CULTURE

• “ The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group of people
from other.” - Geert Hofstede
• “ The way in which a group of people solves problems.”- Fons Trompenaars
• “ A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external
adaptation and internal integration.”Edgar Schein

• ICEBERG MODEL OF CULTURE

• CULTURE
◦Culture is learned
‣ Can be learned directly
‣ Through observation
‣ Through experience
‣ Through watching (docus) and reading books
‣ Taught by parents/ family/ friends (gen to gen)
‣ A person feels like an outsider until they have learned the ways of the culture

◦Culture is shared by the group of people

◦People of the same community share:
‣ values, beliefs, and traditions
‣ literature and history
‣ language and mannerisms, and the way they communicate
‣ certain personality traits
‣ their roles in the family and society
‣ their occupations and lifestyles

◦Culture is cumulative
‣ Knowledge is stored and passed on from one generation to the next
‣ New knowledge is being added to what is existing
‣ Culture elements are added up as the needs arise.
‣ Culture is ideational
‣ It is an ideal pattern of behavior which the members are expected to follow.
 ‣ It gives us a range of permissible behavior patterns.
‣ It tells us how different activities should be conducted in different roles: husband, wife,
parents, child, etc.

◦Culture changes
‣ While new cultural traits are added, some old ones are lost because they are no longer
useful.
‣ Certain traditions and rituals are eliminated.
‣ Language and mannerisms change.
‣ Migration and globalization lead to a mixing of cultures.
‣ Gender roles change

◦Culture is diverse
‣ The sum of total human culture consists of a great many separate cultures, each of them
different.
• e.g. The choice of a marriage partner involves many different parts of culture as
religion, economic class, education, etc.

• CULTURAL DETERMINISM
◦“People are what they learn.”
◦It is based on their ideas , meanings, beliefs, and values.
◦ There is no limit of the abilities of people, hence proper cultural inputs can positively program
the behaviour of people and make them true performer.
◦"Right way" is almost always "our way”
◦Believes that human behavior is influenced by cultural factors, rather than biological.

• CULTURAL RELATIVISM
◦This theory argues that culture is relative but not same.
◦Different cultural groups think , feel, and act differently.
◦ This is important for cross cultural negotiation ,it helps in understanding the reasons for
differences.

• CULTURAL ETHNOCENTRISM
◦Syndrome of distortion of one’s own culture , and a bad way of thinking others as inferior to
one’s own culture.
◦ETHNOCENTRISM ignores the changes and resulting in failure of organization to work in alien
culture.

• POPULAR CULTURE
◦“ set of practices, beliefs, and objects that embody the most broadly shared meanings of a
social system ”
◦It includes media objects, entertainment and leisure, fashion and trends, and linguistic
conventions, among other things.
◦MASS CULTURE OR FOLK CULTURE (focus on subcultures such as youth cultures or ethnic
cultures), and differentiated from high culture and various institutional cultures.
◦Focus on the position of popular culture
 FILIPINO CULTURE
• “ To visit the Philippines is to become engulfed by a kaleidoscope of culture and tradition unlike any
other. This is because of the varied blend of races let’s have influence this group of islands for
thousands of years“ ALISON JEAN THOMAS
• Prof. Randolph S. David
◦Filipinos do not consciously feel part of nation. One significant cost of this is the mixed heritage
that makes up the national psyche.
◦According to UNICEF (Ch.8) filipino values are a blend I’ll trust in divine providence and self
reliance

• Geography and history influence identity

◦The Philippines is located in an archipelago consisting over 7641 islands
◦The history of the country is that of immigration and occupation also gives clues to the peoples
identity

• Before the Spanish invasion in 1521, the inhabitants where descended from Negritos,
Indonesians,Chinese and Muslims
• The first Spanish arrived in 1521
• Ferdinand Magellan
• Miguel Lopez de Legazpi amalgamated Spanish power in 1564
• Spanish occupation and Catholicism unified the country
• During the 1890s Jose Rizal inspired Filipinos to seek independence
• Americans occupy the Philippines from 1902
• December 1941,10 hrs. after the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese invaded the Philippines
• The Philippines gained independence from colonizer on July 4, 1946
• Independence Day June 12 1898

• Philippine language
◦However you would be wrong to suppose that these were the only languages. In fact according
to the SEAsite project at Northern Illinois University, callers estimate there ours 75 to 150
different languages and dialects in the Philippines
◦‘Taglish’ it’s some thing you hear a lot in the Philippines especially in Manila, Luzon, Mindoro
and Marinduque
◦In 1987, a variant of the Tagalog became the basis of the official language of the Philippines
◦Wikang Tagalog- basis
◦Filipino-
◦Tagalog and English are use profusely for education and business, and Tagalog has the most
literature of all Filipino languages

