Questions to Consider
- There are several instances in this essay where Dela Cruz discusses the importance of Filipino culture and community. What are some examples of Dela Cruz connecting Filipino culture and community back to the barong tagalog?
- When discussing pathos, Dela Cruz identifies two specific emotions elicited from the barong tagalog. What are those emotions, and how does Dela Cruz explain how and why those emotions are appealing to her intended audience?
- In her reflection, Dela Cruz says that she found it “difficult writing with a detached perspective.” In what ways do you see Dela Cruz balancing inserting her personal connection into the essay while still largely crafting a rhetorical analysis centered around the Filipino community as a whole?
The Barong Tagalog: A True Sense of Filipino Pride
A sheer fabric, jusi, handwoven from simple abaca or pineapple leaf fibers, thread after thread, transforms into this beautiful polished, coarse-textured, off-white button-down that becomes a Filipino staple. Clothes have always been most people’s way of expressing themselves and showing off who they are. A barong tagalog takes it to another level. A fellow Filipino sees a stranger wearing a barong and suddenly a sense of connection is formed without one word being spoken. Being born in the Philippines and raised closely connected to my culture, speaking Tagalog fluently my whole life, and constantly seeing these types of traditional clothing worn, has and will continue to resonate with me. As a child, I remember asking my mom why that itchy, see-through button-up only comes out of the closet a few times a year. Sometimes only once a year. She then sat me down and explained to me that it isn’t something that we can simply wear on a daily basis. For context, it isn’t made easily, so it must be taken care of. It’s also a way to show off the culture on special occasions like a debut, which is the celebration of a Filipina’s 18th birthday, or any political events, weddings, and religious events like christenings or the Penafrancia. Each thread of fabric, carefully hand-stitched, immensely uses the rhetorical appeals of kairos, pathos, and ethos to play a giant role in expressing true Filipino pride.
The barong holds great kairos since the celebration and feast of Our Lady of Penafrancia, an event that Filipinos save their barongs for every year, was recently celebrated on September 17th. Filipinos gathered to celebrate the culture and religion by getting together with relatives and friends whom they haven’t seen in a while to pray together in Catholic Mass. Afterwards, there is usually a party where we eat, sing, dance, and share many laughs with each other. This is one of the few events where it is typical to wear a barong because not only is it a fancy event, but the folk dances usually require the fancy attire of men wearing barongs and women wearing a more feminine, colorful barong with long skirts. I also mentioned barongs being worn at plenty of other events, such as traditional weddings, political events, and debuts. The significance of that comes from the idea that Filipinos usually feel a stronger sense of importance and uniqueness as they put on a barong for those events. The barong will forever be present in this culture, as it has been for the past four centuries. It dates back to the pre-colonial era and was worn by the Tagalogs of Luzon according to their social rank. They, themselves, are the speakers because they were the first creators and wearers of this garment. Currently, Filipinos wear it for the purpose of exuding that Pinoy pride. The barong tagalog has been and will continue to be worn for respect and representation.
The barong is overflowing with pathos because it establishes a close-knit community amongst Filipinos. Living in West Chester, Ohio for most of my life has made me realize that the Filipino community tends to stick with each other, as there aren’t many of us to begin with. That means there aren’t many formal events that aren’t already shared with the Filipinos in the area. Those events are simply a reason for Filipinos to take a break from their busy lives and bond with their community. Everyone shows up and shows out in their rich, intricately stitched barongs and immediately, there is a sense of pride and joy that overtakes everyone in the room. It doesn’t matter that we all know each other or of each other and that we all know we’re from the Philippines. The sight of all of us sharing yet another thing with each other, even if it’s something as simple as a piece of clothing, holds great power. It lets everyone in the room know that we are all proud to be who we are and do what we do.
There is rich ethos within a barong because it doesn’t just do the job of making a Filipino look good for a special occasion, but it also allows them to recognize a sense of identity. A barong is specific to the Filipino culture, so it won’t be seen worn by someone outside of it, therefore establishing credibility. There are times when Filipinos have significant others or friends who are not a part of the community, but they lend them a barong to wear for some event. That is to share that sense of pride and joy with someone you love and it’s a way of letting them know that they are accepted and allowed to feel that sense of belonging when surrounded by other Filipinos. The culture and the community is not something we try to exclude others from, but it is something that we cherish and keep safe. That goes along with the garment itself. We aren’t excluding others from it, but someone not a part of or closely associated with the culture can’t just put it on for fun. It’s either something that you are born into or earn the right to wear. The ethos also ties into exigence as I am always trying to share this bond and connection with whoever I can. Although I am hoping to impact my intended audience of other Filipinos through discussing the barong, the real audience are people outside the culture who can be impacted as well. Seeing the barong worn publicly may not be an obvious tell that we are Filipino, but it allows outsiders to visibly understand that we are a community with these specific traditions. Essentially, my purpose is to allow anyone and everyone to be able to recognize the identity behind being a Filipino and wearing the barong.
A barong tagalog is an artifact within my culture, which means it is important within my local community of Filipinos back home. Not only is it an intricate, beautiful, handwoven article of clothing, but it’s also something that holds a deeper meaning to my family. It unites everyone in the community using the different rhetorical appeals of kairos, pathos, and ethos. Kairos plays a huge role as it has recently been taken out of the closet yet again for an annual formal gathering. A barong uses pathos by truly highlighting the community, the emotion, and the bond all of us share with one another. Finally, ethos is implemented in this garment because it uses the specificity of who wears it to establish credibility, creating that sense of identity within us Filipinos. Although each of those appeals play a crucial role individually, all of them work together to create a powerful message, telling the story of an item of clothing and its significance. We, as a community, are essentially one big family, and the barong tagalog is simply something that connects us all.
Writer’s Reflection
Dear Reader,
Upon brainstorming ideas for what to write about for this rhetorical analysis, it became clear that it wasn’t going to be an easy task. After finally deciding to write about a barong tagalog, I still found myself having trouble getting started because rhetorical analysis was so new to me. It was easy in the sense that I knew what I was talking about with my artifact since it was so familiar. I found it difficult writing with a detached perspective, so I decided to take it step by step and focus on what rhetorical appeals I was going to discuss and work from there. I wanted to include logos, but after writing an outline, I realized I wouldn’t be able to create a strong enough body paragraph, so I stuck with the three appeals that I used (kairos, pathos, and ethos). After receiving feedback from my professor, I felt like I knew the things to revise and how to revise them; however, receiving feedback from my peers didn’t go exactly as I had hoped. They weren’t very critical and only provided surface level praise, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I didn’t have feedback to work with at that point. Since the concept of rhetoric was already so unfamiliar to me, that feedback was what I was relying on. After this long process of writing, I do feel I have a stronger grasp on what rhetoric is and what it can do for people. I understand now that rhetoric can be used anywhere at any time and can truly help someone succeed through different forms of communication and sending a clear message. Although this essay took a lot of time and effort, I’m happy with the overall product, and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to bask in being a part of the Filipino community.