Entertainment: 4 Uncanny Similarities of Hobbits and Filipinos

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Fun fact: I'm one of the few people in the world who have never seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's tragic, I know. I've never actively disliked the movies, it's just I never got around to sitting down and watching them.

Fortunately, I did see the Hobbit trilogy, but many hardcore fans online have said the original movies are so much better, kind of like how the original Star Wars trilogy is better than the prequels.

Since it's considered a classic tale (I feel obligated to read classics) and I'm in the mood for a long epic adventure, I've decided it's about time I dive into the hefty story. Instead of watching the movies, I downloaded the Lord of the Rings ebooks and I've been reading them whenever I find the time. I'm only halfway through the first book, the Fellowship of the Ring, and I'm really liking it so far.

Tolkien wrote an entire treasure trove of lore for his epic saga, even if those bits of information don't add up to the story in any sort of way. One example would be the entire culture of Hobbits. Tolkien didn't have to specify that Hobbits called their museums "Mathoms", nor did he have to say that there were slight physical differences between hobbits from the north south, east, and west, but Tolkien wrote meticulously about it anyway.

I learned a lot of things about Hobbits, and I can't help but relate their culture to my own culture in the Philippines. Below are just some of the similarities between Hobbits and Filipinos that I saw.

1. We are short

The Philippines is one of the countries with the shortest average heights (Source). The average height for Filipinos and Filipinas are 5'3 and 4'11 respectively (Another Source). It's ironic that we're a nation obsessed with basketball; we have to play smarter and harder just to be good at it because we don't have any height advantage whatsoever. In Lord of the Rings, Hobbits are really short, standing at an average height of about 4 feet tall, compared to the 6-footer races, the Elves and Men. Dwarves are slightly taller and stouter than hobbits, but just slightly.

2. We love to eat

Saying that Filipinos love to eat is an understatement. We normally have five meals a day:\

1. Breakfast
2. Lunch
3. Merienda (Snack Time)
4. Dinner
5. Midnight Snack

This is second to none except for the fictional hobbits, who have six meals a day:

1. Breakfast
2. Second Breakfast
3. Elevenses
4. Lunch
5. Afternoon Tea (which is basically Merienda)
6. Dinner/Supper

Need I say more?

3. We like to gossip

During their time in the Shire, Bilbo and Frodo had expressed how much bad gossip and rumors have spread about them and their wealth, supposedly that it's ill-obtained. This is also very common in the Philippines, as gossiping is often considered a national pastime to deal with stress. Gossiping is common in other parts of the world too, but it is on an entirely different level here in the Philippines. If ever you physically stick out for some reason, or you did something weird at one point, Filipinos will keep talking about you behind your back.

4. We are not built for war

It's sad but Filipinos have lost just about every war that they've participated in. Sure, we have Manny Pacquiao who is burning with a fiery fighting spirit, but as a whole we are not fighters. We're not very confrontational. We have a "save-face" attitude that prevents us from embarrassing ourselves in public from direct confrontation.

This is similar to the typical Hobbit, who would rather sleep and eat and stay at home, instead of taking part in violent bloody fights.



That's all I have to say about the two races. I know the list I've given is not very complimentary to Filipinos nor Hobbits, but look at it this way. Despite all of our mutual shortcomings, Hobbits have become the heroes of the Lord of the Rings universe, surprising the "higher" races of Elves and Men. We as Filipinos should aspire to do just that. With grit and determination, we can do amazing things and lead others in the real world.

What other similarities do you see between Hobbits and Filipinos? Let me know by commenting on this blog post :)