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We are unique, not only as individuals, but also as a country.
These uniqueness might be the influence of those who conquer our land in the past, or simply be our tradition which evolved in totally different ways. There are also traits that just popped out from unknown situations and have been developed over time.
Here in the Philippines, there are things that might surprise you even in just tiny little things, especially if you’re a new visitor in the country. That’s why I wrote this article, in hope that it could be of a help so you’ll know what to expect. And to be fair, I’m not gonna be subjective.
Without any further ado, here are the;
Things You Need to Know When Visiting the Philippines
1. Mano
The old fashioned yet the most respectful Filipinos’ way of greeting their elders; their grandparents, parents, titos and titas (uncles / aunts), and even to their ninong and ninang (godfather / godmother). The gesture is typically initiated by saying ‘mano po’ and gently holding the right hand of the elder and let the back of it touch the forehead of the person who ask for mano while bowing.
It is usually done by kids when they leave the house for school or when they got home, or even when visiting their relatives.
2. WEARING BARONG TAGALOG
If you’re new to the Philippines and happen to attend a wedding, don’t be surprise when you see the guys wearing a semi-transparent, white rough formal attire with a rectangular and flowery embroidered design on it. It’s the Barong Tagalog, our national dress/costume.
3. PAMAMANHIKAN
Back in the day, this tradition is a bit more difficult as the guy needs to do some heavy household tasks like axing firewoods, fetching water, fixing broken parts of the house and everything before he gets approval. He even needs to give an expensive amount of dowry; but now is totally different.
A pamamanhikan is the guy’s formal way of asking his girlfriend’s hand to her parents. He, together with his parents and other few witnesses basically go to the bride-to-be’s house and talks about the wedding. They’ll talk about the date of the wedding, who provide what, the special guests, the abay(s) or wedding attendants including the bestman and the bridesmaid.
4. TURNING PLATE UPSIDE DOWN
I’ve been observing this kind of trait for quite now, and the only explanation I know that make sense is that; for the plate not to get any dirt or dust from the ceiling or somewhere else.
5. EATING USING A HAND WITH ONE FOOT UP ON THE CHAIR
Filipinos often display this way of eating when they’re with people who are really close to them. It’s their way to really enjoy their meal and getting themselves really comfortable while eating.
6. VIDEOKE SINGING
As you already know, Filipinos really loves to sing. As much as possible, with or without celebration; there should always be a karaoke a.k.a. videoke machine to sing to, and make the party more enjoyable.
Okay, the song shown in this sample video is weird but there are actually ton of songs to choose from, both english and tagalog songs.
The only annoying part of it is when people are so inconsiderate and won’t let you sleep, because they will sing and drink too much until 2am.
7. WALKING AND DUCKING
People often do this when they pass in the middle of two or more people talking, and instead of saying a simple ‘excuse me’, they’d rather bow while walking and slightly raise their two hands flagging it.
People do this thinking that they won’t disrupt the conversation because they respectfully passed by.
8. POINTING USING LIPS
It’s a lazy way of pointing a direction. For example, if you ask someone where the bathroom is, they won’t raise their hand and use their index finger to point where the bathroom is. They’d rather use their lips. Though this is not always the case, you’ll probably find it funny once you see it personally.
9. RAISING EYEBROWS TO ANSWER A QUESTION WITH ‘YES’
Like the talented lips, raising eyebrows is a way to answer a question answerable by ‘yes’ only.
10. OPENING MOUTH IF ONE DIDN’T HEAR A QUESTION BEING ASKED TO THEM
A person opens his mouth as a signal to someone from afar asking a question or telling him something to repeat himself, for he literally didn’t understand a single thing.
Additional Filipino Characteristics explained in this video.
11. PUKPOK TULI
Pukpok tuli is a Filipino traditional way of circumcision. The manunuli or person who does the circumcision, will gently hammer a clean and very sharp blade cutting the foreskin of a boy’s private part. The boy should chew some guava leaves and put it on his genital after the circumcision for a belief that it won’t cause infection.
In the Philippines, if a boy is uncircumcised, he will eventually got bullied or teased by others.
12. THE CLASSIC ‘KAIN TAYO’ CALL
Just in case you visit a house and happen to arrive when the family is eating, regardless whether it’s a lunch, breakfast, dinner or even a snack time, they’re most likely to offer you food and say ‘kain tayo’ (let’s eat). The only problem with this is; even when they actually have no more food to give, they would still say it and find a way to provide something to eat just in case you agree.
13. CALLING HOME OWNERS OUTSIDE THEIR HOUSE INSTEAD OF SIMPLY KNOCKING THEIR DOOR
The reason why Filipinos don’t usually knock on doors and just call the owner outside their house is, due to the fact that houses are typically had terraces or verandas. You can’t really go directly to the main door knocking it.
On the other hand, because Philippines is so hot, people usually keep their main door open to keep their house ventilated. So instead of knocking the door, visitor will just call the owner.
