MULTICULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS IN

THE PHILIPPINES
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 Chinese traders intermixing together; gradually evolving into a uniquely Filipino identity. 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, while many parts of Mindanao is theorized to be part
of the Hindu Majapahit Empire, with its capital being located in East Java in modern-day Indonesia. The advent of colonial rule in the islands marked the beginning of
The Philippines as a colony that would later evolved into a country after independence, a collection of Southeast Asian countries united under Spain. Chinese influence
has been felt throughout Southeast Asia through trade, even before the colonization of the region; specifically by the Ming dynasty and other earlier dynasties, from as
early as the 9th century. But it was during Spanish colonization that Chinese influence truly left their mark on what is now the Philippines. The blending of indigenous,
colonial and external influence is very evident in the historic arts and traditions of the Philippines.

The Philippines was first settled by Negritos; today, although few in numbers, they preserve a very traditional way of life and culture. After them,
the Austronesians arrived on the archipelago. Today, the Austronesian culture is strongly evident in the ethnicities, languages, cuisine, music,
dance and almost every aspect of the culture. These Austronesians engaged in trading with other Austronesians, particularly in the neighbouring
nations of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. They also traded with the mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Japan, China, the Indian subcontinent
and Arabia. As a result, some of these cultures marked their influences on Philippine culture.[2][3]

The Spanish Empire then gradually colonized the islands between the 16th and 19th centuries (Batanes being one of the last places to be
colonized in the mid-1800s), after more than three centuries of colonization, Roman Catholicism spread throughout the archipelago and
influenced the religion of the native people. Then, after being colonized by Spain via the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico), the Philippines
became a U.S. territory for almost 50 years. Influence from the United States is manifested in the wide use of the English language, media and in
the modern culture and clothing of present-day Philippines.[4]
 NATIONAL FLAG

The National Flag of the Philippines (Filipino: Pambansang Watawat ng Pilipinas) is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of
royal blue and scarlet, and with a white, equilateral triangle at the hoist. In the center of the triangle is a golden-yellow sun with
eight primary rays, each representing a Philippine province.[a] At each vertex of the triangle is a five-pointed, golden-yellow star,
each of which representing one of the country's three main island groups—Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the central star
originally referred to Panay.[13]
A unique feature of this flag is its ability to indicate a state of war if it is displayed with the red side on top, which is effectively
achieved by flipping the flag upside-down
 FOODS

ADOBO BALUT KARE-KARE KINILAW SINIGANG

Filipino cuisine (Filipino: Lutuing Pilipino/Pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of 144 distinct ethno-linguistic groups found throughout the Philippine
archipelago. However, a majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Filipino cuisine are from the cuisines of the Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan,
Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan (Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray), Chavacano and Maranao ethno-linguistic groups. The style of food making and the food associated
with it have evolved over many centuries from their Austronesian origins (shared with Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines) to a mixed cuisine of Indian, Chinese,
Spanish and Americaninfluences, in line with the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the archipelago, as well as others adapted to
indigenous ingredients and the local palate.[1]

Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to fish curry, chicken curry, complex paellas and cozidos of Iberian origin created for
fiestas. Popular dishes include: lechón[2] (whole roasted pig), longganisa (Philippine sausage), tapa (cured beef), torta (omelette), adobo (chicken or pork braised in
garlic, vinegar, oil and soy sauce, or cooked until dry), dinuguan (pork blood stew), kaldereta (meat stewed in tomato sauce), mechado (larded beef in soy and
tomato sauce), pochero (beef and bananas in tomato sauce), afritada (chicken or pork and vegetables simmered in tomato sauce), kare-kare (oxtail and
vegetables cooked in peanut sauce), pinakbet(kabocha squash, eggplant, beans, okra, and tomato stew flavored with shrimp paste), crispy pata (deep-fried pig's
leg), hamonado (pork sweetened in pineapple sauce), sinigang (meat or seafood in sour broth), pancit (noodles), and lumpia (fresh or fried spring rolls). Various
food scholars have noted that Filipino cuisine is multi-faceted and is the most representative in the culinary world for food where 'East meets West'.[3]
 ARTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

