Filipino Psychology

Andrea M. Bautista March 5, 2012
Bachelor of Science in Psychology 43 Prof. Bernadette Corsame

FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY AND ARTS

I. HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

Arts in the Philippines started even before the colonization of the country. It has different fields and expressions which are mostly religious. In any way, these native arts are on the verge of being lost now since the masses are all focused on foreign cultures forgetting their own.

Painting
Filipino painting as a whole can be seen as an amalgamation of many cultural influences, though it tends to be more Western in its current form with Eastern roots.
Early Filipino painting can be found in red slip (clay mixed with water) designs embellished on the ritual pottery of the Philippines such as the acclaimed Manunggul Jar. Evidence of Philippine pottery-making dated as early as 6000 BC has been found in Sanga-sanga Cave, Sulu and Laurente Cave, Cagayan. It has been proven that by 5000 BC, the making of pottery was practiced throughout the country. Early Filipinos started making pottery before their Cambodian neighbors and at about the same time as the Thais as part of what appears to be a widespread Ice Age development of pottery technology. Further evidences of painting are manifested in the tattoo tradition of early Filipinos, whom the Portuguese explorer referred to as Pintados or the 'Painted People' of the Visayas. Various designs referencing flora and fauna with heavenly bodies decorate their bodies in various colored pigmentation. Perhaps, some of the most elaborate painting done by early Filipinos that survive to the present day can be manifested among the arts and architecture of the Maranao who are well known for the Nāga Dragons and the Sarimanok carved and painted in the beautiful Panolong of their Torogan or King's House.
Filipinos began creating paintings in the European tradition during 17th century Spanish period. The earliest of these paintings were Church frescoes, religious imagery from Biblical sources, as well as engravings, sculptures and lithographs featuring Christian icons and European nobility. Most of the paintings and sculptures between the 19th, and 20th century produced a mixture of religious, political, and landscape art works, with qualities of sweetness, dark, and light. Early modernist painters, such as Damián Domingo, were associated with religious and secular paintings. The art of Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo showed a trend for political statement. Artist such as Fernando Amorsolo used post-modernism to produce paintings that illustrated Philippine culture, nature and harmony. While other artist such as Fernando Zóbel used realities and abstract on his work. In early 80s other unique folk artist exists, one of these is Elito Circa as amang pintor, the famous Filipino folk painter. He uses his own hair to make his paintbrushes, and signs his name with his own blood on the right side of his paintings. He developed his own styles without professional training or guidance from masters.

Literature
The literature of the Philippines illustrates the Prehistory and European colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous and Hispanic writing system. Most of the traditional literatures of the Philippines were written during the Mexican and Spanish period. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, Filipino, Tagalog, English and other native Philippine languages. Some of the well-known Filipino literatures are Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, Florante at Laura, Ibong Adarna and among others which are still being studied by Filipino students nowadays.

Dance
Philippine folk dances include the Tinikling and Cariñosa. In the southern region of Mindanao, Singkil is a popular dance showcasing the story of a prince and princess in the forest. Bamboo poles are arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing poles.

Music The early music of the Philippines featured a mixture of Indigenous, Islamic and a variety of Asian sounds that flourished before the European and American colonization in the 16th and 20th centuries. Spanish settlers and Filipinos played a variety of musical instruments, including flutes, guitar, ukelele, violin, trumpets and drums. They performed songs and dances to celebrate festive occasions. By the 21st century, many of the folk songs and dances have remained intact throughout the Philippines. Some of the groups that perform these folk songs and dances are the Bayanihan, Filipinescas, Barangay-Barrio, Hariraya, the Karilagan Ensemble, and groups associated with the guilds of Manila, and Fort Santiago theatres. Many Filipino musicians have raised prominence such as the composer and conductor Antonio J. Molina, the composer Felipe P. de Leon, known for his nationalistic themes and the opera singer Jovita Fuentes.
Modern day Philippine music features several styles. Most music genres are contemporary such as Filipino rock, Filipino hip hop and other musical styles. Some are traditional such as Filipino folk music.

