Jelian♛

Let's learn about where I come from, yaaahh?

[queenjelian]

Along with traditions, comes values. One of the main traditions observed by Filipinos is the “Mano Po” (shown in the picture above). It is a sign of respect toward elders, usually. As a sign of respect to others, Filipinos address each other as Tita/Tito (Aunt/Uncle) if they’re older than them, they may use Ate/Kuya (Older sister/brother) as well, along with the word ‘po’ or ‘ho’. Using ‘po’ makes a statement more formal. Unfortunately, being respectful is beginning to deteriorate, along with some other traditions, as the country evolves. As values go, Filipinos value close kinship, respect, hospitality, and a strong faith in God! :) If you know any Filipinos, then you know how aligaga, or attentive they are!

[queenjelian]

In the Philippines, they celebrate a lot of the same holidays we Canadians do. Although, they do celebrate holidays that we don’t have, such as National Heroes Day, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Andres Bonifacio Day, and Jose Rizal Day. The two largest holidays are Bonifacio Day and Rizal day. Andres Bonifacio was known as “The Father of the Philippine Revolution”, as he founded of Katipunan, a movement that sought Philippine independence from the Spaniards. His birthday is the same as my uncle’s (November 30th), so my uncle was named Andres, after Andres Bonifacio. Jose Rizal was widely considered as one of the greatest heroes in the Philippines.

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Filipinos celebrate many ceremonies such as: Kasal, Binyag, Libing, Graduation, and birthdays. Kasal translated into english is ‘wedding’, Binyag into ‘baptism’, and Libing into ‘funeral’.

[queenjelian]

Here's some examples of traditional clothing worn in the Philippines! Here we have the timeless beauty, actress Dawn Zulueta-Lagdameo in a Maria Clara with her charming husband, Cong. Antonio Lagdameo Jr. in a Barong Tagalog. Traditional clothing like this, along with many others, is still worn in the Philippines today.

[queenjelian]

In the Philippines, self support is a very big thing. Many families in the Philippines have their own sari-sari store, or tindahan (store), to live off of. Their stores are usually next to, if not connected, to their homes. In the first three pictures above, you can see two of my 13460626416553532432462162795621335624 aunts (I'm totally kidding! But they do have 8 more brothers & sisters), Zelpha and Annee in their business, St. Joseph's Store. In the next three pictures, you see them accompanied by some of their friends who wanted to be in the pictures (I literally asked them to take these and send them to me a few minutes ago. Lol.) in their other business, St. Joseph's Burger Hauz. They're located near The Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), which is great for business!

[queenjelian]

Richard and Maya: The Wedding (Click Here!)

Another interest among Filipinos are the fine arts. Filipinos are really into acting, singing, dancing, etc. They take it very seriously. For teleseryes (t.v. series or soap operas), instead of building sets in studios, they use actual houses as there sets. And if you’re as meticulous as I am, you can notice that they may use the same house in various teleseryes.

Another thing Filipinos do to promote upcoming soaps and movies, cast members of the projects have countless T.V. guestings, mall shows, etc. Some even have world tours! Just as the show shown in the link below has done. Be Careful With My Heart has been on air for two years now and has very high ratings, numerous pieces of merchandise (albums, tshirts, magazines), mall shows, and as I mentioned before, a world tour! Here, in this clip, it shows the programs two main characters, Richard Lim and Maya Dela Rosa-Lim (portrayed by Richard Yap and Jodi Sta. Maria) during their wedding. (*They got an actual wedding videographer to make this video). They began planning this T.V. wedding in January 2013 and finally aired this episode on November 15, 2013. (If you can't tell how obsessed I am with this show yet, ohmygulay. - Ohmyvegetables) This wedding was the closest thing they could get to a real wedding. Honestly, the only thing they were missing were the papers, according to Richard Yap. :)

[queenjelian]

Besides its beautiful beaches and breath taking views, you’ll also be taken by the exotic Philippine foods. From appetizers to dessert, they’ve got you covered! You’ve probably heard of, or maybe even tried some of these foods, but the most popular one that everyone’s heard of is the famous adobo. Adobo involves usually meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. It is soon browned in oil, and simmered in its marinade. In the picture above, you may see a lot of the famous dishes, except for a particular dish involving an egg.. If you were thinking of balut, good job! If you weren't, then you’re wrong, it’s bault. Okay. Anyways, I didn't put a picture of balut into the collage, as I am not a big fan of balut. Balut is a developing duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell (commonly served as street food). Since my family is Filipino on both sides, I've had my fair share of these traditional Philippine dishes.

[queenjelian]

Filipinos are very interesting people. (LOL) They have various interests such as sports and the fine arts. The Philippines’ national sport is Sepak Takraw (Kick Volleyball). Sepak Takraw is similar to volleyball, although players may not use their hands. Players are required to use their feet, chest, knees and head to strike the ball. The ball that they use is now made of rattan, but it used to be made up of bamboo (according to my aunt).

[queenjelian]

Since the Phils has become much more modern, just like the songs, the dances have evolved as well. From folk dances to various other styles of dancing, the Philippines has ‘em all. Here is an example of a folk dance called Tinikling (performed by some of my friends from Kasayahan, formerly called The Philippine Cultural Centre Foundation, a few years ago. I used to dance this as well.)

