“Kapit” at “Bahay” concepts of Filipino neighboring: A cultural revalidation

Abstract

The neighbor concept and relations vary across spatial and temporal milieux. My fieldwork in a rural residential barangay in Marinduque province revalidates the Filipino concept of kapitbahay through the locals’ social interaction and sense of community. Using the pagtatanong-tanong (asking questions) cross-indigenous interview involving ten permanent residents reveals the kapitbahay as a threefold category involving dimensions of space, social relations, and time. The kapitbahay pertains to social responsibility (the “I” or Ako as the kapitbahay), a support system (“They” or Sila as the kapitbahay), and a recognition of kapwa or shared identity (“We” or Kami as magkapitbahay). I propose a “Kapit” at “Bahay” model of Filipino neighboring that views the concept as primarily relational, denoted by kapit (to hold on), and spatial on account of the physical extended neighborhood context rooted in the term bahay (house), with an underlying temporal dimension called panahon.