I love sharing my fun finds. I usually post them here at the blog or over at my IG account. I discovered something different on a trip to the grocery last Christmas eve. Read on and see what I fussed about during the holidays haha!
I was with Dan on Christmas eve buying last minute items for Noche Buena in a grocery along Quezon Ave. While he was lined up at the cashier, I roamed around the store for other items that I may have forgotten. I was near the station where the school supplies are sold when I found this book. The title made me cringe. Una, diba dapat, “Why Do Filipinos Have Flat Noses?” So this made me more curious because hello how did a book like this get published?
I opened the book and therein lies a myth that made me feel so bad for the main character after reading it. Myths are supposed to answer questions of how things came to be, long before history was ever recorded. It’s used to explain the natural world. So this one, is supposed to explain why Pinoys have flat noses.
I have never EVER heard about this story. I had a thick book of Philippine myths growing up and I don’t think this story was included. Philippine myths are actually odd in general (or maybe myths are all weird) but this one just made me scratch my head. I took pics of the pages so that I can share it here. I wanted to see what you make out of it too.
It started out innocently enough.
Yay! BFFs!
Grabe naman madapa si Juan. Aray!
Ayan napaglaruan pala si Juan ng Dyosa. A deity or a fairy is the linchpin of myths. It’s through these entities that the unexplainable become plausible
Sorry blurry 🙁
Parang di ko matitiis na may putik sa mukha ang anak ko 😛
Naks naman Juan 😛 I liked this part of the story. Juan never became vain and boastful. Magandang pangitan ba ito?
Aba natuwa ang Dyosa!
#ilongpamore ang hashtag ng Dyosa
Ayan na malapit na climax… #ilongpamore
Ba’t naman ang layo?
“It’s raining noses!”
Hindi ba pwedeng iabot na lang yung mga ilong or pag gising ng mga tao nasa ilalim na ng unan nila? 😛
Dito ako napakamot ng ulo.
Nahuli si Juan. Kawawa naman!
Si Juan na masipag.
Si Juan na napaglaruan ng Dyosa.
Si Juan na maski naging pogi dahil sa putik sa mukha nya ay naging mas mabait at mas masipag ay….
Yun lang ang nakuha? Paasa naman yung Dyosa. Nakakadismaya yung ending. “Deformed” yung ginamit pa na salita. Hindi naman deformed ng ilong ng mga Pinoy diba. Iba ang flat sa deformed.
I’ve shared this with other friends and most of us did think that this myth is ODD (to say the least). I know that myths really don’t have moral lessons but it was concerning that this one touched on race too. It doesn’t sit well with me that Juan, who is humble and industrious did not get a good enough nose because in the end it became a race of the races. Yung nose na nakuha ni Juan natapakan pa nga e. Ang kawawa naman natin haha! Is this myth supposed to explain that other races with supposedly better-shaped noses (at least hindi natapakan at na deform) are better or at least luckier? Also, is the story implying that those who don’t have flat noses are better?
These questions swam in my head while I went back to Dan who was still in line at the grocery store. I couldn’t believe what I just read. I was wondering how kids will take this story.
So I asked David to read the story. After he was done I asked him what he thought of the tale and he said “It was fun!”. When I asked what his favorite part was he said, “When it was raining noses!!” Well, IT IS funny when you picture noses falling from the sky. Some of my friends say that the tale talks about contentment and that it also illustrates how Pinoys are happy with what they have and how we have learned to make the best of what we were given.
It’s a good spin on the ending I guess. Or maybe I’m reading this through jaded, adult eyes. I should probably just take this myth as the silly tale that it is.
If there is one lesson out of this it is that I should not be allowed to roam around the grocery store aimlessly anymore! Kung anu-ano tuloy nakikita ko haha 😛
But how about you, what do you make out of this?
