Filipino Words One Needs To Learn II

Pasalubong

“Pasalubong” is a Tagalog word meaning “souvenir”. In the Philippines it has acquired the meaning of a small gift or souvenir from someone travelling either whilst visiting or upon returning home. The literal meaning of pasalubong is to “greet”, “surprise” or “meet with”. Travellers or holiday-makers bring back gifts for kin and friends, even if the trip is just to a nearby town: some special food the place is noted for-strawberries from Baguio, pineapple from Tagaytay, Ojaldres biscuits from the Visayas, pastilles from Bulacan, turron from Pampanga. Travelling abroad is often a shopping chore when you are required to buy relatives’ and friends’ “pasalubong”-(a greeting gift).

Pasalubong is very popular among Filipinos if good relations are to be maintained. The gesture of handing out “pasalubong” conveys that loved ones or friends are being remembered. Pasalubong can range from food items such as fruits, imported confectionery goods and other sweets. Pasalubong can also be other items such as shirts, novelty items, knives and toys etc. If it is something that can be bought or wrapped, it’s a pasalubong. Pasalubong is also used in daily or frequent interactions or greetings with family members commonly when coming home from work. Fastfood, toys, snacks or fruits are given to family members as a sign of thoughtfulness and care.

People Power

People power started as a historic event which led to the fall of Marcos and the restoration of democracy is attributed to non-violent public demonstrations that pressured Marcos to hold a snap election resulting in the events which pitted unarmed civilians against armored carriers and marines in full battle gear along the thoroughfare known as EDSA. In the history of the Philippines, 3 people powers have occurred:

People Power Revolution of 1986 that toppled the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos after allegations of widespread cheating in the 1986 presidential elections.

EDSA Revolution of 2001 that toppled the administration of President Joseph Estrada after an aborted impeachment trial where prosecutors walked out after failing on a motion.

2001’s EDSA III (”EDSA Tres” or “EDSA Three”) that climaxed in the siege of the presidential palace while Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remaining in office after the arrest of President Joseph Estrada.

Point of no Return; Napasubo

Refers to a situation where a Filipino commits himself to something and cannot back out anymore. This situation is brought about by the Filipino trait’s “hiya” and “amor propio“. To most Filipinos, a promise is a promise and someone who does not live up to feels a deep shame on himself. Napasubo covers instances where a person inadvertently falls into a trap he accidentally made for himself when he opens his big mouth without thinking.

Propriety: Delicadeza

Delicadeza is a Spanish term which when translated in English means daintiness. It is defined as an act of being refined or delicate in tastes or manners. But in simple terms, its commonly referred to as a sense of propriety or how to behave rightly in all circumstances. It isan etiquette that was passed on to us as a legacy of the Spanish culture. Delicadeza is a Spanish loan value, popular among the genteel class of Filipinos as a built-in self-imposed sense of proper decorum like the European noblesse oblige, controlling behavior. For example, a politician who gets involved in an investigation for anomaly by virtue of his office is expected to resign out of delicadeza or out of decency.

The Querida system

Querida is a spanish word which means “loved one”. In the Filipino society the word querida denotes a lady who is kept as a second wife although not strictly married. Because of the macho image a lot of Filipino males try to project, keeping a woman apart from his real wife is one way of satisying this macho image. Although society frowns upon this practice, the same is widespread all over the country. Querida’s or “number two’s” are not socially accepted by society and are considered “walang delicadeza“ or without a sense of decency. Rumors of illicit relationship is everywhere but people talk about only in hushed/whispered tones. Men however talks about it openly but only among themselves because Filipino men condones this practice as a sign of musculinity. A Filipino man for whom this secret is shared will never dare tell the latter’s wife of the same as he would be branded “tsismoso“(male who gossips) which is equated to being a sissy thereby decreasing his macho image. Querida’s are often a cause of family break ups because keeping a querida presupposes that a wife is not good enough for a man. A wife who learns about a husband’s infidelity will have her “amor propio“(ego) wounded and would feel “hiya“(shamed) so she leaves her husband even if she loves him.

The Querida sysytem is an underground life. A mistress has no social acceptance, no matter how powerful her lover and how brazenly she flaunts her status; people may be civil, but she enjoys no public esteem. When you consider how important “amor propio”, “hiya” and public acceptance are to the Filipino, the mistress does not exist as a person in the society. She has been given various appellations: “querida” (Spanish for ‘loved one’) has been corrupted to “kiri”; she is also “kulasisi”, a small green parrot people keep for amusement, and “kalapating mababa ang lipad”, a low-flying dove.

The Queue: “Pila”

Filipinos do not like to queue. In World War II, the Japanese tried to get them to queue up for direly needed rice rations and they regard queuing as the pits of wartime days. The water shortage in post-war Manila created queues for water in congested areas, again the depths of despair. The “pila” (queue) is something you try to avoid. An American explained a technique Filipinos use to get through a crowd when no queue is visible. He thrusts himself, elbow first, through an opening, making sure he is not looking at the person he is nudging, and then swings his body and thrusts the Other elbow through, this time looking in the other direction, and so on down.

