philippine studies Ateneo de Manila University • Loyola Heights, Quezon City • 1108 Philippines
otes on the !ilipino Philosophy o" #or$ and Leisure
Leonardo % Mer&ado, '%( '%(%)% %)% Philippinee Studies vol% **, no% 1+* 1-./ .180 Philippin
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http9::555%philippinestudies%net Notes on the Filipino Philosophy of Work and Leisure LEONARD0 N. MERCADO, S.V.D.
Two young dogs in a mock fight growl, wrestle, and slightly bite each other. One obserer thinks the two dogs are practising for future battles. !ence, work. "nother obserer thinks both dogs are haing fun in the play of mock fight. !ence, play. " third obserer thinks the dogs are both working and playing. The intermingling of work and play seems to be a part of Filipino philosophy. The intermingling of work (Panginabuhi/hanapbuhay/pagbirukan respectiely in #ebuano $isayan, Tagalog, and %locano& (kalingawan/aliwan/pagliwliwaan) and leisure depends ultimately on the Filipino's world iew. !is world iew (according to the conclusion of a study& is non)dualistic or - if positiely e*) pressed - a philosophy of harmoni+ing opposites.' The Filipino wants to harmoni+e the obect and the subect, while at the same time, holding both as distinct. This principle runs through) out the arious aspects of Filipino philosophy, i.e., in man, world, and -od. For instance, the non)dualistic principle appears in the Filipino harmony)with)nature orientation. %t leads conseuently to a non)linear concept of time, space, causality. The same principle of non)dualism (or of harmony& also e*plains the Filipino's iew on work and leisure. The Filipino's non)dualistic world iew may be called /ertical/ and the Westerner's world iew /hori+ontal./ The following sketchy contrast applies to the concept of work. 0ust as time and space are linear or hori+ontal for the westerner, likewise his iew on work is also hori+ontal. %n western)oriented factories and other business firms, the goal is 72
PHILIPPINE STUDIES
producing more through efficiency. "nd specially with tech) nological progress, work becomes more impersonal and man becomes a slae of his machines. The slogan goes1 /2uty before pleasure./ %n other words, leisure is separate from work. Thus human actiity goes the linear progression of /because's./ " person goes to school because he wants to find a place in society. !e marries because he wants to propagate himself. !e works because he wants to earn money to buy his needs. !e works harder in order to get a promotion. Finally he retires. Only after retirement is he e*pected to fully enoy life. On the other hand, the Filipino blends work with leisure. For instance, planting and haresting is not purely work, for together with it go singing, drinking, and eating. For the fishermen who draw their nets, some of their companions roast the catch and drink tuba on the seashore. Working is more personalistic, and leisure is a part of it. The aboe)mentioned rural e*amples can also be applied in the city. 3arket endors oin work with the leisure of gossip and listening to the radio. "nd in the city, the office workers stress not pure work but the pleasure of camaraderie, i.e. the tendency of combining pleasure with work. Let us further illustrate the thesis by going oer a series of phenomena1 (4& the climate, (5& Philippine 6ocial structure, (7& business, and (8& folklore. The first two phenomena situate and partly e*plain the last two phenomena, namely, business and folklore. THE CLIMATE
Not a few western missionaries who come to the Philippines as young men, work igorously as if they were in temperate countries. On the other hand, their acclimati+ed older western co)missionaries hae learned to behae like Filipinos. "re Filipinos la+y9 :ecause of this oft)repeated accusation from the 6paniards, 0ose Rizal (1861-1896) had to refute the charge in his essay, /On the %ndolence of the Filipin;s./; !e
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has seeral arguments. Firstly, to work hard in the hot Philip) pine climate is unhealthy. 6econdly, the flourishing pre)colonial Filipino industries proe that Filipinos were not la+y.
8)75? B.C.) and seeral others after him said that people in colder climates work harder than those in mild ;limates.; This phenomenon is notice) able een within the same nation, that is, between the northerners and the southerners. Northern -ermans (Westphalians& are different from southern -ermans (:aarians&. Northern %talians and 6paniards are different economically and physically from the southern %talians and 6paniards. The type of climate a nation has dictates its people's type of housing, clothes, agriculture, and industry. :ecause nothing grows in winter, people of temperate countries hae learned to plan ahead and prepare for winter. On the other hand, people in 3.
