Filipino people

Filipino people or Filipinos are the people who are native to or identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian ethnic groups. Currently, there are more than 175 ethnolinguistic groups, each with its own language, identity, culture and history.

History[edit | edit source]

The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted the island of Samar on March 16, 1521 and landed on Homohon Island on March 18. Homonhon Island is part of the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Catholicism becoming the dominant religion. During this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons.

Culture[edit | edit source]

The culture of the Philippines is a combination of cultures of the East and West. Filipino identity was created primarily as a result of pre-colonial cultures, colonial influences and foreign traders intermixing and gradually evolving together. In pre-colonial times, the Philippines was a divided set of nations, islands and tribes being ruled by their own kings, chieftains, lakans, rajahs, sultans or datus.

Cuisine[edit | edit source]

Filipino cuisine has evolved over several centuries from its Austronesian origins to a mixed cuisine with many Hispanic, Chinese, American, and other Asian influences that have been adapted to local ingredients and the Filipino palate to create distinctively Filipino dishes. Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the complex paellas and cochinita pibil in Filipino gatherings and fiestas.

Languages[edit | edit source]

There are 175 estimated languages spoken in the Philippines. Almost all are classified as Malayo-Polynesian languages. Among those languages, there are 13 indigenous languages with nearly 1 million speakers.

For more than three centuries Spanish was the official language under Spain's colonial rule. It was spoken by 60% of the population as either a first, second or third language in the early 20th century. However, the use of Spanish began to decline after the United States occupation in the early 1900's. Today, the use of Spanish is limited to a few Hispanic families, and is taught in some schools.

Religion[edit | edit source]

The Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nations in Asia-Pacific, the other being East Timor. From the census in 2014, Christianity is the religion of about 90% of the population, with 80% declaring adherence to Roman Catholicism. The other 10% consists of mainly Muslim Filipinos, other Christian denominations, such as the Iglesia Ni Cristo, and various indigenous religions.