The Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 70 million, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.

1. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
Guide Questions:
1. Where does bayanihan or the
spirit of kinship come from? How
about family relations?
2. Who introduced Christianity to
Filipinos in the 16th century?
What is the national language of
the Philippines? How about its
unofficial one?

2. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
Guide Questions:
3. Who lives in the north? Central
plains? Central islands? Mindanao?
4. How many dialects does the
Philippines have?
5. How many percent of filipinos are
catholic? How about the Moslems?
6. How many blend of cultures do the
filipinos have?

3. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
The Filipino is basically of Malay
stock with a sprinkling of Chinese,
American, Spanish and Arab blood. The
Philippines has a population of 70 million,
and it is hard to distinguish accurately the
lines between stocks. From a long history
of Western colonial rule, interspersed with
the visits of merchants and traders
evolved a people of a unique blend of east
and west, both in appearance and culture.

4. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
(1) The Filipino character is
actually a little bit of all the cultures
put together. The bayanihan or spirit
of kinship and camaraderie that
Filipinos are famous for is said to be
taken from Malay forefathers. The
close family relations are said to have
been inherited from the Chinese.

5. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
(2) The piousness comes from the
Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the
16th century. Hospitality is a common
denominator in the Filipino character and
this is what distinguishes the Filipino.
Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not
the only, English-proficient Oriental people
today. Filipino is the official national
language, with English considered as the
country's unofficial one.

6. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
(3) The Filipinos are divided
geographically and culturally into regions,
and each regional group is recognizable
by distinct traits and dialects – the sturdy
and frugal llocanos of the north, the
industrious Tagalogs of the central plains,
the carefree Visayans from the central
islands and the colorful tribesmen and
religious Moslems of Mindanao.

7. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
(4) Tribal communities can
be found scattered across the
archipelago. The Philippines has
more than 111 dialects spoken,
owing to the subdivisions of
these basic regional and
cultural groups.

8. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
(5) Some 80 percent of the
population is Catholic, Spain's
lasting legacy. About 15 percent is
Moslem and these people can be
found basically in Mindanao. The
rest of the population is made up
mostly of smaller Christian
denominations and Buddhist.

9. The People of the Philippines
by the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board
(6) The country is marked by a true
blend of cultures; truly in the Philippines,
East meets West. The background of the
people is Indonesian and Malay. There are
Chinese and Spanish elements as well. The
history of American rule and contact with
merchants and traders culminated in a
unique blend of East and West, both in the
appearance and culture of the people of the
Filipinos, or people of the Philippines.

10. Loud and Clear!
Enhance your pronunciation of a few critical
vowel and consonant sounds based on some
parts of the article. You will be guided by
your teacher.
[ I ] [ I ]
bit unique
kinship east
basic appearance
archipelago camaraderie
Philippines fifteen

11. Loud and Clear!
Enhance your pronunciation of a few critical
vowel and consonant sounds based on some
parts of the article. You will be guided by
your teacher.
[ s ] [ ɾ ]
spirit Spanish
stock population
sturdy Indonesian
scattered distinguishes
some kinship

12. Heaven
_____
____
____
_____ Earth
_____
____
____
_____
Tree
of Life
_____
____
____
_____

13. Locate, Reflect, Evaluate!
Locate information in the selection to
determine whether each statement is
true (T) or false (F). Write your answer
on a one-whole sheet of paper.
_____ 1. Everything has its own place in
heaven or on earth.
_____ 2. Even monsters have a place in
heaven.
_____ 3. The nymphs, unlike the
Karibanga, have magical powers.

14. _____ 4. The number seven is a
significant detail in the
narrative.
_____ 5. Angels can fly.
_____ 6. The heaven in the
selection accommodates saints
and sinners.
_____ 7. There is a reward for
good people in heaven.

15. _____ 8. The narrative is close to
the accounts of other stories of
origin of the
world.
_____ 9. Death as explained in
the narrative is a natural
occurrence.
_____ 10. The Maranaw story of
the origin of the world is unique.

16. The Origin of This World (Maranao)
from the Anthology of Philippine Myths
by Damiana L. Eugenio
According to Maranaw folklore, this
world was created by a great Being. It is
not known, however, who exactly is this
great Being. Or how many days it took him
to create this world.
This world is divided into seven layers.
The earth has also seven layers. Each layer
is inhabited by a different kind of being.