CULTURE AND IDENTITIES

Lesson 4: CULTURE AND IDENTITIES

Objectives:
At the end of this module, students are expected to:

WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion,
cuisine, social habits, music and arts.
The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin "colere," which means to
tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture.

TYPES OF CULTURE

MATERIAL CULTURE - refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their
culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, offices,
factories and plants, tools, means of production, goods and products, stores, and so forth.
NON-MATERIAL CULTURE - In contrast to material culture, non-material culture does not include any
physical objects or artifacts. Examples of non-material culture include any ideas, beliefs, values, and norms that
may help shape our society.

THE FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS

COMMUNICATION COMPONENTS include language and symbols. Through having a language, a group of
people interact with one another, socially sharing their thoughts, feelings or ideas to the people with same
language. Language forms the core of all cultures throughout society. The symbols are considered as the
backbone of symbolic interactions.
COGNITIVE COMPONENT. It includes Ideas, Knowledge and Belief, Values and Accounts. Ideas,
Knowledge and Belief are basic units of knowledge construction. Ideas are considered as mental representation
and are used to organize stimulus. Knowledge now is considered as a storage of information fact or assumption,
o Belief on the other hand assumes that a proposition, statement, description of fact is true in nature. These
acceptance were influenced by the external authorities such as government, religion, or science rather
than proven true from the individual's direct experiences.
o Values serve as guidelines for social living. Culturally, it can be defined as the standards of desirability,
goodness and beauty.
o Accounts are considered to be a way on how people use the language for their explanation, justification,
or to rationalize, excuse, or legitimize a behavior towards themselves or to the others.
BEHAVIORAL COMPONENTS. The major component of culture that is concerned about on how we act. It
includes norms which further categorizes into Mores, Laws, Folkway, and Rituals.
o Norms are considered as rules and expectations eventually set by a particular society that serves as guides
to the behavior of its members. It varies in the terms of the degrees of importance and might be change
over a period of time. It is reinforced by sanctions in the forms or rewards and punishments. These are
standards accepted by society culturally and serve as obligatory and expected behavior's of the people in
different situations in life.
o Laws serve as the formal and important norms that translated into legal formalizations. Folkways are
considered as behavioral patterns of a particular society that is repetitive and organize. Rituals on the
other hand are those highly scripted ceremonies of interactions which follows a sequence of actions.
Examples are baptism, holidays and more.
MATERIAL COMPONENT. This includes materials or objects created by humans for practical use or for
artistic reasons. These objects are called as “material culture”. Material components serve as an expression of an
individual culture.

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

Symbols may be either physical or non-physical. A flag is an example of a physical symbol, and bows and
curtsies are examples of non-physical symbols.
Language is used for communication. It can be written or spoken. Even when a culture uses the same basic
language as another culture, differences in terminology and inflection create new meanings.
Values help define acceptable behavior within the society. Values can be different for each group to which a
person belongs.

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 Beliefs fulfill the spiritual needs of a culture. A whole culture can be based on one set of beliefs, yet a larger
cultural group may have many different sets of beliefs.
Norms are the rules, mores and traditions within a culture. As a group develops laws and regulations, norms
change. A law that was necessary 100 years ago may not be needed in modern times.

EXAMPLE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN FAMILY

It has long been recognized that cultural variables influence how children present themselves, understand the
world, and interpret experiences. Culture also affects the experiences through which children 's earliest literacy and
number knowledge are acquired. Family is considered to be the foundation of social life for most Filipinos. a group of
persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other
in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings.
PARENTAL BELIEFS The nature of literacy and numeracy interactions in the home are a direct reflection of
parents' views about how children learn to read, write, use numbers, and acquire other competencies.
NUCLEAR FAMILY is the traditional type of family structure. This family type consists of two parents and
children. The nuclear family was long held in esteem by society as being the ideal in which to raise children.
SINGLE PARENT FAMILY consists of one parent raising one or more children on his own. This family may
include a single mother with her children, a single dad with his kids, or a single person with their kids. The single
parent family is the biggest change society has seen in terms of the changes in family structures
EXTENDED FAMILY structure consists of two or more adults who are related, either by blood or marriage,
living in the same home. This family includes many relatives living together and working toward common goals,
such as raising the children and keeping up with the household duties. Many extended families include cousins,
aunts or uncles and grandparents living together.
CHILDLESS FAMILY While most people think of family as including children, there are couples who either
cannot or choose not to have children. The childless family is sometimes the "forgotten family," as it does not
meet the traditional standards set by society. Childless families consist of two partners living and working
together. Many childless families take on the responsibility of pet ownership or have extensive contact with their
nieces and nephews.
STEP FAMILY Over half of all marriages end in divorce, and many of these individuals choose to get
remarried. This creates the step or blended family which involves two separate families merging into one new
unit. It consists of a new husband, wife, or spouse and their children from previous marriages or relationships.

