Ancient+Philippines

Carinosa is the national dance of the Philippines. It was originated in the Panay Islands on the Visayan Islands. This dance was introduced by the Spaniards during their colonization of the Philippines. This dance is related to a few Spanish dances like the bolero. It is also related to Mexican dances like the Jarabe Tapatio and the Mexican Hat Dance. This dance resembles the courtship through the interpretation of the dancers.
 * Philippine Dance **
 * Carinosa[[image:historicalroots/carinosa.jpg width="234" height="172" align="right"]] **

Sinulog is one of the colourful festivals in the Philippines. It is held every January. Sinulog is a Cebuano word that means “like the flowing rivers”. The dancers usually dance forward and back to the beat of the drum. Before the Spaniards came to Philippines, Sinulog was danced by Filipinos to give honour to their deities. Sinulog changed between the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. Today, Sinulog has different versions throughout Cebu. Because of its popularity, Cebu is the number one tourist destination during the month of January in the Philippines.
 * Sinulog **

Tinikling is a well-known dance in the Philippines. This dance is from the province of Leyte in Visayas. Tinikling is from the word “tikling”, a type of bird that has long legs, a sharp beak and soft feathers. This dance is also known as “the bird dance” because the dancers imitate the speed of the ‘tikling’ by their excellent dancing between two, long sticks of bamboo.
 * Tinikling[[image:historicalroots/tinikling.jpg align="right"]] **

During a very long time the Filipino people were dominated by the Spaniards during the long colonial period and after that by the United States. Because of these foreign influences, a mixed culture developed, a mixture of foreign influences with native elements.
 * Clothes and Fashion **

 **Barong Tagalog** – the official national costume of Filipino men. The upper garment of the boy in the picture is a //barong//. It is worn over a Chinese collarless shirt called //camisa de Chino//. The boy is also wearing the traditional wide-brimmed hat //salakot//, which is usually made of rattan or reeds. **Baro at Saya** – the official national costume of Filipino women. The //baro// is the top blouse. The //saya// is the skirt.

The script is often referred to as //alibata//, a term coined inexplicably to mimic the first two letters of the alphabet of the Maguindanao, used in the southern Philippines, which is derived from Arabic. (The term refers to the first two letters, alif and bet.) It is also called //baybayin//, which means "to spell" in Tagalog.
 * Writing **

Although the major languages of the Philippines are now written using the Roman alphabet, the languages were first represented using a script related to and directly or indirectly derived from the scripts of India. The script had a short history, having come into use around 1000-1200 AD and for the most part becoming extinct in the late 18th century.
 * Origin of //Alibata// **

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