Learning the following words is important as they reflect a lot about the Filipinos’ personality:

Food to Filipinos

Food is very very very important to Filipinos. It’s like they always fear of running short of food, and everywhere he goes the Filipino must have, as a security blanket, abundant provisions to reassure him that he will not starve to death. There is no gathering of Filipinos without food. The usual greeting, ”Kumain ka na ba?” (“Have you eaten?”) is very normal and acceptable. It is standard hospitality to offer visitors not just a drink but food, be it only biscuits or rice cakes. Eating in front of others and not offering to share is rude. The most constant and visible growth in everywhere in the Philippines has been in restaurants. A sojourn to the beach which consists of a safari of food bundles will not seem sufficient unless there are stops at fruit shops for more supplies. Even a trip to see a film will require provisions. Office workers would eat on their desks at lunch and take constant coffee breaks. In some schools “recess time” is included in a student’s daily schedules. Youngsters bring food to school for their recess time (this is different from lunch). Most Filipinos feel bad not eat somewhere when they go out. A meeting or even just window shopping always entails eating.

Bayanihan

***”bayanihan (walking house)

Now this would sound funny to a Westerner, but once in a while, along highways in the provinces at night, drivers may come across a “walking house”. This is literally a whole house being transferred to another place on the shoulders of several of men in what Filipinos call “bayanihan”. It is a Filipino custom, a reflection of community cooperation. This practice has sadly died in a lot of areas in the Philippines near the cities. Bayanihan is not only limited to moving houses but also to other activities like planting and harvesting rice. Farmers from nearby rice fields would come and help farmers whose crops are ready for sowing or harvesting. Bayanihan is the Filipino’s spirit of cooperation and mutual help for a better purpose. Usually people who participate in a Bayanihan do not expect monetary payment. Refreshments and snacks after served after the job is done and this is considered by the participants as a way of saying “thank you”.

Bakla and Tomboy (Homosexual)

In the Philippines, homosexuals are given much tolerance by society. Although there are still some people who are a bit biased with them, majority of the population has developed a respect for members of the third sex. A lot of homosexuals have established themselves in the world of fashion, beauty and movies. Homosexuals, however, are required to consider public censure in their daily conduct. Unlike in the West, Filipino gays are not allowed to be too flamboyant. Cross-dressing is still looked upon with disfavor as well as open relationship and public displays of affection with the same sex. Distinction would however be made between a man and a member of the third sex especially in their demeanor; for example, a male with arms on another man’s shoulders, and males holding hands, are not considered gay. In the Philippines, the word gay or “bakla” is only used to refer to the male member of the third sex. Their female counterparts are called “tomboy".

Mukha

”Mukha” is a word rich in literary connotation, is the Tagalog word for face. Mukha means face or mask or even maw. For the Filipino, our pagmumukha, how our face presents itself to the world, is as important, if not more than crucial than it’s physical contour or beauty. One may not have an attractive face, but has a magaan (light and pleasant), maaliwalas (refreshing), or Masaya (smiling or happy) face that more than compensates for the lack of actual beauty, and woe to those who may have good looks but mabigat (heavy), maasim (sour) and problemado (problem-ridden) ang mukha.

Filipinos emphasize appearances. They make a clear distinction between public face and inner face. A lot of Filipino mean would not confide on anyone about wives’ failings because doing the same is like revealing their own weakness. This is the reason why unhappy marriages are kept to last a long time or even to a lifetime for appearances’ sake. For a lot of Filipinos, appearances is all that matters, foisting illusions as the substance of real accomplishments refer to as “balat-kayo” (hypocrisy), “pabalat bunga” (fruit skin), “pakitang-tao” (just for show). Consequently, they value a person for his “loob” (inner self) and assess his character by his it. This is related to the Filipino trait “hiya” and “amor proprio“.

Amok and Juramentado

Amok, in the contemporary sense is defined as a psychological state of unprovoked, extremely destructive behavior followed by amnesia, exhaustion, or even suicide. It is said to have been acquired by Filipinos from their Malaysian ancestors. This phenomenon, as explained by psychologists is rooted from the Filipinos’ banking of resentment, “pagtatanim ng galit” meaning “seeding anger“. When a Filipino who has been wronged several times keeps all of his his anger on himself, the same builds up and reaches a tipping point. It bursts and unleashes uncontrollably and this is where a person becomes violent and starts to go on a “killing spree”. When the initial anger subsides, he revives logic and only then does he realize the extent of what he has done. The remorse is too heavy that could cause an “amocus” to take his own life. It has been explained by psychologists as well that one big factor for a person to turn “amok” is the repressive society of the Philippines towards hostility. To distinguish “amok” from a person who goes berserk in the West, in the former, the doer is unaware of his actions.

Juramentado is a Spanish word which means one who has taken a solemn oath or violence until death for religious reasons. Juramentado has been known to be observed in the Muslim areas in the some areas in the South of the Philippines. As opposed to an “amok“, a person who does “juramentado” performs a ritual before doing the act. They shave their hairs, pray, say his goodbye to their families and asks for blessings from the imam (Muslim priest). The same was prevalent during the Spanish and American colonization of the country. The Muslims in the south resent the colonization and some of them would do “juramentado” in places frequented by the colonizers and kill as many of them as they can until they get killed. A “juramentado” always ends up dead as this is an oath till death. Muslims call this act “parrang sabbil” meaning “a war in the path of Allah”.

