Chinese Mestizos in Philippines
Chinese Mestizos need a special mention in this thread. They are considered as
'Kaum Cina Peranakan Filipina'. They hold a special place in the Philippines society because of their economic strength and own large landholdings.
The first Chinese junks arrived in the Philippines around the 9th century
A.D. When the Spaniards settled in the kingdom of Maynilad (today the
city of Manila) in 1571, there were only about 150 Chinese settling with
the natives. Upon the establishment of the Spanish colony, the number of
Chinese drastically changed, and, by 1600, their number had increased
to 15,000.
Over the centuries, immigration and intermarriage nurtured a distinct hybrid
minority and, by the 19th century, a new breed called Mestizo de Sangley
(in today's parlance, Chinese-Mestizo) emerged. A Mestizo was taken to
be someone of mixed parentage, while Sangley (from the Hokkien seng di,
meaning to trade) was the generic name of the Chinese as used by the
Spaniards here in the Philippines.
Similar to the Peranakans of the Straits Settlements, the Chinese
-Mestizo had a (Malay) Filipina mother and Chinese father. This pattern
eventually paved the way for the emergence of a distinct hybrid culture
easily distinguishable from the (Malay) Filipino majority. Chinese-Mestizo
culture is a blend of the dominant elements of the Philippine cultural
tradition: Malay, Chinese and Spanish. The Chinese-Mestizo did not
speak any Chinese, the language having in any case degenerated in the
marketplace into a patois of Tagalog, Hokkien and Spanish. They also
developed distinctive customs of kinship (based on the Chinese system)
and dress.
The Chinese-Mestizo community concocted a large portion of what we
today consider Filipino food. While most of the dishes are Chinese
-inspired, numerous local and Spanish ingredients have been incorporated
such that a newly arrived Chinese would find it difficult to attune his taste
buds to the food. Inside Binondo's (Manila's historic Chinatown) 102-year
-old Panciteria Toho Antigua (panciteria means a place where pancit is
served. Interestingly, pancit, the generic term for noodles in the Philippines,
actually comes from the Hokkien pian-e-sit, meaning 'something quickly
cooked'), the menu posted on the wall reveals a curious mixture of Hokkien,
Tagalog and Spanish terms: bihon guisado (stir-fried vermicelli noodles), Ho
To Tay (a soup dish), siopao asado (meat-filled buns), arroz caldo con goto
(beef-tripe congee). The names and ingredients of the food show the unique
identity of the Chinese-Mestizo. The restaurant has since abandoned its
old name but it remains one of the last bastions of Chinese-Mestizo
culture in Chinatown.
Even more interesting was the way Chinese-Mestizos worshipped the
divine. The Spaniards, being zealous Catholics, converted the majority in
no time. However, a kind of mixed worship evolved among Chinese
-Mestizos, the unique product of Catholic and Buddhist intermarriage. In
their homes, they burned incense and lighted candles before the images
of the Blessed Virgin who became a representation of Kuan Yin, the
Buddhist deity, or Ma-Tsu, protector and patroness of the seafarers.
Religious syncretism was also evident at the household altars of the
Chinese-Mestizos where you could find both Catholic and Buddhist images
displayed side by side. Interestingly, this practice has survived to this day
and can still be found in most Chinese-Filipino homes and shops.
Another distinctive Chinese-Mestizo feature is in their names. Chinese
-Mestizos commonly Hispanicised their names to avoid suspicion from
the Spaniards who distrusted all Chinese, whether pure or mixed. They
usually 'slurred' the components of their father's (or grandfather's) name so
that if the Chinese name was Sy Kia, the Mestizo surname would be
Syquia (e.g. Jose Syquia, Manuel Syquia). A good number of Filipino
surnames today show obvious Chinese-Mestizo roots: Tanjuatco,
Cojuangco, Ongpin, Limjap, Yangco, just to name a few.
In the field of architecture, the Chinese-Mestizo also developed their own
flamboyant style similar in function to those in the Straits Settlements but
different in style. What was termed the bahay-na-bato (literally, the stone
house) was actually a type of shop house architecture where the first floor,
which functioned as the store, was made of stone, and the second floor,
which acted as the living quarters, was made of wood. This type of mixed
architecture developed because the Philippines is a country usually
plagued by earthquakes. Decorations were also varied, with (Malay) Filipino
sensibilities integrating Chinese and Spanish styles. Nowhere is this
mixed type of architecture more evident than in the city of Vigan, where the
streets have retained the features of their glorious past. Up until today,
residents still refer to the historic area of the city as the Kasanglayan
section (meaning where the Chinese live). A sign of the influence of the
Chinese-Mestizos is the town's Catholic cathedral with its four Chinese
stone lions guarding its entrance. The same feature can also be found in
Manila's San Agustin church and in other churches where there was a big
Chinese-Mestizo community.
Today, Chinese-Mestizo culture has already been integrated into the
modern Filipino identity. Where before, Chinese-Mestizos, the newly
arrived Chinese and the (Malay) Filipinos were classed as different entities,
today, the barriers have already been bridged and most Filipinos, regardless
of ethnic origin, consider Chinese-Mestizo culture uniquely Filipino, and,
though perhaps ignorant of its beginnings, something to be proud of.
Chinese-Filipino mestizo costume, 1800
Spanish-Filipino mestizo costume, 1800
This post has been edited by Hang Li Po: 06 March 2006 - 08:56 PM
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Acamas, on Mar 5 2006, 02:59 AM, said:
MultiQuote
looking from the origin it's clear that "pansit" in other communities could mean very different...
Posted 20 March 2006 - 11:16 PM