Pantayong Pananaw is an indigenous Filipino perspective and intellectual movement in the social sciences and historiography that emphasizes understanding Philippine history and culture from an internal, Filipino- centered viewpoint. The term literally means "from-us-for-us perspective," highlighting discourse conducted by Filipinos among themselves without external interference or dominant foreign perspectives. It aims to create a "closed circuit of communication" among Filipinos, using the Filipino language as the primary medium to foster a shared national cultural and historical identity
. Developed in the late 1970s by historian Zeus A. Salazar and his colleagues at the University of the Philippines, Pantayong Pananaw arose as a critique and alternative to earlier historiographical traditions that were either pro- American or nationalist but reliant on colonial languages like English or Spanish. It seeks to indigenize Philippine social sciences by privileging Filipino cultural concepts and language, thereby overcoming alienation between academic social science and the Filipino people
. Pantayong Pananaw contrasts with other perspectives such as:
- Pangkayo Pananaw ("from-you-for-us"), which refers to colonial or external judgments on Filipino culture.
- Pangkami Pananaw ("from-us-for-you"), which involves Filipino discourse aimed at outsiders, often in colonial languages.
Pantayong Pananaw focuses on discourse "among us" Filipinos, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose through a culturally grounded approach to history and social sciences
. In summary, Pantayong Pananaw is a Filipino-centered, language-based framework for studying Philippine history and society that promotes an internal, indigenous perspective to reclaim and articulate Filipino identity and knowledge on their own terms.