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PHILIPPINE STUDIES
the tropics (like the Philippines& do not need to worry and plan for winter since nature is green the entire year. Filipinos belong to some of -od's spoiled children who can afford to take life easy because nature is kind. @en in the Philippines itself, regional differences can be attributed to geographical and climatic differences. :ecause of the arid and tight land situation in the %locos regions, the %locanos hae learned to economi+e. That is why the %locanos hae earned the reputation of being tightwads or the Filipino 6cotchmen. Aet, the %locano migrants to the fertile and wide #agayan alley of Northern Lu+on seem to behae differently from their brothers in %locos 6ur. "nd when Filipinos go abroad, they automatically adapt from the easy gait under the tropical sun to the fast walk in winter. Likewise Filipinos abroad tend to unlearn their Philippine habits and adapt themseles to the new en;ironment.; 6ince nature is kind to the Filipino, he has more leisure time. Thus the real hard working days for the farmer are in planting and haresting his crops. :etween the two periods, he is more free for other leisurely occupations. "nd some of the faorite Filipino kinds of leisure are magic and gambling. That Filipino musicians are in most "sian night clubs is a fact that indicates the Filipino inclination for music. :ecause Filipinos hae an ear for music, they can easily repeat a new song when played een ust once. -ambling as a form of leisure is inseparable from the Filipino soul. :ut it stops as a form of leisure when gambling becomes compulsie. When
!ILIPIN" PHIL"S"PH# "! $"%& 'ND LEISU%E
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has been described as the main feature (/The Filipino as -ambler/& in the newsmaga+ine Pa* %n short, work and leisure are blended for the Filipino partly because of his climate. !oweer, the same phenomenon is also reflected in the Philippine social structure. PHILIPPINE SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND WORK
" mechanic)helper of a yacht belonging to a Filipino multi) millionaire noticed the different treatment he got from western guests and from Filipino guests. The yacht would regularly hae both rich western and Filipino guests. 2uring the cruises he took it for granted that the guests must be sered as in a hotel, and that he eat with the other domestic helpers after the guests had eaten. :ut he was surprised that the "merican guests would help themseles in opening the battles or in sering themseles with the food. Furthermore, he een got more surprised when the "merican guests sered him with a drink or a sandwichC !e was not used to the eual treatment. Philippine society, the social scientists claim, is highly stratified and hierarchic. " big gap e*ists between the :ig People and 6mall People. This stratification already e*isted in pre) colonial Philippines. %n descending order they were the da+u (the ruling class&, the aharika (the nobility& the +iagua (the freemen or common class&, and the aipin (the serice, dependent class&. The carry)oer of this stratification is found today in the political and business datus on top and the aipin in the under) paid domestic help and tenants at the bottom of the social ladder. %n this stratified framework, manual work is only for the lower class whereas the modern da+u. think it undignified to soil their hands with manual labor. %f this condition is pre) colonial, to blame the 6panish coloni+ers for giing the bad e*ample of the .riri+ attitude toward work would be wrong. The class consciousness of the modern datus is reflected in their style of clothing (which pu++les their "merican peer& and in the way of showing off their wealth. One can sometimes see a
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The song illustrates the common belief that the #hinese are better businessmen than Filipinos. Why9 " #hinese priest who studied in the Philippines thought of the problem for a long time and came out with the follomng obseration1 " poor #hinese immigrant may begin with the buying)and) selling of empty bottles. "fter he saes more money, he goes as a traelling endor. Later he begins with a small shop or sari) sari store. !e may sell rice with a minimal gain. Perhaps the profit can be the empty sack which can be resold for a price. :ecause he sells cheaply he gets many customers. "t the same time he lies and eats with economy. "fter a few years his shop gets bigger. !e then acuires a small eep for transporting his business and for his family. Aears later he can afford to buy a car as the original shop becomes a supermarket in the hands of his children. On the other hand (the #hinese priest continues&, the Filipino businessman begins his store with a ningas kogon splurge. !e puts a big sign on his shop, buys a car. Dnlike the #hinese, the Filipino is eager to gain and get rich uickly. 