Editors’ Note

The author was invited as guest speaker at an online event held by the Asian Staffers at Princeton University in New Jersey on May 17, 2024. The staff event was part of the university’s celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month observed in the US during the month of May. We publish the contents of his 18-minute slide presentation about how the Filipino identify evolved out of our historical and cultural connections with our Asian neighbors, Spain and Mexico, based on references used in Dateline Ibalon articles (Barangay: 16^th Century Philippine Culture and Society, William Henry Scott; Bikol in the Galleon Times, Raffi Banzuela; Ferdinand Magellan: The Armada de Maluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines, Danilo Madrid Gerona; and, More Hispanic than We Admit, Jorge Mojarro). The historical images are from Wikipedia. Content and images about Philippine cuisine are respectively from shef.com (as in “she” and “chef,” a community of food and culture loving aunties and abuelas) and from Nora’s Recipes (a Bicolana food blogger based in NYC). Philippine languages and travel destinations are based on Wikipedia sources.

The Sunda Shelf: Early migration

The Sunda Shelf consists of remnants of ancient river systems beneath the seas called Sundaland. The terrain once connected Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, with present-day Philippines – reachable by foot or short sea voyage.

Approximately 18,000 to 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial melting era, Sundaland submerged due to rising ocean levels – showing the effects of climate change on geography and human habitation.

The pre-historic land bridges explain the similarity between Filipinos and its Indo-Malayan neighbors in terms of appearance, language, culture and our shared endemic flora and fauna.

Trade routes: Manila as entrepot

Before Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in 1521, trading junks from Borneo and China already sailed the Philippine waters.

Circumnavigation in 1522 by Juan Sebastian Elcano and his crew signified the emergence of a global sphere, with citizens aware of living in a shared world.

Manila was the main entrepot in the archipelago – not only an exchange of material goods, but also of voyagers, colonial administrators, missionaries, who transcended the spatial, linguistic, and cultural divide. 500 years of Christianity would become the enduring legacy of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. About 88% of modern-day Filipinos are Christians.

Goods were carried in Luzon boats to or from Borneo, Malacca, Aceh, and the Moluccas. These were handled by foreign merchants — Malay, Bornean, Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, or Cambodian, even Portuguese.

Trade routes: Maritime connections

The Chinese sent junks direct to the Philippines. Southeast Asian trade goods were sold from island to island, often by traders who rented cargo space and bought and sold from port to port in response to local supply and demand.

The first ship seized by the Spaniards in Philippine waters was in fact a Bornean vessel owned by a Portuguese but loaded with cargo that belonged to the sultan of Brunei.

International commerce included the resale of exotic merchandise from Timor, Borneo, Siam, and India.

The 15th century (and earlier) was marked with beneficial trade connections – ironically, sovereignty questions and territorial conflict characterize the South China Sea in the 21st century.

Ancient seafarers: Trade and settlements

Karakoa, also known as balangay, were large outrigger boats, used by early Filipinos, notably from Luzon and the Visayas. Equipped with platforms for transporting warriors, they were used in seasonal raids, for trade, and also served as royal flagships.

Measuring up to 82 feet in length, a large karakoa can seat up to a hundred rowers and dozens of warriors. Sailing on these agile sea craft, the Luzones traded with the Malaccans and had contact with the Portuguese ten years before Magellan. They supplied boats like these during the first diplomatic contact made by the Portuguese with China.

Lapu-lapu, the warrior chieftain who led the resistance against Magellan, fled to Borneo on these boats with his family and allies after the battle of Mactan.

As pre-historic migrations were made on board the balangay boats, the basic unit of Filipino society, called the barangay, emerged from the use of these boats during the early settlement of the coastal villages.

Galleon Trade: Voyages across the oceans

On June 1, 1565, Andres de Urdaneta sailed on the San Pedro northward off the coast of Japan and then veered to an easterly course on the 38th parallel. The trade winds brought his ship to the west coast of North America. Following the coast southward, the ship reached Acapulco on October 8, 1565, after travelling 12,000 miles in 130 days, ushering in the age of the Galleon Trade.

The galleon trade was supplied by merchants from ports of Southern China who travelled to Manila to sell jade, wax, gunpowder, porcelain, ivory, lacquer ware, silk cloth, pearls; amber, cotton and rugs from India; spices from Indonesia and Malaysia; and a variety of goods from Japan.

Goods shipped from Acapulco to Manila were silver, sweet potato, corn, tomato, tobacco, chickpeas, chocolate and cocoa, watermelon seeds, vines, and fig trees. Goods trans-shipped from Europe and North Africa included wine and olive oil, and weaponry.

