Discussions of a culture of migration in the Philippines present it to mean a
predisposition to migrate and focus on the migrants. Through the prism of the
experiences of seamen’s wives in an Ilocos town, experiences narrated through
interviews, this article aims to cut a conceptual space in which to examine
the relationship between left-behind women and the culture of migration.
Examining the women’s persistent references to settlement migration to Hawaii
against which their husband’s labor migration as seafarers is compared, this
article provides a discussion of a culture of migration among Ilocanos that
has been vitally shaped by the socio-economic possibilities brought about by
Ilocano migration to Hawaii beginning in the early 20th century. Consequently,
it offers historical and cultural specificity to scholarly discussions of the
Philippines’ culture of migration, which remains pitched at the national
level
