Mr.

Joseph Franco II

Matthew V. Gonzales

When I think about my family and our roots, I identify my family s origin place as the Philippines and so I chose my report on the Filipino culture. I interviewed my mother for this report. In the following paragraphs, I will explain to you interesting facts about the Filipino culture. First of all, we must know what a culture is to understand a culture. So, we may ask, What defines a culture? Well, a culture can be defined by music, languages, religions, holidays and many more factors. Language, the national language of the Philippines as well as the Filipino culture is Filipino though some may consider Tagalog as the national language. Spanish was once an official and national language of the Philippines. The English language is well spoken throughout the Philippines today and by that and the Philippines is the 3rd largest English speaking county in the world. By that you may hear people mix Tagalog and English words in a sentence which some people may call Taglish . There are actually about 120 different dialects spoken in the Philippines. I for one know Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) and a little bit of Tagalog. The Philippines is divided into three major regions: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Each region has it s own subcultures. I will only cover a few since it will probably several pages if I cover all. Three religions in the Filipino culture that you may find are Roman Catholic, Iglesia ni Christ (Church of Christ) and Islam. Roman Catholic being the most abundant was brought by the Spanish. The Iglesia ni Cristo is almost like the Mormon religion, but somewhat formed locally. Islam was introduced by traders from Southern India. There are many interesting food in the Filipino cuisine. Some examples may be adobo, lumpia, lechon, batchoy, arroz caldo/lugaw, pancit and many more. Adobo or lumpia may be the most known to

the world by my guess. Adobo is a meat dish which commonly made with chicken or pork and made in vinegar. Lmpia is made with vegetables or meat and can be made fried or fresh. Lechon is a pig which is roasted over charcoal and the best part best part is the skin of the pig. Batchoy is a noodle soup which has pork innards, vegetables and with cracked raw egg. Arroz caldo/lugaw is like porridge and is good a good comfort food when you are sick or when it is cold. Pancit is common dish served during birthdays to represent long life. Customarily, when someone visits your house while you are eating or when you are about to eat, you invite them to eat with you. In the Filipino culture, you are not allowed to speak back to an adult or and elderly when you are far younger than them. Some practices in most Filipino families may include the addressing to older siblings as kuya (brother) or ate (sister). When having a conversation with an older person, it is polite to use the word po after speaking. Young people are also taught another way of showing respect to their elders by taking the right hand of the older person with your right and bringing the hand to the forehead and by saying the words mano po . Mano means right and po is what you say to show respect. The traditional formal wear clothing of the Filipino culture is the barong tagalog (dress of the Tagalog) for men and the Maria Clara/baro at saya for women. Both attires are commonly used during a wedding. The barong tagalong is worn over a camisa de Chino (a collarless Chinese shirt). Baro is the top blouse and saya is the skirt. There are many holidays in the Filipino culture. Semana Santa(Holy Week) is after Lent and is a week before Easter, it is a week that celebrates the death and the rise of Jesus (celebrated in the Catholic religion). In my family, we participate in the procession during Holy Week. My family owns the Dolorosa used in the procession. Rizal Day, Bonifacio Day, All Saints Day, National Heroes, Independence Day and Ninoy Aquino Day ---- these are all examples of holidays. Also we have local celebrations such

as the town fiestas either celebrating the patron saint or thanking for good harvest or celebrating when the town became a city. In my city, we have 2 major fiestas one in Febuaray which is the Babaylan festival and the Al Cinco de Novembre. The Babaylan fetival is a celebration of rituals performed by the Babaylans. Al Cinco de Novembre is a remembrance celebration of the Negros Revolution. Binasun, Subli, Maglalatik and Tinikling are some examples of traditional Filipino dances. Binasun means dancing with glasses ,the dancers execute their steps while balancing a glass on their head and a glass on each palm. The dance is usually performed in wedding occasions. Subli mean in the native language subsub also meaning broken/bali. It is a ritual dance which is a symbol of religious tradition. Tinikling is a very popular dance throughout the Philippines. It is a dance which includes two people tapping, sliding or beating a bamboo pole on the floor while one or more dancers dance in bettween the bamboo poles. The maglalatik dance is an all male dance and all of the dancers have four or six coconut shells on their body. The dancers hit either their own shells or another s in a certain order. I have learned many things from my interview of my mother. This essay being a summary and what i have learned. The Filipino culture is just as interesting as the other amazing cultures in the world. As I get older I hope to learn more about my own culture because someday I plan on living there.