Galleon Trade: Legacy

From 1565 to 1815, 110 galleons plied the Manila-Acapulco route. Eight were built in Mexico and the great majority in the Philippines. It took 12000 workers and 2000 trees to build one galleon ship, leading to early labor conscription and deforestation in the Bicol region where these ships were built.

Filipinos and Mexicans in the Galleon Trade were voyagers, sailors, soldiers, slaves, prisoners, and exiles. The human interactions resulted in the shaping of language, food, and cultural practices on both sides of the Pacific.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 enabled easier travel between the Philippines and Spain (and the rest of Europe) — leading to higher learning for Filipinos who could study abroad and the entry of liberal minded Spaniards who sympathized with the growing movement for independence from the 300-year colonization. With the Suez Canal passage also came direct maritime commerce with Spain, ending the full reliance of the Galleon Trade through Mexico.

The completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 would likewise alter the course of international commerce, this time with the United States as colonial administrators.

Filipino Cuisine: Its evolution

Rice was brought in by Indonesian, Malaysian, and Vietnamese immigrants. Pre-colonial foods were primarily of Malay origin, including sour soup like sinigang, food simmered in vinegar like kinilaw, or cooking infused with coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and chilies.

Trade with Chinese merchants and immigrants brought condiments such as bean sprouts, tofu, bamboo shoots, lemongrass, soy sauce, fish sauce, and noodles. Pancit, lumpia, siopao are among the many foods of Chinese origin.

With the Spanish rule came food prepared especially during holidays and town fiestas, such as stews (guisado, cocido, menudo, pochero), rice dishes (arroz valenciana, paella) and desserts (leche flan, brazo de Mercedes, ensaymadas).

Adobo from Spain and Mexico usually involved stewing meats in vinegar. When Filipinos added soy sauce, it took on a life of its own. Now it is considered as the national dish.

Leche flan making became popular when early churches were being built. Egg whites were added to the concrete mortar resulting in left over egg yolks for pastry use.

The galleon trade also brought bounty from other Spanish colonies, including tropical new world fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, guava, pineapple, papaya, sweet potato, and avocado. These were eventually farmed in the Philippines.

True to character and in defiance of the three centuries of Spanish colonial rule, our Filipino forefathers chose French cuisine during the banquet to celebrate the ratification of the declaration of independence in Malolos, Bulacan on September 29, 1898. The ceremonial seven-course dinner menu was written in French, then the language of diplomacy.

Filipino Languages: Origins and diversity

Several regional languages are spoken by Filipinos: Four with over 5M speakers: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon. Seven with 1M-5M speakers: Bikolano, Waray, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausog.

The Tagalog language evolved from its Malay and Polynesian roots with influences from the Spanish, Nahuatl, Chinese, Indian, Sanskrit, Pali, Persian, Arabic, Japanese and English languages.

Of the 30,000 root words in the Tagalog language, there are close to 5,000 from Spanish, 3,200 from Malay, 1,500 from Chinese dialects, 1,500 from English, 300 from Sanskrit and Pali, 200 from Arabic and Persian.

Malay words entered the vocabulary during pre-colonial times. It was the lengua franca of trade, commerce and diplomacy. Sanskrit words came along with the Javanese language. The number words are of Austronesian origin.

Chinese words, mostly from Hokkien, entered during the Spanish colonial era with the galleon trade which boosted immigration. Many words about food have Chinese roots.

About 33% of the Tagalog root words used in daily conversations are of Spanish origin, such as calendar days and months, parts of the house, tableware and clothing.

Words from English are mostly modern, legal, technical and scientific terms.

Destinations: History and heritage

Historic City of Vigan – Established in the 16th century, Vigan is the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. A UNESCO heritage site, its architecture reflects the coming together of elements from the Philippines, China and Europe, resulting in a unique culture and townscape.

Binondo Church, Manila – This church was founded by Dominican priests in 1596 to serve their Chinese converts to Christianity. It is the National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint.

Las Casas de Acuzar – Home to a collection of heritage houses that have been salvaged from ruin and neglect. The houses were renovated and rebuilt by a team of artisans and craftsmen in the town of Bagac, Bataan.

Taal, Batangas – Home to the largest Catholic church in Asia (completed in 1878) and a collection of old houses that showcase traditional Filipino-Spanish architecture. Located nearby is Taal Volcano, an active volcano.

Taoist Temple in Cebu City – Built by the Chinese and Filipino community, it is open to worshippers and sightseers. The high elevation offers excellent views of downtown Cebu City, the country’s 2nd largest city.

Torogan in Bubong, Lanao del Sur – A traditional Maranao house built in 1975, the residence of the former mayor.

Conclusion

There are complex layers in the Filipino identity, shaped by centuries of colonization that left enduring traces of influence on our language, cuisine, architecture, and culture.