The document summarizes changes in Philippine society and culture that occurred after Spanish colonization. It discusses: 1) New social classes that emerged including Peninsulares, Insulares, Mestizos, Principalia, and Indio. Governor Claveria issued surnames to Filipino families in 1849. 2) The Spanish introduced their language, replacing the native Baybayin script, with words like kutsilyo and kabayo still used today. They also converted Filipinos to Catholicism, bringing traditions like fiestas, Misa de Gallo, and Santacruzan. 3) Literature shifted from oral epics to written works like the first

1. CIVICS 4
Handout / STUDY GUIDE
Name: ________________________________________________________ Date:
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LESSON 13: Changes in Philippine Society and Culture
Society
 A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent
relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject
to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations
New Social Classes in the Society
 Spaniards:
 Peninsulares (spain)
 Insulares (colonies)
 Spaniards and Native Filipinos
 Mestizos (native mother)
 Principalia
 Indio
Peninsulares
 They were the full-blooded Spanish living in the Philippines and born in Spain
Insulares/Creoles
 They were the full-blooded Spanish living in the Philippines and born in the Philippines as well
Mestizos
 They were the Filipinos with Spanish blood
Principalia
 They were the former Filipino tribe leaders or datu before the invasion of the Spaniards
Indio
 They were the native Filipinos
 The deregatory term used by the Spanish to call Filipinos
Governor-General Narcisso Claveria
 Governor-General issued an order on Nov 21, 1849, which gave surnames to the Filipino
families. He sent lists of Spanish family names to the authorities of cities and towns.
Surname (Example)
 Alvarez, Angeles, del Castillo, Bautista, del Pilar, and delos Reyes
Name (Example)

2.  Pedro, Bartolome, Juan, Esperanza, Maria, Simon
Language
 The Spaniards introduced Spanish words that Filipinos still use until now.
 Kutsilyo(knife), kabayo(horse), lamesa(table), pader(wall), lababo(sink), and
kapilya(chapel)
Religion
 The Spaniards converted the Filipinos to Catholicism.
 They introduced religious traditions that are still followed today
 Fiesta - A religious celebration by the Roman Catholic people in honor of a saint. That,
festivities mostly coincide with the day of the patron saint of a particular place
 Misa de Gallo - It is the start of the Christmas season in the Philippines, blending
Christian tradition with the harvest thanksgiving of the ancient Filipinos. As the first cockcrows
are heard at dawn on December
 Flores de Mayo - Flores de Mayo is a festival held in the Philippines in the month of
May. It is one of the May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary and lasts for the entire month
 Santacruzan - Santacruzan takes place in May, coincidentally with Flores De Mayo, a
tradition in which devotees offer flowers to the Virgin Mary during the entire month.
 Holy Week - It is the season when Filipinos remember Christ's passion (his suffering
and death) and resurrection. It starts on Ash Wednesday, forty days before Easter Sunday. On
this day, you will see Catholic Filipinos returning from church with ash smudged on their
foreheads in the shape of a cross
Literature
 The early inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago had a native alphabet or syllabary which
among the Tagalogs was called baybayin, an inscription akin to Sanskrit. It was through the
baybayin that literary forms such as songs, riddles and proverbs, lyric and short poems as well
as parts of epic poems were written.
 The existing literature of the Philippine ethnic groups at the time of conquest and conversion
into Christianity was mainly oral, consisting of epics, legends, songs, riddles, and proverbs.
 Doctrina Christiana - the first book to be printed in the Philippines, was a prayerbook
written in Spanish with an accompanying Tagalog translation.
 Awit at corrido - The terms 'awit' and 'corrido' are both related to music. 'Awit' is the
Tagalog word for song while the Spanish word 'corrido' means "a metrical story, usually sung
to the accompaniment of a guitar, in fandango style
 Moro-moro - The term moro-moro refers to a type of folk drama performed in villages
throughout the Philippines, usually during fiestas. Although each village's moro-moro is a little
different in terms of treatment, all are full of romance and melodrama, and the highpoint is
always a battle between Muslims and Christians.
 Senakulo/Cenakulo - Senakulo is a play depicting the life and sufferings of Jesus
Christ. The word is derived from the Spanish cenáculo, meaning “cenacle,” which is the place
where Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples.
 Comedia - A play which tells the story of princes, knights, and holy men
Cuisine
 Philippine food has evolved over several centuries from its Malayo-Polynesian origins to a
varied cuisine with many Hispanic cultural influences, Spanish dishes brought to the

3. Philippines during the Spanish colonial period
 Caldereta, paella, tinola, menudo, arroz caldo, lechon
Architecture
 Bahay na Bato – Large and made of strong materials started to emerge.