Ang Pinoy….

Pinoy yata yan…
(Dahli Aspillera, http://www.malaya.com.ph)
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To start the year right, here’s a boost to our being. This piece by Ed Lapiz has been going around in the web. Abstracted, expanded, excerpted for space, for my readers who haven’t seen it:
For starters, the whites are spending hours and big money tanning themselves under the sun or artificial light, to approximate the Filipino complexion.
You like the touchy-feely types? Filipinos create human chains with our perennial tangan, lapit, akbay, hawak, yakap, himas, kalabit, kandong, kalong, tutok, etc. We are always seeking interconnection.
The Filipino is a linguist. It is not uncommon for Filipinos speak at least three. Many a lot more. Then there’s our Jose Rizal, the quintessential Filipino, who fluently spoke at least a dozen languages.
Political correctness? The Filipino has evolved gender-neutral words like asawa, anak, magulang, kapatid, biyenan, manugang, bayani, balae, etc.
The Filipino is a groupist. An average Filipino would have and know at least 300 relatives. At work, we live bayanihan; at play, we want a kalaro more than laruan. At socials, our invitations are open and it is more common even for guests to invite and bring in other guests.
In transit, we do not want to be separated from our group. So what do we do when there is no more space in a vehicle? Kalong. No one would ever suggest splitting a group and waiting for another vehicle with more space!
The Filipino is into weaving, a metaphor. We are social weavers. We place a lot of premium on pakikisama and pakikipagkapwa. We weave theirs into ours that we all become part of them. Therefore, we call our friends’ mother, nanay or mommy; we call a friend’s elder sibling ate or kuya. We even call strangers tia (aunt) or tio (uncle), tatang (grandfather), etc.
So extensive is our social openness and inter-relations that we have specific title for extended relations like hipag, balae, inaanak, ninong/ninang, kinakapatid, etc.
In addition, we have the profound ‘ka’ (co-equal) institution – kasama, kaisa, kapanalig, etc. In our social fiber, we treat other people as co-equals.
Filipinos have (pakiramdam). We know how to feel what others feel, sometimes even anticipate what they will feel. Being manhid/teflon is one of the worst labels anyone could get. We know when a guest is hungry. We can tell if people are lovers even if they are miles apart. We know if a person is offended though he may smile. We get not only to wear another man’s moccasin, but also his heart.
The Filipino is very spiritual. We transcend the physical world, see the unseen and hear the unheard. We have a deep sense of kaba and kutob.
A Filipino wife will instinctively feel when her husband or child is going astray, whether or not tell-tale signs present themselves. Filipino spirituality makes him invoke divine presence or intervention at nearly every bend of his journey.
The Filipino is timeless. Measure time not with hours and minutes but with feeling. Our time is diffused, not framed. Our appointments are defined by mamaya, sa umaga, banding tanghali (noon-ish), sa hapon, or sa gabi. People’s tardiness and extended stays annoy others. But the Filipino, being governed by timelessness, allows for more time to be nice, kind, and accommodating.
Filipinos say good-bye to guests first in the living room, then the head of the stairs, then down to the descamo (landing), to the entresuelo (mezzanine), to the pintuan (doorway), to the tarangkahan (gate). And if the departing persons are to take public transportation, up to the bus stop or bus station.
So what makes the Filipino special? We are tan, spiritual, timeless, spaceless, linguists, groupists, weavers, adventurers, industrious.
Seldom do all these profound qualities find personification in a people. Filipinos should allow, and should be allowed to contribute their special traits to the world-wide community of men. But first, we should know and like ourselves.
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