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Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 1

Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture

Michael J. Fast

University of the Philippines

This paper uses Mikhail Bakhtin’s1 literary concepts of utterance, dialogic, and

polyphonic to help discover the voices shaping Philippine culture. Popular theories surrounding

the construction of culture will be evaluated, especially those of expressed in the writings of

Resil Mojares and Zeus A. Salazar. Examples of dialogic from Philippine history and culture are

also included.

Introduction. Even though culture is a notoriously difficult word to define (see eg.

Barnard & Spencer, 2010, pp. 168-169), definitions of culture abound. Tylor (1871) developed

the first scientific definition of culture when he said, “Culture refers to that complex whole

which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, and any other capabilities and habits,

acquired by man as a member of society” (Tylor, 1871, p. 1). Other definitions have been

proposed, but what is important to note in Tylor’s definition is that culture is something that is

“acquired” or learned and not something that is innate. This appears in other concepts of culture

as well. For example, the Tagalog word for culture, kalinangan, comes from the root linang,

which denotes something instilled, as opposed to likas (i.e. kalikasan), which denotes something

innate (Nestor Castro, personal communication, January 29, 2015). The fact that culture is

1. It might be more accurate to refer to these theories as “Bakhtinian” rather than

“Bakhtin’s” since they are formed out of English translations of Bakhtin’s work rather than his

Russian originals.
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 2

learned rather than innate implies that culture is constructed. Tylor’s definition also hints that

there is no pure culture, but cultures are distinct from one another.

The scope of culture is another area of some debate. Some speak of four domains of

culture (Tongeren, 2000; Eller, 2007 & 2016; N. Castor, personal communication, January 29,

2015), namely the political, the economic, the social, and the ideational/ideological. Thus it’s

important for us to consider all of these domains as being a part of culture and therefore subject

to cultural change. Eller’s four domains of culture create depth to the concept of culture by

showing the scope of culture’s influence. It’s this broad scope that makes definition difficult

because there are so many factors that both influence and resist change.

What is unclear is how the culture is formed and how culture changes. Whose voice is

predominant in shaping and changing culture: the indigenous voice or the outsider’s voice? Who

has the right to speak for a cultural group? Do cultures have the right, or the ability, to deny a

voice to others?

Reflexivity. I have some personal experience when it comes to culture and how cultures

interact with one another. I am a part of two cultures, namely the Canadian First Nation group

called Metis (as an example of an indigenous group), and Canadian Mennonite, a group

originally exogenous to Canada but whose varied refugee experiences throughout Western

Europe eventually led them to find refuge in Canada. Add to this my own experience growing up

a part of a country that borders the USA and my own feelings of loss of voice and identity

because of that, as well as my present experience living in a land far from the land of my birth

where people still identify me with my neighbouring country, as exemplified in the Filipino

practice of greeting foreigners with, “Hey Joe!”

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 3

Canadian comedian Mike Meyers cites Canadian comedian Martin Short as the one who

said, “When Americans watch TV, they're watching TV, but when Canadians watch TV, they're

watching American TV” (Martin, 1993). This typifies the Canadian experience of always feeling

second-best. It also leads to us creating list of people who have become famous in the USA, of

being proud of how we spell things the Canadian way, and of how we once defeated the USA in

a war (of 1812)! So I understand what it means to be misidentified, to struggle to find my voice,

to look for ways to remain unique in the world.

What is the indigenous role in shaping it’s own society? Are they allowed to use the

exogenous in forming their own society? What is the interaction between the indigenous and the

exogenous in shaping a new society and culture? Who sets the rules for this collaboration (if

indeed such a collaboration exists)?

History. The social sciences in the Philippines are exogenous. While there was some

early social-science type work done in the Spanish period, largely in the form of accounts and

reports of what the Spanish found in the Philippines, the formal social sciences were introduced

into the Philippines during the American era (Bautista, 2001). It is the foreign origin and focus of

the social sciences that has led to controversy over how they should be applied in Philippines.

In the 1970s, Filipino scholars recognized the limitations that current social science

understandings were having in the Philippines and as a result began to develop indigenous

models for social research, specifically in the areas of psychology, anthropology, and history.

