National Clothing Of The Philippines

Baro Tagalog is actually short for Barong Tagalog, which describes the formal men's wear of the Philippines. It is properly referred to as the 'Baro ng Tagalog' (dress of the Tagalog). Contracting the first two words produces 'Barong,' which literally means 'dress of.' So, if we want to be correct, we wouldn't say just 'Barong.' But, the slang way of referring to one of the beautiful formal shirts is simply Barong. Yes, the Barong Tagalog is a dress, a garment, a coat in itself. It is not merely a 'shirt'. If it were, then it would need a coat or a jacket over it to qualify as formal wear and would have to be worn tucked inside the trousers.

For men, there is no obligation to wear either a tie or a suit, even at highly official political receptions. The barong tagalog is the sensible alternative: it is a long-sleeved shirt which lets the air through and is worn over the trousers. Underneath, it is customary to wear a T-shirt. At weddings, the men both families consider it their duty to wear a wedding barong tagalog. The short-sleeved style is known as a polo barong. These cool, semi-transparent shirts with their fine embroidery date from the Spanish era when Filipinos were required to wear their shirt untucked, and the barong became a symbol of national consciousness. Fine barongs are a fibre made from the pineapple plant.

The Terno is the typical Philippine dress worn by women, recognisable by its stiff butterfly sleeves. It is only worn on formal accasions. The general fashion for women follows Western trends.

Philippines Islands

The Philippines officially consists of 7,107 islands of which only 2000 are inhabited. Only about 500 of the island are larger than one sq km and 2,500 aren't even named. In descending order of size the biggest island Luzon (104,683 sq km), Mindanao (94,596 sq km), Palawan (14,896 sq km), Panay (12, 327 sq km), Mindoro (10, 245 sq km), Samar ( 9,949 sq km), Negros (9,225 sq km), Leyte (6,268 sq km), Cebu (5,088 sq km), Bohol (4,117 sq km) and Masbate (4,047 sq km).

The island of the Philippines can be divided conveniently into fours groups. First there's Luzon, the largest and nothernmost island and the site of the capital Manila. The nearby islands of Batanes, Catanduanes, Mindoro, Marinduque and Masbate are generally included with Luzon. At the other end of the archipelago is the second largest island, Mindanao. From Mindanao's south-western tip, the islands of the Sulu archipelago form stepping stones south Borneo. Third is the tightly packed island group known as the Visayas, which fills the space between Luzon and Mindanao. Seven major islands make up this group: Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar and Romblon. Finally, off to the west, there's the province of Palawan with more than 1700 islands. The main island is Palawan, another bridge from the Philippines to Borneo.

National Tree, Animal, Flower, Bird Of The Philippines

National Animal of Philippines
The National Animal of Philippines is the Carabao or the Asian Water Buffalo


National Flower of Philippines
The flower called Sampaguita (Jasmine variety) by the filipinos was adopted as the National Flower of Philippines in 1934. It also happens to be the National Flower of Indonesia.
Philippines National Tree
The large and shady Narra Tree is the national tree of Philippines. The Narra trees grow all over the islands and are abundant in Bicol, Mindanao and the Cagayan Valley forests.

Philippines National Bird
The National Bird of Philippines in the Philippine Eagle (also known as the monkey eating eagle). At present, the Philippine Eagle is one of the most endangered birds of the planet, with only about 500 birds in the wild.

Philippines History

I wanted to share a short history of my native land where I come from. Philippines history is classified as ginning somewhere between 150,000 and 30,000 years ago. From this epoch stem the stone artifacts which have been found together with fossils of long-extinct mammals in Solana in Cagayan Province. These primitive stone tools were probably used by hunters who migrated over a land bridge from the Asiatic mainland. The oldest human bones which have so far been excavated have been dated at 50,000 years of age. However, many historians consider the Negrito or Aeta, who arrived about 25,000 years ago from the Asian continent, as the aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines; they were later driven back by several waves of immigrants from Indonesia.