Carl says
August 14, 2020 at 10:32 pmI had a pinay girlfriend for several years (and subsequently have a half pinay daughter). One of the things that always saddened me because it seems to be embedded in the culture is their tendency to feel inferior to Europeans. This is demonstrated not only through disliking the ‘flat nose’, but also a desire to lighten their skin and also avoid sunlight to prevent tanning (darkening their skin). It is also demonstrated in this legend where the Filipinos were beat out by all the other cultures.
Adamski says
June 1, 2020 at 11:05 amI absolutely adore my Pinay GFs nose, especially from the side profile – soooo cute, I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Marge says
September 3, 2019 at 1:27 pmI am married to a filipino. I don’t understand many pinoy nose comments and feelings of inferiority about their noses. I really don’t think anyone else is noticing! Filipinos are the most beautiful people in the world. Their noses are obviously superior to the rest! Why would you possibly think a pointy nose is better?
Faltu says
December 8, 2019 at 1:23 amWe can understand tgat u r probably trying to impress your wife here ??, no racism, everyone is beautiful on their own but i disagree anout most beautiful and superior stuff herr
martin says
July 31, 2019 at 4:29 amflat nose or not
filipina women are hot……..
Jackie says
April 2, 2018 at 3:16 pmI’m probably one of the few Filipinos who have some European features including a tall pointed nose with a tanned skin color. Honestly I don’t see anything wrong with low bridged noses (my mom’s nose is also like that) and I would only notice the nose if the person points out that his/her nose is flat and wants it to be matangos. As we say “ang lahat may binabagayan” and flat noses look perfect for us Asians. Isn’t it any wonder why we can distinguish celebrities nose as natural or went under the knife? When I was a child, I remember our Sibika teacher told us that Filipinos are of Malay race and supposed to be of a brown skin and “flat” nose and then this song “Tayo ay mga Pinoy, tayo ay hindi Kano. Huwag kang mahihiya kung ang ilong mo ay pango”. Incidentally I had one classmate back then with a deformed nose, as in her nose is really super flat (way flatter than Allan K’s nose) and our classmates would tease her nose as “pango”. I wondered why that songwriter said that Filipino’s nose is pango wherein most of the noses of people I see everyday are very far from my classmate’s nose.
martin says
July 31, 2019 at 4:30 amfilipina women are hot
i dont care there nose
there looks and personality are amazing
Felix says
February 23, 2020 at 9:12 pmI have caucasian features as well
Cecilia says
November 21, 2017 at 9:54 pmWell, I’m a Filipino and a myth enthusiast. I’ve done lectures about it . It seems to be a byproduct of the Spanish occupation. The reaction to this Filipino feature by European/ western people is interesting. They are bothered by it. Since they do take their noses rather seriously and you will observe it in their language, “proud nose” and have names for the perfect kind, the aquiline. To see a group of people who have less than average bothers them. It highlights our racial difference and that becomes a reason for westerners to tel themselves it’s okay to take advantage of us. You’re different. Difference in European context I means outsider. An outsider lives outside of the tribal walls that protect them from invasions. They evolved adaptations to reject outsider for survival reasons because Europeans have finite resources due to long winters and have to bank and economize their food. This is in contrast to most countries in warmer resource rich countries. Which is why we are friendlier and more hospitable. Our hospitality is instinctively perceived as stupidity. Because only an idiot would share their reserves to strangers. That or they value their guest because they are superior. This confusion about our generousity and our main racial difference have led the occupiers to think that we are somehow stupid and less than they are. So they created an enclave in our land and preferred people that resembled them more, the mestizos. Since Filipinos or most island tribes value social integration, we began to learn that the tall nose is better. And we developed a preference for it to be included in circles. The myth exposes this feeling of inferiority and also pacifies it by pointing out the other traits that buy us entry into Eurocentric circles. I always tell my daughter, your nose is fine. Theirs are too tall., they invented rhinoplasty.
ceemee says
January 14, 2016 at 7:04 pmThis is so funny, Neva! I read it to my eldest, she laughed and laughed.
neva says
January 16, 2016 at 7:42 pmhahaha! kasi naman cym it’s so silly!!!!