Panaglaboy / Panagsokab / Panagpalili Ritual

Panaglaboy / Panagsokab / Panagpalili Ritual

(Local beliefs and practices when using something for the first time)

 

Little rituals and the underlying belief surrounding the use of something for the first time (such as clothes, house implements, etc.) seem to be peculiar to Pangasinenses.

 

In general terms, there is this strong belief that, when someone uses something for the first time, one must make sure to perform little rituals that are akin to a binyag (christening ritual) of some sort.

 

I witnessed this first hand from my own paternal grandmother. For example, when my parents bought something new for the house, such as a pail, she would say a strong male must use it first so that the object would surely last long or to ensure that it would be durable. She would then call my younger brother, who was the more athletic type between the two of us, to come use the pail for the first time.

 

The practice appears to have been prevalent not just in Bayambang, but also in the rest of Pangasinan. Melchor Orpilla attests that his own grandmother taught him this little ritual: "No mangisulong kay balon kawes o sapatos o antokaman a para laman, mamitlom nin ipasilong ed baeta'y duwaran sali o ulpo legan ya ibabaga, 'Una ka lan napungpong, una ka lan napungpong, una ka lan napungpong'." (When wearing clothes, shoes, or anything for the first time, move the object under your two feet or legs three times while chanting, 'Be the first one to crumble.')

 

Richard Benton's Pangasinan-English Dictionary (1971), which is accessible online, has at least two words that refer to this practice. Laboy means to "use clothes, etc. for the first time," while a synonymous word is sokab, which has the stated meaning of "to use or wear something for the first time."

 

Orpilla adds another such word: "No kawes ya isulong mon unaan, ipalili kuwan da." (A term used when trying on new clothes for the first time is 'ipalili.')

Another practice to ensure that clothes or any other wearable item would last long is a Christianized version: to wear them to mass for the first time, to obtain the blessing of durability for those items.

This practice must have survived the present time, but there is quite another practice that has become more popular and, in fact, a reversal of the original ritual. This is the practice among young boys of teasing fellow boys wearing new shoes by stepping on the shoes, saying, "Binyagan tayo!" making the brand-new shoes instantly dirty and looking used or old.

Informants: Resty S. Odon, Melchor Orpilla

Culture Bearers: Soledad/Julia Junio Odon (deceased), Leonor Romero de Leon (deceased)