Waray Tutorial: The Other Meaning of Pinya

To Filipinos, pinya is generally known as pineapple; however, there is another meaning of pinya that's familiar to Waray speakers. Let's take a look at this folk song I learned from San Roque, Northern Samar.

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I

Ako magtatanom sin lemon

Sa iyo libong bayai

An im asawa kay kita

An magpipinya.
II

Ako magtatanom sin lemon

Nga waray dahon

Natudok in maagahon

Naghahanap sin kamatayon.

Loose translation:

I

I will plant a lemon tree

In your backyard.

You leave your husband

So we can be lovers.
II

I will plant a lemon tree

That has no leaves

A lemon tree that grows at dawn

Searching for death.

I recorded the song and uploaded it to youtube. Yes, that's the link to the song. Actually, it has a chorus, but I didn't include it in this post as well as on youtube. Perhaps I will, in the future. Anyway, if you're from Samar or Leyte, you must have heard this song before; hence, you know the part which I omitted. [(Update: You may listen to this song from this link PINYA: A Waray Folk Song (With English Translation)]

To the Warays, pinya may refer to the fruit or to a lover. In Samar, it is common to hear such statements as "Si Maria, pinya ni Mario" (Maria is Mario's lover) or "Magpinya si Maria ngan si Mario" (Maria and Mario are lovers). A couple is magpinya when engaged in an adulterous relationship. They are NOT magpinya if both parties are single and unattached.

Image source

Back to the song: it reflects the playful nature of the Warays and their fondness for symbolism in their language. The last four lines allude to a man's erection and to the sex act. The leafless lemon tree is, apparently, a phallic symbol.

On Alexa Traffic Rank and Google PageRank

Because I want to be considered a full-fledged blogger, I am now thinking of conquering the Alexa Traffic Rank and the Google PageRank -- these are two methods of evaluating a website's importance in the online world. Currently, my Alexa Traffic Rank is 2,443,794. About a month ago, it was approximately 5,330,000. Less traffic rank means better performance of the site; hence, my goal now is to reduce this figure to 1 million and possibly to a 6-digit figure. How will I do it? There's a simple trick that other bloggers are doing. I might as well implement it here; hence, beginning today, I will place the Alexa Widget on my sidebar.

Photo link

Meanwhile, this site's (http://warayblogger.blogspot.com) Google PageRank is 0/10. Considering that this is only the third month that I am writing for this site, a "0" is much better than an N/A. Getting a "0" PageRank simply means my site has been noticed or indexed by Google.

After my Triond profile left the "0" mark on June 27, I saw a glimmer of hope for Online Writing Ideas. Putting content to this site is what I should be working on at this point. A site with less than 20 posts will never be ranked well by Google (and by Alexa). My Triond profile has now a Google PR of 2/10 and an Alexa Traffic Rank of 5,658. With hard work, I'm sure I will also be able to improve this site's ratings.

Baybay City's Dry Market: A Photo Story

In June, three editorial staff members of The Tiller - that's the name of our high school paper - and I attended a Camp Blog at Visayas State University, Baybay City, Leyte. One of the outputs we made was a photo story of Baybay's dry market section.

We were at the pubic market on June 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. where we took photographs of the area assigned to us. With us and the other participants were the Camp Blog facilitators and Mr. Jimmy Domingo, a photojournalist and our resource person for that activity.

This photo story is a product of long discussions and brainstorming among the group members and Mr. Domingo, but we give the biggest credit to Miguel Albert Taveros, The Tiller's Editor-in-Chief and layout artist for bringing to life our ideas through this output because of his knowledge of Adobe movie-maker.

What Businesses in Baybay City, Leyte Accept Credit Cards?

As of this writing, there are three:

1. Greenware Customized Systems and PC Accessories. It's a computer store located at Prince Baybay.
2. Mercury Drug Corporation. It's far from being an ordinary drug store because it has its own grocery section. The store is open until 10:00 P.M. (that's what I like about "Mercury")
3. Prince Baybay -- is the biggest store in the city. Panny's Bakeshop, which sells cakes and pastries, and Rose Pharmacy have also their own stalls inside the building. Aside from credit cards, Prince Baybay also accepts debit cards.

Photo link

Greenware, Mercury Drug, and Prince are located at A. Bonifacio St., Baybay City, Leyte.

Related posts:
Prince Mall Opens in Baybay, Leyte, Philippines
Things To Do and See in Baybay, Leyte, Philippines

Three Waray Adjectives: MAUPAY, MABAYSAY, MAHUSAY

These three adjectives - maupay, mabaysay, and mahusay - are often interchangeably used by Waray speakers when describing things especially when expressing something positive. I will explain through this post how each word is different from the two other words.

When a thing or an idea is described as maupay, it suggests that it is of good quality. Let's have the following examples:

maupay nga payong (umbrella)
maupay nga bisikleta (bicyle)
maupay nga eskuylahan (school)
maupay nga seminar
maupay nga kahoy (tree)

The focus when describing a thing as maupay is on its function or usability; hence, maupay nga payong suggests that an umbrella is good and that it performs its function well as an umbrella. Maupay nga eskuylahan is a school that offers quality instruction. Meanwhile, a person described as maupay is somebody with good qualities as an individual. It may also suggest that the person has an unquestionable character or reputation.

maupay nga asawa (wife/husband)
maupay nga bata (boy/girl)
maupay nga babaye (woman)
maupay nga duktor (doctor)

mabaysay nga eskuylahan (Visayas State University)

To describe the above-mentioned nouns as mabaysay still suggests goodness or the quality of being good; however, the focus of mabaysay is more on the physical attributes of a thing or of a person. An umbrella may be perceived as mabaysay (beautiful) because of its intricate design. Mabaysay nga kahoy (tree) may imply that it has various colors or that it looks physically good. A school may be described as maupay (offers quality instruction) and mabaysay (having a beautiful campus) at the same time.

maupay nga eskuylahan (Visayas State University)

To a Waray speaker, a seminar may be good (having excellent speakers, good food, comfortable venue), but not beautiful; hence, seminars are rarely described as mabaysay. A doctor is usually maupay (good) nga duktor. To say that the doctor is mabaysay simply means she is a female and is lovely. Yes, the word is not normally used when describing males.

mahusay nga daraga (beautiful lady)

The third adjective, mahusay, also means beautiful or lovely and can be used in lieu of mabaysay. In fact, the two words are almost synonymous.

Here's one very important difference between these two words: an umbrella may be described as mabaysay, but it cannot be called mahusay by a Norte Samarnon Waray speaker. Why? It's because mahusay is exclusively used when describing people, particularly women; thus, we say:

mahusay nga babaye (beautiful woman)
mahusay nga bata (beautiful girl)
mahusay nga asawa (beautiful wife)