Maligayang Paskó at Manigong Bagong Taón
Along with the photo of a 19th century belén, I posted the Tagalog greeting to my Facebook friends, taking for granted that it means “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
In minutes, a query arrived from Vallejo, California. Elmer de Leon,
ex-SGV colleague, asked what exactly does manigo mean. I really didn’t know and said I had always assumed it meant “joyful.”
Bulaqueño Reimbrant Hilario
joined in, suggesting that it means “to transform” or “transforming,” recalling a priest’s long-ago sermon, “Why do we wish each other manigong bagong taon? This is because manigo means change for the better in all aspects of life, improvements not only in livelihood but also in spirituality. Each year we hope that the New Year will be the year when we will become truly worthy in the eyes of our Creator” (my translation of Mr. Hilario’s Tagalog).
Intrigued, I asked Filipino language Supremo, National Artist Virgilio S. Almario, then chairman (tagapangulo)
of the Komisyón sa Wikang Filipino, for the last word. He replied that most people now use
manigo to mean, masagana at maayos (abundant and orderly), although it once meant suwerte or masuwerte (luck or lucky). He added that the root is nigo.
I checked out Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala by Jesuit Friars Juan de Noceda and Pedro de Sanlucar. Published in 1754, an enlarged edition was issued in 1860. The authorities had decided it would be simpler for frailes to preach in Philippine languages rather than teach indios to learn Spanish, and Noceda y Sanlucar lists Tagalog words and their Spanish meanings. In 2013, the Komisyón sa Wikang Pilipino published another edition (by Virgilio S. Almario,
Elvin R. Ebreo, and Anna Maria M. Yglopaz) containing Tagalog translations of the Spanish meanings of the Tagalog words, many of which are now forgotten or have different meanings.
The Spanish and Tagalog equivalents of nigo in Noceda y Sanlucar and in Almario et. al., respectively, are as follows:
“acertar a lo que se tira”(tamaan kung ano ang inaasinta), “irse haciendo certero” (tiyaking tamaan), “probar ventura” (subukan ang kapalaran), “la causa de acertar” (ang dahilan ng pagtiyak) that in English would denote: to hit the bullseye; to ensure success, well-aimed; to seek one’s destiny; the basis of success.
While I was at it, I checked out ligaya and found that the word meant “contento o gusto interiór” (kontento o panloób na kasiyahan), or
This is because manigo means change for the better in all aspects of life, improvements not only in livelihood but also in spirituality. Each year we hope that the New Year will be the year when we will become truly worthy in the eyes of our Creator.
in English, contentment or inner satisfaction. It doesn’t quite mean merry, which is “alegre” that Tagalogs expressed as logód, galác, or sayá.
Paskó, of course, came from the Spanish “Pascua,” which can refer to the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter, Christmas, and Pentecost. Our Tagalog ancestors were precise, Christmas was Pasco nang pañgañganac or
And so, in greeting my Manila Bulletin readers Maligayang Paskó at Manigong Bagong Taón, what I’m saying is, “May you find inner peace and contentment this Christmas and may your fondest hopes be reality in the coming year.”
Notes: (a) This article was first published in this column on 19 December, 2016; and (b) The original sermon recalled by Reimbrant Hilario is: “Sa pagdatíng ng bagong taón, bakit hinahañgad natin para sa isa’t isa ang manigong bagong taón? Sapagka’t ang kahulugán ng manigo ay pagpapánibago, pagpapánibago sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay, pagpapaunlád di lamang ng ating kabuhayan kundi pagpapánibago sa ating espiritwal na buhay. Taon-taon inaasám natin na maging manigo ang bagong taón upang sa pagdaán ng panahón maging karapat-dapat tayo sa pagtatañgi ng ating Maykapál.”
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