"Parang" - which dialect?

rhino

rhino

Joined
Dec 30, 2000
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Just curious ... a question for my pinoy cousins:

I was talking to my dad recently about bolos (the man loves to use anything machete-like in the back yard), and asked him if he knew the term "parang."

He had not, but told me today that in our family's dialect (Pampangan), the word for bolo is "palang."

Does anyone know which dialect or locale in the Philippines where the word "parang" is used? Seems like the same word, just separated by a few miles.
 
Hey! I'm Kapampangan too (a native of the Pampanga region and ethnicity).

You are right, "palang" is a term which generally connotes a large-ish knife for heavy use. I may be wrong but "parang" seems to be Malaysian or Indonesian in origin, which is also related to the Kapampangan dialect. It may have been a derivative.
 
Hey, Cousin! Thanks for the response!

I asked in the BandofGlockers clubhouse on www.GlockTalk.com too, and got some good info from our cousins there.

One fellow did mention that "parang" was Malay/Indonesion (so it's closely related), and another mentioned that it might be a different pronunctiation of "barong," which is another term for a big, leaf shaped knife, right?

Then I asked about barong the knife vs. barong tagolog, the shirt! So they explained to me that barong is one word for the knife, but when talking about the shirt, it's actually a compound word like "baro'ng tagalog," meaning tagalog clothing.

Whew! I ask a lot of questions. I wish I could speak our dialect or Tagalog (or both), but I grew up in Indiana and my dad was too busy to teach me. Then I wasted my chance when I live in California among all of my family and relatives for four years, plus had access to community colleges that taught Pilipino-Tagalog as a foreign language.

Thanks again for the response!

Where in the province are you from? My family mostly hails from Masantol, although my dad was actually born in Makati.
 
Yup, the national costume equivalent to the coat and tie is the "barong tagalog" which is a literal contraction of "baro" (dress, clothing) ng (of) tagalog (another regional ethnicity, the Tagalogs. It's language structure is the basis of the Filipino national language so it's the common tongue). As for the "barong" sword itself, since it is a traditional Moro weapon of our southern moslem citizens, I'd also assume it comes from their dialect too. Furthermore, they're not pronounced the same which also differentiates one from the other.

A lot of US-based Pinoys hail from Masantol. Heck, I even heard from a friend that some even charter an entire plane so they could all go home together!

I'm from San Fernando, the provincial capital. Man, it really warms the heart to see a guy so enthusiastic to look back to his roots! More power to ya!

Did you know that we Kapampangans among all the regions enjoy the rep for our cuisine and excellent dishes? Ask your dad about "sisig" which is known far and wide as the GREATEST beer dish ever invented, I sh*t you not! Basically pig's ears, cheeks and "meaty" head parts slightly toasted then spiced and seasoned with onions, chilis and served on a sizzling plate!!!
 
I don't think I've ever heard of sisig ... but I've had lechon, pansit, adobo, and of course lumpia! My cousins do halo halo sometimes, and shave the ice by hand with a big knife! <--- on topic! And of course everyone loves things like pulvarons.

I avoid the following: dinaguan, balut, bagong (the latter two like the plague!)

When I was young, my dad did adobo and pansit a lot, but for the last 20 years or so, he mostly does things of his own creation. He also does some really good fried rice!

Funny story: in my little home town in Indiana, people know I wasn't quite white, but most of them assumed I was Hawaiian, Samoan, or maybe American Indian (my mom is mixed Euro white lady from Kentucky). By contrast, when I lived in California in the San Francisco Bay Area, no one noticed anyone unusual about me other than my size. With so many Filipinos there, only my family knew.

So one day I was shopping for some ice cream at a Filipino market in Daly City for my uncle. When I went in there, everyone who was shopping just stopped in their tracks and stared at me like, "What is this guy doing here?" Then I went to the ice cream freezer and selected one container of ube and and another of cheese and corn. Then everyone relaxed and went about their business because they knew I was one of them! HAHAH!
 
"Parang" is a general term for large knife, and used in Indo-Malay dialects mostly in Java and Sumatra. Much like "Bolo" is used in the Philipines.

Many of the older Silat teachers will refer to short swords as Parangs
 
rhino said:
Then I asked about barong the knife vs. barong tagolog, the shirt! So they explained to me that barong is one word for the knife, but when talking about the shirt, it's actually a compound word like "baro'ng tagalog," meaning tagalog clothing.
Click to expand...

My neighbor is a pinoy orriginally from Manila, and the last time he visited I asked him to bring me back a "barong", of course meaning a Barong sword. He of course brought me back a very nice shirt. Oh well, at least I have something nice to wear when we do the after seminar get togethers. :D
 
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