Salvage

As used in the Philippines, the verb “salvage” and the noun “salvaging” are the slang equivalents of the terms “to execute extrajudicially, to assassinate” and “extrajudicial execution,” terms used by human-rights organizations such as Amnesty International. It is the English translation of the Tagalog word “salbahe,” whose meaning ranges from mischievous to abusive and a notoriously abusive person (noun). “Salbahe,” in turn, is derived from the Spanish word “salvaje,” wild, undomesticated, savage.

Salvage is the death squad term for the assassination committed by the military during the martial law years under President Marcos to exterminate troublesome activists and oppositionists, mostly peasant and labor leaders.

Scoring Freebies: “Lista sa Tubig”

Kinship sharing is a rule. One measure of closeness to someone is willingness to share. To have to pay for a book, a painting, or a candy bar from an author, painter or shop-owner friend, would mean one is like other mortals, not a special kin or friend. Filipinos are inclined to help themselves with the expectation they will not be charged or you will not object if you are a close relative or friend. Some expressions used for this are: ‘T.Y.‘ (thank you), ‘ambush‘, ‘lista sa tubig’ (write the credit account on water) and ‘dilihensiya‘.

“Suki”

In the commercial context, suki relationships (market- exchange partnerships) may develop between two people who agree to become regular customer and supplier. In the marketplace, Filipinos will regularly buy from certain specific suppliers who will give them, in return, reduced prices, good quality, and, often, credit. Suki relationships often apply in other contexts as well. For example, regular patrons of restaurants and small neighborhood retail shops and tailoring shops often receive special treatment in return for their patronage. Suki does more than help develop economic exchange relationships. Because trust is such a vital aspect, it creates a platform for personal relationships that can blossom into genuine friendship between individuals.

Patron-client bonds also are very much a part of prescribed patterns of appropriate behavior. These may be formed between tenant farmers and their landlords or between any patron who provides resources and influence in return for the client’s personal services and general support. The reciprocal arrangement typically involves the patron giving a means of earning a living or of help, protection, and influence and the client giving labor and personal favors, ranging from household tasks to political support. These relationships often evolve into ritual kinship ties, as the tenant or worker may ask the landlord to be a child’s godparent. Similarly, when favors are extended, they tend to bind patron and client together in a network of mutual obligation or a long-term interdependency.

Tao

Tao, meaning person, is used in various forms, all stressing human dignity or frailty. Human weakness is justified by ”We are only tao” Tao is also used to refer to the common man, the peasant, the worker. Someone announcing his presence in someone else’s house will knock and say ”Tao po” meaning ”A person is here, sir“.

Trapo

Trapo is a blend word or fusion, combining the first syllables of TRA-ditional PO-litician. In the beginning, Philippine journalists and “street parliamentarians” (that is, activists) used “tradpol” to refer to traditional politicians. At some point, someone must have noticed that “trapo” was a better combination because it’s also the Spanish-derived Tagalog word for rag. Trapo refers directly to public officials who returned after the Marcos dictatorship to restore the discredited political system that Marcos used to justify military rule. Indeed, while there is, unhappily, an abundance of trapos no real alternative type of public official has emerged who can be classified as different from any other traps.

“Under the Saya”

The Filipino macho cult is checkmated by strong-willed wives who keep their husbands humble, and these hen-pecked husbands are teased as living under their wives’ skirts (under the saya).

“Vigilante”

Vigilante refers to an anti-communist group or movement with quasi-official links who employ death-squad tactics against alleged communists and corrupt government officials. These are people who does summary executions of publicly-known corrupt officials and businessmen.

Superstitions and Mythology

Kulam: Unexplained maladies are commonly attributed to kulam a form of sorcery. It is believed psychic people can cause illness by a stare. The mangkukulam apparently does his evil deed because of some trivial offence real or imagined or purely out of whim.

Aswang: A creature of the netherworld, the aswang is evil, at times taking the form of a pig, a dog or a nocturnal bird called tik-tik. While capable of doing harm to anyone, the aswangs’s favourite prey is the pregnant woman because he eats live human foetuses.

Manananggal: This is a female vampire who can disengage the top half of her body and fly at night to the beds Of unsuspecting sleeping men, her usual victims. Place salt on the severed half-torso to slay her should you learn your wife is really a manananggal.

Nuno sa Punso:

Nuno sa punso is a tiny old man who squats on an anthill and has magic powers that could cause you good or ill fortune. You should always ask his permission when passing

“Anting-anting”: Belief in “anting-anting” (amulets or talismans) was noted by Spanish chroniclers. Today it is widespread. “Anting-anting” of Christian Filipinos may have Christian symbols and Latin names in corrupt form. It can make one invincible or invisible.

“Anting-anting” also refers to lucky charms for prosperity or fertility. It is the warrior’s secret weapon; notorious bandits were believed to own especially potent “anting-anting”. Religious folk cults carry “anting-anting”. The former President’s biographer, Hartzell Spence, claims Marcos had one inserted in his back by Bishop Aglipay.

Gayuma: Love charms may help win the affections of one’s object of desire. One who acts lovesick or is attracted to an unexpected ‘mismatch’ is said to have been under a love spell called a “nagayuma”.

To stop rain: If you are giving a garden party and it looks like it is going to rain, send some eggs to Santa Clara. The Sisters of Saint Claire are happy to receive the eggs, but make no guarantee of sunshine.

Numerology: Some HERE.