In celebration of the one-hundred and forty-ninth anniversary of the birth of Andres Bonifacio, we might recall a Tagalog fun rhyme about him that is part of our childhood memories. One of the most popular versions of this rhyme follows:
"Andres Bonifacio, 'atapang 'a tao.
'Aputol 'a kamay, hindi 'atakbo.
'Aputol 'a paa, hindi 'atakbo.
'Apugot 'a ulo, hindi 'atakbo.
'Aputol a uten, atakbo atulin."
TRANSLATION:
"Andres Bonifacio, a brave person
His hand gets cut off, he does not run.
His foot gets cut off, he does not run.
His head gets cut off, he does not run.
His penis gets cut off, he runs very fast."
Another version alters the last two lines:
"Andres Bonifacio, 'atapang 'a tao.
'Aputol 'a kamay, hindi 'atakbo.
'Aputol 'a paa, hindi 'atakbo.
'Apatak 'a kalamansi, 'Atakbo atulin.'
TRANSLATION:
"Andres Bonifacio, a brave person
His hand gets cut off, he does not run.
His foot gets cut off, he does not run.
With a drop of calamansi, he runs very fast."
Need more in society
ReplyDeleteThere is a limit to having fun especially if it will hurt someone. Andres Bonifacio is a national hero of the Philippines. Because of the bravery and sacrifice of people like him, Filipinos have been enjoying the freedom they have now, including the person(s) who published this poem worldwide. While this poem circulated at my university campus many years ago, it should have stayed there. It is not fair to dishonor a man who was the Father of the Revolution of the Philippines against the cruelty suffered by the Filipinos in the hands of the Spaniards by publishing it and even worse translating it in english. He/she probably thought he/she is being smart, but quite the opposite and should be reprimanded by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines to remove this site as soon as possible.
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