Monday, March 28, 2011

Behind the bizzare names...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9435751.stm

I personally find the above article very interesting. I think the penchant for alternative names among Filipinos resonates well with the subconscious quest for Filipino identity. While Filipinos have been in the convent for 400 years (referring to the Spanish colonization) and for about 50 years in Hollywood (i.e. US occupation), the effort to have a unique identity, away from the usual Jose, Joe, Mary or Maria, led to 'ingenuous' names emanating from just about anything - days of the week, names of planets, combination of the first syllables of names of both grandfathers, etc. - without realizing how funny or weird those names are to foreign observers. Nowadays, no Filipino in his or her good mind will name his/her baby pre-colonial names like Lakandula, Lakandiwa, Lakan, or Malakas. To them, those names are probably too archaic or non-representative that Filipinos would rather subconsciously resort to just about anything that would inspire them. For instance, my nickname is "Tsetung" but since I come from the southern part of the country, everybody seemed to pronounce it as "Chitong". I have no idea where my parents got that name nor even bothered to ask them. I know however that Mao Tse Tung declared the end of the Cultural Revolution during the year I was born. ;)

Indeed, there is no precise explanation to these names or nicknames. Nevertheless, just like the Filipino culture, the logic behind these 'playful' names may be captured in one word: FUSION. An amalgamation of different things. A historical plethora of different influences.