6o he puts a wide margin of profit, only to find out that he gets less customers than the #hinese. Finally, the Filipino ends as a business failure. Perhaps this contrast gien by the #hinese priest is rather sweeping and simplistic. :ut it has a grain of truth. Filipinos grudgingly admit that #hinese are better businessmen for they hae a maor control of Philippine commerce. Likewise one often hears the generali+ation that Filipinos can spend all their saings for a big fiesta and suffer debts for the rest of the year. This pattern of action seems to indicate that the Filipino is this) worldly and impatient. !e wants to enoy the present and e*pects that tomorrow will take care of itself. This attitude is reflected in the popular character of the folk tales, 0uan Pusong. 0U'N PUS"N1 "N $"%& 'ND LEISU%E
0uan Pusong is a popular figure in the central and southern Philippines. @en the 3angyans, a minority group in 3indoro, hae Pusong tales.' 7
PHILIPPINE STUDIES
The Pusong tales are intended primarily for entertainment, as when people sit together for drinks "d e*change stories. Perhaps Pusong goes back to an ancient Filipino tradition, since already in 4EE> the 6panish 0esuit missionary "lcina wrote in a chapter deoted to :isayan amusements1 /"lthough they hae many histories of their ancestors which they tell
. . . they hae many
fables which they call Posong. "' 6ince the early Filipinos had no #hristian names, perhaps the name /0uan/ (as in 0uan de la C5(z, the typical Filipino name& was added later and Pusong became the surname due to the forced imposition of 6panish names.4 Pusong is not ust for okes because folklore mirrors a people's philosophy. First a slight digression. Pusong's character may escape categori+ation since he may actually be a corporate personality. Why9 %n the hundreds of Pusong tales, his character is presented differently. One group of tales presents him as a simpleton and la+y. Thus in one popular tale, Pusong, who was sent by his mother on an errand to buy clay pots and crabs, bundles the clay pots with a rope by piercing the bottom of the pots. !e tells the crabs to walk ahead of him homeward while he tarries behind to take it easy. %n another tale, Pusong hides the bag of salt he bought in the best /unstealable/ place - under waterC Aet, if Pusong appears stupid in some of the stories, so are many of the other characters. (!ere the character of Pusong coincides with the Tagalog 0uan Tamad and the %locano 0uan 6adut.ll :ut La+y 0ohn or 0uan Tamad%6adut is said to be the Filipini+ed ersion of a literary f i e based on a Portuguese origin, whereas Pusong seems older than the Portuguese model&.45 Furthermore, is another set of stories, Pusong is uite Fl#$ !# ing - A Ma";%a" Tal#,9 S5i#& and L#;#"$& F5+ Fili'i" Fl?l5# 1Ma"ila U"i4#5&i% "* Sa" T+a& !ress" 6), ''. -/-8. 6. Fll
different from 0uan Tamad of 0uan 6adut. The name Pusong in present)day $isayan means /a person who is good in putting up a front of innocence when committing mischief, so called from the character of !uwan Pusung of the folk tales who is always getting the better of people in higher places./47 Pusong in these set of tales is a sly man who begins poor but gets rich through his brains. %n one tale Pusong tricks the ?i"; (or datu&, marries the princess, and becomes the king.48 %n these stories, Pusong is also a great loer and always succeeds in getting his princess as a wife. "nother set of Pusong tales amounts to okes. "ny funny incident (true or fictitious& gets disguised as a Pusong tale where Pusong may be a child, a young man, a farmer, a professional, or wen a #hinaman. This third set of Pusong tales is not releant to the present consideration of work and leisure. Pusong does not seriously consider work for its own sake. 6f he works, leisure is always mi*ed &i#h it. !e enoys life for his thinking is this)worldly. %n other words, he does not think of /saing for a rainy day./ CONCLUDIN: REMARKS
We hae seen the phenomenon of work and leisure from the iewpoints of climate, social structure, business, and folklore. These four separate and related iewpoints seem to coherently e*plain the Filipino's philosophy of work and leisure. The hierarchic social structure e*plains the hierarchic nature of work. Those in the lower rank take manual work as a part of their lot, ust as a child resignedly accepts his lot of sering his elder brother. The child also knows that as he grows older, he can e*pect the same treatment from his younger siblings. 'ie- wise, as the Filipino ascends the social ladder, he unconsciously assumes the role on work which befits his leel. This attitude 3. J!" U. Wl** 12+'.), A Di+inary 3buan 4i.ayan, &'#2ial +";5a'! i&#(# 1"(+=#5 8) * !# iippin 0urna Lingui.+i., J("# 6, '. 7. 8. C5"#l, p* i+* A" i"*5+a" *5+ Ea" Sa+a5 5#la#& !# &a+# al#
