THE PARIAN: THE LOCUS FOR A "BRIDGING DIALOGUE"

THE Parian in the Philippines has five connected characteristics namely: 1) it served as a ghetto of the Chinese in Manila; 2) it originated when the Spaniards came to the Philippines in the 16th century; 3) the inhabitants were called Sangleys whose term was coined by the Spaniards; 4) it was a place of trade and merchandizing; and 5) it was located outside the walled city called Intramuros. The Parian was a created space for the Chinese to do their market and was just found outside Intramuros or walled city which was a secured place for the Spanish seat of government. What comes to mind when the word Parian is mentioned, a Chinese community having a main purpose was market and it was called Parian de Arroceros which means "the rice farmers market."

The marketplace became an important image of a community, a gathering, and the locus for bridging dialogue. The Parian was a ghetto that served as a market. The market suggested a daily undertaking among the Chinese and it also implied a common business motivation. The coming of the Spaniards became an opportunity to the Chinese for a wider market and business enterprise. Trade became a means for bridging two cultures. A ghetto implies a people having their own worldviews and mentality, mores and way of life. As the Spaniards created the possibility of bridging themselves through trade, the local church may also follow suit. It would be an opportunity for the Church to bridge itself with the Chinese because the local church exists for a local culture. Cultures are integrative and interconnected and the local church is not an exception because the local church cannot exist without it local people.

When the Spaniards came to the Philippines in 1570 to expand their economic and colonial influence, the peaceful trade relations of the Chinese with the local residents were disturbed and chaotic. The coming of the Spaniards actually induced and attracted many Chinese to migrate to the Philippines. In 1570, there were only 40 married Chinese in Manila. Milagros C. Guerrero said: "The population of the Parian decreased after every uprising, when the Spaniards massacred the Chinese to avoid being massacred by the latter or when the authorities resorted to the expedient of expulsion to allay the fears roused by the ever-present danger of a growing Chinese community in their midst."

The experience of bridging culture with the local Chinese in the Philippines was foretaste of a wider dialogue of the people in Mainland China. To learn about the ways of life, mentalities, worldviews and the language of the local Chinese was a prelude for a greater encounter of a bigger empire beyond the shores of the Philippines. Guerrero continued to say: "A visit, therefore, to the Parian would literally be tantamount to a visit to a typical town in China. The Chinese observed their traditional festivals and holidays, many of them riotous and colorful."

The Parian would always refer to a specific group of people which was called Sangleys. Rafael Bernal described the origin of the term saying: "The name by which they were known to Spaniards, “‘Sangleyes,”’ a term derived from the Amoy dialect, “Sang Li’ which means trade, indicated both the place of origin as well as the occupation of the greater number of them." Not only that cultures are bridged and connected but the Christian values are also be in dialogue with the Chinese. One of the occupations that the Chinese did was to engage in gambling. The local church is challenged to engage in a "bridging dialogue" to form and shape them according to Christian values in order to eradicate the addiction to gambling. Guerrero described: "Addicted to gambling, they paid great amounts of bribe money to the Spaniards to be allowed to gamble, since gambling was prohibited."

SIGNS TOWARD A "BRIDGING DIALOGUE"