In the Philippines, “Kapwa” is a tagalog word that means “self in other.”

“Pakikipagkapwa” is a word that captures the connection between all of existence and is defined as “shared identity.”

In Definitions – Pakikipag-Kapwa (Shared Identity) at the Babaylan Files, Katrin de Guia writes on “kapwa”:

Kapwa is the “unity of the one-of-us-and-the-other”, according to Virgilio Enriquez, who declared the concept as a Filipino core value. He upheld that kapwa implied moral and normative aspects that obliged a person to treat one another as fellow human being and therefore as equal. Such a position was “definitely inconsistent with exploitative human interactions,” he insisted. But he also foresaw that this Filipino core value was threatened by spreading Western influences, when he wrote: “…once AKO starts thinking of himself as separate from kapwa, the Filipino ‘self’ gets to be individuated as in the Western sense and, in effect, denies the status of kapwa to the other.”

Today, most people who hear the word “kapwa” think of their neighbor. But standard Tagalog dictionaries like Vito Santos’ render kapwa as “fellow being” and “other person.” And older, Spanish dictionaries translate kapuwa as “both” and “the one and the other”, or “others.”

From all these, Enriquez concluded that the original Filipino idea of “others” was inclusive. He wrote: “The English “others” is actually used in opposition to the “self,” and implies the recognition of the self as a separate entity. In contrast, kapwa is a recognition of a shared identity, an inner self shared with others.”

Here at BagongPinay, I try to reveal the higher meanings of Filipino beliefs.

“Pakikipagkapwa” is a word that keys us into compassion and to the connection between us and all of creation… the Seen and Unseen… the past, present, and future… people with their ancestors and descendants… people with the physical world on different levels—animal, plant and minerals… Earthlings with the universe and multi-verses… existence on multiple dimensions.

For me pakikipagkapwa means Sacred Interconnection.