Architecture The Nipa hut (Bahay Kubo) is the mainstream form of housing. It is characterized by use of simple materials such as bamboo and coconut as the main sources of wood. Cogon grass, Nipa palm leaves and coconut fronds are used as roof thatching. Most primitive homes are built on stilts due to frequent flooding during the rainy season. Regional variations include the use of thicker and denser roof thatching in mountain areas, or longer stilts on coastal areas particularly if the structure is built over water. The architecture of other indigenous peoples may be characterized by angular wooden roofs, bamboo in place of leafy thatching and ornate wooden carvings.
The Spaniards introduced stones as housing and building materials. The introduction of Christianity brought European churches, and architecture which subsequently became the center of most towns and cities. Spanish architecture can be found in Intramuros, Vigan, Iloilo, Jaro and other parts of the Philippines. Islamic and other Asian architecture can also be seen depicted on buildings such as mosques and temples.
The Coconut Palace is an example of Philippine Architecture.
Contemporary architecture has a distinctively Western style although pre-Hispanic housing is still common in rural areas. American style suburban-gated communities are popular in the cities, including Manila, and the surrounding provinces.

Cinema
The advent of the cinema of the Philippines can be traced back to the early days of filmmaking in 1897 when a Spanish theater owner screened imported moving pictures.
The formative years of Philippine cinema, starting from the 1930s, were a time of discovery of film as a new medium of expressing artworks. Scripts and characterizations in films came from popular theater shows and Philippine literature.
In the 1940s, Philippine cinema brought the consciousness of reality in its film industry. Nationalistic films became popular, and movie themes consisting primarily of war and heroism and proved to be successful with Philippine audiences.
The 1950s saw the first golden age of Philippine cinema, with the emergence of more artistic and mature films, and significant improvement in cinematic techniques among filmmakers. The studio system produced frenetic activity in the Philippine film industry as many films were made annually and several local talents started to gain recognition abroad. Award-winning filmmakers and actors were first introduced during this period. As the decade drew to a close, the studio system monopoly came under siege as a result of labor-management conflicts. By the 1960s, the artistry established in the previous years was in decline. This era can be characterized by rampant commercialism in films.
The 1970s and 1980s were considered turbulent years for the Philippine film industry, bringing both positive and negative changes. The films in this period dealt with more serious topics following the Martial law era. In addition, action, western, drama, adult and comedy films developed further in picture quality, sound and writing. The 1980s brought the arrival of alternative or independent cinema in the Philippines.
The 1990s saw the emerging popularity of drama, teen-oriented romantic comedy, adult, comedy and action films. The Philippines, being one of Asia's earliest film industry producers, remains undisputed in terms of the highest level of theater admission in Asia. Over the years, however, the Philippine film industry has registered a steady decline in movie viewership from 131 million in 1996 to 63 million in 2004. From a high production rate of 350 films a year in the 1950s, and 200 films a year during the 1980s, the Philippine film industry production rate declined in 2006 to 2007.The 21st century saw the rebirth of independent filmmaking through the use of digital technology and a number of films have once again earned nationwide recognition and prestige.

II. PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION

The sense of freedom that goes with the realization that psychology need not be imported from the United States of America brought new vigor, new meanings, and new directions for Philippine psychology. An intriguing redefinition of psychology itself is foreseen with the Filipino psychologist’s growing interest in the arts. Imbued with dynamism and a commitment to indigenous Filipino psychology in music and the arts, Felipe de Leon Jr. led the Sikolohiyang Pilipino movement as the fifth president of the association, promoting consciousness in people’s arts. De Leon distinguishes people’s art from specialist art. The first includes traditional, indigenous, ethnic and folk art. To be sure, people’s art exist everywhere in the country, especially among our rural and urban populations whose education is more or less synonymous with the life process in the community rather than with the artificially structured, essentially theoretical, mental learning that occurs in a formal setting such as a school. It is an art integrated in myriad ways, with everyday concerns, interests, functions and activities. Specialist art on the other hand, is a product of the individuals who received formal schooling and training in liberal arts, fine arts, literature, music, dance, drama or film in schools.
Folk art reflects the concept of kapwa and is a rich source for understanding the Filipino worldview. The openness, as well as the present gradual development of mass-based artists whose aesthetic interests lie in depicting the peeks, depths, hardships and aspirations of contemporary Filipino life undoubtedly touch on pakikiisa, the highest level of kapwa psychology.
Delineating the Filipino psychology and worldview is a contribution towards liberation—by not simply describing the Filipino outlook as seen in his arts, in his behavior and culture, but in moving him to action on the basis of his own worldview and on his own terms. The surge of interest in the arts changes the self-image of the Filipino psychologists themselves and, perhaps, even their identity. After all, it can be argued that psychologists must move closer to art not in order to avoid psychology but precisely to approach its very core.