By Tetchie Herrera
Filipinos are a curious lot. It is hard to classify them as a people. For example, although the Philippines is located in Asia, Filipinos are never classified as Asians in demographic surveys. Nor are they considered Hispanic or Latino although the Philippines was a colony of Spain for 300 years. One would think that with all those half-bloods or mestizos that the colonial Spaniards spawned in that country, not to mention their Mexican counterparts, Filipinos would have been classified as such. So, they’re in that gray country between the two, and therefore, the census-takers just check the box that says “Filipino” for ethnicity.
And now, we face a conundrum: Is a Filipino defined by his origin or his blood? Or the various foreign influences on him? His languages? His foods? His religion or his beliefs? One can only surmise that he is a combination of all these. Just as a Frenchman or an Englishman is defined so, then it must also be with a Filipino.
Yet, one’s character is defined by the nation one comes from. People think the French are amorous, the English haughty, the German severe, the Latino hot, and so on. What do people think of the Filipino? I have heard them described as hard-working, patient, thrifty, resourceful, and so on, ad infinitum. One can’t really put a label on them as Filipinos differ from one another depending on what part of the country they come from.
Why is that, you ask. It’s because the Philippines is made up of islands – 7,100 to be precise. It’s an archipelago on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, made up of three major islands, Luzon in the north, Visayas in the center, and Mindanao in the south. And the influences on all these differ like night and day.
Source: Wikipedia
Do you know that if Filipinos didn’t have Filipino (Tagalog plus other languages) as their national language, or English as their second language, they wouldn’t be able to understand one another? And do you know there are between 120 and 175 languages or “dialects” as they call them, besides Tagalog, in the Philippines? We even have a kind of creole Spanish called Chabacano, which is spoken in Zamboanga and some parts of Mindanao in the South.
Talking about the South, that’s where Muslim Filipinos live – making up almost eight percent of the total population of mostly Catholic Philippines. Those in the north and Central Philippines are mostly Catholic, and a sprinkling of Christians. (Next week: Filipino Religions and Beliefs)
Monday, July 29, 2013
Defining Filipinos
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2 comments:
I think Filipinos are indeed classified as Asian in surveys now.
I do agree with your point that there is a myriad of factors to consider in identity. I believe Filipinos classify as Latino (Latinoasiaticos, as opposed to Latinoamericanos). Although we do not speak Spanish as our South American cousins (I do), language is only one part of identity. Just as our geography does not disqualify us from being Hispanic, neither should our disuse of Spanish. The influence of Spanish remains in our language, as well as our (early) architecture, food, culture (mañana habit, siestas), religion -- we even share similar corrupt politics, developmental problems, and family/clan structures and attachments (leading to said problems) as our Latino cousins. Some of these may not be uniquely Latino, but these all support the Filipino claim to La Hispandad. This does not mean that we cannot be Asian (more specifically Austronesian) at the same time. Some of our habits are more Asian, some are more Hispanic, and some are more American.
Also, with improved radar and computer analysis, the Philippines now has 7,641 islands. I expect this number to keep growing in future centuries as technology continues to improve.
Oh, and our names, and 377 years of history (333 years as a colony). Yep, definitely Hispanic.
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