• Filipino family
◦Family bonds are important to Filipinos
◦That elderly are honored and respected and children are taught to say “po” and “ opo”, showing
respect to their grandparents from an early age. There is a special greeting to show
veneration, “mano” where were you take the hand of an elderly person and place it on your
forehead as if receiving his blessing.
◦Extended family
‣ Extended families live together and even distant members are given the title of cousin
‣ The major festivals are celebrated together. If your family originates outside the city they
 journey back to the rural Area where they have the roots to celebrate

• Courtship and marriage

◦Long engagements
◦Marriage is a serious affair and engagements often last for several years where the couple
work, save for a home, and necessary pay for a siblings education. Friends and relatives may
help sponsor the marriage which cuts expenses
◦There are various of kinds of weddings according to family wishes, religion, whether the
geographical location is rural or urban
◦Over the last century, it has become fashionable for brides to wear white, imitating the
western style of dress, however if a couple has a tribal wedding they will wear traditional
attire
• Festivals and national holidays
◦Filipinos love and known how to party. No matter when you travel there is bound to be a
holiday or a festival.
◦Every municipality has a patron saint whose Day is celebrated extravagantly in the homes and
streets
◦Residents anticipate the event for months in advance
◦A feast is prepared and they go from one house to another tasting dishes
◦The church and the plaza are decorated with lights and bunting, and a procession is held with
dancing and music
◦ According to the festival, filipinos dress up in vivid costumes, sporting masks and headresses.
Fireworks and firecrackers complete the excitement

• Pre-colonial Philippines
◦Ancient Filipinos were living in scattered barangays and ruled by different chieftains.
◦They were similar in many ways; Their religion, mode of dressing, houses, System of
government and marriage practices and economic activities.
◦In short, they were refined and civilized they possess a distinct culture that distinguish them
from the other race

• Houses
◦Made of light materials like wood, bamboo and nipa palm
◦A ladder was placed on the entrance of the houses
◦Strong post at the lower part of the houses was enclosed
‣ Some of them built she houses to protect themselves against their enemies are from being
attacked by wild animals
◦A jar of heart was placed in a gallery called “batalan”
◦Batalan
‣ wet area in the kitchen part of old Filipino homes
• Clothing
◦Male clothing
‣ Consisted of the upper and lower parts
‣ A piece of clothes are you part headgear called “putong”
‣ Putong symbolizes the number of persons the wearer had killed
‣ The upper part was a jacket with short sleeves called “kangan”
‣ The lower part was a strip of clothes to wrap or around the waist and in between the legs
called “bahag”
◦Female clothing
‣ They wore “ baro or camisa”, a jacket with sleeves
 ‣ The lower part was called “saya”
• Social classes in the pre-colonial era
◦Nobles
‣ The rulers and the highest class
‣ Who were composed of rulers and their families, occupy the highest class. They were
usually addressed as Gat, Lakan, Raja and Datu.
◦Freeman
‣ The working class
◦Slaves
‣ Aliping Namamahay
• Were not full fledge slave. They had their own respective families and their own
houses. They were required to serve their master only dream planting and harvesting
period.
‣ Aliping Sagigilid
• Were are the real slaves, they were homeless, forbidden to form their own families
required to stay in their masters dwelling and they could be used as a payment for
their debt
• Government was called “barangay”
• It was had that by a ruler called Datu or Raja
• No national government
• There are many independent barangays and Datus. But there was no Datu are strong enough to
united the Archipelago into one nation
• Some barangays, however, united to form a confederation.

• Power and functions of Datu

◦It was easy for the Datu to run for the barangay since the population was very small.
◦Implementing laws
◦Maintaining peace and order
◦Giving protection to his subjects
◦He also made the law, with the assistance of a group of elders to gave advice.
◦A newly enacted law was made known to the public to town crier called “umalohokan”
• Alliances
◦The purpose of forming alliances was for trade, peace and mutual protection
◦Alliances were sealed through blood compact (sanduguan), to ensure conformity, sincerity and
commitment of the….

• Taxation
◦Ancient Filipinos started the practice of being taxes. The purpose of being taxes was simple, it
was for the protection they received from the Datu.
‣ The collected tax was called buwis
‣ The chieftain’s family members are enjoying exemption from paying taxes
‣ Non-payment of taxes was already punishable during this period.

