5 Philippine Traditions That Are Slowly Forgotten
The culture of the Philippines comprises a blend of traditional Filipino and Spanish Catholic traditions, with influences from America and other parts of Asia. The Filipinos are family oriented and often religious with an appreciation for art, fashion, music and food.
Interactions with nearby and faraway countries throughout history have also helped to shape our culture. Sadly, modern times are threatening to wipe out the things that have made us uniquely Filipino. While progress is good, it should never stand in the way of us preserving those things that are rightfully part of our heritage and way of life. Below are the traditions that Filipinos practices that might disappear soon:
- Pagmamano
Mano or pagmamano is an “honoring-gesture” used in Filipino culture performed as a sign of respect to elders and as a way of requesting a blessing from the elder. Similar to hand-kissing, the person giving the greeting bows towards the hand of the elder and presses his or her forehead on the elder’s hand.
But sadly, this gesture is being forgotten and has been replaced by other forms of giving respect such as “beso-beso” (a greeting done cheek-to-cheek). Although respectful, it is not as remarkable as the original pagmamano.
2. Traditional Games
Filipinos who’ve played piko, patintero or tumbang-preso are very lucky, for they have experienced the joy of playing traditional Filipino games. Sadly, kids nowadays prefer playing with their iPads, Xbox and mobile games rather than playing outside with other kids.
3. Traditional Courtships
The Harana is serenade tradition in rural areas of the Philippines in which young men may formally meet single lady visitors.
Now that we are exposed to technology, ideas of dating has changed. Teenager often use Messenger or DM’s to make their “panliligaw” to the person they like. They message them, and if he/she is lucky they will get a reply then, boom! The rest is history.
Traditional panliligaw is nearly extinct in many areas of the country. Aside from harana, we can hardly see the other inherent traditions of Filipino courtship such as paninilbihan, wherein a suitor does chores for the girl’s family to prove his love for her.
4. Filipino Folk Beliefs
Folk beliefs, otherwise known as “superstitious beliefs”, form part of a people’s value system and culture. They basically reflect the customs, traditions, and mores of a group, which may be based on religious beliefs, opinions, old or popular practices. They also tell of how a people view the unknown and the means to appease the gods that control the future. But, millennials nowadays doesn’t believe in superstitious beliefs anymore because they think it’s just a saying that old people believe and is not real.
5. Traditional Clothing
Before, Filipinos are very conservative when it comes to what they wear. They are not fund of showing a lot of skin in public, especially in girls.
But nowadays, a lot of changes happened to how Filipinos wear clothes due to the influence of Western Countries.
