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| Officially
Republic of the Philippines, Pilipino Republika Ñg
Pilipinas, country in Southeast Asia. It is an
archipelago consisting of some 7,100 islands and islets
lying about 500 miles off the coast. The total land area
of the Philippines is 115,800 square miles (300,000
square kilometres). It is bounded by the Philippine Sea
to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, and the South
China Sea to the west and north. The Philippines takes
its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the
Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century.
Manila is the biggest city and the national capital. It
is located on Luzon, the largest island, which has a land
area of 40,420 square miles. Mindanao, at 36,537 square
miles the second largest island, lies in the south. |
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| The archipelago spreads out
in the form of a triangle, with the islands south of
Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao
forming (west-east) its southern base and the Batan
Islands, in the north, its apex. The islands stretch for
about 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometres) from north to south
and for about 700 miles from east to west at their widest
extent. Only about two-fifths of the islands and islets
have names, and only some 350 have areas of one square
mile or more. The large islands fall into three groups: (1)
the Luzon group in the north and west, consisting of
Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan; (2) the Visayan group in the
centre, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate,
Negros, Panay, and Samar; and (3) Mindanao in the south. |
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| Because it was under
Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for a
further 48 years, the Philippines has many cultural
affinities with the West. It is, for example, the fourth
most populous country in which English is an official
language and the only predominantly Roman Catholic
country in Southeast Asia. Its peoples, however, are
Asian in consciousness and in aspiration. In many ways
Filipino society is composed of paradoxes, perhaps the
most apparent being the great extremes of wealth and
poverty in the nation. The Philippines is a country of
rich resources, but it is in the process of developing
its full potentialities. It is primarily agricultural,
although a high degree of domestic and foreign investment
has spurred the rapid development of its industrial
potential. Educationally, it is among the most advanced
of Asian countries, having a high literacy rate. |
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| The people |
| The people of the
Philippines are called Filipinos. Their ancestors, who
were of Malay stock, came from the southeastern Asian
mainland as well as from what is now Indonesia. From the
10th century, contacts with China resulted in a group of
mixed Filipino-Chinese descent, who account for a
minority of the population. A small percentage of Chinese
nationals also live in the country. Spanish-Filipinos and
Filipino-Americans may be distinguished by their fairer
complexion, taller stature, and aquiline nose structure.
The relatively small numbers of emigrants from the Indian
subcontinent added to the population's racial mixture.
There are small numbers of resident U.S. nationals (excluding
military personnel) and Spaniards. The aboriginal
inhabitants of the islands were the Negritos, or Pygmies,
also called Aetas or Balugas; they now constitute only a
small percentage of the total population. |
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| Linguistic groups |
| Estimates of the total
number of native languages and dialects spoken in the
Philippines differ, but scholarly studies suggest that
there are some 70 of them. These languages are all
closely related, belonging to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian)
family of languages. Traditionally, eight major
linguistic groups are identified. These are (1) the
Tagalog group, concentrated in Manila, central and south
central Luzon, and the islands of Mindoro and Marinduque;
(2) Cebuano, in Cebu, Bohol, eastern Negros, western
Leyte, and parts of Mindanao; (3) Ilocano, dominant in
many parts of northern Luzon; (4) Hiligaynon (Ilongo),
spoken in parts of Panay and western Negros; (5) Bicol,
spoken in southern Luzon and on the island of
Catanduanes; (6) Waray-Waray, spoken in Samar and Leyte;
(7) Pampango, spoken in parts of central Luzon; and (8)
Pangasinan, spoken in central Luzon. Other notable
languages are Magindanao and Maranao, spoken in parts of
Mindanao, and Aklanon, spoken in Panay. |
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| The national, and most
widely spoken, language of the Philippines is Pilipino (also
called Filipino), based on Tagalog. Pilipino and English
are the two official languages and mediums of instruction.
Tagalog is the richest of all Philippine languages and
has the most extensive written literature. |
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| Religion |
| The great majority of
Filipinos are Roman Catholic; adherents of the Philippine
Independent Church (the Aglipayans), Muslims, and
Protestants are the largest religious minorities,
including a Protestant sect called Iglesia ni Cristo.
There are also some Buddhists and animists. Roman
Catholicism has been strengthened by an increase in the
number of Filipinos in the church hierarchy, the building
of seminaries, and the increased involvement of the
church in the political and social life of the country. |
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| Folk traditions |
| Filipinos have a rich
folklore tradition. Myths and legends deal with such
subjects as the origin of the world, the first man and
woman on Earth, why the sky is high, why the sea is
salty, and why there are different races. Other tales are
associated with the Spanish conquest. Muslim Filipinos
have an epic called Darangen, and the Ilocanos of
northern Luzon have another entitled Biag ni Lamang. Most
folktales and popular cultural traits are still to be
found in remote barrios and sitios. Dean S. Fansler,
Maximo Ramos, and Armando and Carolina Malay have
compiled collections of Philippine folktales. |
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| Cultural life |
| Philippine society is an
incongruous blend of diversity and homogeneity.
Geographically the country is part of the East, but in
culture it is strongly Western. Forces of assimilation
have constantly worked to overcome differences caused by
the relative physical isolation of various groups of
people throughout the archipelago who had come over time
from disparate ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Nearly
four centuries of Western rule, however, left the most
indelible imprint on the country, serving as a conduit
for the introduction of Western culture and as the
catalyst for the emergence of a sense of Philippine
political and cultural unity. The Christian churches
built by the Spaniards and the mosques in the Muslim
areas provided a spiritual anchor, while the educational
system established by the United States and expanded by
the Filipinos became a strong factor for socioeconomic
progress. Nonetheless, traditionally strong family ties
and other Asian moorings have remained. The revival of
the barangay as the smallest unit of government has
contributed to the revival of ancient traditions; and
Asian and African history and literature--neglected in
the past--have received more attention. Thus, the
Philippines has been strengthening its Asian ties without
abandoning its Western cultural acquisitions. |
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