Someone has noted that Filipino culture is an inexact
culture, or at least, to be more accurate, there is a strong element of inexactitude. That is, except in terms of measurement of gold, which reportedly has
advanced terminology among pre-Filipino ancients.
But there is truth to the observation among present-day Filipinos.
Mike Lu, a former president of the Birdwatchers Club of the Philippines, once
pointed out that Filipinos typically are content to call any little bird
either maya or pipit. Although certain localities
have specific names for specific birds and other species, the terms tend to
generalize more than distinguish or specify: yung itim na ibon sa
parang, paru-parong bukid, damong-ligaw, halamang
dagat, daga at bubwit (mice are different
from rats and shrews, and the Philippines has several species of mouse-like
rodents)...
In particular, Pangasinenses use the word sira to
refer not just to fish in general but also to the day's viand or main dish,
and manok to refer not just to chicken but also to birds in
general. Kanen, which is related to kanin (cooked
rice), refers to not just rice cakes but all kinds of kakanin or
even if made of corn, tapioca, cassava or some other starchy ingredient as long
as it looks like rice cake. The list goes on, for other Philippine ethnolinguistic
groups.
Even in cooking, one veteran cultural worker, Corazon Alvina,
noticed this while featuring a regional cook on TV. She said, "You don't
have specific measurements, no?" "Yes, tantya-tantya lang"
(estimates only), replied the cook.
Similarly, Doreen Fernandez likened the sawsawan (assorted
Filipino dips) concept to a chemical titration test (or jazz to be more
accurate), with each dip slowly adjusted until it is perfected according to the
diner's personal preferences and not to any existing standard. This high level
of deviation and brash experimentation, or total lack of exacting standards, in
Philippine cooking has resulted in not just the high variation in these dips,
but also, in the various interpretations of adobo, pancit, longanisa, etc.,
even among households within a given town.
This lack of standard has been lamented by the likes of
chef-restaurateur Margarita Fores and sought to address it with prescribed
measurements, but then it can be argued that that is the whole point of Filipino
cuisine -- it thrives in dizzying (or is it dazzling) diversity of
interpretations or versions instead of aiming for just one standard.
When the Spaniards arrived, their measurement system -- which
introduced the concept of exactitude -- became the natives' measurement system.
But the other generalistic indigenous terms apparently persisted.
A Facebook post that made the rounds listed the following as the
most well-known Philippine measurement units today, whose amounts are at best
rough estimates.
Length/Distance: piranggot, kapiranggot, sandamak, sandamakmak, dangkal, talampakan, bisig, dipa
Mass/Weight: dakot, guhit, kagitna, gatang, chimanta, kaban
Length/Distance: piranggot, kapiranggot, sandamak, sandamakmak, dangkal, talampakan, bisig, dipa
Mass/Weight: dakot, guhit, kagitna, gatang, chimanta, kaban
Volume: salok, saro, mangkok
Time: kisapmata, saglit, sandali
Not on the list are: litro, katiting, kapiraso.
Which reminds of a new joke that goes, "Ano ang tawag sa maliit na pusa?" (Answer: katiting.) Ano ang tawag sa maliit na aso?" (Answer: kapiraso.) "Ano naman ang tawag sa maliit na kambing?" (Answer: kapiranggoat.)
Not on the list are: litro, katiting, kapiraso.
Which reminds of a new joke that goes, "Ano ang tawag sa maliit na pusa?" (Answer: katiting.) Ano ang tawag sa maliit na aso?" (Answer: kapiraso.) "Ano naman ang tawag sa maliit na kambing?" (Answer: kapiranggoat.)
Hyperbolic words are a dime a dozen (assuming the regions have
other equivalent terms): sangkatutak, sandamakmak, sangrekwa, sanglaksa, sandamukal, sangkaterba.
Regional terms
In Pangasinan, before we ever resorted to the use of guhit in
weighing scales, the following were the terms that used to be commonplace in
the public market.
litse (leche) - equivalent to a can of Alaska condensed milk
ganta, gantas - what Tagalog call gatang; 10 chupas?
chupa - cup
gantilla
salop - 2.5 kilos?
limon - equivalent to the biggest can of Del Monte pineapple juice
available in the market
takal
kaban - 50 kilos?
Nonetheless, long before we Filipinos standardized our system of
measurement to the kilogram for weight and the kilometer for length, we already
had developed our own. It may not be an exact science like today's calibrated
scales, but the measures worked in an environment where bounty and diversity
were such a reality that they were probably too hard to deal with, much less to
count down to the last degree of magnitude.
References:
Here's an eye-opener from Dr. Abe V. Rotor: http://avrotor.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-accurate-are-folk-measurements.html
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