Diparan - Mga Lokal na Salawikain at Paniniwala (Folk Wisdom through Local

Sayings/Proverbs and Beliefs)

(Category: Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe)
Traditional Pangasinan literature comes in written and oral forms. In Dr. Perla S. Nelmida’s
collection, Pangasinan's ancient folk literature in the oral traditions include 631 proverbs, 465
riddles and puzzles, 131 folk tales, and 170 folk songs.
As for written literature kuritan is the term used to mean Pangasinan literature, but it also refers
to the ancient Pangasinan script, which has become extinct. Ancient Pangasinan literature
includes the tongtong or tagaumen (tales or stories), gawaran and uliran (myths and legends),
diparan (maxims, sayings, proverbs), and pabitla or bonikew (riddles). The surviving literature
written in Pangasinan language are in Latin script, and include the awaran-dili or bilay-awaran
(biography), salaysay (essay), diglat (fiction), awaran (history), tongtong or salaysay (narrative),
kombilay (novel), and anlong (poem).
Here is an attempt at recovering some of the proverbs from collective memory.
Sayings/Proverbs
Say bilay aga sininger. (Life is not tied.) - Ang buhay ay di natin piho. Life is uncertain.
No manbagtik so kabayo, alagar mo’y itunda to. (When the horse is running, wait for it to stop.).
- Agmo susumlangen so manpapasnok ya tuo. Do not meet an angry person at the height of his
anger.
Say mangiras, banbantayan toy eras. (The lazy one will watch over hunger.)
Aga untitit so bulilit no ag napildit. (The mouse won't screech if it does not get pinched.) - Di ka
masasaktan kung 'di ka guilty! You won't react if you're not guilty.
Naksel so kalsada, narasa'y kusina. (The street is full, the kitchen is hungry.) - being showy in an
unseemly way (even though one can't afford it)
Pekpek ed duweg, batil ed baka (the carabao takes the hit, but the cow gets the bruise) - refers to
a person who gets hurt by words directed at someone else
Dyad inkapili-pili, say nakar to lunek. Out of extreme choosiness, one ends up in the hidden
corner.
Nanlayag so dalin. (The land has ears.) - Kahit anong itinatago mo na baho ng isang tao,
sisingaw at sisingaw yan.
Andekereket siaket, no mangaro malet. - Maitim man ako, malupit naman kung magmahal.
Though I am dark, when I fall in love, I fall hard.
Andeket mareret - Ang maitim tapat. The dark one has love sincere.
Say matila, kapinsa'y matakew. - A liar is cousin to a thief.
No iner so kulay masamit, wadman so kanit. (Kung naasan ang matamis, nandoon ang langgam.
Where there are sweets, there are ants.) - When you are wealthy, you have lots of friends. (Note:
Kanit is a kind of small ant that has a fragrant smell.)
Anggano agka manbalikas, diad awawey nalikas. (Literally (roughly), Even if you don't say it,
one can guess your actual state. Real meaning: Actions speak louder than words.)
Aliston kapakapa. (Active but ineffective.)
No antoy asabi, iyonor so ugali. (Adapt yourself to situations in life.)
Tabas mo'y kawes mo onung ed abel mo. (Adjust the cut of your dress to the size of your cloth.)
No walay kamaungan, walay kaugsan. (If there is an advantage, there is also a disadvantage.)
Dengel ka'y bilin piyan agka natolintolin. (Literally: Listen to advice so you won't stumble, fall,
and roll over. Real meaning: Listen to advice to avoid mistakes.)
Bilang mo'y takken mo ed bilang na kaarom, aliwan diad taon. (Count your age by the number of
your friends not by years.)
Anggapo'y toon makapanbilay ed kabokbokoran. (No person can live alone.)
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.)
Manpasnok ka ed utangan, aleg ed pansingilan." (Be angry with the lender, but not with the
debtor.)
Iyaagel, nasisinagel. - Kung ano ang pinakaiingatan, siya pa ang nasasaktan o nahahagip o
nabubunggo.
Inatey so angabil. - (Literally, The who hurt someone was the one who died.) The one who
intended evil was the one who got hurt.
Say alabas ya aro maganon naumas. - Too much love will not last.
Anggapo'y unegna'd bangan ag nauringan. - (Literally, No one who touches a sooty pot won't get
soiled.) One will surely be influenced by frequently associating oneself with something.
