PHILIPPINES
A case in point can be made when we look at the Philippines. Today the Philippines are predominantly Christian. Yet
upon a closer look we find some startling evidences of Hindu culture still flourishing amongst the Filipinos. Most Filipinos
themselves have forgotten their ancient history and are unfamiliar with their connections to India.
However these connections are obvious once highlighted.
According to the work of the Vatican Scholar Father Josemaria S. Luengo, PhD in “A History of the Philippines: A
Focus on the Christianization of Bohol (1521-1991)” the Philippines were ruled over by Hindu Kings from the year
638 AD till 1565 AD with a brief period of Buddhist rule from 1389 – 1424 AD. i Therefore it is not surprising to find
many common features between the Indian and Filipino cultures and languages.
The ancient Filipino alphabet originated from India. Its script is an offshoot of the Vatteluttu alphabet officially classified
as a member of the Southern Brahmic language family.ii The Brahmic family refers to writing styles descended from the
Brıhm+ script dated to Indias Mauryan period of 322 BC - 188BC. Brahmi may actually be much more ancient. Orissas
Vikramkhol inscriptions, dated 3000 BC, are a hybrid of Brahmi and the Mohenjodaro script.iii Brahmis widespread use
throughout Asia, in areas that
included Mongolia, Tibet, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Manchuria is many times attributed to Buddhist monks.
However the evidence suggests that Sanskrit based languages were indigenous to all these regions. We find that the
words used for basic social structural and foundational aspects of society are many times pure Sanskrit. This is the case
with the Philippines as well. Many words in the Filipino languages are indeed pure Sanskrit.iv Among such words are
budhi-conscience, dukha -one who suffers, guro-teacher, sampalataya-faith-Sanskrit- sampratyaya, mukha-face, lahoeclipse-
Sanskrit rahu, kalma-fate, damla-Dharma, mantala-mantra, upaya-power, lupa-face, salbe-sarva, galura-Garuda,
lakshmana-admiral, seurga-heaven, neraka-hell, tamad-lazy, agama-religion and naga-serpent. The chiefs of many
Philippine islands were called Rajas, as in the Filipino King Raja Siaui of Butuan encountered by the crew on Magellens
famous voyage.v To this day teachers are called Guro and the traditional martial art of the Philippines is called Kali and is
widely recognized as an Indian rooted tradition. The Moros of the Sulu archipelago would often go into battle dressed like
Kali the Goddess of Destruction.vi Such a tribal based tradition bespeaks of a very deep indigenous Filipino Hindu based
culture. The Hindu concept of Karma is understood culturally and recognized as a fact by Filipinos. The Philippines even
have their own version of the Ramayana known as “Raja Mangandiri”. In 1953 the Philippine Government
instituted a medal of honor called the “Order of Sikatuna-Raja” (Commander Laureate).
The 1989 discovery of the “Laguna Copperplate Inscription” dated to 900 AD is in a form of Kavi written in
the Sanskrit language. It begins with the Vedic calendar day of Saka-year 822; the month of March-April, 4th day of the
dark half of the moon. „swasti shaka warshatita 822 waisakha masa ding jyotisha. chaturthi
krishnapaksha’. This discovery has pushed back Philippine history by 621 years and it gives the Philippines a
documented existence among the other ancient kingdoms of the world.
The repeated discoveries of Vedic Golden ornaments and Hindu deities also testify to the Indic influences on Filipino
culture. Golden images of Garuda, known as Sulu Galura the eagle-mount of Vishnu, have been found in the Philippine
island of Palawan. A 4 lb., 1 foot-high, gold Hindu deity of a goddess, now resting in the Field Museum of Natural history
in Chicago, IL, USA, was discovered on the island of Mindanao, in 1917. Ancient examples of Hindu Filipino
craftsmanship are stored in the Philippine Central Bank
(Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas BSP). Golden Sri Yantras, Mt Meru replicas and Vedic Mandalas are among some of the
artifacts as revealed in Laszlo Legeza's "Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippine Gold Art," Arts of Asia, Jul-Aug
1988. Golden Tara of Butuan VIETNAM
Moving on to Vietnam, we once again find an incredibly rich Hindu heritage still existing to this day. Ancient Vietnam was
home to a vibrant Hindu kingdom known as Champa. Today their descendants, the Cham people continue to exist but in
two communities, the Cham Balamon and the Cham Bani. The Balamon (Vietnamese for Brahman) are Hindus to this
day and the Bani are Muslim. Muslim or Cham Bani constitute about 80-85% of the Cham, and Hindu or Balamon
constitutes about 15-20%. It is claimed that the Balamon Hindu Cham people of Vietnam consist of 70% Kshatriyas
(pronounced in Vietnamese as "Satrias") Vietnam has a very ancient Hindu past. The first Cham king mentioned in
ancient inscriptions is named Bhadravarman. He reigned from 349 to 361 A.D. at My Son. The capital at the time of
Bhadravarman was the citadel of Simhapura or "Lion City". We know that India was important to the Cham because they
named the five regions of their Kingdom after historic places in India. Historic Champa was divided into the following five
areas:
· Indrapura - The city of Indrapura is
now called Dong Duong.
· Amaravati present-day Qu£ng Nam
province.
· Vijaya - The city of Vijaya is now
called Cha Ban.
· Kauthara - The city of Kauthara is
now called Nha Trang.
· Panduranga - The city of
Panduranga is now called Phan.
Panduranga was the last of the Cham
territories to be annexed by the Sino-Vietnamese.
FROM KASHMIR TO THE PHILIPPINES THE RAMAYANA IS AT THE HEART OF THE NATIVES’
TRADITIONAL CULTURE. IT IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE FOLK SONG AND DANCE OF EVERY COMMUNITY
SO MUCH SO THAT IT IS RECOGNZIED AS INDIGENOUS TO THEM ALL

http://vedicempire.com/index.php?option=co...0&Itemid=26

Umm it's no surprise...lol. Not all mostly in organized kingdoms and those that had ties with trade, eg Manila.

Manila was muslim....but I think Batuan was hindu...i read that somewhere

In the visayas...some people have names like Krishna...which sounds hindic

I don't know about ancient Filipinos, but those under the various Southeast Asian empires may have practiced the Southeast Asian form of Hinduism (similar to what is practiced in Indonesia and Malaysia)....

most places that became "Islamic" were once Hindu, much like Indonesia eg Majaphahit. The laguna copperplate clearly shows Tondo. But Butuan was definitely once.

All of Philippines were originally Hindu.

The Muslims came to South East Asia not too long ago.

Exactly.

Mga Aeta at Igorot hindi naman Hindu mga animists sila.