Categories of Culture in Philippine Society

The different categories of culture in the Philippine society are the following:

1. Based on Nationality

  • Filipino Culture

2. Based on Ethno linguistic Group

  • Examples: Tagalog, Ilongo, Ilokano, Kapangpangan, Waray, Bisaya, Manobo, Maranao

3. Based on Historical Epochs of Philippine Culture

  • Before the coming of the Spaniards
  • Spanish period
  • American period
  • War Period; Japanese Occupation
  • New Republic
  • Pre- Martial Law period
  • Martial Law period
  • Post martial Law period

4. Based on Economic Means

  • Agricultural culture
  • Fishing culture
  • Business/ commercial culture

5. Based on Geographical Location

  • Lowland culture
  • Upland culture
  • Rural culture
  • Urban culture

6. Based on Religion

  • Christian
  • Roman Catholic
  • Protestant
  • Muslim
  • Iglesia ni Cristo
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • Other religious sectors / culture
  • Pagan

7. Based on Technology

  • Advanced / modern culture
  • Primitive / traditional culture

8. Based on Age

  • Teenage culture
  • Culture of the retired and the aged

9. Based on Economic Status

  • Elitist culture
  • Mass culture

10. Based on Response to Colonialism.

  • Mainstream culture
  • Indigenous culture
Other Symbolic Uses of Culture
  1. Culture of poverty. It refers to the learned ways of life of the poor, a vicious cycle of deprivation and want transmitted from one generation to another.
  2. Culture of opulence. It refers to the ways of life of the rich and the famous in their world of glitz and glamour.
  3. Culture of corruption. It refers to the established patterns of illegally amassing wealth and obtaining power or concessions in the government or private office.
  4. Culture of silence or culture of sabotage. It refers to the individual or group attitude to keep silent as a resigned response to authority.
  5. Pop culture. It refers to the popular ways, practices and interests of contemporary society. Example: pop music or dance craze.
  6. Culture of apathy. It refers to the prevalent inaction, indifference, lack of emotion and interest of the people in regard to the issues and concerns which need attention and resolution.
  7. Culture of conspicuous consumption. It refers to the ways and practices of the super-rich in buying goods and obtaining services in excess of what they can actually consume and use.
  8. Culture of exploitation and dehumanization. It refers to the socially entrenched patterns of abusive and exploitative practices by the moneyed and power-wielding members of the society against the culturally deprived and materially disadvantaged group of the society.
Causes of Cultural Change

Culture is not static. While culture is preserved, it is always changing with the passage of time due to a number of causes, to wit:

1. Discovery – It refers to the process of finding a new place or an object, artefact or anything that previously existed. Gilin (1948) – It also refers to the initial awareness of existing but formerly unobserved relationships of elements of nature to human life. – Example: The discovery of fire led to the art of cooking; discovery of oil, of organisms and substances; of diseases, of atoms and sources of energy.

2. Invention – It implies a creative mental process of devising; creating and producing something new, novel or original. It also implies the utilization and combination of previously known elements to produce an original or novel product. Invention could be either social or material. Example: Invention of number system, government, language, democracy, religion and alphabet. (social invention) Invention of the wheel, machines, etc. (material invention), invention of new methods or techniques.

3. Diffusion – It refers to the spread of cultural traits (e.g., religious beliefs, technological ideas, language forms, etc.) or social practices from a society or group to another belonging to the same society or to another through direct contact with each other and exposure to new forms. Direct contact is made possible through trade and commerce with one another, conquest and colonization.

Diffusion involves the following social processes:

  1. Acculturation – Cultural borrowing and cultural imitation. Example: The Filipinos are said to be the best English-speaking people of Asia.
  2. Assimilation – Blending or fusion of two distinct cultures through long periods of interactions. Example: Americanization of Filipino immigrants to the U.S.
  3. Amalgamation – Biological or hereditary fusion of members of different societies. Example: marriage between a Filipino and an American.
  4. Enculturation – Deliberate infusion of a new culture to another. Example: The teaching of American history and culture to the Filipinos during the early American regime.​

4. Colonization – It refers to the political, social and political policy of establishing a colony which would be subject to the rule or governance of the colonizing state. It is politically termed as imperialism. Once the economy of a more technologically advanced country dominates the economy of a less developed state, such condition is termed neo-colonialismor economic imperialism. Generally, the superior culture of the colonizer is diffuses into the colonized territory although there could be an interpenetration of cultures. Example: Hispanization of Filipino culture; American global hegemony.

5. Rebellion and Revolutionary Movements – These aim to change the whole social order and replace the leadership. They challenge the existing folkways and mores and propose a new scheme of norms, values, and organization. Revolutionary movements involve more radical, if not violent, changes in society. Example: The Philippine Revolution of 1986, Insurgency movement as the HUK Rebellion, CPP-NPH-NDF, Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), MNLF and BMLF as secessionist movements in Mindanao, and the recent Makati Oakwood Mutiny.