Story: Filipinos

Page 3. Culture

All images & media in this story

Among Filipinos, traditional values of pakikisama (smooth social interaction), amor propio (self-esteem), utang na loob (reciprocity) and the extended family are important. The American influence is also strong – shopping at malls and playing and watching sport are popular. What rugby is to New Zealanders, basketball is to Filipinos.

Filipino food

Filipinos have introduced their distinctive cuisine to New Zealand. Filipino restaurants have operated since the early 1980s, when Mrs Bautista’s Blades restaurant offered Wellingtonians paksiw na lechon (pork in liver sauce).

Language

Initially many found the Kiwi accent difficult to comprehend. Today almost all Filipinos speak English and the majority are bilingual. In New Zealand’s Filipino homes it is common to hear ‘Tag-lish’, a mixture of Tagalog (the main Filipino language) and English.

Religion

One legacy of over three centuries of Spanish rule is that the Philippines is the only predominantly Christian nation in South-East Asia. In 2013 most migrants were Roman Catholics. Christian faith is very important to Filipinos and inspires many to support programmes to alleviate poverty, improve education and health and provide disaster relief in the Philippines.

Manila in Mt Albert

In the mid-1990s Auckland’s Bayanihan Club ran a basketball league every Sunday at the Mt Albert recreation centre, where teams such as ‘Prime Steak Beef’ and ‘Geyserland’ battled it out. An observer remarked: ‘Going to these games is like being in Manila …There are people selling Filipino food and delicacies throughout the game; Filipino magazines and newspapers are also available, and Filipino movies are available for hire. A Filipino hairdresser is also around.’1

Clubs

The first Filipino club was established in Auckland in 1976 with just 20 members. By the 2000s there were dozens of Filipino organisations around the country, including community, hometown, sports and cultural associations, as well as church groups and charitable trusts. The Council of Auckland Philippine Organisations (CAPO) and the Federation of Filipino Associations, Clubs and Societies of New Zealand co-ordinate the activities of many of these groups. Events often include cultural performances, basketball tournaments and beauty pageants.

Media

The Filipino media in New Zealand is an effective means of spreading information and coordinating activities. A short-lived newsletter, Filipiniana, appeared in Wellington in the early 1980s. Auckland’s Diario Filipino, first printed in 1999 with a circulation of 200 copies, went online in 2000, and later other websites such as Filipino Migrant News and The New Zealand Filipino appeared. In the early 2000s an Auckland Filipino radio show, Tinig Pinoy, began. It announced community events, played Original Pilipino (Filipino) Music (known as OPM), and featured presenters with colourful names such as Ela ‘the Flame’ and Niño ‘Woofman’ Deomano. In the 2010s there were other community radio programmes for Filipinos, and Filipino radio stations including Mabuhay FM and Pinoy Radio Online.

Festivals

The New Zealand Filipino community unites to mark Philippine Independence Day (12 June), which commemorates the day in 1898 that the Philippines declared independence from Spanish rule. Celebrations include a flag-raising ceremony, religious services and other events. With a foot in each culture, by the 2000s many Kiwi Filipinos had dubbed themselves ‘Fiwis’.

Footnotes:
  1. H. Baral, ‘Filipino migrants in Auckland.’ In An ethno-geography of Taiwanese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants in Auckland, edited by Hong-Key Yoon. Auckland: Department of Geography, University of Auckland, 1995, p. 168. Back
How to cite this page:

Carl Walrond, 'Filipinos - Culture', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/filipinos/page-3 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Carl Walrond, published 8 Feb 2005, reviewed & revised 10 Sep 2015