Immigration
In about 5000 BC the last land bridge sank into the ocean. Five immigration periods from Indochina between 1500 and 500 BC have been recorded. The last of these groups to arrive in their long canoes brought the first copper and bronze articles, and they are also credited with building the gigantic rice terraces at Banaue (Banawe), North Luzon. The immigration of Malayan peoples from 500 BC to 1500 AD brought further cultural changes, particularly in house construction (they built on piles), agriculture (they introduced plants and trees) and animal husbandry (they used water buffalo). Indian influences came from the Buddhist-Hindu empire of Srivijaya (800-1377 AD) in Java. During this period, trade also began with Indochinese states. In particular the merchants of the Sung Dynasty (960-1280 AD) visited the main island, Luzon, and the island of the Visayas with their merchant ships. They mainly ex-changed Chinese products like porcelain for native wood and gold. In 1330 the Arab-taught Makdum arrived in the Sulu Islands in the south of the Philippines and began the Propagation of Islam. His mission was most successful in Bwansa, the old Sulu capital, and Tapul Island. A powerful Islamic centre was finally established in 1475 by Sharif Mohammed Kabungsuwan, a Muslim leader from Johore. He married the every influential native princess Putri Tunoma, converted many tribes and was the first sultan of Mindanao.

Davao City

The name Davao was probably derived from the Bagobo word "Daba-daba" which means "fire." The early Jesuit priests refered to this place as a region of flames or fire as recorded in their early books. Many natives, however, believe that the name Davao was derived from the great river which the early Tagabawa tribe refered to as Dabu. Davao is the fastest growing city in the Philippines after Manila. There is still plenty available room for newcomers here, as it covers 2440 sq km and is one of the most sprawling urban areas in the world. You can't miss the Chinese influence here, especially west of the wharf, where numerous business people have set up little stores. Muslims have also set up the so-called Muslim Fishing Village, not far from the wharf and nearby Magsaysay Park. Tamolo Beach and Times Beach, southwest of Davao, are not particularly impressive, but the white Paradise Island Beach on Samal Island makes a good day trip from Davao, as do Talikud Island and Eagle Camp.



Early People

During the ancient times, Davao has already been a place of different tribes and ethnic groups coming from different regions of the Philippines and people in the nearby countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo. The native tribes that comprise the majority group of ethnic tribes in Davao during the early times were the Bagobos, Bilaans, Guiangans, Tagacaolos, Manobos, Mandayas, Mansakas and Atas. The early Muslim Maguindanaons, who were traders and merchants, also came to this place to do business.

Spanish Conquest

In 1848, the Spanish forces, led by Don Jose de Oyanguren, launched an expedition and defeated the Muslims and killed their leader Dato Bago. Oyanguren then started to build a Christian community.

A Chartered City

On March 16, 1936, Assemblyman Romualdo Quimpo sponsored a bill in Congress that will turn Davao into a chartered city. In March 1, 1937, Davao City was formally inaugurated under President Manuel L. Quezon.

People and Culture

Davao is considered as the "Melting Pot of Culture" in the Philippines. In the past, people from diverse ethnic groups and backgrounds have come to settle in Davao and called it home. These ethnics groups consists of Bagobos, Bilaan, Mansakas, Mandayas, and the Atas. Other Muslim groups from different parts of Sulu and Mindanao also came to love this place. These Muslim tribes are the Tausug, Maguindanaons, Maranaos and Kalagans. And then during the Spanish occupation, people from Luzon and Visayas also came here. These resulted in a highly diverse population of Davao.

Today, the people of Davao, known as the Dabawenyos, is a diverse as ever. In spite of its diversity, it is a surprise to many that these people also live in unity and support in promoting peace and prosperity in the land.

Davao Dialect: Learn Bisaya or Cebuano

Majority of the population in Davao use Cebuano or the Visayan Dialect in their day-to-day conversations. Tagalog (or the Filipino Language) is also used by some people and mostly in business. If you are a Tagalog-speaking traveler, don't be surprised if you sometimes hear a different kind of Tagalog (somewhat grammatically wrong, but perfectly acceptable in Davao -- a carabao Tagalog, so to speak.) The typical Dabawenyo is also able to comprehend and speak the English Language. If you are a foreigner, you should be able to communicate with the Dabawenyo in English just fine. If not, begin by asking questions that are answerable by Yes or No.