A Cultural Research

A CULTURAL RESEARCH
People and their Culture
To introduce our research study :

Jahoda (1984), said that “culture” is by far the most elusive concept throughout the
language of the social sciences, and the list of books devoted to the topic will indeed fill
numerous library shelves.
➢ The understanding of culture is far from simple. Human behavior is influenced by

culture, so acknowledging it is becoming extremely important in society. People learn
about their own as well as others' cultures mainly, if not exclusively, by watching how
people in a given organization think, act, and interact.
Purpose:
➢ In our case, we gathered data by interviewing people of a different culture than us.
The sole purpose of this interview is to; (1) gage our respondents’ view of their culture
as an important factor in molding them as a person, (2) identifying the involvement
and significance of immaterial and material culture in their cultural practices, (3)
identifying their unique cultural values and its prevalence at present, and (4) their
views of their culture in this changing times.
Participants of the Study :
➢ To classify the respondents from the others, respondents were first asked about their
ethnic origin. The results were positively giving us 3 ethnic origins namely- Ykalinga,
Ifugao, and Ibaloi.
- Majority of the respondents grew up in a family with both parents of the

same ethnic origin, some were in a family of half Kankanaey and half
Ibaloi. However, they were more emersed to only one culture growing up.
➢ Given the challenges brought by the ongoing pandemic, the interview was made
possible by using various online platforms. The interviewers drafted their inquiries
first and have them verified then approved by the teacher before floating. The
questions were contained in a google form and sent out to respondents via google form
links or email wherein they are allowed to elaborate or provide more information if he
or she opts to do so.
➢ All in all, we have 5 questions with follow up and will be introduced latter on our
results
➢ The chosen respondents for this interview were different from the interviewer’s
cultural backgrounds (Ilokano and Kankanaey). There are 5 individuals ages 20- 22,
all students from different universities and courses. Their identities are better kept
confidential but a majority of 60% were from Ibaloi’s, 20% from the Ykalinga group,
and 20% from the Ifugao.
➢ The respondents were all from the highlands, particularly in Northern Luzon. The
Igorots, also known as highlanders, is a general term for the ethnolinguistic groups of
the forested Cordillera Region. It means “people from the mountains”.
Results 1 involves the questions:
➢ How important is your culture for you?

➢ How does your culture mold you as a person?
➢ What would you say is the most commonly held misconception about people of your
culture?
a.) The results we have states that:
➢ All survey participants place a high value on their culture, and they consider
it to be important to their individuality. Culture has an impact on how
respondents develop as individuals. Their upbringing influences how they act,
behave, and make decisions, as well as their values. Culture has an impact on
some aspects of their characters. They became the people they are today by
following in the footsteps of their forefathers. This culture that molds their
personae was misunderstood by others. Ykalinga's were mistakenly thought to
be headhunters, the Ibaloi's as shy person and were associated to belong
wealthy because of their lavish spending during their cultural practices and
the Ifugao's being thought as low-class people.Also, this Igorots are still seen
by the society as people with tail.
➢ Their cultures did a good job of shaping these people because, no matter how
they have been misinterpreted, the respondents remained positive and
extremely proud of their origin. Ykalingas, despite their experiences, never
look down on themselves. The Ibaloi's became understanding to those who
misunderstood them, rather they boast about their fellow Ibaloi's
achievements as a proof that they came from a ‘'taraki" race and the Ifugao's
accepts these misconceptions about them as a motivation to be a better person.
Results 2 involves the following questions:

➢ Could you share some of your cultural practices that you grew up from?
➢ Does these cultural practices make use of material culture? , if yes elaborate how it
was use.
All of the shared cultural practices were on the written report, well defined and
described however we choose not to include it anymore as we are only looking at the
overall results,
The results we have states that:
The involvement of material and immaterial culture to our respondents are

important factors to execute their cultural practices. Performing their cultural
practices without the material or immaterial cultures needed would be very different
in sight. Once done without this, it will alter the effectiveness and the essence of
their culture. The usage of immaterial and material culture during these practices
are significant, as well as having a leader carrying out the practices. It is hard to
imagine them doing their cultural practices without this material and immaterial
culture, as one of the respondents said, these material and immaterial cultures that
they have are a symbol of their culture itself.
Results 3 involves the following questions:
➢ What are the values or beliefs that makes your culture unique?
➢ Was it still observe until now? Please elaborate.
The results we have gained has varying results to whether they still observed
their cultural values at present.
Only the Ifugao and Ykalinga's confirmed that their cultural values are still alive. The
majority of the Ibaloi no longer see their values the same as today and before. They find
their cultural values already fading from the present times. Some of the Ibaloi no longer
adhere to the interpretation of their cultural values, instead, they were influenced by the
modern way of thinking and finding explanations. These results are more on the values and
beliefs not being observed now, or still being observed but had encountered changes.
Ifugao’s, on the contrary sees their cultural values growing strong, their cultural arts play
a significant part in preserving their culture. People are being attracted and had recognized
the art of the Ifugao’s which then helps the culture grow.
Results 4 involves the questions :
➢ How does the modern society affect your culture?

➢ Does your cultural practices experienced significant changes throughout time? why
or why not?
Our findings shows that :
The respondents are well aware that Modernization, Education, and Globalization had a
massive impact on their culture that has caused culture loss. This change brought by those
mentioned earlier is being embraced totally, especially the youth or the younger
generations. Due to the rapid modernization, their own culture was altered and being set
aside in exchange for a foreign country's culture. Also, as more and more people became
educated, they were enlightened to move away from their culture. The changes experienced
by their culture cause more harm than betterment as it serves as a way for the young people
to forget and let go of their cultural roots. Ten years from now, the practices imparted by
our respondents had a great tendency of being terminated, forgotten, or modernized.
I would also like to include an excerpt from my personal reflection, and realizations about the
study conducted :
This study had given me hope that the Igorot culture is not dying. It made me rethink my
views on how youths have already been swallowed by modernization and give up their
culture. Huge respect for my youth respondents for proving that culture is not a short-term
trend. They are knowledgeable about their culture, a trait that I thought would only be found
in a conversation with the elders. Their culture also successfully molded them as strong
individuals who are not easily shaken by others. These things that I learned are something
that I would always take as a reminder for me not to lose hope in the youths. This would also
remind me that I am an Igorot that still has a lot of learning about my culture, and is proud
of it.

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A CULTURAL RESEARCH

People and their Culture

To introduce our research study :

➢ The understanding of culture is far from simple. Human behavior is influenced by

Participants of the Study :

- Majority of the respondents grew up in a family with both parents of the

Results 1 involves the questions:

➢ How important is your culture for you?

Results 2 involves the following questions:

The involvement of material and immaterial culture to our respondents are

Results 4 involves the questions :

➢ How does the modern society affect your culture?

Our findings shows that :

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