THE ILOKANO MALE

Mental change can take a lot of time, or as little as an hour, according to sports psychologist Jarrod Spencer. He explains that when we "hate" something, it is because we are threatened by it--physically, socially or emotionally--and there is likely some trauma tied to it. 

"Oh, to be alive in such an age when miracles are everywhere and every inch of common air throbs a tremendous prophecy of greater marvels yet to be."--Angel Morgan, from "The Hour Has Come, "a war poem


The following is a point of view based on facts on the ground.

There is in the male Ilokano psyche a kind of brinkmanship that prompts him to do and enforce what he believes is right and proper no matter what happens. He might die for this kind of faith but for him "surrender " is a non- word, not in his vocabulary or dictionary. A kind of machismo or a code of honor that the Ilokano male says what he means and means what he says and he can say it mean under certain circumstances.

This characterizes the so-called Ilokano "malalaki" who easily takes umbrage on a negative comment against his manhood. The prefix "ma" indicates a virile, macho man ("lalaki") who never runs away from a fight.

Anyway, there is a danger zone in confrontation and the Ilokano male is not unaware of it.

Ilokanos belong to an ethno-linguistic group, mostly found in Northern Philippines. There is also a great number of Ilokanos in Mindanao, even in Basilan and Sulu where they cleared the land for agricultural purposes.

Ilokanos have also immigrated to Hawaii and other islands, where they worked in the sugar and pineapple plantations. Ilokano is the lingua-franca of Filipinos in Hawaii 

Now estimated to number at least 10-million including those in the diaspora, Ilokanos are known for their frugality and for being hard workers. The blogger is an Ilokano who was born and raised in that narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea in northwestern Philippines.

Ilokano kalapaw (hut) made of bamboo and Ilokano furniture (below)