Different Types of Chinese in the Philippines

I live in the Philippines, in a busy city of Metro Manila. I am a Filipino citizen, but anyone who sees me would easily identify me as a Chinese. My almond-shaped eyes and fair complexion would sometimes lead others to believe that I am a foreigner who does not know how to speak or understand Filipino (the country's national language). There were also times when some of my Filipino friends would innocently ask me, if I am a Chinese, then why am I here? What am I doing in the Philippines? Well, it all started a few generations back.

During the period from the Chinese Revolution of 1911 to the Chinese Civil War, many Chinese, both male and female, arrived in the Philippines and settled down. Among the group were my grandparents. They have retained many Chinese practices, values and beliefs, but also assimilated some Filipino customs within their own practices. Most of them became Catholic but also practice Buddhism side by side with Catholicism. Many of them also became Protestants. They speak the Chinese dialect Hokkien among themselves and speak Chinese Mandarin which is learnt in school. They practice Chinese customs such as Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival as well as certain customs for weddings, birthdays, and funerals. These customs may already have certain variations from what other Chinese practice from other parts of the globe.

But they are not the only Filipino Chinese in the Philippines. In fact, the first batch of Chinese to arrive here can be traced backed during the Spanish colonization (about six to eight generations ago). Unlike the Chinese that came during the 20th century, the Chinese during the Spanish times were predominantly male, had intermarried with Malays and Spaniards, thus somehow losing the Chinese culture along the process. This specific group were referred to as the Chinese Mestizos. The more recent generation of Chinese however (starting from my grandparents' time), prefers to keep the culture intact and discourages intermarriages, thus was often to referred to as the full-blooded Chinese. However, many Chinese Mestizos are already tracing back to their Chinese roots by learning Chinese language and culture.

Another batch of immigrants from Mainland China has arrived in the Philippines. They are the newest Chinese to arrive so far, and has yet to adapt in the Philippine soil. They can also be refered to as the Third Chinese. For some reasons, the Third Chinese and the Second Chinese hate each other. Their cultures are already distinct from each other as well as their accent. I myself have difficulty understanding their language and perhaps they also feel the same way. Since the Third Chinese retain the purest form of Chinese culture, they are often referred to as Genuine Instik (meaning Genuine Chinese) or simply G.I. (a rather rude adjective) by Filipinos and Second Chinese alike.

For Filipinos, perhaps they would find it challenging to distinguish the three groups of Chinese in the Philippines. For us, it is easy. For Filipinos, Chinese is Chinese. But to us, we are very much divided. In our Chinese community, the elders discourage intermarriages with Filipinos. To add more restrictions to our already very limited choices for prospective spouses, the Chinese elders also forbid marriage with the Third Chinese! Despite that, it is starting to become a trend for a Second Chinese descendant to marry a recent Chinese immigrant, with a negative consequence of bearing a stigma. Sad how a single culture can become so divided.

For more information about the history of Filipino Chinese, read this article from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_Chinese