EDUCATION

AND THE
PHILIPPINE
CULTURAL
HERITAGE
 Cultural heritage is the legacy of
physical artifacts and intangible
attributes of a group or society that
are inherited from past generations,
maintained in the present and
bestowed for the benefit of future
generations.
 The ancient cultural heritage of the
Philippines can be traced from different
influences brought about by the contact
with the different cultures of the
neighboring countries.
 The culture of the Philippines is a
combination of cultures of the East and
West. Filipino identity was created
primarily as a result of pre-colonial
cultures, colonial influences and foreign
traders intermixing together; gradually
evolving into a uniquely Filipino identity.
SPEECH
 There are 175 estimated
languages spoken in the
Philippines. Almost all are
classified as Malayo-Polynesian
(spoken by the Austronesian people of the
island nations of Southeast Asia and the
Pacific Ocean) languages. Among
those languages, there are 13
indigenous languages with nearly 1
million speakers.
 For more than three centuries
Spanish was the official language
under Spain’s colonial rule. It was
spoken by 60% of the population as
either a first, second or third
language in the early 20th century.
However, the use of Spanish began
to decline after the United States
occupation in the early 1900’s.
 In 1935 the Constitution of the
Philippines named English and
Spanish the official languages. In
1939 the Tagalog language was
named the national language.
The language was renamed
“Pilipino” in 1959 and finally
“Filipino” in 1973. The present
Constitution names Filipino and
English as joint official languages.
For the past 200 years, the Philippines has
either been a colony of, or was colonized by
three other nations:

 Spain(1565 – 1898)
 The United States of America (1898-194)
 Japan (1941 – 1945)
Examples of Filipino loanwords :
*Spain*
Bisikleta - Bicicleta
Gobyerno - Gobierno
Kumusta - ¿Cómo está?
*Japan* (Nihongo)
Kampáy – kanpai (cheers)
Karaoke – karaoke (musical entertainment)
Dahan–dahan – dandan (slowly)
TECHNOLOGY
 Certain groups of people (Indonesian and
Malays) came over in boats, carrying with
them certain traits and technological
knowledge which produced changes in the
way of our lives.
 Manufacturing has become the Philippine’s
main export gainer through technological
application after a dramatic increase in
exports from 10% in 1970 to 75% in 1993.
Other technological growth:
 Processing or assembling food products
 Beverages
 Tobacco
 Rubber
 Footwear
 Pharma
 Paints
 Small appliances
 Manufacturing attracts a large number
of foreign investors (US & Japan)

 An estimated 3% of the assets of the

1000 largest corporations in the
Philippines are controlled by
foreigners
ART
 Only a few pieces of the extensive oral
literature (epics/chants) of the pre-
Spanish Philippines have been
preserved.

 Philippine Literature in Spanish is small

but of high quality. It is written for the
most part in late 19th and early 20th
centuries.
Some of the literary works during
Spanish time:
 Florante at Laura – (Francisco Balagtas)
a corrido (Spanish ballad of chivalry)
- it made Francisco Balagtas the first
major Filipino poet

 Noli Me Tangere/Touch Me Not/Wag Mo

Akong Salingin and El Filibusterismo- two
novels of Dr. Jose Rizal
 Dr. Jose Rizal’s masterpieces are
well-appreciated today by the
students as well as recognized by the
Philippine Education System and
includes these novels in the
curriculum in the secondary level.

 Inthe early 19th century, the principal

portion of the arts in the Philippines
was the Catholic church
 A UNESCO World Heritage Site (under the
inscription Baroque Churches of the
Philippines), the Saint Augustine Church in
the municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, is
widely recognized for its distinct architecture
characterized by 24 massive buttresses on
the sides and back of the structure. Also
declared as a National Cultural Treasure by
the Philippine government in 1973, it also has
three-story coral bell tower that resembles a
pagoda, which was built separately from the
church for earthquake safety.
BINONDO CHURCH, MANILA

