PANGASINENSE

- The 9th largest ethnic group in

Location:
Lingayen Gulf, Pangasinan
Province, in the central area of
Luzon Island, northern portion of
Tarlac and southwestern La
Union.
PANGASINAN
The third biggest province in the whole
Philippine Archipelago.
The largest province in the Ilocos Region
with 44 municipalities, 4 cities, and 1,364
barangay (which means "village" or
"community"). There are six congressional
districts in the province.
PANGASINAN
(pronounced "Pang-ASINan")
means "place of salt" or "place of salt-
making", it is derived from the prefix
pang, meaning "for", the root word
asin, meaning "salt”, and suffix an,
signifying "location". At present it is
pronounced "Paŋgasinan" based on the
Spanish pronunciation.
The province is a major
producer of salt in the
Philippines. Its major
products include
bagoong ("salted-krill")
and alamang ("shrimp-
paste"). Other principal
economic activities apart
from salt production are
farming and fishing.
Land Area:
According to 2015 census,
5, 451.01 square meters.
There are 1, 651, 841
registered voters.
LANGUAGE/DIALECT
• Their language can be called both Pangasinan and
Pangasinense.
• Pangasinenses use at least three different dialects to
communicate, these are Tagalog, Pangasinan, and
Ilocano.
• Northern municipalities of Pangasinan- both Ilocano
and Pangasinan are generally used.
• Southern and the Eastern municipalities- commonly
speaks more of Ilocano than Pangasinan.
• Western municipalities tend to use Pangasinan
rather than any other dialect.
CULTURE
The Pangasinense culture is a
rich mix of Malayo-Polynesian,
Hispanic, American, and Chinese
influences.
Occupation/Livelihood
KULIGLIG
Houses
Religious Beliefs
• The ancient Pangasinense had an animistic
religion which had Ama-Gaolay as the
chief deity.
• Lesser spirits or anito were responsible for
a host of phenomena relating to the
weather, plant growth, and good health,
as well as protection of rivers, trees, and
other sites.
• Illness was deemed as punishment for
offending the anito.
• An important Marian image
is the Virgin Dolorosa of
Mangatarem, which is
housed in a private home.
The virgin is believed to have
protected the townspeople
from the vicissitudes of war.
The sash of the Virgin is also
borrowed from time to time
by pregnant women who
wear it on their last week of
pregnancy to ensure safe
delivery
• Pangasinans treasure
the image of Christ
known as Divino
Tesoro of Calasiao
and celebrate the
image with an annual
festival from April 24
to May 2.
Traditions
• All Saints Day every November 1, and
All Souls Day every November 2.
• Dressed in burial clothes and veils and
holding lighted candles, a group of
residents in central Pangasinan, called
“cantores,” would gather on All Saints’
Day and All Souls’ Day and go from
house to house, singing the song
“Pantawtawag” (Calling).
Traditions
The Pangasinan Christmas aligondo, or
carol, is made up of 142 quatrains and
is believed to be the longest Christmas
carol in the Philippines. The song,
which relates the story of the Magi, is
sung by both men and women and
takes about 90 minutes to perform.
Traditions
• Holy Week traditions include religious
services, processions and the chanting
of the "pasyon," or passion. The
pasyon is performed over the course of
three nights between Holy Wednesday
and Good Friday and relates Biblical
history from Creation to Jesus’ Passion,
Resurrection and death.
Wedding Folklore & Superstitions
• Never clear the table while somebody is still eating or
that person will never get married.
• A bachelor or a spinster who agrees to be
a ninong/ninang in a wedding will never be married.
• Brides shouldn’t try on her wedding dress before the
wedding day or it will not push through.
• Knives and other sharp, pointed objects are said to be
bad choices for wedding gifts as giving them will lead
to a broken marriage.
• Giving an arinola (chamberpot) as a wedding gift is
believed to bring good luck to the giver and the
newlyweds.
Wedding Folklore & Superstitions
• Soon-to-weds are said to be accident-prone
especially as their altar date draws near; thus, they
must avoid traveling and taking long drives before
their wedding day.
• The groom who sits down before his bride does
during the wedding ceremony will be ‘under-the-
saya’ (henpecked husband).
• If a bride’s monthly period falls on the wedding day,
the couple will be blessed with a lot of children.
• Couples must offer eggs to Sta. Clara to pray that the
wedding day would be rain-free.
• A downpour during the wedding brings prosperity
and marital bliss!
Wedding Folklore & Superstitions
• The spouse on whose side the wedding candle is lit last will be a
submissve partner.
• If the flame dies out on one of the wedding candles, it means the
spouse, on whose side the unlit candle belongs to will die ahead of
the other.
• Throwing rice confetti at the newlyweds will bring them prosperity
all their lives.
• The groom must arrive at the church before the bride to avoid bad
luck.
• It is considered bad luck for siblings to marry within the same year.
• In the vernacular, this is known as “sukob” or sharing one’s luck with
somebody else.
• Accidentally breaking something during the reception (be it a plate
or a goblet)brings good luck to the newlyweds.
Wedding Folklore & Superstitions
• The bride should “accidentally’ step on the groom’s foot while
walking towards the altar if she wants him to agree with her every
whim.
