Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Scientists Discover Beach Bum - PINOYS DAW!
Scientists Discover Beach Bum Gene
by Larry Jamesson
Washington, DC - You’re slacking off at work and still feel like hitting the beach. If you’re Filipino, you may just be exhibiting behavioral traits inherited from your beach bum ancestors.
The study released by the University of North Washington’s Anthropological Laboratories of America, the recognized leader in cultural anthropology, reports that “The markedly different cultural aspects of Archipelagic Southeast Asian (Filipino) culture today, like the “beach lifestyle,” is a result of a prehistoric cultural clash among early Southeast Asians, as evident in each culture’s ancient history.
“It’s like they all just decided they don’t want to be royal subjects of any king, so they headed to the beach and partied for the rest of their days,” says Dr. Kenneth Battachara, who headed the study. Anthropologists call this “antecultural migration,” when an ethnic group splits due to differences in culture.
According to the study, just when the great Southeast Asian kingdom civilizations were being established in Vietnam, Khmer, Burma, Siam, and Java – heavily influenced by south migration and trade with the Indian and Chinese Empires (after whom Indochina was named) - the Filipino ancestors may not have appreciated the peace and security in living a kingdom because of the rigid social hierarchy, strict laws, patriotic servitude, forced labor, and wars. This group of defectors included artists, musicians, actors, and singers who reject the repetitive and meticulous practice of the arts in the royal courts; as well as jesters and orators, storytellers and satirists, who may have yearned to crack a joke about the king without risk of punishment; and the nature-worshippers who believe in the supernatural rather than in the divinity of a human god. They preferred a simpler lifestyle, lacked political or military ambitions, had difficulty taking orders, but were probably bad self-regulators. If you look at chaotic Philippines now, where showbiz and politics meet, where the press lacks self-control, and where the clout of the Catholic Church is so tragic, it’s funny, it is not hard to give credence to the study.
The ancient group of free-spirited sailors, eventually formed a leadership structure called balangay, named after the boats they used in search of the perfect beach. The balangay government consolidate food-sourcing efforts and maintain peace and order, and seldom exhibit empire-building ambitions. Food self-sufficiency de-necessitated this, as well as a formal trade system. Abundance of natural resources and warm climate meant sophisticated technology need not be invented.
The lack of a strong imperial culture made for a weak sense of history and continuity as a disciplined system of record-keeping is the hallmark of empires. No one formal religion can also dominate without a strong kingdom patronizing it. This, along with the welcoming, laid-back attitude of the Archipelagic Southeast Asians made European colonization easier.
That Age of Exploration and Imperialism then brought to the Philippines the country’s first elites. Like the elites of Latin America, the vast Spanish colony on the other side of the Pacific, the first Philippine elites were Spanish-Europeans who came to the colonies who knew nothing but a feudal culture. They know no other way of managing property except through amassing land, having slaves till them while keeping their loyalty in check. The landed, rich immediately distinguished themselves from the natives, and that attitude exists today still, long after intermarriage and patriotic movements have technically consolidated the elits and natives into a nation. Today, the socio-cultural divide, and mutual distrust persist. The culture lives on. AP
by Larry Jamesson
Washington, DC - You’re slacking off at work and still feel like hitting the beach. If you’re Filipino, you may just be exhibiting behavioral traits inherited from your beach bum ancestors.
The study released by the University of North Washington’s Anthropological Laboratories of America, the recognized leader in cultural anthropology, reports that “The markedly different cultural aspects of Archipelagic Southeast Asian (Filipino) culture today, like the “beach lifestyle,” is a result of a prehistoric cultural clash among early Southeast Asians, as evident in each culture’s ancient history.
“It’s like they all just decided they don’t want to be royal subjects of any king, so they headed to the beach and partied for the rest of their days,” says Dr. Kenneth Battachara, who headed the study. Anthropologists call this “antecultural migration,” when an ethnic group splits due to differences in culture.
According to the study, just when the great Southeast Asian kingdom civilizations were being established in Vietnam, Khmer, Burma, Siam, and Java – heavily influenced by south migration and trade with the Indian and Chinese Empires (after whom Indochina was named) - the Filipino ancestors may not have appreciated the peace and security in living a kingdom because of the rigid social hierarchy, strict laws, patriotic servitude, forced labor, and wars. This group of defectors included artists, musicians, actors, and singers who reject the repetitive and meticulous practice of the arts in the royal courts; as well as jesters and orators, storytellers and satirists, who may have yearned to crack a joke about the king without risk of punishment; and the nature-worshippers who believe in the supernatural rather than in the divinity of a human god. They preferred a simpler lifestyle, lacked political or military ambitions, had difficulty taking orders, but were probably bad self-regulators. If you look at chaotic Philippines now, where showbiz and politics meet, where the press lacks self-control, and where the clout of the Catholic Church is so tragic, it’s funny, it is not hard to give credence to the study.
The ancient group of free-spirited sailors, eventually formed a leadership structure called balangay, named after the boats they used in search of the perfect beach. The balangay government consolidate food-sourcing efforts and maintain peace and order, and seldom exhibit empire-building ambitions. Food self-sufficiency de-necessitated this, as well as a formal trade system. Abundance of natural resources and warm climate meant sophisticated technology need not be invented.
The lack of a strong imperial culture made for a weak sense of history and continuity as a disciplined system of record-keeping is the hallmark of empires. No one formal religion can also dominate without a strong kingdom patronizing it. This, along with the welcoming, laid-back attitude of the Archipelagic Southeast Asians made European colonization easier.
That Age of Exploration and Imperialism then brought to the Philippines the country’s first elites. Like the elites of Latin America, the vast Spanish colony on the other side of the Pacific, the first Philippine elites were Spanish-Europeans who came to the colonies who knew nothing but a feudal culture. They know no other way of managing property except through amassing land, having slaves till them while keeping their loyalty in check. The landed, rich immediately distinguished themselves from the natives, and that attitude exists today still, long after intermarriage and patriotic movements have technically consolidated the elits and natives into a nation. Today, the socio-cultural divide, and mutual distrust persist. The culture lives on. AP
# posted by rey agapay @ 9:23 AM 