However, assuming that the house has no terrace, the main door is close, and the owner is around; Filipino visitors would still likely not to knock the door and just call the name of their host.
14. LAST PIECE SYNDROME
Last piece syndrome is NOT eating the last piece of food being served to a group of people. For example; when everybody took their slice of pizza, and then there’s one left, that’s the time when they will activate their pakiramdaman(thinking what other’s think) skill and observe the situation.
They will talk casually. And when someone has the guts to take that last piece, everybody would likely react; not physically but mentally and probably think that, that person is kinda shameless or patay gutom (a person who’s so poor, he can’t even afford to buy a decent amount of food).
How do I know if that’s the case, if I can’t read what everyone’s have in their mind? Well, this issue has been talked about for so long. And everytime this topic is brought out, people agrees and felt guilty.
15. USING ‘PO’ AND ‘OPO’
This is something that we can be proud of, being polite. And our magical word for that manner is ‘po’ and ‘opo’. We use these two to replace or add to our words and make it even more courteous.
For example, if someone older than you ask something like ‘Are you Richard?’; the normal way of answering it is a simple yes or no, Filipinos answers it with ’opo’. If the answer is no, the reply might be ‘hindi po’.
16. USING THE ANO(WHAT) WORD
To be honest, this trait is a mystery to me. When people forgot a word in their sentence, they often fill it up with ‘ano’. And it’s literally for everything. What really surprises me is that, people understand it.
For example, a guy is asking his friend; 'Napanood mo ba ‘yung Star Wars?' (Have you watched Star Wars?), and forgot the phrase ‘Star Wars’, he would basically replace it with ‘ano’.
Now, the question will be; 'Napanood mo ba ‘yung ano?' and guess what? That friend who’s being asked gets it. He would know that what his friend really wants to mention is Star Wars, and he would reply a yes.
17. CALLING SOMEONE WITH ‘Psstt’
It’s an annoying way of Filipinos calling someone when they’re so lazy mentioning a name. A piece of advice; don’t get any closer or just simply ignore a person who ‘psstt’ on you, especially if it’s a stranger. There are cases of abduction related to this ‘psstt’ thing.
18. EXCESSIVE USAGE OF PINOY SLANG
It turns out that Filipinos were not satisfied with the hundreds (if not thousands) of languages they have, that they need to reinvent Tagalog into something else.
Here are 10 from those countless Pinoy Slang:
PETMALU
Tagalog Equivalent: Malupit
Meaning: Something awesomeEDI WOW
Tagalog Equivalent: None
Meaning: A sarcastic way to react to someone arrogantLODI
Tagalog Equivalent: Idolo (idol)HUGOT
Tagalog Equivalent: Hugot
Original meaning: Pulling an object out from where it was buried
Meaning in slang use: a cute way of telling one’s distressGOBAS
Tagalog Equivalent: Sabog
Meaning: drunk or wastedQIQIL
Tagalog Equivalent: Gigil
Meaning: showing of deep anger or disgustREPA
Tagalog Equivalent: Pare
Meaning: Male friendTOM JONES
Tagalog Equivalent: Gutom
Meaning: hungryORB
Tagalog Equivalent: Kuya
Meaning in slang use: Very close male (sometimes female) friendERMAT or MUDRA
Tagalog Equivalent: Nanay (mother)
ERPAT or PUDRA
Tagalog Equivalent: Tatay (father)
Additionally, there’s even this, what gays called Gay Linggo; where they literally
invented a new language that only them could fluently speak and understand.
19. BALATO
The idea of balato is giving people a small percentage from money you get from winning a lottery or any game that involves money you won. Manny Pacquiao is probably the best example of balato giver.
20. PASALUBONG
Pasalubong is something you brought home from wherever you’ve travelled to. It could be food or souvenir. Pretty much common, right?
Well, the concept of pasalubong also applies when an OFW(Overseas Filipino Worker) just got home from his/her years and years of working abroad, just to give something to everybody(relatives or not, close friends or not) because he/she is almost obliged to.
21. AKYAT LIGAW
Akyat ligaw is a respectful act of courting a girl in their house. You’ll have to ask her parents, especially her father (or whoever her guardians that are present) for permission. I only tried it once, and its fine. It’s just a little intimidating, but that’s just the way it is. The girl’s dad would happily give you a chance if he sees sincerity in you.
I’d like to include serenading in the list, but unfortunately, that tradition of courtship just died out. Nobody is doing it anymore.
22. FOOLISH QUESTIONS
Foolish questions are questions that have obvious answers.
Just for example when you obviously got home, someone would ask; ‘Are you home already?’. If your dad asks you these kind of questions, you can’t even complain because you need to be respectful.
23. VAGUE ANSWERS
Vague answer is the sibling of foolish question. These are confusing and unclear answers to very simple questions.
For example, if your friend just bought new shoes and you’re like: ‘How much is your shoes?’, and he would reply, ‘not so much’. Or even when calling your friend where he is, you’ll probably get; ‘I’m already’ near.'
