Merienda
n. light meal or snack
Mestiza
adj. woman of mixed race, especially the offspring of a Spaniard and a Filipino
Mga
a particle that pluralises count nouns
Moros
n. Muslim, especially those residing in the Southern Island of Mindanao
Neneng
n. affectionate address, usually referring to a young girl
Nipa
n. palm tree with creeping roots, characteristic of mangrove swamps with leaves used as roofing material
Padrino
n. godfather or patron
Pakain
adj. provision of free food, especially for indigents
Pancit
n. noodles
Pare
n. affectionate Filipino slang for friend or pal; mate
Pensionado
n. Philippine student whose expenses are paid by the government whilst he studies abroad
Pitiw
n. game played by children, a version of American softball
Sabungan
n. cockpit; cockfighting
Sacadas
n. migratory sugar farm workers, usually employed during the milling season when extra labour is required
Stampitas
n. prayer pamphlets with a photograph of a saint
Sari-sari
n. variety store; mom-and-pop store
Sinda
n. curse
Shut-bong
n. glorified form of Hide-and-Seek
Suplada
adj. women who are not disposed to friendliness; haughty
Tamad
adj. lazy; indolent
Tamawo
n. nature spirits and deities; fairies
Taytay Buhangin
n. Sand Bridge; name of a beach in Quezon Province
Tiktik
n. gossip column from an Ilonggo magazine called Hiligaynon
Thomasites
n. group of American teachers who travelled from the United States to the Philippines on the transport ship USS Thomas in the early 1900’s
Tubig
n. water
Victoriahanon
n. a resident of Victorias Negros
Yaya
n. woman who is paid to look after young children
Phrases
Ok lang
It is a common expression, which literally means “just okay” or “just fine”
Nagdadalag ko lang naman sila
They just grew up on their own
Tabi, tabi lang anay, mga amigo kag mga amiga, paki daan lang ako
Your permission, my friends, may I please request to pass
Para sa kauunlad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailangan.
For the progress of the country, cycling is necessary
Para sa kauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan
For the progress of the country, discipline is necessary
Padaanin ninyo, padaanin ninyo
Let them pass, let them pass
Basta ya, tama na
Stop now, enough already
Sila doon sa Europa ay parang nalipasan ng panahon. Yung mga gusali ang lumang-luma na, at ang ka-kaunting mga tao sa kalsada. Ang lungkot-lungkot doon.
Europe looks like a place that time forgot. The buildings are so old. There are so few people in the streets, it is all so very lonely there.
Landas ng tagumpay
Pathway to success
Si Ma’am naman, nag highblood naman
Here goes Ma’am again, raising her blood pressure again
Pasensiya na po
So sorry
Ang bayan ko mahal ko
My country, my love
Hindi baleng hindi mo ako mahalin, huwag mo lang akong hiyain
It doesn’t matter that you don’t love me, just don’t shame me.
Libingan ng mga Bayani
Heroes’ Cemetery
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Notes
1When I talk about Filipinos, I sometimes use “we” and other times “they” depending on the degree to which I identify with the minutiae of Filipino practice or attitude.
2I am using the term “modal personality” in lieu of the more popular phrase “national character” used by many social scientists because the word “personality” seems less value-laden than “character”, with its all too Victorian connotation in that a person can be defined as good or bad by virtue of his “character”, which is naturally dependent on the values of the one who does the describing. Also, “national” evokes the idea of a nation-state, to me an amorphous word. Moreover, I prefer “modal” to “average” so that extreme variations within the Philippine population are excluded from my general descriptions. These observations are all based on personal experiences without help of the structured diary of an anthropologist or the survey of a sociologist.
3There are several variations to this anecdote. It seems indeed that this was a favourite activity of our Lady: an account of Mary fighting on the side of the local inhabitants against an invading force is a popular story in many places all over the world, all the way back to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. It has given rise to churches called Our Lady of Victories, including a church I would later attend at Kensington High Street in London.
4The day commemorates the decisive victory of Negrense rebels against the Spanish authorities and the establishment of the short-lived Republic of Negros, quashed by the arrival of the American troops several months later. The Battle of Cinco de Noviembre was won through bluff, without a single shot fired. The lightly armed rebels lined their front with “cannons” made of bamboo painted black, stacked with “cannon balls” made out of painted coconuts, and “rifles” carved out of wood. Perched at some distance in the Bishops Palace and, armed with their binoculars, the Spanish authorities decided the Philippine forces were too strong and surrendered the city without a fight.
5Philippine student whose expenses are paid for by the government whilst he studies abroad
6I have always wondered what made New Yorkers seem different from most others I would meet later; I can still smell a New Yorker a mile away. I think it is their directness, strident individualism, and their overall savvy. Russell Shorto, in his book The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America, writes that the history of the spirit of New Yorkers can be traced back to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam of the 17th century. The colony had imbibed the religious tolerance and egalitarianism of their mother country. It didn’t matter who you were but what you could do. By the time the British renamed it New York in 1664, this formidable character was already firmly in place.
7Much later, with the coming of automation, votes would be immediately counted after the closing of the polls and the results electronically transmitted to the provincial and city canvassing centres. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) would then bring them to Congress, followed by an official canvassing at the House of Representatives and the Senate. Automation would greatly lessen the incidence of election fraud, but an automated electoral process on a nationwide scale would not be enforced until 2010.
8German word roughly translating to ‘home’ or ‘homeland’.
9A Pew Global Attitude Survey conducted recently asked different Western countries what was more important: “freedom to pursue life’s goals without state interference” or “state guarantees that nobody is in need”. In Germany, 62% chose state protection as more important than freedom; in America it was 35%. It would seem that Germans would rather feel secure than feel free. Is this partly to do with Germany’s history? Little independent kingdoms were united only in the late 19th Century, ruled by an autocratic and militaristic Kaiser who, after a brief period, led his subjects into World War I, then onwards to the Nazis and World War II. Real democracy, which includes not only free elections and the rule of law, but also respect for individual freedom and liberties, and limits to the power of the state, are possibly still new ideas.
10It was with this intractable problem in mind that my mother and a couple of like-minded friends founded Kaayong Lawas, an NGO, (Non-Government
al Organisaiton) for the provision of primary health care services to the indigents of Victorias and the spread-out sugar farms. In the 1980s it was a two-room clinic complemented by a roving US military surplus jeep manned by a volunteer doctor and nurse. This small clinic, called Immaculate Conception Health Centre, continues operating and has since expanded. At full capacity, it can currently treat some 78 in-patients and 800 out-patients per month. Too much demand for too meager resources; nevertheless, some private donors are helping with its operations and possible further expansion.
11There are a number of cartoons illustrating these differences in basic temperaments, e.g. between the “Intuitives” and the “Sensors”. One is a Peanuts cartoon showing Linus and Lucy lying on a field of grass looking at clouds. Linus, an Intuitive, sees a giant smoking his pipe, to which Lucy replies, “I see rain clouds” and runs for cover just as the rain starts to pour. Linus used his intuitively broad imagination and Lucy her sense perception and the practicality it brings.
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