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========== http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Suvarnabhumi.htm#Philippines%20or%20part%20of%20Sri%20Vijaya%20Empire

Philippines or part of Sri Vijaya Empire

Philippines was for a time part of the Sri Vijaya Empire, which has been described by Filippino historians, as Hinduistic in culture.

Dr Pardo de Tavera has observed:

“It is impossible to believe that the Hindus, if they came only as merchants, however great their number, would have impressed themselves in such a way as to give to these islanders, the Philippines, the number and the kind of words, which they did give. These names of dignitaries, of caciques, of high functionaries of the court, of noble ladies, indicate that these high positions, with names of Sanskrit origin, were occupied at one time by men, who spoke that language. The words of similar origin, for objects of war, fortresses and battle songs, for designating objects of religious beliefs, for superstitions, emotions, feelings, industrial and farming activities, show us clearly that the warfare, religion, literature, industry and agriculture were at once time in the hands of the Hindus and that this race was effectively dominant in the Philippines.”

(source: El Sanscrito en la langua Tagalag - T H Pardo de Tavera Paris 1887; The Philippines and India - Dhirendra Nath Roy Manila 1929 and India and The World - By Buddha Prakash p. 119-120).

According to Alfred Louis Kroeber (1876-1960), American anthropologist, and a major figure in the founding of modern anthropology, as well as author of Peoples of the Philippines (1919):

"Most of the folklore of the Philippines is of Hindu origin."

"There is no tribe in the Philippines no matter how primitive and remote, in whose culture today elements of Indian origin cannot be traced." Pre-Spanish Philippine society with its nobility, code of laws, and political procedure, was largely of Indian cast. Some years ago when a legislative building was put in Manila, the capital, four figures were carved on its facade illustrating the source of the Philippine culture, one of which is Manu, the ancient Indian lawgiver. Beyer, the first to conduct systematic archaeological investigation in the Philippines, finds formidable evidence to strengthen the view that there was pre-Christian contact between India and Southeast Asia.

The Hindu element in the ancient Philippine religious beliefs, and in the names of old Philippine gods, and of legendary heroes is quite apparent. Several religious objects have been unearthed in the island of Mactan, including two images of Hindu deities.

Two Filipino scholars, Tavera and Paterno, have concluded that about 25 % of the Philippine vocabularies can be traced to Indian influence.

For instance: bahagi (part, portion), in Tagalog is bhag in Hindi, katha (story, fiction) - katha; diwata (god or goddess) is devata dukha (poor, destitute) is duhkha guru (teacher) is guru mukha (face) is mukha yaya (nurse) is aya and so on..

Philippine literature, stories, and folklore are traceable to India. The Maranawa epic -

An adaptation of "The Ramayana," the 4th century Indian epic, as preserved by the Maranao people of the South Philippines. A story of the battle between good and evil, with love, deceit, heroism and triumph

http://www.tabacofamily.com/jtabaco/india.asp

"Rajah Mangandiri" or "the Ramayana of the Philippines. Certain parts of southeast Asia, including the southern Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, were dominated by the Hindu culture of the Sri Vidyayah Empire from the 4th to the 10th centuries, said a press release. Some aspects of Hindu culture, for instance the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, have thrived in those regions to the present day.

http://www.indiaabroadonline.com/PublicAccess/ia-12082000/Arts/Philippine.html

The history of Malacca is largely the story of the city for which it is named, and the story of the city of Malacca begins with the fascinating and partly legendary tale of the Hindu prince Parameswara.

An eminent historian of the Philippines suggests ethnic affinity between Indians and Filipinos, because of which certain racial qualities of the Filipinos - their dignity of bearing, their stoical outlook on life, and their indifference to pain and misfortune - were inherited from the Hindus.

(source: Philippine Political and Cultural History - By G. F. Zaide p. 45).

When the Philippines drafted its Constitution, it placed the statue of Manu in the Assembly Hall with this inscription on its base: "The first, the greatest and the wisest law-giver of mankind." Researches into the racial and cultural origins of the Philippines increasingly prove that it was colonized by some people in South India. In fact, the script of the Filipinos has some obvious similarities with that of South India. "Our dialects belong to the Dravidian family." says Justice Romualdez. "The names of some places on the shores of Manila Bay and the coast of Luzon show their Sanskrit origin."

Indian influence is most patent in handicrafts and the old names of coins used there. Many social customs current there show a likeness to the Indian ones. Saleeby says, "The head-gods of the Indian Triad and the earliest Vedic gods had the foremost place in the minds and devotion of the hill-tribes of Luzon and Mindanao. A Ganesha statue too was found there. Indeed as Beyer says, "India has most profoundly affected the Philippine civilization."

Even the national flower of Philippines is the Indian champaka. The Indian influence on Philippines is explicable by the fact that it was that it was for 150 years a colony of a Java-based Hindu Empire of Sri Vijaya.

(source: The Soul of India - By Satyavrata R Patel p. 30).

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