PAOAY CHURCH, ILOCOS NORTE

JUAN LUNA AND FELIX HIDALGO
 Two gifted expatriates who won a
measure of recognition in Spain with
paintings in the romantic and
impressionist manner
The Christian Virgins Exposed to the Rabble –
Felix Hidalgo
The painting was a silver
medalist (ninth silver
medal award among
forty-five during the 1884
Exposicion General de
Bellas Artes in Madrid,
Spain, also known as the
Madrid Exposition.
According to Raquel
A.G. Reyes, Hidalgo's
winning the silver medal
for the painting was a
landmark achievement
that proved the ability of
Filipinos to match the
work of Spaniards and
laid claim to Filipino
participation in European
culture.
 SPOLIARIUM – JUAN LUNA

The Spoliarium (often misspelled Spolarium) is a painting by Filipino painter Juan

Luna. The painting was submitted by Luna to the Exposición Nacional de Bellas
Artes in 1884 in Madrid, where it garnered the first gold medal (out of three). In
1886, it was sold to the Diputación Provincial de Barcelona for 20,000 pesetas. It
currently hangs in the main gallery at the first floor of the National Museum of
Fine Arts in Manila, and is the first work of art that greets visitors upon entry into
the museum. The picture recreates a despoiling scene in a Roman circus where
dead gladiators are stripped of weapons and garments.
 The musical compositions of Antonio J.
Molina, Eliseo Pajaro, and Antonio
Buenaventura embody native themes and
rhythms in Western forms, such as chamber
music and symphonic poems. In this, they
continue the tradition of Philippine folk music
of the Spanish period and, in fact, epitomize
the unique Asian-Western blend of the culture
itself.
Mythology and Science
 Indian influence has penetrated deep into the hearts
of the Filipinos. It may be observed in the Philippine
myths and rituals.
 Example: Bakunawa- The Moon Eater by
Fernando Buyser

The common assumption is that the belief in

Bakunawa is an indigenous legend, and has been a
part of ancient astronomy and rituals in the Philippines
since people first arrived to the region. In reality, stories
of Bakunawa are directly linked to the Hindu demi-god
“Rahu”, from India’s Vedic period ( c. 1500 – c. 500
BCE) and was brought to SE Asia through trade and
the expansion of the Indianized Kingdoms around
200BCE.
SCIENCE
 George Josef Kamel – done significant work
in botany during Spanish period (1661-
1706).

 In 1865, the Jesuits founded a meteoriological

observatory in Manila, which did pioneering
work on tropical typhoons and which
functioned as the government weather bureau
during Spanish and US eras.
 The National Research Council was
established in 1934 to promote and
coordinate basic research in the physical,
biological, and social sciences.
 Agricultural research is carried on the
agricultural schools of the UP in Los Baños,
San Carlos University, Cebu; and Xavier
University in Cagayan de Oro
 Int’l Research Institute (IRI) at Los Baños, a
joint project of the Rockefeller Foundation of
the Philippines seeks to improve standards
of science education by teacher-training
programs.
FAMILY AND SOCIETY
Marriage and family life were highly regarded.
Parents usually select their children’s mates.
The dowry or “bigay kaya” system was also
practiced. This system required the groom
and his family to material goods like land and
animals to the parents of the bride for as long
as the marriage lasted.

Family – recognized as the most important

unit or kinship or blood relationship
 Barangay – a kinship group; basic unit of
society
- the pattern of settlement was in widely
scattered villages composed of several kinship
groups and was ruled by the chiefs of the kinship
Group according to customary law

