(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, pithy 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.
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. (Even if you don't say it, one can guess your actual state.) - Actions speak louder than words.
No walay kamaungan, walay kaugsan. (If there is an advantage, there is also a disadvantage.)
Dengel ka'y bilin piyan agka natolintolin. (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.)
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.)
No anggapo'y kuarta ed kawigin bulsa, agto kabaliksa'y anggapo'y kuarta met ed bulsan kawanan.
Say kagalangan kayamanan. (Honor is wealth.)
Agkayo manatae ed solar yo. (Huwag magkalat (o dumumi) sa sariling bakuran. Don't take a dump in your own yard.)
No antikey so oles, ikokot so sali. (If the blanket is short, then bend your feet.) - Mantipid, imanesan so wala. Magtipid, pagkasyahin kung ano ang meron habang di pa nakakaluwag-luwag. Live with what you have, or live within your means while times are hard.
Say unaan ya kinmutak, sikatoy nandutak. (The first one to cluck is the one who made a mess or the one who messed up.) - The guilty one will unwittingly speak up in unsolicited defense.
Ibabatikan koy pitek, nakar koy lunek. (I was running away from mud, but I ended up in a corner.) - My situation has gone from bad to worse.
Agmo ipopormisa so siwsiw anggad agni abetag so itnol. (Don't promise the chick when the egg has not hatched yet.) - Don't make a promise prematurely, i.e., without any assurance of delivering it.
Walay layag na dalin. (The land has ears.) - Aga niamot so sikreto laot la ed saray tsismosa. Ang sikreto ay di maitago dahil sa mga makakating labi. A secret can't be kept because of gossip.
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.
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.
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Local Beliefs
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
Compiler and Editor: Resty S. Odon
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