• A bride who wears pearls on her wedding will be a miserable since
these gems are considered ‘tears’ of the oysters.
• A bride who wears pearls on her wedding will never become a
miserable wife as the pearls will served as a foil for bad luck and
represent the tears she could have shed if she hasn’t worn any on
the wedding day.
• An unmarried woman who follows the footsteps (literally) of the
newlyweds will marry soon.
• The more food at the reception, the bountiful the blessings the
marriage will receive.
• Dropping the wedding ring, the veil or a coin in the array during the
ceremony spells unhappiness for the couple.
Delicacies
• Dagupan Bangus - they are the
hybrid type. Most milkfishes are
freshwater species, but at the
Dagupan, they are bred at
saltwater by the Lingayen Gulf.
Being bred at sea, they have a
different taste, more salty and
lesser stench (lansa) than the
other. These fishes are great for
grilled cooking or fried (boneless
bangus) or being added as a meat
supplement for one of their other
dish called pakbet.
PAKBET
It is a dish of mixed vegetables you
commonly hear in the Filipino song
"Bahay Kubo". But Pakbet Pangasinan
has more sauce (sabaw) than that of
Ilocos and the soup is made tastier by
Bagoong isda (fish paste) instead of
those the Ilocanos use which is
usually fish sauce (patis) and alamang
(made of krill). Pakbet is also mixed
up with meat, either pork, beef or
milkfish (bangus).
BAGOONG ISDA
• This is fish paste which is made up of
fermented fish. Often used as food spice
in a dish but in impoverished areas. Raw
small fishes (anchovies) are placed in a
large cooking pot, seasoned with salt,
vinegar and a little chilly. Preserved for a
day without cooking and have itself be
fermented by salt.
ALAMINOS LONGGANISA
• Distinct for its mildly salty and
garlic taste, a Filipino sausage
stuffed with meaty pork, a bit
of its fat, colored distinctively
red with azuete and wrapped
with pork intenstines.
Originated from Alaminos,
Pangasinan but can bought at
any marketplace in Pangasinan
KALESKESAN
• This is the Pangasinan
equivalent of papaitan made
up of goat innards but unlike
papaitan, they can either use
goat or pig innards. The
innards are cooked in boiling
water and sauteed to taste.
Animal fat (sebo) is also mixed
once the soup is hot.
TUPIG
• It is a rice cake with coconut meat strips
and grilled while it is wrapped in banana
leaves. Also sold in Tarlac but its original
version originates from Socony, Pangasinan.
Note for its smoked and sweet taste.
FESTIVALS
Galicayo Festival
The Galicayo festival is a provincial-wide cultural and religious
celebration in honor of Pangasinan’s patroness, Our Lady of
Manaog. Back in the late 1500’s, an approach of Virgin Mary
was believed to call on the people to build a church. The term
manaoag, which means “to call” was then attributed to the
town and eventually became its official name. The
Dominicans viewed the appearance of the apparition as a
miraculous event and they were inspired to build the church
of Our Lady of Manaog. The church’s foundation, coupled
with the story behind it, made Manaog the religious center of
Pangasinan. The people of Manaog decided to hold a fest in
honor of their patron saint, which was named as the Galicayo
festival.
BANGUS FESTIVAL
• The Bangus festival is one of the major and most
exciting festivals in the Philippines worth visiting and
coming back forth. The yearly euphoria envelops the
city of Dagupan with a high level of excitement as the
street dancers, in their most striking costumes, depict
the harvest Bangus. Learn the various ways of cooking
Bangus 101 ways while indulging in its succulent taste.
See beautiful, longest and heaviest Bangus, witness
10,000 pieces of Dagupan Bangus simultaneously being
grilled in a scorching stretch, their mouth-watering
aroma wafting through the air.
BANGUS FESTIVAL
• The Bangus festival was conceptualized in august 2001
during the first year of Mayor Benjamin S. Lim’s term. It
was subsequently launched in 2002 as a part of the
annual Pista’y Dapat celebration.
• Today, the festival has created a mark and culture of its
own, earning for itself a global reputation. And in a
reversal of roles, the Pista’y Dayat has been made part
of the more popular Bangus Festival; undeniably, the
Bangus festival has become the best advertisement for
the world’s tastiest milkfish.
Thank You
References
• The Province of Pangasinan. http://www.ligayafamily.com/.
• Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas,
Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/
• https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1318581
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangasinan
• https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/82923/a-dying-tradition-of-remembering-the-dead
• https://classroom.synonym.com/pangasinan-beliefs-7076.html
• http://pangasinanweddingpractices.blogspot.com/p/wedding-folklore-superstitions.html
• https://whatdoesgabthink.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/eight-attributes-of-culture-
looking-into-the-culture-of-bayambanguenos/
• https://whatdoesgabthink.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/eight-attributes-of-culture-
looking-into-the-culture-of-bayambanguenos/
• https://www.s1expeditions.com/2015/01/176-food-tripping-pangasinan.html
• https://www.scribd.com/document/127131661/Festivals-in-Pangasinan
Shayne M. Gulle
BSA-1A Reporter