Tribung Pinoy

tribung pinoy

Tribung Pinoy

The Philippines

Brief History

Philippine Government

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Links to Philippine media organizations, embassies & consulates,
public and private offices and organizations.
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National Anthem
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Mabuhay!
Welcome to the Philippines,
"The Pearl of the Orient Seas"

When a Filipino greets you with "Mabuhay", he is saying Welcome… Aloha… Shalom… or "Long Life."
Wherever you go in the Philippines, you are greeted with an overwhelming cordiality which extends to home, table and entertainment.
Filipinos today number about 80 million. They are basically from Malay stock, with predominant Chinese and Spanish mixtures. The mingling of races has included European, American, Hindu, Arabian, Chinese, Persian and Polynesian.
Centuries of cultural and commercial contacts with the countries of Asia and almost four centuries of domination by the Western Powers have made the Filipino what he is today. There is in him the blending of the East and West, so that his character exhibits curious contradictions which foreigners are apt to misunderstand.
The intermarriage between the Filipino and the foreigner, particularly the white, led to a class known as the mestizo class. When one says mestizo, the obvious implication is that the person is Spanish-Filipino. Fil-Am is the offspring of Filipino and American parents. Chinoy for Chinese and Pinoy (Filipino) combinations.

Typical Filipina beauty

     All other half-breeds are qualified by the nationality of their parents. Thus, a Filipino with American father or mother is called American mestiza; with a Chinese father or mother, a Chinese mestiza; etc.
One common Filipino trait that commends itself to the foreigner is his hospitality. All peoples the world over are hospitable in their own way, but Filipino hospitality that is almost a fault. Call it naivete but the Filipino opens his heart to a complete stranger and offers the best in his kitchen and bed chamber.
     He makes the bed for the stranger, and ask with apologies, to take himself feel "at home", while he, the host, sleeps on the cold floor. He prepares water for morning ablution, waits upon the table, and makes life worth living for the stranger.
Filipinos has managed to glean the most interesting traits from various invaders and colonizers. From the Moslems in Mindanao practicing his ancient customs to the sophisticated native of Manila, the highly adaptable Filipino remains totally individual. He has accomplished much today in this progressive nation and intends to achieve even more in the future.
     Filipino is greatly attached to his family and holds his elders in high esteem. They are deeply religious and predominantly Catholic in a way that subtly combines the old methods of relating to the supernatural.

Boracay Paradise Island

This multi-faceted Filipino culture, added to the natural wonders and beauty of 7,107 islands, makes the Philippines a focal point for tourists in Asia. Lush virgin forests, majestic mountains, bountiful blue oceans and inland lakes, vast expanses of fertile lands, delightful hot springs, dazzling fauna, and colorful varieties of flowers and plants form the environment. The immediacy of this experience has impressed on the Filipino a concept of beauty and intensity. This impression is well-manifested in this website, with its music, art, beliefs and lifestyle. A little world in itself, a nation to which many nations and many cultures have contributed their thought, their color and their vitality.
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*Pinoy is a short-cut for Filipino to identify his nationality. (Diksyunaryo ng Wikang Filipino Sentinyal Edisyon, 1998 ISBN 971-8705-32-5)

Tribu is a Philippine term for Tribe (in English), a human community developed by an association of, and interbreeding between, a number of families, and preserving its own customs, beliefs and organization. (The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, 1996 ISBN 0-7172-4682-5)

If you can offer any suggestions for more topics or corrections, please e-mail me. I hope to periodically update this page, so check back every now and then.