EXAMPLE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE COMMUNITY

CULTURAL DIVERSITY is when population differences are well represented within a community. These
include race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, or sexual
orientation. These include race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender,
religion, or sexual orientation.
RACE is a grouping of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into categories generally viewed as
distinct by society.
ETHNICITY An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other, usually on the
basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry or on similarities such as common language or dialect,
history, society, culture or nation.
LANGUAGE, a system of conventional spoken, manual, or written symbols by means of which human beings,
as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves. The functions of language
include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative expression, and emotional release.
NATIONALITY, in law, membership in a nation or sovereign state. It is to be distinguished from citizenship.
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's
work experience and of an individual's or family's economic and social position in relation to others.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION a person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the
fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

EXAMPLE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE WIDER SOCIETY

It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be
along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious
beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing
environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the
rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

SUBCULTURE - A subculture is a smaller culture with a shared collection of beliefs, values, traditions, and rituals
within a larger culture.
Examples of Subculture
Subcultures are frequently less well-established than the larger culture. A person might enter one for a short time
and then transition to another. Groups of people who identify with non-normative sexual orientations or practices
sometimes consider themselves subcultures. Groups dedicated to artistic, literary, or musical ventures, such as the
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 goth culture and the postmodern art scene, could also count. While these groups might share many values with the
dominant culture, they also behave or dress in ways that differentiate themselves from the dominant culture. Some
may actively oppose beliefs or traditions from the larger culture.

NATIONALITY IDENTITY - is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one state or to one nation. National identity
is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one state or to one nation. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as
represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language.

CULTURAL CHANGES –
Changes in Filipino names, before of the coming of the Spaniards, Filipinos
had no surnames. The name of a boy, for example, was taken from his
physical appearance or from any natural event. Thus, if a boy looked strong, he was named MALAKAS. If a girl looked
beautiful, she was named MAGANDA. The Spaniards at first, made little changes in the names of the Filipinos. Those
who had Christian surnames chose Spanish names, usually the names of the saints. Thus, a boy was named after a saint,
such as Santo Tomas, San Gregorio, or San Andres, and so forth.

INTERMARRIAGE – There were few recorded marriages between Filipino male and a Spanish Female. The child of
the marriage of a Filipino and a Spaniards was called Spanish Mestizo (mestizo espanol). Toward the end of the Spanish
period, the qualifying word “mestizo” was also used to refer to children of a male Chinese and a native woman, as in
mestiza de sangley. Those who belonged to the pure indigenous stock were called “Indios” or “Indias”

SOCIAL LIFE – Beside the church was the municipal building called Tribunal where the gobernadorcillo or captain
held office. The proximity of the church and the tribunal to each other symbolized the union of Church and State. The
Captain could not do anything important without the knowledge and consent of the friar-curate If a Fiesta was to be held,
the Captain had to consult the friar-curate.
The fiesta was always in honor of the town patron saints. Religious societies were very active in preparation for
the fiesta and other religious events. The Pista or Fiesta gave the Filipino a day or so of relaxation from their toils in the
farms. The staging of plays called moro-moro, comedia, and later zarzuela (theatrical performance). This practice was
passed on from father to children, through generations

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AMUSEMENT – Cockfighting was the principal form of entertainment of the Filipino men. This game was already in
the Philippines long before the Spaniards settled in the country. But the Spaniards encouraged cockfighting among the
Filipinos. Many terms used in cockfighting are mostly Spanish innovations such as soltada, kareo, ruweda, sentensiyador,
pusta, dihado, llamado, and others.