This indigenization of the social sciences was centered at the University of the Philippines where

psychologist Virgilio Enriquez developed Sikolohiyang Pilipino, anthropologist Prospero Covar

developed Pilipinolohiya, and historian Zeus Salazar (2000) developed Pantayong Pananaw.
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 4

Their critiques focused around the use of indigenous language in the conversation as well as

using indigenous methods when doing research. Each has had varying levels of success in later

years.2

Zeus Salazar represents perhaps the most extreme of the three Filipino critiques of

Western theory and practice. His approach is encapsulated in the very name of the perspective he

promotes: Pantayong Pananaw. The Tagalog word, pananaw, can be glossed as “perspective.”

The prefix pan(g), which isn’t normally attached to tayo, can be used to typify “purpose.”

Tagalog pronouns are best understood using the relationship between speaker and

listener. Thus a speaker using kami is not including the listener in the action, a speaker using

kayo is not including himself in the action, a speaker using sila is including neither the speaker

nor the listener in the action (unless the listener is of a higher social position than the speaker),

and the speaker using tayo is including both himself and the speaker in the action. Connecting

these root words to the prefix pan(g) leads us the to following glosses: pangkami (for us but not

for you), pangkayo (for you but not for us), pangsilang (for them), and pantayo (for us including

you). Confused?

Salazar attaches pantayo to pananaw to arrive at the following definition: for-us

perspective. When adding the nuance of tayo we understand that not only is the action inclusive

of all parties in the conversation, the action is also exclusive all parties not in the conversation.

2. For a summary of these three positions, as well as an idea of where these theories are

today, see Mendoza (2007). For a detailed look at Pantayong Pananaw and its subsequent

Bagong Kasaysayan, see Reyes (2002). For a detailed critique of Pantayong Pananaw and some

further comments on Pilipinolohiya from a Marxist perspective, see Guillermo (2009).

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 5

Thus, as Guillermo (2003) points out, pantayong pananaw means “a from-us-for-us perspective”

(p. 1). This gloss “underscores that the cultural nation is not only the subject and goal of the

discourse, but it is also the source of it” (Mendoza, 2007, p. 17).

Thus, according to Salazar’s schema, the discourse of the Philippines needs to be

conducted in the Filipino language, to be directed by Filipinos, and to stay within the

geographical bounds of the Philippines. Thus PP seeks to develop a framework for understanding

the Philippines and Filipinos that is completely internal in its origins and systems.

Because only insiders have the proper perspective for understanding culture, outsiders are

prone to misinterpretation. On the one hand, Reyes says that Salazar was merely “zeroing on the

three aspects that has to do with the practice of the disciplinal science of history; that is, the

language of the taught discipline, the subject of the taught discipline, and the target audience of

the taught discipline” (Reyes, 2002, p. 376). The results, however, where that Salazar envisioned

“‘closed circuit’ … where a discourse is to be carried on only by, and among,

Filipinos without the inclusion (constant intrusion or meddling) of outside

participants or dominant perspectives inimical to Filipino interests. That way, he

argues, Filipinos can discourse and communicate freely –– in their own terms, in

their own language, using their own thought patterns and manner of relating and,

most importantly, with their own interests (as Filipinos) kept in mind first and

foremost” (Mendoza, 2007, p. 17).

Except it doesn’t work that way. There are no cultures, except perhaps untouched

Amazon tribes, that are not influenced by other cultures. Certainly Filipino culture is the same,
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 6

with the abundance of words (McFarland, 1994), customs and symbols (Mojares, 2006, p. 30),

and flora (see Alvina & Madulid, 2009) that have external origins. There is even historical

evidence of prehistorical Philippine (if that name can be used to describe the prehistorical land)

interaction with other cultures. Scott (1992), for example, raises the issue of how Magellan both

new the latitude of Limasawa and also was able to communicate with the datus that he found

there. Scott’s conclusion is that the ancient world was a lot smaller than we think and that there

was a lot of intercultural interaction between cultures.

What is interesting, and hasn’t been explored in the literature, is that the framework

developed by Salazar has its roots in theories external to the Philippines. There is a theoretical

connection between pantayong pananaw and the German nationalist movement.3 The very

concept of pantayo can be traced back to concepts developed in Johann Fichte’s Addresses to the

German People (1808) where he says,

Those who speak the same language are joined to each other by a multitude of

invisible bonds by nature herself … they understand each other … they belong

together and are by nature one and an inseparable whole [that] if it wishes to

absorb and mingle with itself any other people of different descent and language,

cannot do so without itself becoming confused, in the beginning at any rate, and

violently disturbing the even progress of its culture (Fichte, 1922, pp. 223-224).