Balato

When a Filipino receives an unexpected reward in the form of cash like in a lottery or has won in a game, people will cajole him (”balato naman dyan“) into sharing a portion of the winning with his friends and family. This is called “balato”. Some will not even wait to be cajoled but feels compelled to give and share his blessings.

Bangungot

A person is said to die from “bangungot” if he is found dead in his sleep. This usually presupposes that the person suffered a violent nightmare and was unable to wake himself up from it. It is a rare disease which is prevalent among male Filipinos between 25 to 40 years of age.

Blow-out

“Blow-out” is related to “balato“. If “balato” means sharing a monetary gain with family and friends by someone in receipt of unexpected blessing, “blow-out” is a treat to the same people. Blow-out can be in the form of snacks or a “night out” for the youngsters. The same does not involve giving of money but the person who has recieved a blessing (monetary or otherwise) takes care of the bill during the “blow-out”.

Debate: Balagtasan

This is the traditional verbal jousts done in a flowery, imaginary and rhythmic use of words. This is the Filipino counterpart of Europe’s Shakespeare lit. It is an art as the same requires wit and logic not to mention the rhyming words in the delivery in order to topple the opponent’s ideas. This poetic debate does not appear too much on the younger generations of the Filipinos.

Kurakot

“Kurakot” is a Filipino word that refers to the raking of wealth through graft and corruption. The rampancy of graft and corruption started in the Marcos regime, where the government’s official’s greed lever to maximum, making the amassing of ill-gotten wealth a nearly institutionalized industry among the favored few who were called cronies. The legacy of the Marcos years remains very much in the country and it would seem that people who get into position cannot resist the temptation of money. If one wants to understand more about the root of this negative practice, all they have to do is to re-examine the values (and I don’t mean the negative values but the good ones) that makes the Filipinos.

Despedida

One who is leaving for a long period is given a special feast called a “despedida” (Spanish word for farewell) party. The despedida is usually organized by the family of the departing person. Close friends are all invited. Well-wishes are given, hugs and goodbyes.

Faithhealer

Faith healers, taken generally, are those who practice unorthodox forms of healing, and they include the herb doctors (herbolarios), the bone-healers (manghihilot or “hilot” ), psychic healers, magnetic healers, mystical healers, or those who heal by means of prayer and medication, and others. It is estimated that there are a thousand of them in the country. They are said to operate without instruments, close wounds and leave no scars, and cure through divine aid. When a healer loses his powers, it is allegedly due to exhaustion of energy or his having become mercenary. The tradition goes back several centuries and is being believed my most Filipinos and some foreigners.

Micro-retail- “Tingi”

The “tingi” system of retail is a uniquely Filipino way of selling things. In this practice, a person can buy cigarettes by the stick, shampoo on a sachet, or even medicines per tablet/capsule. Where contemporary retail markets emphasize bulk purchase, the Filipino consumer seems inclined to purchase the minimum. “Sari sari stores” or what you call in the west as “corner shops” are everywhere in the Philippines, it is mostly here that one can buy a piece (1 mean 1 piece) of candy to 1/4 kilo of sugar or just a little portion of vinegar for cooking. This practice caters to the les affluent members of the society who cannot afford to buy more. Also, Filipinos are very conscientious that they try, as much as possible, to avoid wasting almost anything.

Motels

In the Philippines, the motels doesn’t not mean exactly as it is in the west but one that has a really negative connotation. It means a place for discreet trysts. This is why motels in the Philippines have high walls to allow individuals to enter and exit the building with minimum visibility. A single-car garage also has stairs which lead directly to a room. Motels are essentially for love trysts and the charged by the hour. Female passengers leaving motels who are extremely literate tries to hide their identity by wearing dark sunglasses or reads large newspapers close to their face on the way out. Because of the conservatism of the Filipino culture, no respectable girl would be caught dead getting in or out a motel.

Nangangaliwa

“Pangangaliwa” means marital infidelity. The world is equated with the metaphor “a busy left hand which the right hand is unaware of’. While ‘left-handed’ husbands are tolerated, society is intolerant of ladies who turn “left” (infidels).

Wan, Tu, Tri One, Two, Three

Filipino con-games, popularly called ‘one, two, three’, thrive in the cities. It uses deceit to take advantage of the naive. An example is the use of a device that can duplicate peso bills. Burglars gain entry to homes when owners are away by telling the housekeep they are there to pick up the television set or some other appliance for repairs. Another modus operandi is to call up the housekeep or kin while the owner is away to report that the owner has just had a serious car accident and urgently needs money (for blood or emergency treatment), which they must frantically search for in safe boxes or locked drawers in the house and give to the caller who will meet them at a designated place immediately. A foreigner must always be aware of strangers of these things in order to get cheated. Oh in addition, one, two, three, also means buying or ordering something without paying for it by running away (as in one, two, three, run!).

Pabaon

This is the Filipino practice of giving “send off” gifts. Most “send-off” gifts these days are food. An old Filipino custom is to give departing guests a small parcel of food as they leave the occasion. Some would give gifts to Continued here...