Tulong : an articulation of politics in the Christian Philippines / Chuan Yean Soon.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Deriving from an ethnographic research in a mundane barangay (village) of the Philippines, this book revisits patron-client relations and the politics adhered that is rampant in the rural area of the country. It decodes the cultural meanings of patron-client ties and the nuances of the social practices of tulong (help) by paying attention to the cultural specificity of the barangay livelihood, religious practices and interpretation, emotions, and social and moral values inscribed in the villagers' everyday experiences. The contribution of this study is to collage different disciplines and to problematize the way in which rural politics is viewed through patron-client approach, to locate the socio-religious practices of tulong and to (re) articulate the desires and visions of the rural folks. Through the lens of the peasantry and the way they exercise patron-client ties in the rural area, we can observe political ideas and ideals that are religiously oriented in construing politics from the bottom up.