Are Filipinos ASIANS or PACIFIC ISLANDERS?
Current mood: discontent


I am writing this to help dispell some of the erroneous and sometimes just plain STUPID beliefs about whether Filipinos are Asians or Pacific Islanders. In fact, Filipinos are not all on the same page when it comes to their ethnic identity. Part of the problem is that after so many years of occupation by foreign powers there is a great deal of cultural insecurity among the many peoples of the Philippines. There is also a lack of education throughout. Consequently, Filipinos are searching for an identity. When I was back in the Philippines last November I saw all over in the media 1/2 Filipino / Mainland Asians and 1/2 Filipino / Europeans (mestizos) dominating billboards, magazines, television and movies. In fact many popular soap operas are being imported from places like Japan and Korea with Tagalog dubbed in. Being ASIAN is being promoted as being more prestigeous than Filipino. Does this make us Asians? If you are a White, Black, Mexican etc. and you drive a import car from Japan does that make you Asian? If you read manga comic books or watch Asian television does that make you Asian? If you get Japanese KANJI or Chinese koi or dragon tattoos does this make you an Asian... NO!

By the same token, if you wear Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan or Maori tattoos, listen to Island music, dance in a halau and speak pidgin does this make you a Polynesian?... NO!

Because of its geographical location, the Philippines has been lumped together with other island nations under the Western civilization's geographical boundries and name of Southeast Asia. Europeans drew these boundries not the native peoples. So let's look at the facts.

The LANGUAGES of the Philippines are classified together in the rest of the AUSTRONESIAN LANGUAGE FAMILY. This includes ALL of the Polynesian, Micronesian, Indonesian and most of Melanesian islands. The differences in major words are very slight. "Mata" is "eye" in nearly all the islands including the Philippines. "Sky" is Langit in the Philippines, Langi in Tongan, Lagi in Samoa, Lagilagi in Fijian, Lani in Hawaiian. "to Die" is Matay in the Philippines and "Mate" in most Polynesian languages. (Hawaiian is "Make") This list goes on and on. For a brief overview of Ilokano and Polynesian languages look on my other blog.

The CANOE TECHNOLOGY in the Philippines was also very similar to other islands in the Pacific. Nearly all islands incorporated the outrigger in building their canoes. This is different than Mainland Asian Junks which incorporate ballast weight in the center of their ships to stabilize the vessel from flipping over. Double and single outrigger designs are found in the Philippines as well as in all other parts of the Pacific. The members of the Austronesian language family were excellent sailors who were able to travel hundreds and even thousands of miles over the ocean. They used the stars, the sun, moon, ocean swells and currents as well as island landmarks to navigate through triangulation etc. The names for the canoe and their parts are also similar. Although the specific designs of boats or canoes were given different names, the word "boat" in general was called by a similar name. "Wa'a" ("wa-ah") in Hawaii, "Vaka" ("vah-kah") in Tonga, "Wa" ("wah") in Kiribati, "Waka" ("wah-kah") in New Zealand, "Wangka" ("wahng-kah") in Indonesia and "Bangka" ("Bahng-kah") in the Philippines. Even the manner in which they were built was similar using wooden pegs and literally sewing them together and caulking them watertight with coconut fiber and sap is the same.

The MYTHOLOGY of the Philippines ties in with the rest of the Pacific. I won't reveal too much about this here because it is extensively had in my book and I've already had people try to steal my work. However, one example is the god Maui in Polynesia and parts of Micronesia and Melanesia. He is found in the Philippines as LuMauig. Here again he is the bringer of fire to the people just like in the other islands of the Pacific! The moon goddess Sinag of the Philippines is found in Samoa as Sina and in Hawaii and Tahiti as Hina etc.

The TATTOOING of the Philippines is very similar to the tattooing of the rest of the Pacific Islands. Many of the symbols and shapes are similar if not identical. A common motif throughout the Pacific is the centipede tattoo which is found in much of Filipino tattooing as well as in Samoan, Tahitian, Rarotongan tattooing etc. Even the tools used are similar. All the Pacific uses a toothed ADZE-LIKE tool and hammer stick (including the Philippines) compared to the Asian method of a long toothed skewer which is jabbed into the skin rather than tapped.