3
Thanks to R. Canete, for introducing me to this approach (Personal communication,

February 13, 2015).

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 7

There is no indication, however, that Pantayong Pananaw has taken the same direction as

the German nationalist movement.4 Rather, Salazar’s focus on keeping the conversation among

those kinds of people who are the same has certain dangers to it. It’s one thing to see the natural

connections between people who share a culture but it is quite another thing to take the next step

and use those similarities for the purpose of excluding others from participation.

So it seems that the pure Filipino culture that Salazar deifies isn’t all that pure after all. In

fact, there is clear evidence of cultural interaction in the formation of Philippine culture. So what

then of the alternative? If PP is basically wrong in it’s understanding of Philippine culture is

there another alternative that more adequately identifies the voices responsible for its formation?

There is another problem. In spite of its shortcomings, Pantayong Pananaw really

appeals to me. I agree with Salazar particularly on his use of language because I agree that local

language should be used as much as possible. The medium is the message. The mere fact of

speaking Tagalog is enough to redirect the power relations toward the Tagalog speaker, unless of

course she is the only one speaking the language. Then it is no longer a discourse but a

monologue. Topic has primary importance in any discourse. It is possible to discuss Philippine

culture in languages other than indigenous ones.

4. Guillermo (2003) hints at this possibility with his statement that the “relative

‘integration’ of ethnic communities in a national collective does not arise from the eradication of

their sense of PP but from the subsumption of their ethnic identity under that of the nation” (p.

2).
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 8

I also like another idea of whose voice shapes Philippine society. You see, for many,

many years, the Philippines has interacted with other nations and these interactions have lead to

an exchange of ideas and artifacts that have mutually shaped each interacting culture.

Enter Resil Mojares’ ideas of filipinism and realism (Mojares, 2006). Mojares sees the

value in Filipinos setting the agenda for studying the Philippines and he has contributed a lot

toward the discussion, particularly in the areas of literature and history. But Mojares does not

limit his praise to Filipinos. Rather he discusses the significant role of the colonizers in

constructing and shaping the Philippine culture that we know today.

Mojares also recognizes the subversive power of indigenous language. Rather than

focusing on Pilipino, however, Mojares champions Cebuano while giving a nod to the various

other indigenous languages that are present in the Philippines, and whose participation in the

national discourse has been restricted by the colonizers. It appears that Mojares is taking issue (in

a round-about way) with Salazar’s emphasis on Pilipino and may even be saying that the

emphasis on Pilipino is another form of oppression that needs to be resisted!

As per Mojares,

Filipinism was actively crafted by Filipinos themselves, in ways and for purposes

that did not always coincide with U.S. colonial aims. It if it did not quite suffice

for the time (nor does' for ours), this is so for two reasons. It was a nationalism

not quite conscious of the ways in which it was constituted by colonialism itself,

and it was one that was far less inclusive or deeply grounded as its leaders and

ideologues represented it to be (Mojares, 2006, p. 26).

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 9

For Mojares, the primary goal is realism and finding what is “the ways in which reality is

represented in early biography and history” (Mojares, 1993, p. 438). Thus, the source of truth is

not essential as long as it is beneficial in discovering reality, even reality in historical times. It is

obvious from his comments in his articles that while he would prefer to have indigenous or local

sources of history he faces the reality that those sources are now lost to us.

But he goes beyond simply bemoaning the lack of local sources and merely begrudgingly

accepting external sources. He extols the influence of the foreign on the development of the

local! Of course the influence of the foreign includes the local resistance to that foreign influence

but even so he appears to be saying that the foreign is the catalyst for Filipino cultural change.

This idea is not new with Mojares. Both Ileto and Rafael talk about how Filipino resistance to

colonialism was empowered by Spanish cultural artifacts that influenced Filipino attitudes in a

way that allowed the Filipinos to eventually overthrow Filipino rule. Confusing, isn’t it? But

Mojares would go beyond that and say that within Filipino culture itself is a resistance to the

colonizer and his ideals that in the end emerges triumphant.

