Philippine

Culture
 PANGONTRA
Filipinos are very superstitious or
mapamahiin. A lot of locals believe in things
such as aswang, kulam, and masamang
Espiritu. They believe that in order to counter
these things, ammunitions or pangontra such
as salt, garlic, buntot pagi , vinegar or even
crucifixes can be placed around the house
especially in window sills or entrances.

This culture of pangontra is deeply rooted to

early Philippine folk religion of our ancestors.
With the arrival of Catholicism in the
Philippines, such beliefs were attempted to be
erased since they do not align with the
teachings of the Catholic Church. But the
culture of pangontra persisted. Instead of
being replaced by new beliefs, it mingled with
Catholic traditions. Thus the inclusion of
crucifixes and holy water in this Filipino
culture. This culture exists until today in the
country, especially in the provinces.
 PASALUBONG
The notion of “bondedness” and
“relationship” is very important for Filipinos.
Handing out a pasalubong after your travels
means that you are thinking of them while
you are away. Receiving one also provides a
sense of importance from the giver. It
strengthens your bond with family or friends,
and it might also be used to forge a new
relationship or strengthen a weaker one.

It also means being thankful for arriving

home safe and being together again. Dr.
Michael Tan, an anthropologist, suspects that
“it referred to a time when travel was difficult,
making the return more emotion-laden. The
more distant, and the more difficult the place
one went to...the more important it was to
bring back something. Dr. Nestor Castro, also
an anthropologist, believes that this culture
Pre-Hispanic – when early Philippine
communities engaged in long-distance trade.
PARTY FAVOR
A party favor is a memento or a keepsake
which is kept as a remembrance of a
memorable, important, or happy event. The
idea of a party favor (usually from family
gatherings, debuts, Christening, etc.) is kind of
like the opposite of pasalubong. Instead of
giving, it is something that is taken. Instead of
a memento from a time that you are
separated, party favors are a reminder of a
time when you were together.

This culture of party favors as an act of

keeping items due to their sentimental values
also reflects the Filipino’s importance for
family and loved ones. You will see these
items, usually still covered in plastic to
preserve and protect them, displayed in areas
where they are easily seen by visitors. It also
acts as a measure of socialization. Being
invited to a lot of special occasions is a “sign”
of good social reputation.
 BIGAS
Rice or Bigas is a necessity for every Filipino
home. It is considered a staple food for
everyday consumption. Rice has been so
embedded in the Philippine’s culture and
history to the point that we have different
words to identify rice. We have palay (un-
milled rice), bigas (milled rice), kanin (cooked
rice), tutong (burnt rice), bahaw (steamed
rice that turned cold), and so on.

It has historical importance that dates back

even before the preconquest era when rice
was considered a prestige food of limited
quantities that is gifted to datus or used to
please or appease their gods (magic and
rituals). In modern times, it has been
significant in terms of economy and survival.
To a lot of Filipinos who are not well-off, rice
provides sustenance for a longer period of
time. Rice is the first thing that Filipinos will
have on top of their daily lists to buy.
 Subenir
Filipinos won’t leave a special place,
especially a tourist destination, without
finding the perfect subenir or souvenir as a
memento of them being in that place. They
can be magnets, table displays, wall displays,
trinkets, or clothing items. These souvenirs
are then displayed in places where they can
be seen immediately. It serves both as a
sentimental reminder and proof of the
experience and as a bragging “trophy” for the
visitors to notice.

Bringing home a souvenir can be likened to

bringing a part of the “spirit” of the place with
you. In that object is the “essence” of the
physical place and the emotional experience
shared with the family, relatives, friends, or
companions. This can be rooted or traced
back to the concept of the “spirit” which can
either be from the church or from Philippine
folk religion.
PAMPASWERTE
Majority of Filipinos believe in the concept of
luck or swerte. This is mostly attributed to
money and business but can also be about
love, health, studies, and more. To attract luck,
Filipinos are drawn to use lucky charms based
on the idea of Chinese Geomancy, more
commonly known as Feng Shui. Due to the
Philippines being a country of poor
inhabitants, locals are drawn to the idea of
luck in order to get through their struggles.

