Filipino Culture

Bayanihan: The Filipino Value that Must be Retained

Bayanihan is a core essence of the Filipino culture. It is helping out one’s neighbor as a community, and doing a task together, thus lessening the workload and making the job easier. It is also called the ‘community spirit’. It is best exhibited when people wish to move locations in the rural area. The traditional Filipino house, the ‘bahay-kubo’, can be moved using wooden poles which are carried from the old place to the new one. This requires a group of people to lift and carry the house on their shoulders. Able-bodied men usually participated in such feats, while women stood and watched, casually chatting and cheering the men on. Afterwards, there will be a small gathering as a form of celebration and socialization. 

But those days are gone now. Aside from the change of environment, from wooden slit-houses to concrete infrastructures, and the rural areas have adapted more and more to the urban jungles; there is also a change in people’s attitudes and disposition. It has become a selfish world. It becomes harder and harder to create and sustain group efforts. There is also another ideal that progresses among Filipinos of today; one which I think has been plaguing them since the dawn of the Spanish era… the Crab Mentality. This mentality basically displays those of a crab’s. If you put a group of crabs in a bucket, they will try to get out of the bucket, obviously, but in a manner of stepping on one another to get up. There is no cooperation and collaboration. Just plain, old ‘me first’ idealism. It’s the thought that, to get farther in life, one should step on other people; use them for one’s own benefits. After all, they’re the ones who’ll get less in life; they’re the ones who have little to begin with.   

What’s wrong with the flourish of the Crab Mentality and the constant diminishing of the Bayanihan trait? Well… everything. The thought of people being lower than one’s self is already a problem. Everyone is equal in dignity and in value, no matter the class or the social strata. We all regress to being human. Second, man cannot work entirely alone. This is where work ethics and work attitudes come in. People have to be ‘team players’ in order to succeed. People shouldn’t be used and thrown away as easily as a tool. Resources are used. People are respected. And people should never be treated as material means to an end. People should be the end. Third, it is not a selfish world. Selflessness is rare, but is a must. The knowledge that the world revolves around one person, or that a country is not set one man’s shoulders is a start for transformation. Fourth, in a global world, cooperation and collaboration is a requirement more than a want. These skills (and values) are not just used in school or in the workplace, but also in life. People have to get along with each other, and co-exist, whether they like it or not. 

To make the country great again, the value of Bayanihan must be re-established and reaffirmed- the value of helping one another, without expecting anything else in return. It may not be possible to lift houses on men’s shoulders anymore; instead, lifting each other up on their shoulders, in effect, lifting the country’s status, hopes and dreams. Respect and tolerance must be relearned for with the Bayanihan value to support them, Filipinos can become one of the greatest people the world has ever seen. The value is there-deep within each Filipino; it’s only a matter of resurrecting it to its former glory.





Filipino Culture provides warm Hospitality to all

Part of the Filipino culture is to always treat our guests warmly, whether they are foreigners or not, therefore  if there is one thing that foreigners would usually comment about right after they visit the Philippines, it would probably not be the food or the places they visited, but the hospitality of the people. 
We put out our best every time a guest comes to visit us. You might see this trait the moment you land in the country. You will be greeted warmly at the airport, hotel, restaurants, and just about everywhere you go. You will be given much attention. They will always ask you about the services they provide. The Philippines has very good quality service for foreigners. It is not just with the foreigners that we are very hospitable. We are very much like that with Filipino guests as well, especially if they are not very close to us.
Many see this part of the Filipino culture as a positive trait to praise. Still, some think that Filipinos sometimes go overboard with their hospitality. Some would spend a lot on food and a new set of china for the guests, for instance. It is reasonable if you are part of business like a hotel or a resort, but if you are a working Filipino who pushed blood and sweat to earn money (money is really hard to come by here), some Filipinos think they should think twice before spending for guests. 
It is hard to get rid of this trait though, as it has been part of the Filipino culture since the ancient times. Before the Philippines was even a colony of Spain, the Datus (rulers of the land) already warmly welcomed foreign people landing here to barter and trade. When the Spaniards first came, they were also treated with great hospitality before things got out of hand and both parties became hostile. What are signs that the Filipino is being hospitable towards you? Here’s a few.
They give you more than one greeting. If you go into a store, they would always say, “Welcome to our store!” which is reasonable, but they would also give you, “Thank you for coming!” or “Have a nice day!” whether you buy something or not. They take out their best china. Women are kind of obsessed with plates for some reason. My mom keeps all her best ones in a china cabinet. She only takes them out when a guest we are not very close with arrives. If it’s a relative, they might get the second best china. If you’re their child, you get what is used every day.They offer to show you around. I have more than once offered to show a foreigner friend around the area for free. They would force you to eat their food. A big part of the Filipino culture is the food. We like foreigners to like our food.  

