Boxed In or Out?

Abstract

Balikbayan(from the Tagalog wordsbalik, to return, andbayan, town or nation) boxes, which mostly containpasalubong, or gifts, for relatives and friends, are staples in the transnational existence of many Filipinos and have come to represent thebalikbayans, or the returning persons, themselves. Utilizing the rites of passage concept and the dialectic of gift-giving, reciprocity and reproduction, this article looks atbalikbayanboxes as metaphors for the dislocation experienced and felt by many first-generation Filipino Americans. It presents the preparation of the boxes as an allegory for the bonds that bind Filipino Americans to those who remain in the Philippines. In reading these boxes as a location ofbalikbayanidentity, it emphasizes the liminal status of first generation Filipino Americans both in their native and adopted countries.

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