Sunday, March 8, 2015

post iv: values.

One of the things that I found unique in the Filipino culture was the "mano po". It is when a person giving the greeting bows towards the offered hand of the elder and presses his or her forehead on the elder's hand. The word “mano” is Spanish for “hand” while the word “po” is often used in Filipino culture and language at the end of each sentence as a sign of respect when addressing someone older. Put together, “mano po” literally translates to “your hand please” as the greeting initiates the gesture of touching the back of the hand of an elder lightly on one’s forehead. 
Mano po is still used in the Philippines right now. This gesture can be done to anyone older than them and it is just basically to show respect to the elders. By offering your hand to “mano”, you are allowing yourself to be subservient to the elder to accept their blessing and wisdom. It is considered impolite if one does not exercise the custom of “pagmamano” when entering the home of an elder or after seeing them at a gathering. Respect is a big thing in the country since Filipinos are truly loyal to their family. Everyone respects each other and everyone values people's authority. The gesture is usually followed with a "God Bless You". It is a unique thing Filipinos do, I've never seen other countries do such thing.

3 comments:

  1. This post was so interesting to read about and I loved hearing about cultural differences between America and the Phillipines! It related perfectly to what we are talking about in class. Can't wait to hear more.

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  2. Beautiful painting. Do you know who painted this?

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