Visayas State University – Alangalang

Alangalang, Leyte, Philippines

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.vsu.edu.ph

MODULE 3: ISSUES CONCERNING PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

LESSON 3.1: IP & Cultural Change

LESSON SUMMARY:

Culture
Culture is best manifested in the ways of living among members of a community.
Edward Tylor defined culture as a “complex whole which includes knowledge, language,
beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as
a member of society”. People’s ways of life are based on these elements. Hence, culture is
embedded in people’s daily lives. Culture varies from one society to another causing different
groups of people to live their lives differently.

Despite culture variations, each culture is described by the following major

characteristics:

A. Culture is symbolic. A symbol is anything that has cultural meanings. A symbol may
refer to any object, word, action, gesture, etc. Culture is oftentimes embedded in
these symbols and since culture vary, a particular symbol may mean differently to
different groups of people. A symbol may also mean differently in different times.
Hence, culture may change across time.
B. Culture is shared. Culture is shared within a community or society by people sharing
the same patterns of behavior. Through the use of symbols with cultural meanings, it
becomes possible for cultured to be shared.
C. Culture is learned. Culture does not exist out of thin air. Cultural practices are passed
on from one generation to another. Hence, every member of a community learns of
their culture based on their experience and observation in the community. Culture is
learned by either being taught or being observed. The process of transmitting culture
from one generation to the next is called enculturation.
D. Culture is integrated. Culture is a complex system composed of parts with specific
functions to make the entire culture work. These parts are interconnected to make
culture whole. And since various parts of a culture are related, one may need to
understand each individual part in order to fully understand the culture.
E. Culture is adaptive. Humans, like other organisms, tend to adapt to their
environment. As the society changes, culture also adapt to this change. This
unending changes in the society causes people to practice their culture differently
from the culture that they inherited from the preceding generation.

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Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
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 Cultural Change

With the advent of advanced technology and globalization, the world has been brought
closer as one. There has been an increase in the interconnectedness among countries in
terms of the economy, political affairs, and culture. Through globalization, there have been
global flows of goods, services, information, and culture. When two or more cultures meet or
have contact with each other, culture change may occur.

Culture change may occur through the following processes:

A. Diffusion. This process of cultural change does not require face to face contact with
other culture. Platforms like media, internet, and social media serves as avenue out of
which culture flows to other communities. For example, some Filipinos tend to
embrace the culture of Korea as a result of their exposures to Korean dramas, movies,
and music.
B. Acculturation. This process promotes culture change through intensive first-hand
contact with the other culture. As a result of such a contact, massive changes in
original cultural patterns of the two groups. In acculturation, culture change is a two-
way process where the contact between two cultures may cause changes on both
cultures. These changes, however, may not be at the same rate. For example,
oftentimes, we mix our native language with foreign language every time we speak.
C. Assimilation. Assimilation is a form of acculturation where the culture change is also
brought by first-hand contact. Culture change is one way where the minority (migrants)
is forced to adopt the culture of the dominant group (non-migrants). For example,
when a family of different culture migrates to another community, they tend to adopt
the culture of that society.

Culture Adaptation

As a result of external forces, society adapts and culture changes. In some cases, they
result to ethnocide (death of culture) if culture fails to adapt to the changes in the
society/environment. Hence, there is a need to maintain a balance or equilibrium between
people and their social, cultural, and ecological environments in order for their culture to
survive. The key element for culture adaptation is survival.

Adaptation is defined as “a natural process by which organisms achieve a beneficial

adjustment to an available environment”. With this process, humans are able to gain
characteristics needed to overcome the challenges of the environment and be able to secure
necessary resources needed for survival. These traits maintained and acquired are referred
to as adaptive. On the other hand, the traits that are eliminated as society adapt to changes
are referred to as maladaptive as they are no longer needed to survive in the new environment.

IPs & Cultural Change

Culture change has big impacts on the Filipino indigenous communities. In the case
of the Mamanwa community in Surigao Del Norte, the housing unit provisions for mining
employees in the community resulted to the emulation of the outsiders’ language and lifestyle
to those of the Mamanwas. Children became hesitant in using their native language and some
practices of the community were abandoned as the result of the monetary share provided to

Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
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 the IPs. For instance, the IPs stopped practicing one of their economic traditions which is the
panguway or rattan harvesting. The entry of outsiders (mining employees) resulted to certain
changes in the customs and practices of the Mamanwa community. This is an example of
acculturation. The Mamanwas are also among the major IP communities that migrate to other
places resulting to language acquisition. Some Mamanwas who migrated to Samar learned
to speak Waray, some in Southern Leyte learned Bisaya/Cebuano. Mamanwas from different
places speak different language. This is a manifestation of assimilation.

In the case of the Aeta Mabuk’un of Mariveles Bulacan, the community lives in a
predominantly undeveloped mountainous area with their traditional practices like hunting and
gathering. However, with its contact with the dominant group of Mariveles through the roads
constructed connecting the community to the town center, developments were established
challenging the unique customs and status quo of the community. The local government
banned the production of coal which was one the primary economic activities of the
community. The interruption of this activity greatly affected the lives of the Aetas. The Aetas,
then, with the help of the local government has shifted to plant cultivation and agriculture to
sustain their daily needs. This change in livelihood, which is a big part of their culture, was
made possible because of the increased contacts between the Aeta community and the
dominant group of the town.

Changes in the environment as a result of external forces dictates culture to change.

These external forces then affect the lives of the indigenous people as they are very
intertwined with their culture. These external forces include but are not limited to government
policies, capitalism, technology, economic development, globalization, migration, and the
armed conflict between the state and the minority groups. As a result of increasing integration,
globalization, and modern technology, the lives of the IPs are forced to change. On the other
hand, encroachment of their ancestral domains and armed conflict forces them to be
displaced and to migrate to other places which requires them to adapt to the culture of the
places. These factors continuously facilitate changes in the environment and subsequently,
in the culture of the different indigenous communities in the country. In order to survive, these
IPs need to adapt to cultural changes.

Reference:

Ponce, B.A. (2020). Philippine Indigenous Communities. Visayas State University.

Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
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