The AFTERLIFE BELIEFS of the ancient Philippines mirror those of the Polynesians and Micronesian. At death the soul traveled across the waters to a ancestral homeland beneath the earth as opposed to the European belief of Heaven in the sky or the Asian belief of obliteration, oneness or nothingness. Peoples of the Philippines also believed in ancestor spirits guiding them in the form of birds, stones, types of trees and fishes etc. like the ancient beliefs of the Hawaiians' aumakua. Even the word for these types of spirits are the same thoughout much of the Pacific. Anitu in the Philippines, Aniti in Guam, Anti in Kiribati, Aitu in Samoa, etc. The way we prepared the dead was similar by removing the flesh from the bones and reburying the bones rather than Asian cremation. The way the dead were removed from the house by taking them out a temporary door or window rather than the door is the same as the ancient Hawaiian beliefs more that 6000 miles away.

After all this what is the conclusion of the identity of the Filipinos? Are they Asian? No, they are Pacific Islanders in culture, language and technology. Natural variation as well as intermarriage with other races has changed the appearance of all Pacific Islanders but when it is all said and done we all come from the same stock and are all family regardless of what uneducated people may believe. I have extensively studied this for the past 14 years and can document everything I have written here and in my manuscript. I hope to dispell the social myths about Filipinos, even the erroneous beliefs perpetuated by Filipinos themselves just because they think being Asian is more prestigeous. At the same time if you are interested in Pacific Islander culture, don't go and adopt someone else's heritage, look to what your own has to offer.

Get to know your PAST. Get to know your Ancestors. Thanks for reading this.

Lane

I thought it was interesting, but it focuses on one aspect of Filipino culture, there are many different aspects. So he shouldn't conclude that Filipinos are Pacific Islanders just by that.

I thought it was interesting, but it focuses on one aspect of Filipino culture, there are many different aspects. So he shouldn't conclude that Filipinos are Pacific Islanders just by that.

in conclusion, the Pacific Islanders got some of their culture from the Asian islands called the Philippines.

Most Filipinos I meet in myspace thinks they are Pacific Islanders, I'm a minority there because I consider myself Asian

Stop this krap! I am a Cambodian but I consider Filipinos Asian. By Culture and appearance, Filipinos have an Asian strong hold. In my opinion, I believe Filipinos are rich in culture. To tell you the truth, when spoken, Filipino sounds like a monosyllabic language like Khmer. But it really is a multisyllabic language. Truthfuly, I think the Filipino language doesn't really sound like Malay or Indonesian. This gives the Philippines a unique culture, just like any culture in Asia and the whole world. In other words, Filipinos are Asian, and there's no doubt about that. But hey, who gave us the right to critisise ourselves when we are all people. Tell me I've got this right...Mabuhay!

Stop this krap! I am a Cambodian but I consider Filipinos Asian. By Culture and appearance, Filipinos have an Asian strong hold. In my opinion, I believe Filipinos are rich in culture. To tell you the truth, when spoken, Filipino sounds like a monosyllabic language like Khmer. But it really is a multisyllabic language. Truthfuly, I think the Filipino language doesn't really sound like Malay or Indonesian. This gives the Philippines a unique culture, just like any culture in Asia and the whole world. In other words, Filipinos are Asian, and there's no doubt about that. But hey, who gave us the right to critisise ourselves when we are all people. Tell me I've got this right...Mabuhay!

Well i agree on most of this, but i think Filipino (Tagalog) and Khmer sound nothing alike. Listen here

http://www.asean.or.jp/eng/sakura/index.htm
I love that site ^

But i agree, Tagalog doesn't sound like Bahasa Indonesian/Malaysian even tho it's a closely related language.

Stop this krap! I am a Cambodian but I consider Filipinos Asian. By Culture and appearance, Filipinos have an Asian strong hold. In my opinion, I believe Filipinos are rich in culture. To tell you the truth, when spoken, Filipino sounds like a monosyllabic language like Khmer. But it really is a multisyllabic language. Truthfuly, I think the Filipino language doesn't really sound like Malay or Indonesian. This gives the Philippines a unique culture, just like any culture in Asia and the whole world. In other words, Filipinos are Asian, and there's no doubt about that. But hey, who gave us the right to critisise ourselves when we are all people. Tell me I've got this right...Mabuhay!

Filipinos as Pacific Islanders is idea that came from Filipino Americans in Hawaii and California. This definitely not the opinion of most Filipinos. And for the ones that actually live in Philippines they couldn't even care less.