Say lakin uneksab ed abong, isulong to'y pugay to. - (A man who comes down from the house
will wear his ?____.) Man is man when he is out of the house, meaning, he can be forgiven for
some misdemeanors done (womanizing).
Natilak so aral, ag natilak so natural. - (Literally, One might leave behind one's education, but
one's nature will never be left behind.) True character appears even when one has high education.
Amin ya too maong anggad agto ibagel. (Everyone is good until one becomes crazy.) -
Anggapoy inyanak ya loko, kanyan say bagel ya too so sarag to met mansimbalo. (No one is
born evil, that's why an evil person is able to change for the better.)
Say mangasi, atotay lasi. (The merciful one gets farted on by lightning.) - Tutulungan mo la
lantiy sakey a too, sika ni so maoges. The one who is kind and helpful ends up the one being
seen in a bad light.
Say pagbabawi, wala'd kaunoran. (Regret/repentance happens in the end.) - Nasa huli ang
pagsisisi. When you realize the truth, it is too late to amend.
No anto'y nangel mo, ikupit mo'y sangim. (Whatever you heard, just close your mouth.) - Kung
anuman ang narinig mo, itiklop mo na lang ang bibig mo.
Agmo pinunuyan tan ta atan ya too katipunan Kastila. (Don't mind him because he is a ____
Spaniard.)
Aga ibaliway agik so asawa to. (My brother will not cross (the river/bridge?) for his wife.)
Anggan wala ka'd akwala'y inam, sukiten ta ka. (As long as you are on your mother's lap, I will
pick you out.)
No laki ka, laki ak met. (You are a man, so am I.)
Agmo ni nainom so nainom kon danum. (You have not drunk yet the water I have drunk.)
Dakel niy kanen mon belas. (Marami ka pang kakaining bigas. You still have a lot of rice to eat.)
- You still have a long way to go.
Say liket banbantaya'y ermen. (Happiness is stalked by sadness.)
No anngapo'y kuarta ed kawigin bulsa, agto kabaliksa'y anggapo'y kuarta met ed bulsan
kawanan.
Say kagalangan kayamanan. (Honor is wealth.)
Pabarong mo lay ateng mo, aliwa labat so biyenan/katulangan mo. (You may offend your
parents, but never ever your mother/father-in-law.)
Say nganak, no kinmotak, wala'y agawa. (When a hen cackles, something happened.) / Sakey ak
ya nganak. No kinmotak ak walay ginawak. (I am a hen. When I cackle, it means I did
something.)
Agko intilak so paltak kod batalan mi. (I didn't leave my balls in our bathroom.)
Agkayo manatae ed solar yo. (Huwag magkalat (o dumumi) sa sariling bakuran. Don't take a
dump in your own yard.)
Agko intilak sa paltak kod batalan mi! (I did not leave my balls in our bathroom!) - I will show
you who the man of the house is!
Aga ibaliwan na asawak so agi to./Aga ibaliwan na agik so asawa to. (My wife will not wear
mourning clother for her sibling./My sibling will not wear mourning clothes for his wife.) - I will
not allow it (a negative incident) to happen.
Gawaen ta pagawa. (Will do it then have it done by others.) - Do desirable things, and after that,
have the credibility to lead others to do the same good things too. It is like doing an act of
kindness, and others will see and do the same good example set.
***
Traditional Parental Advice
Anos labat so bilay. (Life is all about patient perseverance.) - It is believed that life is innately
hard, so one must persevere to be able to survive it. “Say imbaga nen atateng mi nen saman,
mairap a talaga so bilay, kanyan man-anos ka'd bilay.” (Our parents said that life was really hard,
so you must persevere in life.)
Unor mo'y ateng mo. (Obey your parents.) - One must obey one's parents because they know
better and they know what is best for us. “Mainumay kumon no unoren mo so atateng mo ed
amin a ibabaga dan maong para'd sika.” (Life becomes easy when you are obedient to your
parents, since they know what is best for you.)
Mi-aroan ka'd arom a totoo. (Love other people.) - “Diyad amin ya laen mo, maong met ya
antam so mi-arod arom, piyan nabangatan da kay kaantaan met ed panagbilay tan wala'y
untulong met ed sika ed paniirap mo.” (Wherever you go, it is good that you know how to
socialize with others (beyond your family), for you to be instructed about life, and to have
company in your struggles.)
Paunla ka ni labat, papawil kami la. (You're just on your way there, we are on our way back.) - It
is believed that when someone is ‘paunla’ or ‘on their way’ while the other one is ‘papawil’ or
‘returning’, it means that people who have passed through life's struggles or challenges have
gained much more knowledge and wisdom from their experience and thus have earned the right
to guide someone else (usually the younger ones) because they have experienced it first-hand.
