Important Cebuano Cultures 

Cebu, with its typhoon free deep seaport, has always been a trading place. Maybe because of that contact with other cultures took place earlier than in other areas, and maybe had greater influence.

Trade with China began as early as the 4^th century A.D. Arabs, spreading Moslem influence, came around 1,400 A.D. Elements of Indian culture probably came along with the Malay. Many Filipino words, for instance, are of Sanskrit origin.

The first European to set foot in the Philippines, the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, saling in the service of the king of Spain, happened to make his first acquaintance with the country in Cebu, or “Sugbo”, as the settlement was called in those times. His arrival brought Spanish rule, administration and faith, three issues that would have a tremendous influence on Philippine culture over the years. But the Filipino did not become a Spaniard. He remained Filipino with his own culture and values, of which two are the most important. First, and above all, family ties. These ties are not easy to understand as they are subject to a whole system of sociological values.

The second most important issue is that of “utang”. A person who receives a favor from someone, whether friend or stranger, is expected to pay this “debt of gratitude” back. Filipino loss of face is also important, but less as is the case in Chinese or Japanese societies.

Eighty percent of the population is Catholic. In many cases Catholicism is mixed with traces of other religions or cultures. The end-product is often quite different from the original Catholic issue. For instance interpretation is sometimes so literal that it becomes tangible. There are places in the country, for example, where at Easter people let themselves be nailed to a real cross. In Cebu things are not that dramatic, may be because its tradition as a center of trade, for which tolerance is a first priority, and a sense of acceptance of other influences developed. Although it went wrong with Magellan in Cebu, the initial acceptance of the Spanish and the Spanish faith point in the same direction of tolerance.

A striking example of Cebu’s open-mindedness might be that there is no Chinatown, although the number of Filipino-Chinese is relatively larger than anywhere else in the country. Many different religions have found their place in today’s Cebu. After the Catholiccs the Moslems are the second largest group, followed by the Protestants.