanied by his close
friends who provide moral support for the guy, apart from singing with him.
Filipino women are expected to be pakipot (playing hard to get) because it is
seen as an appropriate behavior in a courtship dance. By being pakipot, the girl
tells the man that he has to work hard to win her love. It is also one way by which
the Filipina will be able to measure the sincerity of her admirer. Some courtships
could last years before the woman accepts the man's love.
After a long courtship, if the couple later decide to get married, there is the
Filipino tradition of pamamanhikan (from panik, to go up the stairs of the house),
where the man and his parents visit the woman's family and ask for her parents
blessings to marry their daughter. It is also an occasion for the parents of the
woman to get to know the parents of the man.
During pamamanhikan, the man and his parents bring some pasalubong (gifts).
It is also at this time that the wedding date is formally set, and the couple become
engaged to get married.