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What does the Philippines - our relatively faraway Southeast neighbour - make us think of? Her notorious politics (now pale c ompared to ours). Image of the Sick Man of Asia (a title we've already snatched). Notorious politicians (Joseph Estrada plus the late Ferdinand Marcos equal less than half of Thaksin Shinawatra). Land of archipelagos - 7,170 islands, to be precise. Rice terraces. A devout Catholic nation. A land of talented singers, and so on.
PRESENTING THE PHILIPPINES - Nigel Hicks John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd, 160 pp, 895 baht ISBN 978-1906780203
The curious thing about the Philippines is that it's our close neighbour. However, the country appears isolated from the region.
On the surface, Filipinos are perhaps the most-Westernised Asian country: Christianity, their commandeering English proficiency, not to mention their romantic Spanish names. But the truth is we do not know much about this island nation. There are no cultural products, if we exclude the phenomenal Filipino songbird Charice Pempengco. Manila has hardly been one of our must-visit tourist destinations, not mentioning the sandy beaches in Mindanao. And the food is arguably not for our palates (except for Halo-Halo, a purplish dessert made with dried mangoes and taro ice cream). Perhaps, we do not pay much heed to learn more about this neighbouring country of ours. Or perhaps our local bookstores do not carry many books about the country. Such a need is the first reason that makes Presenting the Philippines, by British author-photographer Nigel Hicks, worth checking out.
At first browse, the book is just another coffee table book loaded with typical landscape images and everyday life - fisherman catching fish, farmers harvesting rice, exotic tribal villagers, and so on.
But after reading past the introduction, the book turns out to be a substantial and well-written story of a truly unique country.
Hicks has done a lot of homework to tell the various aspects of Filipinos and their country. In the chapter "The People", the author offers information about the genesis of Filipinos; a story that began 5,000 years ago when Austronesians migrated from southern China and then settled down throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Polynesia. Ample space is dedicated to the history and conflict from the colonisation with Spain and the US, social issues, environmental problems, ethnic background and diversity, as well as the origin of conflict between minority Muslims in the deep south archipelago region.
At this stage, the heavy topic might have made for a boring read, however, the writer's prose, simplicity and his glowing admiration towards the country and her people make the book a worthy read. And what I like most are the lively anecdotes.
On the origin of the Santo Nino - the country's most famous religious statue in Basilica Minore, in Cebu City - the author tells the story of the celebrated seafarer Ferdinand Magellan, who presented the Santo Nino statue to the wife of Rajah Humabon, leading chief of Cebu, when the Spaniards arrived there in 1521.
"Magellan was killed within days, which leads one to wonder if perhaps he should have held onto the statue and its protective powers."
My favourite anecdote is the part that speaks volume about the jovial nature of Filipinos through their view on colonisation - 350 years with Spain and 50 years with the US.
"Today, even the Filipinos joke that they spent 350 years in the convent and 50 in Hollywood."
Available at Asia Books.
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About the author
- Writer: Anchalee Kongrut
- Position: News Reporter
