Alex Carl L. Ng
2 – Chemistry
Who are we Filipinos? Many of us didn’t know who are we and where we came from. From the quote “Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known”, it says that we, Filipinos don’t have any original identity, our identity, like the political, social, economical, and cultural that we have today, came up from the colonization of the other country, like Spain, America, and Japan.
Before the colonization of Spain, America, and Japan, Philippines said to have a vast culture in political, economical, social and cultural. In 7,107 islands in the Philippines there are different people living with different political, economical, social and cultural approach. In pre-colonization, the system of government decentralized, meaning there is no center government to govern the other small government. The leader of the barangay is a Datu, Confideracy is a Raha, and Sultanate is a sultan. Their judicial system is oral, which means, whatever the law imposed by the leader it will be spoken through a messenger. They formed alliances through the process of “Sanduguan”. Some lived near bodies of water, and some lived in the mountains or forest. The lifestyle of the people living near the bodies of water are fishing, boat building, pottery, farming, and so many more, while the people living in the mountains are swidden, farming, hunting, gathering, etc. People living before the colonization, have a social strata, first is the maginoo and datu class, a ruling and warrior class. Second is the maharlika, a wealthy class. Third is the Timawa or freeman, a commoner. Last is the Alipin or Oripun, debt peons. People in the pre colonization have a system of writing called baybayin. They also have religion, called aminism, they worship anitos/anitas, diwata and their priest/ess is called babaylan. The Muslims saw Maguindanao and Sulu first before the Spaniards came to the Philippines and introduce their
References: Blount, J.H. (1963). The American Occupation of the Philippines. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36542/36542-h/36542-h.htm Reynaldo, M.R. (2008). The Soul of the Filipino. North Charleston, S.C. : BookSurge.