Arts & Culture:
The casual visitor to Manila commonly sees the Philippines as the most westernized of Asian countries, and in many ways, it is. But there is also a rich underlay of Malay culture beneath the patina of Spanish and American influence.
National cultural life is a happy marriage of disparate influences, as the indigenous Malay culture assimilated and adjusted to different strains, in a practice typical of the eclectic Malay temperament.
An upsurge of Philippine nationalism in the 1970s may have
stimulated a desire to conserve the ancient heritage, but it has never restrained Philippine culture from becoming attuned to the finest international influence in the arts.
The culture of the Philippines has been heavily influenced by both Asian and Western cultures.
The Philippines was first settled by Melanesians; today, although few in numbers, they preserve a very traditional way of life and culture. After them, the Austronesians or more specifically, Malayo-Polynesians, arrived on the islands. Today the Austronesian culture is very evident in the ethnicity, language, food, dance and almost every aspect of the culture. These Austronesians engaged in trading with China, India, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, the Middle East, Borneo, and other places. As a result, those cultures have also left a mark on Filipino culture.[1][2]
The Spanish colonized the islands and after more than three centuries of colonization Hispanic influence has heavily impacted the culture. The Philippines being governed from both Mexico and Spain, had received a fair bit of Hispanic influence. Mexican and Spanish influence can be seen in dance and religion as well as many other aspects of the culture. After being colonized by Spain, the Philippines became a U.S. territory for almost 50 years. Influence from the United States is seen in the wide use of the English language, and the modern pop culture.
Main articles: Religion in the Philippines and Philippine mythology
The Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nations in Asia-Pacific, the other being East Timor. From a census in 2012, Christianity consist about 80%[3][4]of the population. Islam is the religion for about 11%[5] of the population. Buddhism shares 1.8% of the population, while 3.8% practice other religions. The remaining 0.6 did not specify a religion while 11% are irreligious[6] according to Dentsu Communication Institute Inc.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards and the introduction of Roman Catholicism and Western culture in the 16th century, the indigenous Austronesian people of what is now called the Philippines were adherents of a mixture of shamanistic Animism, Islam, Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism.[7]