This is a major point of departure from the position of Salazar, who sees non-Filipino

participation in cultural formation as interference.5 Mojares even credits the climate created by

the American colonization of the Philippines as being perfect for the construction of Philippine

culture, largely as power struggle between American cultural declarations and Filipino cultural

5. For example, Salazar has a discussion of the appropriate terms for identifying certain

historical periods. For PP and it’s subsequent Bagong Kasaysayan, rather than using the term

“bago dumating ang Kastila,” it is better to use the term “panahon bago ang 1521” (Salazar,

2011).
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 10

resistance. These two forces combined to develop the cultural artifacts that are universally

accepted as “Filipino culture” today but may not have been recognized as such 100 years ago.

The problem with these two positions is their dualistic nature: One is forced to choose

between the two of them, either indigenous or exogenous, emic or etic, etc. The question is,

however, is cultural formation truly a duality? Is a culture truly formed on the basis of merely

internal forces or, on the other hand, on the basis of merely external forces? According to

Casanova “social reality is not dichotomous” (Casanova, 1994, p. 42).

Returning to the issue of my Canadian identity: this identity is quite subtle in its

implementation. Observers may not notice the subtle differences between, for example, Canadian

and American cultures. This is evident by the fact that most Filipinos refer to me as

“Amerikano” or call me “Joe” and don’t understand the fact that Canada is a separate nation and

has a separate identity from the USA. That raises the question of the value of my Canadian

identity. Is it valuable only for me, an insider, or is there value for the observer or interlocutor as

well?

Dialogic Approach.6 It is clear that there are a variety of voices participating in the

conversation regarding society. This multiplicity of voices leads us to look for a theoretical

model that can best help us make sense of these voices.

Key to understanding our problem is to understand the concept of text. Traditionally text

referred to anything that is written down and can be read and interpreted. Text later took on the

additional clarification that they could be oral, but generally these oral texts were recording and

6. Portions of this section are from my unpublished paper entitled “Ang Pagiging Maka-

Diyos: Masculinity and Spirituality in the Philippine Context Theoretical Framework” (2016).
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 11

transcribed and thus became written texts. Eventually the meaning of text changed to include

“any configuration of signs that is coherently interpretable by some community of users” (Hanks,

1989, p. 95). Thus, Filipino culture is a text that is in need of interpretation.

A Bakhtinian approach is helpful here. Mikhail Bakhtin, an early 20th century Russian

theorist proposed that culture is formed in a dialogue with multiple voices. He called this

dialogic. Dialogic does not seek the middle ground or lowest common denominator in finding its

answer. Rather it exists in the nebulous world of meaning: How meanings are formed and

interpreted by people in dialogue. This may inform the present discussion by showing that all

voices work together to shape each culture into it’s own unique form. His dialogic consists of the

interrelated concepts of utterance, dialogue, and heteroglossia and is useful for our study.

Utterance. The first aspect of dialogic is utterance, the word Bakhtin uses for text. It

“occupies a particular definite position in a given sphere of communication” (Bakhtin, 1984, p.

91). Utterances in a single dialogue do not stand alone. Rather, they remain in community since

each utterance carries with it “echoes and reverberations” of all the previous times it was used

and anticipations of the times it will be used in the future. Every utterance contains two

perspectives: It is addressed to someone and it is expecting an answer. It is through this

addressivity and answerability that meaning is constructed (Bakhtin, 1986, p. 68). When

discussing the concept of cultural change, it is important we see the web of meanings that has not

only already formed around these utterances, but to also anticipate what meanings may be

created through any dialogue we may have about it.

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 12

Dialogue. The second aspect of dialogic7 is dialogue. Dialogue is more that simply two

people in conversation, who choose their words from the dictionary, but rather an interaction

between speakers and utterances. For Bakhtin “the word .... exists in other people's mouths, in

other people's contexts, serving other people's intentions; it is from there that one must take the

word, and make it one’s own” (Bakhtin 1981, p. 293-294).

Bakhtin talks of monologic and dialogic. “Monologue pretends to be the ultimate word. It

closes down the represented world and represented persons” (Bakhtin, 1984, p. 292). It is the

voice of the dictator that suppresses the voice of the peasant. In our study of the voices shaping

Philippine culture, it is the voice that dictates the terms of the dialogue, such as the language that

should be used, the people who should be included, and the systems and structures that should be

used, whether or not this voice is indigenous or not. Thus Salazar’s desire for a “closed circuit”

discussed above is an example of monologue. Dialogue, on the other hand, is when those in

power and “the other” share the same power in the conversation, when both voices are heard.

