<P> After the girlfriend - boyfriend stage, engagement, and marriage follows . With regards to the engagement and pre-marriage stages, Filipino tradition dictates that the man and his parents perform the pamamanhikan or pamanhikan (literally, a Tagalog word that means "to go up the stairs of the house" of the girlfriend and her parents; pamamanhikan is known as tampa or danon to the Ilocanos, as pasaguli to the Palaweños, and as kapamalai to the Maranaos). This is where and when the man and his parents formally ask the lady's hand and blessings from her parents in order to marry . This is when the formal introduction of the man's parents and woman's parents happens . Apart from presents, the Cebuano version of the pamamanhikan includes bringing in musicians . After setting the date of the wedding and the dowry, the couple is considered officially engaged . The dowry, as a norm in the Philippines, is provided by the groom's family . For the Filipino people, marriage is a union of two families, not just of two persons . Therefore, marrying well "enhances the good name" of both families . </P> <P> Apart from the general background explained above, there are other similar and unique courting practices adhered to by Filipinos in other different regions of the Philippine archipelago . In the island of Luzon, the Ilocanos also perform serenading, known to them as tapat (literally, "to be in front of" the home of the courted woman), which is similar to the harana and also to the balagtasan of the Tagalogs . The suitor begins singing a romantic song, then the courted lady responds by singing too . In reality, Harana is a musical exchange of messages which can be about waiting or loving or just saying no . The suitor initiates, the lady responds . As the Pamamaalam stage sets in, the suitor sings one last song and the haranistas disappear in the night . </P> <P> Rooster courtship is also another form of courting in Luzon . In this type of courtship, the rooster is assigned that task of being a "middleman", a "negotiator", or a "go - between", wherein the male chicken is left to stay in the home of the courted to crow every single morning for the admired lady's family . </P> <P> In the province of Bulacan in Central Luzon, the Bulaqueños have a kind of courtship known as the naninilong (from the Tagalog word silong or "basement"). At midnight, the suitor goes beneath the nipa hut, a house that is elevated by bamboo poles, then prickles the admired woman by using a pointed object . Once the prickling caught the attention of the sleeping lady, the couple would be conversing in whispers . </P>

5 traditional practices of courtship in the philippines