Welcome to Brown Nation! As you can probably see, we really do have pride in our culture, so if you got anything to show us about the Filipino Culture that you think we might be interested in posting, then feel free to send it over to:BrownNationCulture@yahoo.com
In the United States, Tinikling is taught as part of physical education classes in elementary, middle and high school grade levels. It’s considered a form of aerobic exercise that also improves spatial awareness, rhythm, foot and leg speed, agility, and coordination. Check out this new style called “Hip Hop Tinikling”!
Tinikling is the most popular and best known of the Philippine dances and honored as the Philippine national dance. Considered as one of the oldest dances from the Philippines, this form of dancing was originated in the islands of Leyte in the Visayan Islands. The dance imitates the movement of the tikling birds as they walk between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers. Dancers imitate the tikling bird’s legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles. Tinikling means “bamboo dance” in English.
Besides the rice, pancit and chicken adobo, filipino cuisine also offers a strange assortment of foods that not all Filipinos know about. For example, did you know that animal bile is used in some Filipino dishes or that the chocolate in chocolate meat isn’t really what it seems? As disgusting as it may sound, some of these dishes are actually tasty and delicious.
Balut
One of the most widely known delicacies to Filipinos, the balut is a two-week-old duck embryo baked in their shell. It is eaten by cracking a small hole on the rounder part of the shell till it becomes the size of a bottle cap. Salt is usually sprinkled on top for seasoning, the juice from the balut is sipped and then voila, the small little duck is eaten.
Dinuguan
Also called dinardaraan in Ilocano, or chocolate meat in English. This dish is a savory stew of blood and meat simmered in a rich gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the word dugo meaning “blood”. It is recognizably thick and dark, hence the Westernized euphemism “chocolate meat.”
Most of you Filipinos out there probably ate Malunggay with chicken as tinola, or with fish and other vegetables, mongo soup dishes, and blanched as salads. But, did you know that the Malunggay is a miracle vegetable. Here’s a little information about the Malunggay that we found interesting.
Here’s a list of sites that we here at Brown Nation think you should know about. These are quick links to spots on the web that relate to culture, music, and arts, as well as a listing of random sites that we like.
