Filipino Riddles

A LITTLE BOOK OF FILIPINO RIDDLES

(full text ref.: http://www.archive.org/stream/littlebookoffili00star/littlebookoffili00star_djvu.txt ) IMPORTANT LOOK HERE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BOOK

PHILIPPINE STUDIES IN

A LITTLE BOOK OF FILIPINO RIDDLES

COLLECTED AND EDITED

BY/FREDERICK STARR

WORLD BOOK CO.

YONKERS. NEW YORK 1909

COPYRIGHTED 1909

BY FREDERICK STARR

THE TORCH PRESS

CEDAR RAPIDS. IOWA

THIS LITTLE BOOK OF

FILIPINO RIDDLES

IS DEDICATED TO

GELACIO CABURIAN

CASIMIRO VERCELES

RUFINO DUNGAN

OF AGOO, UNION PROVINCE

INTRODUCTION

Although I had already inquired for

them from Iloeano boys, my first actual

loiowledge of Filipino riddles was due

to ]Mr. George T. Shoens, American

teacher among the Bisayans. He had

made a collection of some fifty Bisayan

riddles and presented a brief paper re-

garding them at the Anthropological

Conference held at Baguio. under my

direction, on May 12-14, 1908. My own

collection was begim among Iloeano of

Union Province from whom about two

himdred examples were secured. Others

were later secured from Pangasinan.

Gaddang, Pampangan, Bisayan and

Tagal sources. My informants have

chiefly been school-boys, who spoke a

little English ; they wrote the text of

riddle and answer in their native tongue

and then we went over them carefully

together to make an English translation

and to get at the meaning. ]\Iany Fil-

ipinos IvQow how to read and write their

native language, although few have had

actual instruction in doing so. There

is no question that errors and incon-

sisteneies exist in the spelling of these

riddles, due to this lack of instruction

and to the fact that the texts have been

written by many different persons. I

am myself not acquainted with any

^Malay language. I have tried to secure

uniformity in spelling within the limits

of each language but have no doubt

overlooked many inconsistencies. The

indulgence of competent critics is asked.

It has been our...