- it was both a unit of social and political

organization

- a social class system existed, the rulers and

chiefs, the maharlikas, the noblemen and close
relatives of the chiefs
 - the social class system was not too
rigid where in most cases it was “open” – one
class could move to a higher class through
merit and industry or through marriage (social
mobility)
- the datus and chiefs served as the
judge and lawmakers, with the advice of a
council of elders
- oral and written laws existed, and most
famous were the Code of Sumakwel and
Code of Calantiao
PROPERTY SYSTEM
There are sharp division between the
rich and the poor. The rich landlords enjoy a
standard of living similar to that of the wealthy
landlords in other countries. They employ
many servants and their homes are protected
by high walls and private security guards. At
the extreme, about 1/3 of the population does
not earn enough to afford a minimum amount
of food, clothing and shelter.
 In the country side, farming, fishing and
forestry are the chief occupations. The
poor are employed as tenant farmers and
landless agricultural workers. Income in
the urban areas is generally higher than in
rural areas, causing flow of migrants to the
cities.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
 The Philippines was a “gobernacion”
– a territory administered by a
governor subordinate in theory to the
viceroy (a person appointed to rule a country)
of Mexico but in practice reporting to
and receiving orders from the king’s
council of the Indies.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
 In accordance with the terms of
“patronato real” or royal patronage of the
church in the indies, the government
assumed the financial burden of
evangelization, paying each missionary
and subsidizing his work. It required in
return the privilege of nominating the
occupants of all important
ecclesiastical/religious posts and
regularly assigned to parish civil as well
as religious functions.
WARFARE
 By the second half of the 19th century, a
Filipino intellectual elite had begun to
agitate for reforms in both civil and
ecclesiastical establishments. Repressive
measures such as the execution in 1872
of three Filipino priests, only intensified
the nationalist character of the campaign
led by Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelino
H. de Pilar and Jose Rizal.
WARFARE
 In 1896, Andres Bonifacio, a warehouse
worker had organized a secret
revolutionary society called “Katipunan”.
The latter used bolos and other weapons
while the former used pens. From their
tools of warfare, a metaphoric statement
was conceived – “Pen is mightier than
sword” – a means for national
awakening.
TECHNOLOGY
 The idea of technological evolution – that
people’s tools and way of maintaining
livelihood have evolved – is very old, dating
back even before the time of Lucretius, the
Roman Epicurean, who speculated at
length of the subject in his philosophical
poem “De rerum natura”.
 Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and
philosopher. His only known work is the
philosophical poem De rerum natura, a
didactic work about the tenets and philosophy
of Epicureanism, and which is usually
translated into English as On the Nature of
Things. Lucretius has been credited with
originating the concept of the three-age
system which was formalized from 1834 by
C. J. Thomsen.
 Within this work, Lucretius makes reference to
the cultural and technological development of
man in his use of available materials, tools and
weapons through prehistory to Lucretius' own
time. He specifies the earliest weapons as
hands, nails and teeth. These were followed by
stones, branches and, once man could kindle
and control it, fire. He then refers to "tough iron"
and copper in that order, but goes on to say that
copper was the primary means of tilling the soil
and the basis of weaponry until, "by slow
degrees", the iron sword became predominant
(it still was in his day) and "the bronze sickle fell
into disrepute" as iron ploughs were introduced
 He had earlier imagined a pre-
technological, pre-literary kind of man
whose life was lived "in the fashion of
wild beasts roaming at large". This
beginning, he theorized, there followed
the development in turn of crude huts,
use and kindling of fire, clothing,
language, family and city-states. He
believed that smelting of metal, and
perhaps too the firing of pottery, was
discovered by accident: for example, the
result of a forest fire. He does specify,
however, that the use of copper followed
the use of stones and branches and
preceded the use of iron.
IDEOLOGY
 Itis the most abstract of cultural realms,
consisting largely of intangible ideas,
opinions and values, yet its reality is
immediately compelling when we
observe a human being starving in the
midst of plenty because of some food
taboo or because of the ideological
restraints that are associated with
particular system of economic
contribution.
IDEOLOGY
- it is the framework of belief upon which
culture is erected
The word “framework” is metaphoric, most
culture have not one but several ideologies,
some of which reflect competing interest of
different groups in the populations, merely
supplementing each other.
Ideology includes values, the judgement
upon which choices of behavior are based.
Therefore,
 Change is necessarily relative to the culture
of man. On the other hand, whether man is
prepared to cope with the increase of choice
of material and cultural wares available to
him is a totally different question. For there
comes a time when choice, rather than
freeing the individual, becomes so complex,
difficult and costly, that it turns into its
opposite. To understand why, we must go
beyond this examination of our expanding
materials and cultural choice.