As it is commonly known, the Philippines was under Spanish rule for more than three hundred years. Years of colonization transpired and with the influx of a new cultural framework being introduced unto us, it is inevitable to say that we would have to consider various changes to our cultural structures and institutions as well. One can even argue that Spanish colonial culture has left the greatest impact compared to any other nation that colonized us. Considering all this, we will explore two different Spanish colonial influences on Filipino culture that are still seen in the present day and the effects these influences have had upon us throughout the years.
The first Spanish colonial influence that we’ll talk about is the supremacy Catholicism holds within the state. Before the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines, our residents were predominantly animistic, far from what we believe now. However, in Spain’s successful conquest of our nation, Filipinos were slowly converted to Christianity despite various uprisings against a new religious system. As soon as Christianity gained control over the majority, the union of church and the state was accomplished, which had a great impact on our form of governance. Catholicism became deeply rooted within our laws and our legal institutions were primarily religious and patriarchal in nature. In short, theocracy was predominant during the Spanish Colonial Era.
Was this a good thing, or a bad thing? Today, Catholicism still resides as the dominant religion in the Philippines, and in fact, the Philippines is known to be one of the most Catholicized countries in the world. Moreover, Catholicism’s pillars are heavily embedded in our constitution alongside its patriarchal, oppressive, and legalistic undertones. Not to disregard the favorable culture Christianity has brought upon our country such as community, reverence, and respect, it is still fair to say that the deep-rooted effects Catholicism has in our legal framework have had limiting effects on our development to a certain extent. Personally, I would stay neutral in regard to this topic because there are many factors that must be taken into account, ranging from social, cultural, political, economic, to legal aspects. Both positive and negative outcomes have been seen as a result of our nation’s Catholicism adjacent to this range of factors, so it still remains to be a debate whether or not our indoctrination should be considered as a part of our national identity or not.
The second Spanish colonial influence that I’ll be mentioning is the incursion of Spanish into our language systems. When the Spaniards arrived in our country, our direct contact with them resulted in the adoption of various Spanish words into our vocabulary. Examples of various other Filipino dialects that have Spanish words are Hiligaynon, Visaya, Bicolano, Ilocano, and Sugbuhanon, however, there are many more Filipino dialects that have been influenced by the Spanish language as well. While the words we’ve adopted from the Spanish language sound the same, their only difference succeeding acquisition is spelling. Below are examples of Filipino words that have been influenced by the Spanish language.
Diyos (God)
Eskwela (school)
Gwapo (handsome)
Lamesa (Table)
Kalye (street)
Kabayo (horse)
Kwento (story)
Karne (meat)
Pamilya (family)
Sapatos (shoes)
Bintana (window)
Now, we once again ask, was this a good thing or a bad thing? While the adoption of various words from the Spanish language has colonialistic and oppressive undertones similar to Catholicism, I believe that this has served us positive outcomes as well. Today, globalization is one of the things we aim to achieve or having a “global” mindset. Personally, I believe that having adopted words from the Spanish language has allowed us to relate easily with people who speak Spanish, and even with those who speak other dialects which contain different Spanish words as well. Moreover, I also believe that a lot of a nation’s identity and history is told through its language, and similarly, our language as Filipinos tells a story about our past as well.
It isn’t always easy to talk about the past when it comes to our history as Filipinos, especially when the influence Spain had on us is mentioned. Throughout this blog post, we’ve mentioned two Spanish colonial influences that are still seen in the present-day Philippines, and we’ve seen that there have been both positive and negative outcomes from the influence of Catholicism and the Spanish language. In response to this, there isn’t really anything we can do in regard to changing the past, but how we look at our history and how we let this perspective affect us in the present is what matters.
References:
Balinski, Alex. “Spanish Influence in the Philippines.” Lifey, http://lifey.org/spanish-influence-on-the-philippines/.
Fabie, Kel. “8 Reasons the Philippine Separation of Church and State Is a (Bad) Joke.” 8List.Ph, 31 Aug. 2015, https://8list.ph/philippine-separation-church-state/.
Ago, Aizensouin Philippines •. 3. Years. “The Influence of Spanish Colonization in the Philippines (Featuring @juvyjabian as Author).” Steemit, 18 Sept. 2016, https://steemit.com/philippines/@aizensou/the-influence-of-spanish-colonization-in-the-philippines-featuring-juvyjabian-as-author.
“The Spanish Influence on the Philippines’ Culture.” Prezi.Com, https://prezi.com/zyd5spzzmyte/the-spanish-influence-on-the-philippines-culture/.