“The single adequate form for verbally expressing authentic human existence is the open-ended

dialogue” (Bakhtin, 1984, p. 293).

In our study, it is the voices of each party, each expressing his or her own understanding

of how he or she should act. The discussion of whose voice shapes Philippine culture is an

attempt to define the “other” space in Philippine cultures. Pantayong pananaw claims to avoid

7. Reyes (2008) in her discussion of PP uses the word “dialogical.” I don’t think,

however, that her use is the same as Bakhtin’s use of the word. I understand Reyes to be using it

as a word for dialogue in the non-technical sense. My primary reason for this is the fact that she

doesn’t reference Bakhtin in her paper.

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 13

Othering by not including the Other in the dialogue. Of course this is not the case but only serves

to strengthen the concept. In fact, the discussion surrounding Pantayong Pananaw is a study in

othering. A question at a seminar about led the speaker to respond, “You’re asking me about

Pantayong Pananaw. I’m not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole” (V. Rafael, personal

communication).

When these various “others”, however, are asked about Philippine culture, they each

speak with a passion that shows not only their interest in the subject but also their love for the

subject. We must be aware that Philippine culture is created through dialogue between all parties

and that as each interlocutor constantly changes her viewpoint and perspective when confronted

with the viewpoint and perspective of others each one’s understanding of Filipino masculine

spirituality changes as well. Thus, because a conversation never concludes, so to the study never

concludes.

Ultimately, however, dialogic interaction will predominate. “Truth is not born nor is it to

be found inside the head of an individual person” or in this case a specific culture-bearing group,

“it is born between people collectively searching for truth, in the process of their dialogic

interaction” (Bakhtin, 1984, p. 110).

Heteroglossia/Polyphonic voices. The third aspect of dialogic is heteroglossia. Within

each society there are competing voices just as within each conversation there are competing

voices. These voices don’t combine together to create the truth. Rather they each are the truth.

The interaction of the voices allows the various truths to evolve. This web of voices and

meanings can only result in momentary conclusions. “Nothing conclusive has yet taken place in

the world, the ultimate word of the world and about the world has not yet been spoken, the world
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 14

is open and free, everything is still in the future and will always be in the future” (Bakhtin, 1984,

p. 166).

“Far from placing emphasis on resolution, the Bakhtinian concept of heteroglossia draws

attention to the coexistence, convergence, and divergence of multiple meanings, discourses, and

forces” (Mittermaier, 2013 ). This polyphony, however, doesn’t end in chaos, but can be either

centripetal or centrifugal: Centripetal representing the “homogenizing voice” at the top of the

social order that wants to maintain the status quo and centrifugal representing the voice of the

outliers, the fringes, the others, that is constantly trying to break through (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 425).

Both Salazar and Mojares represent the centripetal voice, each seeking to provide an explanation

for why things are the way they are in Philippine culture. In a sense they are looking for the

voice shaping Philippine culture. It seems, however, that there is validity to the idea of the voices

that are shaping culture.

Does this imply that, rather than a search for the voices shaping Philippine culture that

instead we should for the voices shaping Philippine cultures? That in fact Pantayong Pananaw,

Filipinism, and colonialism each have a voice in shaping Philippine culture? A nice idea perhaps,

but is there any evidence to support this?

Evidence of Dialogic in Philippine culture.

We will look at two examples of Philippine cultural artifacts to test our idea, namely how

early Tagalogs contracted their integration of Castilian ideals in the early colonial period, and

how observers view the yearly pabasa or pasyon.

Contracting colonialism. Rafael (1988) describes the encounter between the Castilian

colonizers and early Tagalog society with a focus on how the Tagalogs were able to shape their
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 15

accommodation of Castilian cultural artifacts such as language and religion on their own terms.

Rafael doesn’t identify it as such, but once can see evidence of dialogic interaction in his concept

of “contracting” in his influential work on the early Spanish period in the Philippines.8 Rafael

notes how Tagalogs negotiated their acceptance of Spanish cultural artifacts such as language,

religion, and structures.

The Pasyon.9 There is hardly a more Filipino practice than the singing of the pabasa or

pasyon every Holy Week. That this practice is long-standing is evidenced by early accounts by

travelers to the Philippines, one of whom was the German pharmacist Dr. Heinrich

Rothdauscher, who wrote about his experiences in Lebenserinnerungen eines deutschen

Apothekers (Memoirs of a German Pharmacist) in 1932. He refers to hearing the Pasyon as an

“intolerable torture” filled with “dreadful howling,” “inarticulate sounds,” and “cries of pain and

8. Rafael makes the following comments about the use of the word “contracting” in title

of his book, which in its Ph.D. form was entitled Contracting Christianity (Totanes 2013).