The Feng Shui culture is an influence of the

Chinese who arrived in the Philippines during
the Spanish occupation. It is a practice
founded on beliefs and strengthened through
physical materials (lucky charms) to influence
energy flow. Due to the belief of Filipinos to
the “mystical”, accepting the idea of invisible
and non-tangible forces is not hard, thus, Feng
Shui accepted easily. Again, this goes back to
Filipino’s background of religion.
 DIPLOMA AT
DIPOLMA
MEDALYA
Filipino families, especially parents, places
great importance on education. No matter
what their financial situation is, parents will
push their children to attend school. Getting an
education, symbolized by a diploma, is seen as
a key to escape poverty and elevate social
status. Aside from just finishing their
education, it is also important that those who
attend school will excel in their respective
classes.

Thus, Filipinos have this culture of displaying

academic achievements, in the forms of medals,
diplomas, and trophies, to showcase and to
boast their children’s intelligence and abilities.
It is an honor and pride for Filipino families for
their children to be bestowed with these proofs
of excellence. The more academic merits a
family has, the higher their “honor” status is.
 Litrato
LITRATO
Still rooted to the idea of memento, Filipinos are
enthusiastic when it comes to taking photos and
being part of those photos, especially during
special celebrations. They want to encapsulate
the “essence” and “spirit” of that moment in
their cameras, with those memories either
stored or printed to be displayed. This is why
professional photographers would even be hired
during occasions in order to acquire good
quality pictures or litrato. These are then usually
placed in photo albums.

These photos are then used to “bring back” the

essence of an event, a place, or a person when
they feel the need to relive them or “be with
them”. That paper, which holds a sense of
sentimentality and spirit of those represented
within it, is bringing the viewer closer to what
they associate the photo with. The idea still goes
back with Filipinos’ affinity to the notion of
“spirit” (closely tied to religion)
 ABUBOT
Filipinos are known to be “maximalists”. They
are maabubot (full of accessories). Felipe De
Leon, Jr. even wrote, “The common Filipino is
a maximalist, filling up every available space
with forms and things. It springs from an
expressive exuberance deeply rooted in
emotional sensitivity and the strong urge to
connect”. Often, Filipinos fill the space in
order to tell visitors stories of their family,
adventures, or interests. This is what De Leon,
Jr. means with the notion of the “strong urge
to connect”. With regards to “emotional
sensitivity”, Filipinos would fill their living
spaces with items that remind them of their
loved ones, either deceased or separated, as a
reminder of them, and to at least establish
some sort of connection through those items.

One other reason is the Filipinos’ tendency to

not dispose of items due to the common
phrase, “sayang naman” (what a waste).
 SANTO NINO
The image of the holy infant or the holy child,
locally known as Santo Nino, has been long
acquired within Philippine culture under the
influence of the Catholic faith. The country,
with the majority of the population being
Roman Catholic, sees the Santo Nino with
high importance since it marked the
acceptance of the first Filipino Catholics for
Catholicism brought by Magellan and his men.

However, the connection of Filipinos with

idols is not new when the Spaniards arrived.
Early Filipinos are already worshipping anito
or anitu which embodies the ancient spirits,
nature spirits, and deities of the Philippine
folk religion. This affinity with idols made it
easier for Spaniards to convert the first
Filipino Christians, through the use of the
Santo Nino, or the Santo Nino de Cebu to be
exact (the image of the holy infant brought by
Magellan and gifted to Rajah Humabon’s wife.
 Submitted by:
Rengel Arconado
2015-06875
BS Architecture

AS A REQUIREMENT FOR:
PHILARTS 1
Prof. Fredyl Hernandez