CHANGES IN CLOTHING – The barong or what is popularly called today as barong Tagalog.

Filipino male learned to wear hats.

THE POSITION OF
WOMEN

They could not sell the property they inherited from their parents before their marriage without the consent of
their husbands. The friar-curates taught the Filipino women to be very obedient to their husbands even if their husbands
were cruel and immoral. They were taught prayers and how to behave in public. They were taught how to use fork, spoon
and knife in formal dinners. They also taught how to be independent.

CULTURE TRADITION VS. MODERN CULTURE

CULTURE TRADITION - a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning
or special significance with origins in the past.
PANINILBIHAN (COURTSHIP) - In the past, harana was the courtship tradition, letter sending was the usual
communication, and bahay kubo was everybody’s home. Another one of the many traditional courtship practices
is called 'paninilbihan'. Paninilbihan, the Filipino translation for "service", is done by the man for the woman’s
family through manual labor (cutting wood for cooking, fetching water from the well) to show his capability to
take care of her and their future family.

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 BAYANIHAN (SOCIETY) - Back in the days where land titles weren’t a thing, people in the provinces simply
built a hut on a small piece of land that they claimed as their own. They either farmed on the land or went to town
to work while their wives stayed to care for their children. If they wanted to move, they took their whole house
with them since it was mainly made with light material like bamboo and palm. Bayanihan is the act of the whole
neighborhood getting together and helping to move the house to the new location. These days, bayanihan is
synonymous to our trait of national helpfulness, and that we should help our fellow Filipinos in times of need.
TABI-TABI PO (SUPERSTITION) - Being the superstitious nation that we are, the belief in spiritual beings
and mythical creatures is second in nature. As such, many of us were taught as kids to say “tabi po” or “tabi-tabi
po” when passing by a huge tree, a termite mound, an anthill, a dark ally or any rural area. With all the stories of
people who get cursed and get sick - either by vomiting or urinating black bile, spitting out insects, and getting
swelling or pain on any part of the body - after disrespecting the spirits, surely, asking permission to pass by, from
the spirits and mythical creatures, so they can avoid you is a small price.
PUKPOK - Known as traditional circumcision, “pukpok” is seen as a coming-of-age ritual for boys and is mostly
done in many rural areas across the Philippines, while many historians believe the practice of circumcision came
from the Spaniards, others hold that it was the early Muslim settlers who introduced it. Unlike the modern
method, traditional circumcision does not use anesthesia; instead, the boy is made to chew on guava leaves while
the “manunuli” removes his foreskin with a sharpened wooden or steel implement. The chewed guava leaves are
then placed on the wound to prevent infection.

STREET PARADES - If you’ve ever lived in a small town in the Philippines, you’ll know just how much the
Filipinos love their parades. Each village and city has its own “fiesta”, which it celebrates in unique style, and
there are many more festive occasions throughout the year that call for an organized march through the streets.
PAGMAMANO - The most definitive way of showing respect to our elders, pagmamano involves a youngster
asking for the hand of an elderly person and then kissing or placing his/her forehead on the back of the hand. In
return, the elderly person will “bless” the youngster. While we still revere and respect our senior citizens today,
pagmamano has been replaced by other forms of giving respect such as “beso-beso” (a greeting done cheek-to-
cheek). Although respectful, it is not as remarkable as the original pagmamano.

CHANGES IN CULTURE

Lifestyle
Traditional: More leisure, more time; time means lived life.
Spiritual focus.
Modern: Less leisure, no time; time is independent of life; time is money.
Secular or religious.

References:
Lesson 4: Culture and Identities
Powerpoint Presentation: Culture and Identities by Isah Mae A. Apostol & Mary Joy Baysa

Prepared by:

DAN F. FERNANDEZ JR.

Checked by:

BENNY AGUINALDO
Module Coordinator

Recommending Approval:

LIGAYA B. AUSTRIA
School Director

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 Approved by:

MARY ANN C. PABALAN

ACTIVITY 4:
Name: Date:
Course & Year: Score:
Write your answers/reactions on the space provided for each item.