Filipino Culture a Few Realities
I'm going to share some realities of Filipino Culture. In part because "Pusong Pinoy ako" meaning "I'm Filipino at heart". This is so because I prefer Filipino Culture over my own western individualism.
One of the endearing practices of Filipino's is the Mano Po loosely meaning, "Your hand please (respectfully)". When a person enters a Filipino home those who are younger will request the elder person to lift their hand, fingers down, and the younger will touch the back of the fingers to their forehead. The elder is to say “Kaawaan ka ng Diyos” meaning "God have mercy on you".
This practice enables and maintains respect for elders and through this act of humility, aids young people to ease into a culture of family and relationships. It is common to be addressed as Po (denoting respect to someone older) when the older one is only a few years ahead of the one addressing them. Kuya for males and Ate for females is another word for addressing persons who are older and those deserving of honor.
Filipinos own their personal space whether it be in the walkway of a mall or at a private home. If you are walking the mall and a group is standing talking, they will not move for you to pass. If you want to pass without disrupting the group, you must stretch your arm out at a 45 degree angle with your hand open, your head lowered, and then you can pass without offense. In the Philippines you do not require others to move or interrupt their conversation either you extend your arm, bow your head and pass quietly or go around.
Honor and Shame is the culture of the Philippines. It is inappropriate to shame another person in Philippine culture. A poor person might use the word 'shame' to communicate their feeling of longing to escape their poverty. If a westerner shames a person in a group setting of Filipinos the Filipinos will immediately defend the shamed person. Sadly, westerners are not aware of their arrogance and often are not sensitive to the relational realities of the Philippines.
Filipinos are islanders, resilient people accustomed to upheavals of nature that require group response. The Philippines experiences up to 85 Typhoons per year. This has affected Filipinos in two ways that I will identify. One is Filipinos will laugh rather than cry; this is confusing to a westerner! I think this occurs because they experience enough catastrophe in life that crying just doesn't help. The other is their ability to rally around one another and help one another without being asked.
Filipinos enjoy a land where you can toss a Papaya seed on the ground and within six months have an 8 foot tree producing buckets of Papaya. The number of different fruits and nuts in the Philippines is over 300! The ready availability of seafood and the wondrous abundance of fruits and vegetable choices contributes to a lot of celebrating with wonderful meals.
Filipinos love to sing and dance! Personally I really miss seeing the young children setting their phones against a tree to sing and dance as they record a TikTok video:)
Filipinos understanding of private and public space is quite different than us westerners. For instance, if your setting next to a person on a bus and the seat on the other side of the Filipino person is vacated the Filipino person will not move. They are much more comfortable with being close to others than westerners.
The Filipina is resourceful, she has learned (working with a limited amount of tools or repair products) to be intuitively creative and intellectually adept at meeting the needs of her daily tasks. The matriarchal culture of pre-Spaniard times remains a vibrant part of Filipino life. In most homes it is the female who governs the home and the money. Often it is the Filipina who manages the finances for both home and business.
The cleanliness of the Filipina is easily observed, a Filipina will not leave home without looking like she just stepped out of the shower. Likewise, her care for cleanliness effectively requires regular washing of everything in her home both inside and out. If your married to a Filipina and you wash and wax your car you can expect her to point out any and all spots you may have missed and she expects you to clean, shine, and polish each one!
Filipinos are language masters! I mean they love playing with words and creating new words. They love learning other languages within their own nation (about 180 give or take).
The Philippines takes pride in being "The only Christian Nation in Asia". Predominantly Catholic Filipinos are people of faith who look to Jesus in prayer. Yes, they have lots of processions for their icons but do not error they know how to call on God.
Some disdain the Philippines because of the presence of poverty. I say, do your part! Also remember the Philippines has been colonized twice, once by the Spaniards and then by the Americans. Also, entering the global economy has placed the burden of Structural Adjustment Programs on the Philippine economy. These are cruel instruments of death that limit the freedom of debtor nations to effectively prosper their nation.
Facial Expressions
Raising the eyebrows is a common facial expression that indicates agreement, or simply a greeting or acknowledgment (I know your here) it is occasionally intuitive in meaning for friends.
Pointing with one’s lips is another common facial expression.
Kapwa / Loob
Sown deeply into the fabric of Filipino life until it is understood to be the core concept for understanding the psychology of the Filipino people is Kapwa. The meaning of Kapwa is a relational concept that accepts the self only within the constructs of the other. Kapwa is also a spacial concept that requires acceptance of the other especially when sharing the same space. Respect and acceptance of self is understood to be dependent upon respect for, and acceptance of, the other. To be Filipino is to be relational.
Kapwa is in fact a very Christian practice. The function of Kapwa requires or naturally produces a sense of humor that allows one to laugh at everything. This can often be disturbing to foreigners who do not realize that the laughter is an opportunity to turn a broken reality into a positive determination to go forward. This wonderful way of responding has made Filipinos to become people of discipline that enables them to be resilient, adaptable, and creative. This relational power is all derived from their sense of unity in self and other ‘Kapwa’.
Loob is the internal power of the will to help others. It is the inner self revealed through the strength of character to help the other move from shame or selfishness to acceptance of their value as a human being. The identity of the Filipino is established in their power to function as a blessing to others.