Stop this. We are not JUST Asian nor JUST Pacific Islanders nor JUST Latinos nor JUST Westerners

Like the symbol of Roman Catholicism, I can compare that our country is like the Cross where our Saviour Jesus Christ died. Look at this. All four parts of the cross. All four parts of the typical Pinoy. Take at it this way. We physically look like Asians (Malays with chinesey eyes like me - joke - ), we have our traditions, beliefs and customs similar to those in the Pacific, we have our religion (at least the majority of us do) from Spain, most of our traditions and Family Names are Spanish and we are strikingly good in English with matching American accent. So blend all this and you get a strong race, a new race of strong, brave, nationalistic people and like the Cross, we are a symbol of sacrifice and love. This is a special case and we should be happy about this. We are Unique.
What I consider a Pinoy is someone, whether Mestizo or Tsinoy or Phil-am, who loves this country which our forefathers have fought and died for. And yes, our forefathers do not consider themselves as just another Asian, not just another Mestizo BUT as a Filipino. Mabuhay po. I hope what I said was right

Stop this. We are not JUST Asian nor JUST Pacific Islanders nor JUST Latinos nor JUST Westerners

Like the symbol of Roman Catholicism, I can compare that our country is like the Cross where our Saviour Jesus Christ died. Look at this. All four parts of the cross. All four parts of the typical Pinoy. Take at it this way. We physically look like Asians (Malays with chinesey eyes like me - joke - ), we have our traditions, beliefs and customs similar to those in the Pacific, we have our religion (at least the majority of us do) from Spain, most of our traditions and Family Names are Spanish and we are strikingly good in English with matching American accent. So blend all this and you get a strong race, a new race of strong, brave, nationalistic people and like the Cross, we are a symbol of sacrifice and love. This is a special case and we should be happy about this. We are Unique.
What I consider a Pinoy is someone, whether Mestizo or Tsinoy or Phil-am, who loves this country which our forefathers have fought and died for. And yes, our forefathers do not consider themselves as just another Asian, not just another Mestizo BUT as a Filipino. Mabuhay po. I hope what I said was right

hmm but the thing is, filipino schools teach the filipino children that the philippines is part of asia...so im assuming they wouldnt be teachin that if its untrue...

just because the philippines is an island doesnt mean it doesnt belong to asia...if it does then japan isnt part of asia...

^i think he was referring to animism and tattooing, other than that i cant really see anything we have in common

Stop this. We are not JUST Asian nor JUST Pacific Islanders nor JUST Latinos nor JUST Westerners

Like the symbol of Roman Catholicism, I can compare that our country is like the Cross where our Saviour Jesus Christ died. Look at this. All four parts of the cross. All four parts of the typical Pinoy. Take at it this way. We physically look like Asians (Malays with chinesey eyes like me - joke - ), we have our traditions, beliefs and customs similar to those in the Pacific, we have our religion (at least the majority of us do) from Spain, most of our traditions and Family Names are Spanish and we are strikingly good in English with matching American accent. So blend all this and you get a strong race, a new race of strong, brave, nationalistic people and like the Cross, we are a symbol of sacrifice and love. This is a special case and we should be happy about this. We are Unique.
What I consider a Pinoy is someone, whether Mestizo or Tsinoy or Phil-am, who loves this country which our forefathers have fought and died for. And yes, our forefathers do not consider themselves as just another Asian, not just another Mestizo BUT as a Filipino. Mabuhay po. I hope what I said was right

Those so called Fil-Ams who are ashamed of their heritage in the US and keep on insisting they are Hawaiian rather than Filipino should not be considered Filipino. Jasmine Trias refered to herself as Hawaiian. Only now did she start saying she's flip because of her popularity here. Yes, she made us proud but she didn't give her honor to us but to the money we were offering. Sigh.

^ I think you should reread what he said.

But yeah, it kinda pissed me off how on the show Jasmine didn't mention that she was Filipino. It was so obvious to me. But that other girl from Hawaii (dunno her name because she's a nobody now) did mention that she was part Filipino, along w/ Irish & Spanish. It's kinda funny because that Filipino, Irish, Spanish combination seems very common. I think ppl just throw Irish in there to make "white" sound cooler. I actually have that combination too.

Those so called Fil-Ams who are ashamed of their heritage in the US and keep on insisting they are Hawaiian rather than Filipino should not be considered Filipino. Jasmine Trias refered to herself as Hawaiian. Only now did she start saying she's flip because of her popularity here. Yes, she made us proud but she didn't give her honor to us but to the money we were offering. Sigh.

^^
I just don't see where in there he used Hawaiian as an insult

you mean calling people fake hawaiian

Well if she's not Hawaiian then what's the problem with saying that?