The tinikling is a pre-Spanish dance from the Philippines that involves two people (or more) beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinikling) They also may be crossed, as shown in the video.

[queenjelian]

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The Philippines is a pretty old fashioned country. Although, it is becoming more and more influenced by American pop culture. Which leads me into my next topic, songs. Many years ago, the songs you would hear around the Philippines were kundiman songs. Kundiman songs were conservative. Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of  Kundiman songs are written in Filipino (Tagalog). In the Philippines, kundiman songs were the traditional means of serenading. Now, since Philippine music has become influenced by pop culture, the songs have become more looser, they a modern touch.

Here is an example of a kundiman song sung by veteran actress, Gloria Sevilla, at a concert at Araneta Coliseum put on by one of my favourite T.V. series (Be Careful With My Heart). :))))) If you click this link → http://queenjelian.tumblr.com/post/99872390570 , it’ll take you to the example of one of the modern songs (also sung by an actress from BCWMH). ;)

[queenjelian]

The Philippines is a very religious country, as you can see from the chart above. You’ve probably heard of religions such as Roman Catholic, Muslim, Evangelical, other Christian, other, unspecified, and none. Haha. But ones you most likely don’t know about are Iglesia Ni Kristo (Church of Christ) and Aglipayan (The Philippine Independent Church).

Iglesia Ni Kristo, founded in the Philippines in 1914,  is a church in the Philippines that claims to be the true church established by Christ. It’s founder, Felix Manalo, proclaimed himself as God’s prophet.

It has grown to more than two hundred congregations in sixty-seven countries outside the Philippines, including an expanding United States contingent. The Iglesia keeps the exact number of members secret, but it is estimated to be between three million and ten million worldwide. It is larger than the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a better known sect (which also claims to be Christ’s true Church). Iglesia is not better known, despite its numbers, because the majority of Iglesia’s members are Filipino. Virtually the only exceptions are a few non-Filipinos who have married into Iglesia families. (http://www.catholic.com/tracts/iglesia-ni-cristo)

The Aglipayan Church is a nationalist church. Under the leadership of former Roman Catholic priest, Gregorio Aglipay (hence the name AGLIPAYan Church),the church broke off from the Catholic Church around the early 20th century. It is the second largest Christian denomination in the Philippines, with around 6, 000, 000 members.

Aglipay sought to establish a church free of Spanish and American colonial influences. It operates three lay organizations for men, women, and youth, as well as commissions on economic development, mission and evangelism, business and finance, education, and liturgy and music. Ecumenical partners include the Anglican Communion, the Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches, the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, and the Church of Sweden. Ephraim Fajutagana is the current leader of the church, a position known as the Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop). (http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/organizations/aglipayan-church)

[queenjelian]

In my family, Tagalog is the language that we speak most often, besides English. Being born and raised in Canada, I made it a goal of mine to learn how to speak our native tongue, so I wouldn’t feel OP (Out of Place), when I visit the Philippines.

The Philippines is a society that has a variety of different languages. Out of over a hundred languages, comes the eight major dialects in the country. Bikolano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, or 'Ilonggo', Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, and Waray. The languages being taught all over the country are Tagalog, or 'Filipino', and English.

Bikolano, or Bicolano in English, is a member of the Central Philippine group of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, it is spoken in Bikol.

Cebuano, referred to as ‘Binisaya’ (Visayan in English) is also part of the Austronesian languages spoken by around 20,000,000 people, mainly in Central Visayas.

Hiligaynon, or 'Ilonggo' is a member of the Austronesian language family with around 11, 000, 000 speakers in Western Visayas. 7, 000, 000 of whom it is their native tongue. Most speakers live in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

Iloko, Ilocano in English, is an Austronesian language, as well. It spoken by around 10, 000, 000 people mainly in northwest Luzon & also in Mindanao. There are also speakers in the USA, Middle East, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Canada and Europe, too. The language is also known as Iluko, Iloco and Iloko. The Iloko people call themselves Samtoy, a contraction from the Iloko phrase saö mi ditoy, meaning "our language here."

Kapampangan is spoken on the Philippine island of Luzon by about 3 million people. It is a part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family and is known as either Pampango, Capampangan, Pampangueño or Amanung Sisuan. During the 16th century, Kapampangan was written with a version of the Baybayin alphabet before the arrival of the Spanish in the Philippines. Now, it is written with the Latin alphabet. It has also been written with the Kulitan script, as well.

Pangasinan (Pangasinese) is spoken by around 1.5, 000, 000 people mainly in Pangasinan, on the west side of Luzon.  In Benguet, in some areas of Zambales, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Ifugao, & immigrant communities in the USA, there are also Pangasinese speakers. It is an Austronesian language part of the Philippine branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages, and is closely related to Ibaloi, which is spoken in its neighbouring province, Benguet and Baguio City. It is also similar to Tagalog and Ilocano.

Waray-Waray is a part of the Visayan branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family, as well. It is spoken by 3, 000, 000 people in the Philippines in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte and Biliran.

Lastly, the language most commonly spoken out of the 8 is Tagalog. With around 57, 000, 000 speakers in Manila, central and southern parts of Luzon, and also on the islands of Lubang, Marinduque, and the northern and eastern parts of Mindoro.

Ingles, or English in English.. I'm totally kidding. LOL.

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