People just can’t be specific. They don’t have an open-mind to actually understand what you’re asking about.
24. FAMILY ORIENTED
Many families around the world are really close to every member of their family and that’s just natural. But what really builds Filipinos in their good reputation in terms of having really close ties with their family is the fact that they’re so religious and traditional.
One example is sharing of foods. If a member already has his own family, there are many times when his parents (or he) will still give foods to each other. Parents would order their kids even at night to deliver foods to their relatives. That relative would probably give something in return, but sometimes, just a simple 'thanks' will do and it’s alright.
Additionally, families usually goes to church or chapel together. That’s why Sundays are often called family day.
But the best example I think is the celebration of Family Reunion. This is when a family will contact as many relatives they could to make an arrangement for this celebration. Everyone is invited regardless how far your connections might be, as long as they’re still recognized as members of the family. From grandparents after grandparents, uncles after uncles, aunts after aunts, your first(to probably fourth) cousins, their spouses and their kids were expected to attend.
What to expect? Foods(a lot of foods), beer and wine, intermission numbers, games, and of course, family introductions. If you’re the head of your family, you have to introduce your spouse, your kids, your job and every interesting story you could possibly share about your family.
25. SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF
In this modern age, some Filipinos especially the elders still believe in superstition.
Other countries might also believe to such things, but Filipinos actually took this to the next level. Here’s a list of some of those beliefs.
26. GREETING SOMEONE WITH ‘TUMATABA KA AH’ (YOU’RE GETTING FAT)
If you meet a friend you haven’t seen for a long time and noticed your stomach have gotten fatter than before, he’d probably greet you like; 'Kumusta ka na? Tumataba ka ah'. (How are you? You’re getting fat.) And they’d think that it’s just a compliment. But those who are guilty are secretly offended.
27. EARLY CHRISTMAS
As soon as ber months arrived, you’ll start hearing Christmas songs in malls, seeing Christmas lantern being sold, Christmas countdown on the news, and many other signs of Christmas.
28. SUPER SENSITIVE
I sometimes despise this trait, for a reason that you have to always observe your words while hanging out with people you’re not really close with, for you might hurt their feelings. You might drop some jokes, but don’t get too personal. Filipinos are emotional people. Once you hurt their feelings, sometimes or more often than not results to war, or anything like that.
29. FILIPINO TIME
Time as planned weren’t always followed, and that’s what makes a Filipino time. Not followed in the sense that they are usually late. If the meeting time is 7 o’clock, they’d probably arrive at 7:15 or 7:45. And sometimes, a lot later than that.
30. CHISMIS (Gossip)
Chismis or tsismis is like rust in a community. It is often observe in a Baranggay, where people are like journalists. Even just a small bit of controversial news, would spread so easily like a wildfire in the community. That news which could’ve been kept as a secret, now have the potential to cause some troubles.
31. UTANG (BORROWING MONEY)
While there’s nothing wrong with borrowing money to your friend when you need it most, the downside of it is when being abused. There are those who borrow too much money or borrow too often, but difficult to ask for paying it back. And sometimes, they’d just forget about it.
32. HOSPITALITY
Like the 'kain tayo' traits, how Filipinos are known for their hospitality is quite phenomenal. They might not have so much to offer, but they are willing to sacrifice what they have (or even don’t have), just to be a good host to their visitors.
33. BAYANIHAN
Bayanihan is when people work together to help an individual person or family. While the classic lifting a house by every man in a Baranggay and move it to another area is not around anymore, there are still many ways that Filipinos do bayanihan.
When riding a jeepney, you can actually pass your transportation bill to the driver by asking the other passenger. You can say; ‘paabot po’ or ‘makikisuyo po’, then give your money to someone who sit beside you, and one by one; they will pass it to the driver. If you have change, they’ll again pass it back to you.
Additionally, if someone died in a family, people in a Baranggay are willing to give any help like preparing foods and the venue for visitors from other Baranggays, giving financial assistance to the family, help them serve coffee and biscuits and anything else.
34. OVERLY POLITE
So... how polite do Filipinos really are? In my opinion, it has come to a point when it becomes ridiculous rather than nice. And here’s what I mean by that: If you’re a newcomer to a Baranggay or to a small town and ask someone about something, people would likely call you mom or sir; everytime.
Additionally, kids always tailed their sentence with 'tito' when talking to their uncles, 'tita' when talking to their aunts, and the list goes on. If they don’t, they will be regarded as being disrespectful.
There’s also this I call, goodbye mentality. If you’re a guest in a house, no matter who are, you must always say goodbye to the host whenever you leave. You’ll make them feel bad if you don’t.
Conclusion
These Filipino traits, as you might have noticed, have both ups and downs. But despite all of these, we strive to change for the better and improve ourselves in many aspects of life. Afterall, we are positive, happy, hardworking, religious and friendly people.
So feel free to visit the Philippines, and experience the beauty of the country and the warmth of its friendly residents, you'll be amazed.
Are there things I forgot to mention? You may comment it down below.
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