But the dowry system as understood in English is actually the reverse of what is practiced by lowland Filipinos and an ordinary Filipino house becomes stigmatized as a lowly structure because it does not conform to standards of Western architecture. When folk songs such as "Bahay Kubo" or "Magtanim Ay 'Di Biro" are translated into "My Nipa Hut" and "Planting Rice Is Never Fun," this sends a message that Filipino culture has to be translated into the colonizer's language first to be worth teaching and learning. It is the obligation of historians to emphasize pride in our culture and history, and one way is to highlight objects, practices and the values of our culture as we call them and not as foreigners translated them. In each of the cases I have cited, a nationalist perspective requires us to reevaluate how we perceive ourselves and the way we express this knowledge of ourselves. Are we learning and teaching our history and culture as Filipinos, or do we remain captive to a persistent colonial mentality?