The Engagement

After the couple has decided to marry, the first order of business is the pamanhikan, where the groom and his parents visit the bride's family to ask for her hand in marriage. Wedding plans are often made at this time, including a discussion of the budget and guest list. Don't be surprised if the groom-to-be is expected to run some errands or help out around the bride's house. This tradition is called paninilbihan, where the suitor renders service to his future wife's family to gain their approval.

The Wedding Outfits

The white wedding dress has become popular in the last hundred years or so with America's influence in the Philippines. Before that, brides wore their best dress, in a festive color or even stylish black, to celebrate a wedding. Orange blossom bouquets and adornments were a must during the turn of the last century. For men, the barong tagalog is the traditional Filipino formal wear. It is a cool, almost transparent, embroidered shirt, made from silky pina or jusi, two native ecru fabrics. It is worn untucked, over black pants, with a white t-shirt underneath. These days, a Filipino American groom might wear the conventional black tux, but Filipino male wedding guests will usually show up in their finest barongs.

The Ceremony

In pre-colonial days, a wedding ceremony lasted three days. On the first day, the bride and groom were brought to the house of a priest or babaylan, who joined their hands over a plate of raw rice and blessed the couple. On the third day, the priest pricked the chests of both bride and groom and drew a little blood. Joining their hands, they declared their love for each other three times. The priest then fed them cooked rice from the same plate and gave them a drink of some of their blood mixed with water. Binding their hands and necks with a cord, he declared them married. The majority of Filipino weddings are now Catholic weddings, but some native traditions remain. Most have special "sponsors" who act as witnesses to the marriage. The principal sponsors could be godparents, counselors, a favorite uncle and aunt, even a parent. Secondary sponsors handle special parts of the ceremony, such as the candle, cord and veil ceremonies. Candle sponsors light two candles, which the bride and groom use to light a single candle to symbolize the joining of the two families and to invoke the light of Christ in their married life. Veil sponsors place a white veil over the bride's head and the groom's shoulders, a symbol of two people clothed as one. Cord sponsors drape the yugal (a decorative silk cord) in a figure-eight shape--to symbolize everlasting fidelity--over the shoulders of the bride and groom. The groom gives the bride 13 coins or arrhae, blessed by the priest, as a sign of his dedication to his wife's well-being and the welfare of their future children.

The Food

The Filipino wedding feast is elaborate. One feast celebrated at the turn of the last century involved these foods: First was served cold vermicelli soup. The soup was followed by meats of unlimited quantity--stewed goat, chicken minced with garlic, boiled ham, stuffed capon, roast pork and several kinds of fish. There were no salads, but plenty of relishes, including red peppers, olives, green mango pickles and crystallized fruits. For dessert, there were meringues, baked custard flan, coconut macaroons and sweetened seeds of the nipa plant.

Yoga (asana)is an ancient eastern exercise that is valuable in today's fast paced society. Yoga is more than a simple workout regime, but rather it is a holistic method of exercise that serves to rejuvenate the body. Weight loss, stress relief, and emotional stability are often experienced by dilligent practitioners.

Yoga is very similar to stretching and is usually performed in a series of movements. The neck, the spine, and the legs are the three basic concentrations of movement in the performance of Yoga. Performed in this succession, they will render the practitioner fit and exhuberant. The neck twist is easily performed at any time during the day, by simply turning the head to either side, and relaxing the neck muscles. There may be a gentle cracking of the neck in this exercise. The neck should by no means be forced in this exercise, rather it should simply be left to fall in to position. This position should be held for a count of ten, before the head is switched to the other side. This exercise serves to bring blood flow to the brain, and ready the body for the important stretching of the spine.

Practiced in this sequence, of neck, spine, and leg exercises, yoga should impart a wonderful feeling and a general improvement in overall health. Yoga, together with a healthy vegetable and whole grain based diet, should serve to improve anybodys' quality of life.

i had always liked watching ypung indian gurls do it  


here u can listen to the type of music that helps u in meditating
video.. dont mind the ching shing..lol

yeah so i also decide to start blogging..well its a wednesday morning.. theres absolutely nothing in my mind to do.. but ill prolly hit the gym later and then stay home and talk of course

well i'm on sem break and its been so boring, seriously i think its just the beginnning cos i'm gonna be home till november. well reason is that i'll be moving to another place and scool and changing my course. my dad thinks nursing isnt a good course cos its only selected countries one can work in which i entirely agree with. i mean its true so i'll be shifting to computer management and accounting. well reason why ill ave to wait till november is because i run a trisem thingy, only 3 mnths per sem unike other schools which are 5 months  per sem.. so ill ave to chill till november before i get admission and stuffs.

well a lil info bout me.. i'm afroasian.. i was born and brought up in nigeria before moving down here to philippines for college. Being here is ok, i ave no choice but i still think its better than naija though.. sha wat else, i'm the last of four children.. i love my family to bits..could do anything for them. i'm a sucker for any type of music ranging from naija hits to rock.. just name it.

well i'm crazy, yeah i got this crazie naija blood in me and then mixing it wid the filipino blood..sheez...lol... well thats all bout me.. hope ill ave time to be upgrading this blog...

well lemme post something.....comparing a typical nigerian food and then a filipino dish
 

well Eba seems to be my best nigerian dish wid ewedu and stew

here u go

eba

INGREDIENTS	INSTRUCTIONS
Serves about 2 people. About 2-3 cups of gari. About 4-6 cups of water	Bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat. Add the gari to the boiling water. Stir the mixture until it is consistent. Add more gari or more water to obtain the thickness you would like. Because gari is a little coarse, the resulting eba will be a little course, but if done properly, should not be lumpy. Serve with some sort of stew.

obe ata (pepper soup)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

3-4 fresh tomatoes and 1-2 bell peppers OR 16 oz tomato sauce and 6 oz tomato paste. (Bell pepper is optional) Meat/Chicken/Fish 4 magi cubes Palm oil if available, otherwise use vegetable oil 2 onions Salt Dry pepper Water

Place the meat in a pot, add very little water (most meat produces water as it cooks), dice one onion in with the meat, add some salt, and cook the meat until it is almost tender. If you are using fresh ingredients, grind the tomatoes and the bell peppers together. You can grind in another onion in with them if you wish. Pour the blended tomato mixture (or the tomato sauce and tomato paste) into the pot with the meat. Also add the palm oil or vegetable oil. Allow to cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt and dry pepper to taste. Eat with any of the dishes that have 'soup' with them.

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

2 cups (½ liter) ewedu leaves 1 teaspoonful Iru Potash (optional) Salt

Remove Ewedu leaves from the stem, and wash them. Chop into pieces on chopping board. Put one cup of water on fire and bring to a boil. Pour the chopped ewedu into the boiling water. Add the Iru (and the potash if desired) Allow to boil for 10 minutes, with the pot uncovered. Add salt to taste and cook for another five minutes. Serve with obe ata (pepper soup) and eba, or amala, or funfun, or gira, etc. etc.

Pork Adobo Recipe