Philippines

Philippines * Known by many names in song and story. * Before Magellan’s arrival, Chinese traders called it “Mai” meaning “Land of Barbarians”.
Pearl of the Orient Seas * The names which modern writers give. * The most romantic name of our country. * One of the beautiful land in the Far East.
Philippines
* Northernmost point: Y’Ami Isle 78 miles from Taiwan * Southernmost tip: Salvage Isle 34 miles from Borneo
Philippines
* An archipelago of 7, 107 islands. 2, 773 islands have names. * Total area of 115, 707 square miles (299, 681 square kilometers)
Luzon
* Largest island - 40, 814 square miles.
Mindanao
* Second largest island - 36, 906 square miles
Visayas
* Third largest island - 5, 124 square miles.
Theories regarding the origin of the Philippines: 1. Part of a lost continent 2. Volcanic origin/Pacific or Magnetic Theory 3. Land Bridge or Asiatic Theory
Philippines role in the world: 1. Serves as the bridge between cultures of the East and West. 2. Lies at the crossroads of international air and sea routes. 3. Looms as a bastion of democracy in an area where dictators and communism holds way over Asian nations. 4. It is citadel of Christianity between the largely Christian West and largely non-Christian East.
Two distinct season: 1. Dry – March to June 2. Wet - July to October
The intervening period from November to December is neither too dry nor too wet for comfort.
Rainfall is abundant throughout the island. Heavy rains are brought by typhoons from either Pacific Ocean or China Sea. Sunshine is also abundant all year round that’s why all kinds of flowers bloom every day.
Language
Philippines has between 120 and 75 languages depending on the method of classification.
1939 – Pres. Manuel L. Quezon renamed Tagalog Language as Wikang Pambansa but mandated the development of a national language to be known as Filipino.
There are 13 Indigenous Languages with at least one million native speakers.
Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Waray – waray, Kapampangan, Bikol, Bikol Albay, Pangasinan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Kinaray – a and Tausug.
1st picture – Map of the dominant ethnolinguistic group of the Philippines.
2nd picture - The languages that have the largest number of speakers in a particular region. Note that on regions marked with black diamonds, the language with the most number of speakers denotes a minority of the population.
Festivals
1. The Ati-Atihan Festival is a feast held annually in January in honor of the Santo Niño (Infant Jesus), concluding on the third Sunday, in the island and town of Kalibo, Aklan in the Philippines. 2. The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City andMaasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines. The festival commemorates the Bisayan people'spagan origin, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism.
Religion
Religion in the Philippines is marked by a wide range of spiritual beliefs, including Catholics,Atheists, Agnostics, Iglesia ni Cristo, Aglipayans, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, animists, andHindus. It is central not as an abstract belief system, but rather as a host of experiences —rituals and adjurations that provide continuity in life, communal cohesion and moral purpose for existence. Religious associations are part of the system of vital kinship ties, patron-client bonds and other relationships outside the nuclear family.
Christianity and Islam have been superimposed on ancient traditions and acculturated. The unique religious blends that have resulted, when combined with the strong personal faith of Filipinos, have given rise to numerous and diverse revivalist movements.

SYNOPSIS OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Pre Spanish Times

There are two theories on the origins of the first Filipinos, the inhabitants of what will later be called the Philippine Islands and eventually the Republic of the Philippines. See the Early Inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. In the beginning of the 3rd century, the inhabitants of Luzon island were in contact and trading with East Asian sea-farers and merchants including the Chinese. In the 1400's the Japanese also established a trading post at Aparriin Northern Luzon. In 1380, Muslim Arabs arrived at the Sulu Archipelago and established settlements which became mini-states ruled by a Datu. They introduced Islam in the southern parts of the archipelago including some parts of Luzon and were under the control of the Muslim sultans of Borneo. They had a significant influence over the region for a couple of hundreds years. The Malay Muslims remained dominant in these parts until the 16th century.