MANILA, Philippines??De-boo? is the way we pronounce it in the Philippines, more like the French with all its sosyal connotations.

But I had difficulties tracing the origins of this phenomenon in the Philippines. Apparently, we?re the only Asian country that has this tradition, which is very definitely western. One Internet site says it all started in Austria, but the term comes from the French debuter, to begin.

It doesn?t seem to be popular in Spain, but is widely practiced among Mexicans (in Mexico and in the United States) and is called the quincenera, referring to the age?15?when girls this age have a big party. That age of 15 is used as well in some Latin American countries, so it?s strange how we ended up with 18.

The debut is also popular among Americans, although 16, as in sweet 16, seems to be the norm. I actually suspect our debut may have come from the Americans, rather than Spain. One clue here is that our debut incorporates a cotillion, which is a French term (a petticoat, or a ball gown, depending on the context) used to refer to a kind of square dance. The Americans, but not the Spaniards or the Mexicans, use this term to refer to the entire debutante ball.

The original purpose of the debut was to present a marriageable daughter to society, or to be more specific, to high society. The lavish preparations?gowns, cotillion dance, venue?were meant to show that the girl?s family was wealthy. The list of guests had to come as well from the crème de la crème of society, what used to be called Manila?s 400. This included young marriageable males from good families, some of whom would be conscripted for the cotillion as well.

The debutante had to display her mastery of good manners, as was fitting to the upper classes. It used to be that the rich would even send their daughters to a finishing school in Switzerland, and confidently display her sophisticated polish at her debut, where she is sure to hold her fork properly and carry on a conversation in several languages.

The debut used to be limited to the truly rich, mainly because it was so expensive but also because among the lower classes, girls were married off very early. Remember that until 1989 when RA 6809 was enacted, girls could get married at 14, and this happened quite frequently among poorer families. Upper class girls had more options, going to high school and college, and postponing marriage.

An unspoken agenda in a debut was to show, preferably with as much white clothing as possible, that the debutante had not had her coital debut yet. I?m not joking, it?s a term used by demographers and you should be able to figure out what that means.

The function of the debut may be changing however. It?s actually declining among the upper classes; in fact, some wealthier families consider the debut declasse, something done by the new rich and the middle classes to prove that they?ve arrived.

I?d go a step further and say that the debut may even be a way of inflating one?s standing in society. I know all too well of families who go into debt to be able to afford an expensive debut with gowns by well known couturiers and the event held in a five-star hotel.

The displays may be for naught though, at least among the wealthiest families who still tend to be endogamous, an anthropological term that means ?in-marrying.? As one society matron once told me in reaction to an invitation she received, ?If they have to hold it in a hotel, it means their house isn?t big enough for a debut.?

What seems to be happening then is that the debut has become more of a way of validating one?s middle-class (okay, okay, so it?s upper middle-class) status in the Philippines. I expect there will be more of these debut among families of overseas workers. The debut also remains popular among Filipino-Americans, partly because Americans themselves have debutante balls.

And my view about all this? I?d put my money towards a good education for a daughter that will include learning the social graces. Rather than squandering money for her debut, I?d add it to her college educational fund. If the money?s already sufficient there, I?d let her go off on a trip to discover the Philippines and the world. She?ll learn much more that way, meet more people, and in a way present herself not just to local society, but to the bigger world out there.