PANGASINAN LITERATURE

PANGASINAN PROVERBS

1. "Anggano agka manbalikas,diad awawey nalikas

(Actions speak louder than words.)

2. "Aliston kapakapa."

(Active but ineffective.)

3. "No antoy asabi, iyonor so ugali."

(Adapt yourself to situations in life.)

4. "Tabas mo'y kawes mo onung ed abel mo."

(Adjust the cut of your dress to the size of your cloth.)

5. "No walay kamaungan, walay kaugsan."

(If there is an advantage, there is also a disadvantage.)

6. "Dengel ka'y bilin piyan agka natolintolin."

(Listen to advice to avoid mistakes.)

7. "Bilang mo'y takken mo ed bilang na kaarom, aliwan diad taon."

(Count your age by the number of your friends not by years.)

8. "Anggapo'y toon makapanbilay ed kabokbokoran."

(A person cannot live alone.)

9. "Say too ya anggapo'y nonot to ed arapen, mairap to ya sabien so limpyon panagbilay."

(A person without ambition rarely comes to true greatness.)

10. "Manpasnok ka ed utangan, aleg ed pansingilan."

(Be angry with the lender, but not with the debtor.)

PANGASINAN RIDDLES

1. Saquey so torutoro duaray quepay-quepay a patiray mansobsoblay.

-(Pang.) Dueg

E: One pointing, two moving, four changing.

-Carabao
2. Otin nen laquic Tapal ni baleuet ed corral manaquis, ya agnaecal.

-(Pang.) Campana

E:Tapal's hanging within the corral is crying to get out.

-Bell

3. Nancorona agimiet ari; nan capa agmuet pari.

-(Pang.) Manoc

E: The king's crown but not king; the priest's cope, but not priest.

-Cock

4. Oalay asoc ya quisquis no onbatic tirakiang.

-(Pang.) Baloto

E: I have a hairless dog, who goes belly upward.

-Boat

5. Mapatar ya dalin tinoboay garing.

-(Pang.) Ngipuen

E: Plain earth has grown ivory.

-Teeth

6. Enlongon empantion onbangon mansermon.

-(Pang.) Dila

E: Coffin in graveyard wakes up sermon.

-Tongue

7. Amanu na mararamdam, dapot masaquit yang intindian, nung ing lupa na ing quecang lauan a usta
mu ing qucang sasabian.

-(Pang.) Relos
E: His words are audible but difficult to understand; when you look at his face you will understand what
he says.

-Clock

8. Matebtibonec malimtimbocol bagobagooay tapuco anbalbalangay dalem.

-(Pang.) Atsuete

E: Round, plump; hairy outside; red inside.

-Atsuete

9. Dinan yan penalsay Dios ya loab tod tabla it say paoay toel equet.

(Pang.) Cabatite

E: What creature of God is smooth inside but like a net outside?

-Cabatite

10. Abongnin Dona Maria alictob na botilla.

-(Pang.) Apayas

E: Dona Maria's house is surrounded by a bottle.

-Papaya

PANGASINAN LEGEND

LEGEND OF THE HUNDERD ISLANDS

The Greed that Created the Hundred Islands Another legend tells how the islands were created
by man’s greed for power and other worldly things.

The story goes that a kingdom just lost their king in ill health and his people were left without a
leader. There were two datus from two warring tribes who are legitimate successors. They were not
only rivals to the throne but rivals to the love of a princess named Liglioa who was also a ward to the
kingdom’s priestess and for a mystic huge pearl which would give wealth to anyone who possesses it,
but is mysteriously un-gathered from the bottom of the sea.

These two rivals had been fighting for a long time now that the priestess finally consulted the
ancestors and the oracle gave her what ought to be done to attain peace and unity for the whole
kingdom, which she in turn instructed to the princess
 Liglioa then told the two warring datus that whoever wins in the last battle shall win her hand in
marriage and the pearl in the bottom of the ocean. The two datus and their tribes prepared long and
hard for the upcoming sea battle and by night, bodies and swords were clashing each other.

And before daybreak, something strange can be noticed on the dead warriors’ bodies and their
upturned bancas. They were immobile; and soon grass began to grow on them and became a hundred
small islands.

The priestess then told Liglioa what happened and the truth about the huge pearl. The real pearl
was Liglioa all along, sent to the people by the gods, as they foresaw that the kingdom would be without
a ruler when the former king dies. The huge pearl at the bottom of the ocean was a mere illusion made
to test the character of that rightful ruler.

Fishermen of today still swear that a bit farther off where the islands are now, one can see the
mysterious huge pearl mystically gleaming under the clear waters of the sea, beckoning, then
disappearing just as swiftly as it came.