The Filipino Family’s Strong Bonds

Like many Asian countries, the Philippines has very tight family relations. While growing up, we were taught to prioritize family first. The typical Filipino family is the same as it was years ago, even before the colonizers conquered the lands.

In the ages of the Datu (that’s what we call kings), the families have very strong bonds, but the Datu considered the entire community his family to protect. Since the ancient lands were prone to invasion, men were united as brothers to protect the families and crops. Datus also made peace with other Datus. It was sort of having a clan. 

Eventually, the Spaniards came and conquered the country. Although most 

communities fell apart, the family remained as the basic unit of the society. With Christian values being reinforced on the natives, they learned to accept teachings that concerned the family like how important it is to follow you parents and to respect elders. 

The Filipino family is based on a culture of respect. It is important that we use polite language especially with our elders. Grandmothers and grandfathers have to be treated with the utmost respect. We see this respect system even with non-family members. When we are outside, if we see elders, we always have to treat them with respect. 

The respect system also applies to siblings. Normally, the eldest child has superiority over the younger children. We also have terms we use for calling our siblings and we cannot just call them by their names, much like how people in the West do. We use Kuya for older brothers and Ate for older sisters. Again, this respect system applies to people outside the family too. Anyone old enough to be your older brother/sister can be called Kuya/Ate. 

Since Filipinos like celebrations, it is very important for the Filipino family members to be present during special occasions. For instance, celebrations like Christmas and New Year are usually celebrated with your immediate family. Sometimes, you will have reunions with your relatives during this period too, especially if your relative goes home from the city or from another country. Unlike our neighbor countries Japan and Korea, Christmas Day is a day for families, not lovers. 

While many changes had been made over the years, there are still some things that have been kept the same in the Filipino family. For instance, the father is still the head of the household. He still remains as the primary decision-maker. The changing times have allowed for the mother to take corporate jobs too, but she still remains as the caretaker of the household. The children of the family have to help around the house and not disobey their parents and grandparents (some grandparents live with the family). Some aunt, uncles and cousins also live together with other families. Even if they didn’t, they normally see each other during special occasions, and cousins usually have a very strong bond.

We do not only consider Christmas and New Year as special occasions to gather the entire family. We have summer vacations together. We meet for a relative’s funeral. We even meet for the relative’s death anniversary. We meet for birthdays, for the arrival of a relative from another country, before a relative leaves to work in another country, and even when there is no special reason at all. A whole lot of my relatives even attended my college graduation!

The Filipino family simply wants to do things together most of the time. I still go to church with my parents and siblings even if I am old enough to go on my own. We like watching movies or going on small family trips together. 

While the  Filipino family is tied by blood, we have a strong sense of community. I have many friends and neighbors I consider to be part of my family even if they are not related to me by blood. The same applies to extended families.  I treat the family of my uncle (who married my mother’s sister) to be my family too. For instance, even if my uncle’s mom is not my grandmother, I still call her Lola (what we call grandmothers).

The  Filipino family  today still has the same tight bond it had during the ancient times. Even with the changing times, we never forget to go back to our roots and spend time with the family that cared for and nurtured us. We may not have the best economy in the world, but with our tight family bonds, we have the strength to face the challenges ahead of us.

from:http://www.everything-filipino.com/Filipino_culture_bayanihan.html

Syvel ann binaluyo from syvelannbinaluyo