Philippine History, Influences from Other Countries

Capalad, Raul Miguel C. January 3, 2012 2JRN2 I. During the Philippine pre-colonial period, the basic political subdivision was known as the barangay, which is ruled by a datu or “village chief. ” Within the barangay are multiple political divisions, the highest of which is the nobles. The nobles, which include the Datu and his bloodline, are the highest figures in the barangay. The second in rank is the freemen. The freemen are the merchants, fishermen, farmers, and all other workers within the barangay. The lowest division is the slaves.

The slaves are divided into two categories, the aliping namamahay, who stay at their owner’s homes, and the aliping sanguigilid, who have their own home but still work for a master. II. Colonialism is, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, is “a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another”. In the perspective of the Philippines’ past political, historical and social climate, his can somehow be viewed as a positive thing because the Philippines back then was still severely underdeveloped.

However if viewed from a moral standpoint, this is a negative concept because it restricts the country (i. e. the Philippines) its natural ability to develop, grow, and prosper on its own. III. The Philippines’ cultures and traditions are very rich and diverse in every sense of the word. This trait can be attributed to the many colonizers that colonized the Philippines, and also the tourists ang businessmen that entered the country. One the the biggest contributors were the Chinese. The Chinese people introduced many things to us in the categories of food, entertainment, and many more.

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They introduced the use of fireworks, their unique cuisine (like the noodles), porcelain ware, umbrellas, manufacture of gunpowder, and certain mining methods superstitions, etc. The loose style of dressing, like the sleeved jackets and loose trouser of the Muslim Filipino women and the use of flip-flops, are of Chinese influence as well. They are also big players in our economy, with one of the richest and most successful businessmen in the Philippines being of Chinese descent. They have been in the Philippines for a very long time and they have been through what everyone else in the Philippines has been through.

As a result, many Filipino surnames are Chinese, like Cojuangco, Lim, Tan, Uy, and Tongco, among others. India also has similar contributions. In cuisine is the making and consumption of the chicken curry, which has an Indian influence. They also introduced Hinduism into the Philippines, although only a small portion of the population practice Hinduism. Our language also has Indian influence. Here are some examples Tagalog * budhi which means "conscience" in Sanskrit * dukha which means "one who suffers" in Sanskrit * guro which means "teacher" in Sanskrit * bathala which means “supreme God” in Sanskrit lalkambini which means “princess” in Sanskrit Kapampangan: * kalma which means "fate" in Sanskrit * damla which means "divine law" in Sanskrit * mantala which means "magic formulas" in Sanskrit * sampalataya which means "faith" in Sanskrit The wearing of a skirt and turban (sarong and putong; respectively) also came from India. The great hindu epic Mahabarata is Indian. The Arabs’s greatest contribution to the Philippines is Islam, particularly in Mindanao. The sarimanok design, which has been used in a certain network in the Philippines, is also of Arabic influence.

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