“‘Contracting’, getting a disease, in this case, a double disease: Christianity and colonialism....

The second meaning of ‘contracting’ is to shorten, to abbreviate, to cut off--which is of course

what Tagalogs did with Spanish and with Catholic beliefs. And the third meaning of

‘contracting’ is to establish a contract, an agreement, to negotiate, and to arrive at an

understanding, which in the case of the Tagalogs and the Spaniards, was also a mis-

understanding. All three meanings of ‘contracting’ are implied in the title” (Personal

communication July 14, 2013).

9. Pasyon refers to the various retellings of the story of Jesus’ passion that is sung every

Holy Week in the Philippines.

Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 16

dismay.” Lest this characterization be seen as merely the opinion of an outsider, a class

discussion of Rothdauscher’s writings agreed. The ensuing class discussion (Panikitan at

Kasaysayan class, August 24, 2016) agreed with Rothdauscher. The consensus was that listening

to the Pasyon was not a beautiful experience. While one might assume the music’s lack of

beauty is because of its sorrowful theme, the group seemed to think that there was some kind of

underlying resistance to the prioritization of the story of Jesus’ passion over the more traditional

Babaylan-sung epics that were common in pre-Hispanic times. The music’s ugliness was due to

this resistance. That such resistance can still be experienced by Filipinos after centuries shows

the power of the indigenous to continue shaping culture. However, the fact that the Pasyon is still

sung by Filipinos centuries later also shows the power of the external in determining cultural

norms. Thus both truths can exist side by side – resistance and worship – with no thought of

contradiction or blasphemy. This is reminiscent of Bulatao’s (1992) concept of split-level

Christianity, where two seemingly opposite truths – one internally sourced and the other

externally sourced – are simultaneously experienced and believed.

National Symbols and ideas for the future. Cultural shaping is not a one-way street. It

is not something that only Filipinos need to be concerned with but also affects those countries

that seem to be beyond the sphere of Filipino influence. This section will look as an example of

how Philippine culture can have an impact on Canadian culture.

The concepts of national dress, national bird, national sport, national flower, national

heroes are all utterances largely defined by Filipino interlocutors. The Canadian is forced to

come up with an equivalent in order to be understood but unfortunately these equivalents are

largely subjective. So does this “forced nationalism” shape Canadian culture? Does it even help
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 17

the Filipino understand Canadians in a more complete way? These are artificial categories

created to create better understanding between cultures but they are also ways that cultures

adopt, adapt and accommodate new ideas. Statistics show that Canada is now home to 662,605

Filipinos (Statistics Canada, 2013). These Filipinos have families who will grow up in Canada,

attend Canadian schools, own Canadian businesses. Over the long haul, the questions these

Filipinos have with regards to national symbols will influence Canadian attitudes toward national

symbols.

Unlike the “melting pot” policy of the USA, Canada has a policy of multiculturalism,

which come to think of it is a decidedly Bakhtinian approach to nation building. New Canadians

are welcomed and encouraged to share their culture with other Canadians. This has an effect on

Canadian Culture as a whole. As Aguilar (2014) points out, Filipino OFWs have to adjust to new

contexts when they go abroad but those same OFWs also cause the host countries to adjust as

well.

Case in point. One of the most recognized symbols of Canada is its Royal Canadian

Mounted Police (RCMP) in their distinctive red uniforms and Smokey the Bear hats. In the

1900s this uniform was changed to allow Sikhs to wear turbans instead of the traditional wide-

brimmed hat (Hanomansing, 1990). There were also recent changes that allow women to wear a

Muslim headcovering if they so desire (Harris, 2016). These changes would clearly never have

happened without the influence of new traditions in Canada.

Conclusion. It would seem that there is more than one valid voice shaping Philippine

culture. We have seen the importance of the indigenous voice, using its own language, in shaping

culture. We have also seen the importance of the external voices, including those of the
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 18

colonizers, in shaping culture. But we have also seen that when these voices engage in dialogic,

that what is created is a group of cultures, each identifiable as both Filipino and as Other.
Fast - Finding the voices shaping Philippine culture 19

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