Blogpost #2: The Filipino culture

Believe it or not, I've courted a girl with the famous Filipino courtship tradition, the Harana or serenading. Take note that I did the traditional serenading where I sing underneath her window in the night. It was a challenging but a great experience because after several minutes of singing at the same time playing the guitar, I don't know if she'll invite you to go inside her house or not but fortunately, she let me in. There are several traditions around the Philippines and each region has their own tradition when it comes to courtship.

I have read an article by Ramond Ople, a blogger, entitled "The Harana and other filipino courtship/marriage traditions" on tpculture.wordpress.com. It stated that:

"Basically a harana is when a man attempts to woo a woman by singing underneath her window during nighttime. The man continues to sing until the woman (if she so chooses) decides to let the man (and whatever company he has) inside her house for refreshments etc. When this happens, it becomes a impromptu mini-soiree of sorts"

Wooing a woman is hard but wooing a woman with harana is even harder. back in the days you really need to be good at music when you want to serenade a woman. You need to compose your own song and give the song a tune. And you really need to have a good voice in order to impress the woman. Besides harana, there are several more traditions around the Philippines.

I have read another article by Shaina Sanchez entitled "Sweeping a Filipina off her feet - Filipino courtship practices" on magandafilipino.com. It stated that:

"In some areas in Mindanao (bottom part of the Philippines), Muslim traditions thrive even in the matters of the heart. Courting is a lot more expensive here because before you can marry a girl, a dowry is required by the girl’s family. The value shall depend on the status of the family and to the educational accomplishment of the girl. A maiden holding a Master’s degree will have a higher price than a girl who did not finish her studies. The maiden have no freedom to love whoever she like since she is regarded as a family property. Pre-arranged marriage is the custom and families of high status reward their children to wealthy men so as to preserve and even to enrich their wealth."

In Mindanao, money matters more than love. If you're just an ordinary guy with just enough money to support yourself, then don't even bother court a woman. Literally, the man is buying the woman in order to be his wife. And the sad part is the woman has no freedom. They can't even pick the man they love to be their husbands. I know it's the tradition but not all traditions are meant to be kept.

Courting a woman is one of the major task a man need to do in order to express his feelings for her. If you really love the girl then court her. Even if we have different traditions of courtship, we men have different ways to court a girl. Just be ourselves and be confident on what you are doing.