Mga Salawikain - a Project for all time

I’m a professional now and it just dawned on me that there were these notoriously annoying projects in our elementary years – basically re-used and rehashed in high school – that were plainly, well in my opinion, useless when you’re already working. Except maybe when you’re giving out pep talks to your colleagues, but I much rather give all straight out. Yes, I’m that straight forward. Even though it seems too much at times, I rather enjoy being a no-nonsense type of person. Anyway, back to the projects.

One of these high-grade hurdles is this project in Filipino where we, the students, are asked to compile several Filipino proverbs, or those we call “Salawikain”. I always wondered what the teachers were going to do with all her students’ projects right after grading them. [Finish this post by clicking on "Read the rest of the story here..."]

According to a tagalog version Wikipedia, “Sa Pilipinas, ang mga salawikaing Pilipino ay mga tradisyonal na kasabihang ginagamit ng mga Pilipino batay sa katutubong kalinangan, karunungan, at pilosopiya mula sa buhay sa Pilipinas. Katumbas din ng salitang salawikain ang sawikain (bagaman maaari ring tumukoy ang sawikain sa mga moto o idyoma), at ng Ilokanong sarsarita. Nilalarawan ang salawikain nagmumula sa Pilipinas bilang makapangyarihan at makatang pagpapadama at payak na anyo ng mga pahiwatig.”

In short, a salawikain is a Filipino proverb, and that’s about it. These are mostly used by adults especially when scolding youngsters or yuppies and just to emphasize their point, they use salawikains to make it sound better, poetic, and of the wise. It just heightens the annoyance of the person at the other end of the conversation if you ask me. Unless what was used was so extraordinary that it sometimes amazes the person hearing that this one particular salawikain actually exists. I sometimes get that feeling- utter amazement and curiosity that, “Hey, he (or she) knows that?! What the….?!”

Nonetheless, to help out some of our future generation in researching their projects, here are some links to these salawikains. Hopefully your parents, guardians, or even classmates know how to find out about this in the net.

1. Salawikain: Filipino Proverbs
2. Mga Salawikain: Philippine Proverbs
3. Salawikain Noon at Ngayon
4. Mga Salawikain naTinipon ni Iñigo Ed, Regalado
5. Mga Kasabihan at Salawikain
6. Salawikain from emanila

How about your kids? or maybe siblings, cousins, neighbors, officemates' kids, etc.... are they going poring into books looking for these? If this post helped you, or them, let me know.