From Nuffnang

Sunday, April 29, 2012

"Bahay Kubo" Song to a Botanist

Bahay Kubo is a folk song that is well-known among Filipinos of all ages and walks of life. The song describes a nipa hut surrounded by vegetables. Following are the lyrics:    

Bahay kubo, kahit munti,
ang halaman doon ay sari-sari:
singkamas at talong, sigarilyas at mani,
sitaw, bataw, patani,

Kundol, patola, upo't kalabasa,
At saka mayroon pang labanos, mustasa,
sibuyas, kamatis, bawang at luya.
Sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng linga.

Here is my English translation of the famous song:

Nipa hut, even if very small
Plants abounding there, comes in a wide variety
Jicama and eggplant, winged bean and peanut
Yardlong bean, hyacinth bean, and lima bean

Winter melon, luffa, bottle gourd, and squash
And there's radish and mustard greens
Onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger
The surroundings is full of sesame

A bahay kubo somewhere in Visayas

For many weeks, I have been wondering how would this song sound to a botanist.  So now I'm trying my best to enumerate the vegetables mentioned in the song based on scientific name.

singkamas jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus)
talong eggplant (Solanum melongena)
sigarilyas winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
mani / peanut (Arachis hypogaea)
sitaw / yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
bataw hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus)
patani / lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus)
kundol winter melon (Benincasa hispida)
patola / luffa (Luffa acutangula)
upo bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
kalabasa (Cucurbita maxima)
labanos / (Raphanus sativus)
mustasa / (Brassica juncea)
sibuyas / (Allium cepa)
kamatis / (Solanum lycopersicum)
bawang / (Allium sativum)
luya / (Zingiber officinale)
linga / (Sesamum indicum)

3 comments:

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  2. Thanks. I agree that the rhyming and melody need some more tweaking. :)

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