Aliwa so mangkawes na antikey. (It is wrong to wear short dress.) - According to Leonita
Romano, parents in the past were strict with how their daughters dressed up. They frowned on
women wearing short clothes, as they considered it to be immodest. "Pagagalitan at parurusahan
ang sinumang magdamit ng maiikli sa panahon namin, at natatakot kaming mapagalitan noon,
kaya lahat ng bawal di namin ginagawa," she said.
Pilim a maong so asawam. (Choose carefully whom to marry.) - People of marrying age were
advised by their parents to decide carefully and wisely which person to choose because marriage
is a lifelong commitment, and once committed, there was no turning back. If you chose the
wrong person, you faced the consequences. According to Minda B. Pagsolingan, her father -- a
soldier -- would often advise her, “Piliin mo’y mayaman ya asawa, ta piyan unasenso ka ed
bilay.” (Choose a rich husband/wife so that you can have a better life.) Being vocal about the
issue was the parents' way of expressing their love and concern for their children.
Igalang mo so mas panguluan ed sika. (Respect the person older than you.) - This means younger
people must respect those who are older than them. This outright demand for respect according
to age is based on the presumption that the older ones have much more experience in life and
thus have gained more knowledge and wisdom than younger ones, who need their guidance.
Agka misasalaok no mantutungtong ira'y matatakken. (Don't butt in when elders talk.) -
According to Mr. Renato Mamaril, this means that when adults are having a conversation,
children should not butt in. Disobeying this indicates that one does not have respect for one's
elders or one has no manners.
***
Local Beliefs
No malayag ka, andukey so bilay mo. - If you are ear-y, you have a long life
No ginmatel so limam, wala'y unsabin kwartam. - If your hand turns itchy, you will have money
soon.
Say pelsaan, matila. - The one who has a boil is a liar.
Say bungaan, masiim. - The one who has sore eyes is a voyeur.
No say ugaw mansinok, ibaga ra wala'y nantakew na itnol. - If a child hiccups, they say that
someone has stolen an egg.
No say ugaw ya melag et amil, pakan moy bao'y baboy pian manmaliw a malabir. - If a little
child [has a speech defect in which he/she mispronounces certain syllables], give him/her pig's
vagina so he/she will become talkative.
Sa’y nankamkampuyod abay na eleng, singob-singoben to’y inawa. - The one who has a mole
near the nose will keep on smelling a comfortable life.
No say kamkampuyo'd lupa et natetertera'y luwa, manangibalo. (When your mole on the face is
found where tears fall, your spouse will die ahead of you someday.)
Maim-impis lay layag mo (ya laki), ta patawin ka la patawin. (Your ears are too thin because you
keep on carrying someone on your back.)
Sarata'y inaatey ya masaol ed dalin, sikara man so sigsilew ya manangibalang ditad taew.
(Landgrabbers, when they die, become the sigsiglew or fireball that cause people to lose their
way in the field.)
Gawaen ta pagawa. (Will do it then have it done by others.) - Do desirable things, and after that,
have the credibility to lead others to do the same good things too. It is like doing an act of
kindness, and others will see and do the same good example set.
KEY INFORMANTS: Jose Paningbatan Ferrer, Cadre Site; Elvira Ferrer, Cadre Site; Leonita A.
Romano, Tatarac; Minda B. Pagsolingan, Cadre Site; Mrs. Florentina S. De Guzman, Bical
Norte; Mr. Renato C. Mamaril, Sapang
PROFILERS/MAPPERS: Carl Jason Centeno, Ralph Michael Tumaneng, Cindy Grospe, Rezza
Mae Pagsolingan, Marlyn De Guzman, Shekinah Macaraeg
Grade 12 HUMSS-Psalms
Date Profiled: January 16, 2019
ADVISER: Mr. Christopher Q. Gozum
Subject: Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions
School: Bayambang National High School – Senior High School
School Year: 2018-2019
References/Consultants/Validators/Additional Informants: Dr. Leticia B. Ursua, Melchor Orpilla,
Taga-Pangasinan Ak, Aroen Ko'y Salitak Facebook page members, Mildred S. Odon, Lorenzo
Bancolita, Joey Ferrer, Marilyn dela Cruz, Pangasinan 101 Facebook page, November 14, 2014,
Marilyn dela Cruz