The culture of the Philippines is a combination of cultures of the East and West.Filipino identity was created primarily as a result of pre-colonial cultures, colonial influences and Chinese traders intermixing together; gradually evolving into a uniquely Filipino identity while Oman’s culture is steeped in the religion of Islam. Oman has developed its own subsect of Islam, known as Ibadhism, however other strands of Islam such as Sunni and Shi’a are also practiced. With this in mind, the Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan, and other Islamic festivities are very important events in the Omani culture.
Philippine folk dances include the Tinikling and Cariñosa. In the southern region of Mindanao, Singkil is a popular dance showcasing the story of a prince and princess in the forest. Bamboo poles are arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing poles. While Oman’s dance were influenced by contacts with Africa and the western part of Asia. (Several types of drums and many dance genres come from Africa.) The bowl lyre (tanbura, Oman’s only known chordophone, apart from the ud), came from Africa (where it is known in different countries under various names). The surnay, a single or double reed wooden oboe, is one of the few melodic instruments. It is of Baluchi origin. It spread from Oman throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The use of a conch may have been influenced by contacts with India
In Philippine, popular snacks and desserts such as chicharon (deep fried pork or chicken skin), halo-halo (crushed ice with evaporated milk, flan, sliced tropical fruit, and sweet beans), puto (white rice cakes), bibingka (rice cake with butter or margarine and salted eggs), ensaymada (sweet roll with grated cheese on top), polvoron (powder candy), and tsokolate (chocolate) are usually eaten outside the three main meals. Popular Philippine beverages include San Miguel Beer, Tanduay Rhum, coconut arrack, and tuba. While in Oman, The cuisine is generally very simple, with the aid of many spices and marinades to complete a dish, which usually consists of chicken, fish, and lamb. Unlike that of many other Asian nations, Omani cuisine is not spicy, and varies regionally. Everyday meals generally have components such as rice, a wide variety of soups, salad, curry, and fresh vegetables. For dessert, many Omani people have a kind of sweet, known as Omani halwa. This is usually served before the consumption of kahwa, a preparation of coffee with cardamom, which is very popular and remains a symbol of hospitality. Other popular beverages include tea, laban (a kind of salty buttermilk), yoghurt drinks, and soft drinks like mountain dew.
The clothing style and fashion sense of the Filipinos in the modern-day era have been influenced by their native ancestors. With a tropical climate (dry and rainy seasons), early Filipinos – as well as the still extant tribal groups in the Philippines – wore colorful woven clothes, often with “intricate beadwork” and other ornaments. Other items of native clothing during pre-Spanish Philippines were the canga and the bahag. The canga is a type of a collarless shirt – which later became adorned with laces, trimmings, buttons, and a collar – was where from the Barong Tagalog evolved. On the other hand,
The male national dress in Oman consists of the dishdasha, a simple, ankle-length, collarless gown with long sleeves. Most frequently white in colour, the dishdasha may also appear in a variety of other colours. Its main adornment, a tassel (furakha) sewn into the neckline, can be impregnated with perfume. Underneath the dishdasha, men wear a plain, wide strip of cloth wrapped around the body from the waist down. The most noted regional differences in dishdasha designs are the style with which they are embroidered, which varies according to age group. On formal occasions a black or beige cloak called a bisht may cover the dishdasha. The embroidery edging the cloak is often in silver or gold thread and it is intricate in detail.
Omani men wear two types of headdress:
- the ghutra, also called “Musar” a square piece of woven wool or cotton fabric of a single colour, decorated with various embroidered patterns.
- the kummah, a cap that is the head dress worn during leisure hours.[
Some men carry the assa, a stick, which can have practical uses or is simply used as an accessory during formal events. Omani men, on the whole, wear sandals on their feet.
In Philippines, Twenty-one languages are spoken regionally. These include: Aklanon, Basian, Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano, Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ilonggo, Ivatan, Maranao, Tagalog, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Waray, Maguindanao, Pangasinan, Sambal, Surigaonon, Tausug, and Yakan.
Each of these represents a major indigenous language of Philippines that is spoken in areas inhabited by large populations of native speakers. The majority of these regional languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language family sub-group, and this sub-group belongs to the Austronesian language family. This is true with the exception of Chavacano, which is a Spanish-based creole language. It is the only Spanish-based Creole language in Asia and has been spoken for around 400 years. This makes the language one of the oldest Creole languages in the world. Chavacano has an estimated 1.2 million speakers. While Arabic is recognized as Oman’s national and official language. The Baluchi language is also widely spoken in Oman. Several South Arabian languages are used in Oman. Mehri is used by the Mahra people in Oman as well as Kuwait and Yemen. The Nagdi dialect of Mehri is the most popular in Oman. The Shehri language is indigenous to the Dhofar region where it had 25,000 speakers in 1993. Most of the speakers have since adopted Dhofari Arabic. The Harasis people, who inhabit the Harasis Mountains situated in Dhofar province, use the Harsusi language. Bathari and Hobyot languages are other native forms of the language in Oman.
Due to its isolation, the Philippines has one of the highest levels of biodiversity found in the world and is home to 5% of the world’s flora. The best places to experience tropical rainforests in the Philippines are on the islands of Bohol, Mindanao and Palawan. It is on these islands that a big portion of the original jungle of the Philippines is preserved. Forests are made up of banyan and palm trees as well as many indigenous trees with extremely hard wood. Mangrove trees and nipa palms grow in coastal swamps. At least one-third of the 9,250 vascular plants in the Philippines are endemic, and two-thirds of the 150 palm species are found no where else in the world while Oman takes great pride in its magnificent ecology and diverse flora and fauna, actively protecting it through the establishment of nature reserves such as the Daymaniyat Islands near Muscat, the turtle reserve at Ras Al Jinz, the Land of Frankincense in Dhofar or the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Al Wusta.Special attention is given to threatened or endangered species, as the oceans surrounding Oman are home to a range of fish species as well as dolphins and migrating whales; together with intricate corals and unique species of seaweeds that support the marine ecosystem.Inland, protected areas cover vast areas serving as important breeding grounds for endangered species such as the Arabian Oryx, Nubian Ibex or rare Arabian Leopard. The Sultanate is also a bird watcher’s paradise, witnessing the migration of over 130 species of birds each year.Nature reserves and habitats in the Sultanate cover an area of almost 30,000 square kilometers and also encompass reserves dedicated to plant life; the most famous being Oman’s frankincense trees.
CULTURES 