The arts of the Philippines reflect a society with diverse cultural influences and traditions. The Malayan peoples had early
contact with traders who introduced Chinese and Indian influences. Islamic traditions were first introduced to the Malays of
the southern Philippine Islands in the 14th century. Most modern aspects of Philippine cultural life evolved under the foreign
rule of Spain and, later, the United States. In the 16th century the Spanish imposed a foreign culture based in Catholicism.
While the lowland peoples were acculturated through religious conversion, the Muslims and some upland tribal groups
maintained cultural independence. Among those who were assimilated arose an educated elite who began to establish a
modern Filipino literary tradition. During the first half of the 20th century, American influence made the Philippines one of the
most Westernized nations in Southeast Asia. The cultural movements of Europe and the United States profoundly influenced
Filipino artists, even after independence in 1946. While drawing on Western forms, however, the works of Filipino painters,
writers, and musicians are imbued with distinctly Philippine themes. By expressing the cultural richness of the archipelago in
all its diversity, Filipino artists have helped to shape a sense of national identity. Many Malay cultural traditions have survived
despite centuries of foreign rule. Muslims and upland tribal groups maintain distinct traditions in music, dance, and sculpture.
In addition, many Filipino artists incorporate indigenous folk motifs into modern forms.
 LITERATURE IN THE PHILIPPINES

The indigenous literature of the Philippines developed primarily in the oral tradition in poetic and narrative forms. Epic poems, legends,
proverbs, songs, and riddles were passed from generation to generation through oral recitation and incantation in the various languages and
dialects of the islands. The epics were the most complex of these early literary forms. Most of the major tribal groups developed an original
epic that was chanted in episodic segments during a variety of social rituals. One common theme of the epics is a hero who is aided by
benevolent spirits. The epics that have survived are important records of the ancient customs of tribal society before the arrival of Islam and
Christianity. After the arrival of the Spanish, Catholic missionaries employed indigenous peoples as translators, creating a bilingual class
known as ladinos. These individuals, notably poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de Belen, produced devotional poetry written in the Roman script,
primarily in the Tagalog language. Later, the Spanish ballad of chivalry, the corridor, provided a model for secular (nonreligious) literature.
Verse narratives, or komedya, were performed in the regional languages for the illiterate majority. They were also written in the Roman
alphabet in the principal languages and widely circulated. Francisco Balagtas Baltazar, generally considered the first major Filipino poet, wrote
poems in Tagalog. His best-known work, Florante at Laura (Florante and Laura), probably written between 1835 and 1842, is an epic poem
that subversively criticizes Spanish tyranny. This poem inspired a generation of young Filipino writers of the new educated class, or ilustrados,
who used their literary talents to call for political and social reform under the colonial system. These writers, most notably Jose Rizal,
produced a small but high-quality body of Philippine literature in Spanish. Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), published in 1886,
and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (The Subversive), published in 1891, helped to shape a new, nationalist identity during the last years of the
19th century.The transfer of the Philippines to United States control in 1898 resulted in a dramatic increase in literacy and, consequently,
literary production.
 ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES

During most of the Spanish colonial period, the art and architecture of the Philippines were strongly influenced by the
patronage of the Roman Catholic Church. Most art emphasized religious iconography. The church commissioned local
craftspeople, often skilled Chinese artisans, to construct provincial stone churches with bas-relief sculpture and to carve
santos, or statues of saints, and other devotional icons in wood and ivory. The edifices, statues, and paintings of the period
show Chinese and Malay modifications of Spanish baroque, an elaborate and detailed style.Philippine painters began to
explore secular themes in the mid-1800s. The painters Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccien Hidalgo produced works in the
romantic and early impressionist styles, achieving recognition in Europe. Painters of the early 1900s-notably Fernando
Amorsolo, Fabien de la Rosa, and Jorge Pineda-produced romanticized landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits. In the late
1920s Victorio Edades, an American-trained painter, infused modernism into the Philippine art world. Many Philippine painters
who were influenced by American and European modernism also experimented with it to reflect Philippine realities, such as
Carlos Francisco, Arturo Luz, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Vicente Manansala, and Hernando Ocampo. Lee Aguinaldo and Fernando
Zobel de Ayala achieved international recognition in the 1960s and 1970s.Sculpture took on secular themes in the early
1900s. The major Filipino sculptor of the American colonial period was Guillermo Tolentino, who trained in classical sculpture
in Rome. In the 1950s Napoleon Abueva pioneered modernism in Philippine sculpture.
 MUSIC AND DANCE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Filipino classical musical compositions in many ways epitomize the blending of multicultural influences. The compositions often
embody indigenous themes and rhythms in Western forms, such as symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Several composers
and conductors in classical music have achieved international recognition, including Antonio Molina, Felipe Padilla de Leon, and
Eliseo Pajaro. Jose Maceda is considered the first Filipino avant-garde composer, liberating Philippine classical music from the
traditional constructs of Western forms. Traditional types of music are played on wind, string, and percussion instruments
made from local materials. These include the kulibit, a zither with bamboo strings and tubular bamboo resonators; wooden
lutes and guitars; and the git-git, a wooden three-string bowed instrument. The Muslim peoples use these and other
instruments to play complex musical compositions that have been passed by memory from generation to generation. Most
Filipino communities remember the tunes and lyrics of traditional folk songs. Tagalogs, for example, have more than a dozen
folk songs for various occasions, including the uyayi or hele, a lullaby; the talindaw, a seafaring song; the kumintang, a
warrior song; the kundiman, a love song; and the panambitan, a courtship song. Some songs are accompanied by a specific
folk dance.Formal training in classical dance has been available in the Philippines since the 1930s.
 FESTIVALS IN THE PHILIPPINES

A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often
marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. Next to religion and folklore, a significant origin is agricultural. Food is such a vital resource that many festivals
are associated with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are blended in events that take place in autumn, such as
Halloween in the northern hemisphere and Easter in the southern.

Festivals often serve to fulfill specific communal purposes, especially in regard to commemoration or thanking to the gods and goddesses. Celebrations offer a
sense of belonging for religious, social, or geographical groups, contributing to group cohesiveness. They may also provide entertainment, which was particularly
important to local communities before the advent of mass-produced entertainment. Festivals that focus on cultural or ethnic topics also seek to inform community
members of their traditions; the involvement of elders sharing stories and experience provides a means for unity among families.

In Ancient Greece and Rome, festivals such as the Saturnalia were closely associated with social organisation and political processes as well as religion.[1][2][3] In
modern times, festivals may be attended by strangers such as tourists, who are attracted to some of the more eccentric or historical ones. The Philippines is one
example of a modern society with a large number of festivals, as each day of the year has at least one specific celebration. There are more than 42,000 known
major and minor festivals in the country, the majority of which are specific to the barangay (village) level.[4]
 SPORTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Over time, basketball was able to captivate every Filipino’s heart. It is the most played and the most popular sport for the Filipinos. The
Philippine Basketball Association was a league founded in April 1975. The national team, Gilas Pilipinas, competes internationally for the
country. James Yap is “the” athlete of today next and next only to Robert Jaworski who is considered to be a “living legend” when it comes
to abilities. Yap plays for the San Mig Coffee Mixers as a shooting guard but can also play as a forward, for these, he is considered to be
the most complete player today in PBA.

Arnis enjoys the status of the de jure national sport of the Philippines. It is a martial art characterized by the use of “swinging and
twirling movements, accompanied by striking, thrusting and parrying techniques for defense and offense.” Having been handed
down from generation to generation for centuries, the discipline hones the skill, speed, accuracy and agility of its practitioners.
 FILIPINO GAMES

Traditional Filipino Games or Indigenous games in the Philippines (Tagalog: Laro ng Lahi)[1][2][3] are games commonly played by children,
usually using native materials or instruments. In the Philippines, due to limited resources of toys for Filipino children, they usually invent games
without the need of anything but the players themselves. Their games' complexity arises from their flexibility to think and act.

Laro ng Lahi was coined and popularized by the Samahang Makasining (Artist Club), Inc. (commonly known "Makasining")[4] with the help of
National Commission for Culture and the Arts[5][6] and being used by the other Philippine Local Government Unit, other organizations and other
institution. Imparting of these Filipino games to the youth is one of the main objectives of the organization. [7][8] The Makasining also created time
based scoring for five selected games (Patintero, Syatong, Dama, Lusalos and Holen).
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