• Trial and determination of guilt

◦Judicial process was influenced by religion. The manner of determining guilt of the accused
showed the religiosity of the natives.
◦They waited for the intervention of that deities
◦Is there a judicial process was called trial by ordeal:
‣ Holding lighted candles by that suspected offenders. The manhole code died out first would
 be declared as the culprit.
‣ Another form of this trail was ordering the suspects to plunge into deep River with the
lances. The first come to the surface would be a judge as the guilty party

• Courtship and marriage

◦The man was required to give dowry
◦“Bigay- Kaya”
‣ What is the type of dowry consisted of a piece of land or gold
◦The groom’s parent give a gift called “panghimuyat”
◦“Himaraw”
‣ Was another payment for raising the future bride during her infancy period, and to be
paid by the grooms parent’s also.
◦Including the bride’s wet nurse received a share of dowry; it was called “bigay-suso”
◦Mixed marriage, is that was marriage between couples belonging to different social classes
were not common.
◦Early Filipinos practices divorce. Several grounds of divorce for were:
‣ Adultery
‣ Abandonment of the part of the husband
‣ Cruelty
‣ Insanity

• Religious beliefs
• Before Roman Catholicism and Islam were introduced, natives worshiped many gods and goddesses
◦Bathala
‣ The supreme being
◦Idiyanale
‣ Goddesses of agriculture
◦Sidapa
‣ God of death
◦Balangaw/ Barangaw
‣ God of rainbow
◦Mandarangan
‣ God of war
◦Lalahon
‣ God of harvest
◦Siginarug
‣ God of hell

• There were sacred animals which they venerate like white monkey (manual) and crocodiles.
• There were also sacred place and sacred trees, which nobody was allowed to cut down
• They also worship the sun and the moon
• Regular sacrifices and prayers were offered to placate deities and spirits
• Reward and punishment after death was dependent upon behavior in this life

• Superstitious beliefs
◦Aswang
◦Dwende
◦Kapre
 ◦Mangkukulam
◦Tikbalang
◦Tiyanak
◦They also believe in magical power of amulets and charms such as anting-anting,kulam, and the
use of gayuma or love potion

• Education
◦To transmit knowledge it was required through observation, imitation and practice
◦There was no formal education during Pre- Spanish.
◦Children were taught to read and write by their parent
◦It was fair to say that they were literate
◦The purpose of education during their time was for survival
◦Their father taught males on hunting animals, fishing, agriculture and other economic activities
◦Mothers in managing the household taught females

• Economic life in pre-colonial era

◦Domestic trade of different barangays from different regions and islands were made possible
using boats
◦Foreign chain was carried on who is the countries like Borneo, China, Japan, Cambodia, Java
and Siam (Thailand)
◦Other means of livelihood were ship building, weaving, poultry, raising, mining and lumbering
• Music
◦Natives were without a doubt music lovers. Each committee had their own sets of musical
instrument. In the account of Pigafetta, The official historian of Magellan expedition, Women
from Cebu where harmoniously playing

‣ Cymbals (plantiles)
‣ Nose flute bamboo mouth organs (aphiw)
‣ Brass gong (gansa)
‣ Flute (bansic)
‣ Long drum ( calibao)
‣ Bamboo harp (subing)
‣ Water whistle (paiyak)
‣ Guitar (bugtot)
‣ Xylophone (agong)

• Dances
◦The most ancient dancers could be traced to the war dance in order to incite the “warlike”
enthusiasm of the natives.
◦They danced primarily to please their gods, anitos, and the spirit to it was believed, we’re
always jealous of the action of the natives
◦Is there a dance could be described as the pantomimes today
◦They also dance during festivals and other marry making occasions

• Language and system of writing

• Baybayin
◦And they also had their system of writing the ancient Filipino…. alphabet consisted of three
vowels and 14 consonant
◦Natives wrote on many different materials; leaves, palm, fronds, tree bark and fruit rinds but
the most common material was bamboo.
• Literature
◦Maxims ( simba)
◦Bugtong (riddles)
◦Boat song (talindaw)
◦Victory song ( tagumpay)
◦Lullaby (uyayi)
◦Wedding song (Ihiman)
◦War song ( kumintang)
‣ Examples of written literature
• Biag ni Lam-ang ( Ilocano epic)
• Indaraptra at Sulayman and Bidasarin ( Muslim epics)
• Handiong (Bicolanos)

• Salawikain Sawikain
◦Salawikain
‣ (Philippine proverb) sinasabing pinag ugatan ng panulaang Pilipino
‣
 ◦Sawikain
‣ Idiom
‣

• National mapping (NMRIA)

• Villa de. Dela Cruz..
• Wikang Tagalog- basis
• Filipino-
•