The Kapampangan Listorian: 1700s

Monday, July 8, 2019

112. 5 REPUTATIONS THAT KAPAMPANGANS WERE WELL KNOWN FOR IN THE 1700s.

By Robby P. Tantingco

Kapampangans today are known for their pride, vanity, culinary skills, loud voice, love for the good life and entrepreneurial skills. But what was their reputation back in the early days? Bergano's Kapampangan dictionary (1729) provides us with clues:

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KAPAMPANGAN VANITY

Our female ancestors were magale ("wearing formal dresses outside proper occasion") while our male ancestors were maticas ("good looks, good form in size, waist, figure, shape of legs and calves"), masanting ("handsome"), maticmus ("good figure"), matingquis ("well-dressed"). You can differentiate between a Tagalog and a Kapampangan by putting them on a slippery road: the Tagalog falls while the Kapampangan "very, very rarely falls," according to Bergano.

KAPAMPANGAN PERFECTIONISM

Our ancestors always insisted on accuracy and excellence, were never satisfied, for example, with grazing a moving target, unlike most Filipinos. "The Pampango," Bergano said, "would say, E me tiran, atambisan mea mu ("You did not hit it, you only grazed it"). Our ancestors had many synonyms for perfection and excellence: sampat ("beauty at its peak;" "the greater perfection"), pauit ("excellence"), liclic ("excellence in writing, debate, running")

KAPAMPANGAN BRAVERY

Bergano wrote, Sagan ya, pablasang indio ya ("He is weak, because he is an indio"), paqui Tagalog ya, nun e talaralit, talaterac ya ("Being a Tagalog, if he is not fond of singing, he is fond of dancing"), paqui Capampangan ya, magmatapang ya ("Being a Kapampangan, he is brave").

KAPAMPANGAN PARIOTISM

Ancient Kapampangans felt a strong attachment to their land and fellow Kapampangans. Bergano observed that our ancestors were proud pablasang daya lang Capampangan ("for they belong to the Pampango nation"). Kapampangans, he wrote, were misangdaya ("you are my countryman," "we have the same blood," "we are all Pampangos") and cadaya ("We are of the same blood even if we are not relatives... we are of one nation").

KAPAMPANGAN ACCENT

Kapampangans were maitad ("They speak with a lilt, with their peculiar accent").

SOURCE:
Reposted from Robby Tantingco's FB Page

Saturday, June 9, 2018

83. 13 KAPAMPANGAN WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH EYES AND VISION

“Eyes are our windows to the world”. Fray Diego’s Bergaño’s compilation of Kapampangan words published as a dictionary in 1732, serves as an eye-opener to the fascinating language of our past. Here are words that our ancestors used to describe their vision, and how they saw the world through their eyes--whether crossed, squinted or half-closed.

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1. DULING

Cross-eyed, squint eyed, one whose eyes seem to focus on opposite directions.

2. LULA

Of short vision, malula, to have short or impaired vision

3. MALIKMATA

Juggling or play of the hands with which the eyes are deceived

4. MURI

Slimy moisture or discharge from the eyes, panamuri is a handkerchief, when the palay grains are growing—the palay grains at their earlier stage. Talamuri, a red-eyed bird.