Isinay Words Related to Mangoes

WHILE ENJOYING one of my now almost twice-a-day encounters with ripe mangoes sometime last week, it occurred to me that there are Isinay words pertaining to mangoes that today may no longer be familiar to speakers of the vanishing indigenous language of southern Nueva Vizcaya (i.e., the towns of Aritao, Bambang and Dupax). These words may in fact be unique to the Isinay tongue and (mango) culture and may not have exact equivalents in Ilocano, Tagalog, or Ibaloy, and more so in English.

To illustrate, here are 35 adjectives that my mango-energized skull was able to recall pertaining to the fruits alone:

1. Amma-i -- big
2. Binuru -- preserved in salt-and-water solution
3. Kampusu -- heart-shaped (kinampuso in Ilocano, hugis-puso in Tagalog)
4. Kinalburo -- ripened with the aid of carbide (kalburo)
5. Maesom -- sour (note how the word sounds similar to maasim in Tagalog, naalsem in Ilocano)
6. Mamis -- sweet (matamis in Tagalog)
7. Man-oj -- small (also referred to as man-okke^)
8. Manredis -- yellow-orange with pinkish spots in color (a corruption of the English "reddish")
9. Mara-itluj -- like that of an egg (pertaining to the color of the fruit's flesh)
10. Masangpot -- astringent (mapakla^ in Tagalog, nasugpet in Ilocano)
11. Masimusum -- aromatic, sweet-smelling
12. Mata -- unripe, green (naata or naganus in Ilocano, hilaw in Tagalog)
13. Na-am-amon -- containing maggots (inigges in Ilocano, may-uod in Tagalog)
14. Naeyatan -- bitten or nibbled (especially by birds or fruit bats)
15. Nagupa^ -- broken (also najpa^), a condition when the fruit is of such seasoned quality that it splits when it falls on the ground or is handled roughly
16. Najoggolotong -- warty (binurtong in Ilocano, nabulutong in Tagalog)
17. Nanbubung-us -- in bunch or cluster (nagraraay in Ilocano)
18. Nangkandu-oy -- oblong
19. Nansisipeyan -- defective allegedly as a result of the fruits having attracted the cravings of a pregnant woman (nagnginawan in Ilocano, napaglihian in Tagalog)
20. Napoppor -- abnormally ripened (napilit in Ilocano, hinog-sa-pilit in Tagalog)
21. Narongdong -- mushy; also termed as naruyruy (nalamog in Tagalog)
22. Narung-isan -- scratched (nagarumiadan in Ilocano, narungisan in Tagalog)
23. Nasese -- broken into pieces (naderder in Ilocano)
24. Nata^duj -- fallen (natinnag in Ilocano, nahulog in Tagalog)
25. Natu^tu-an -- has holes or punctures (naabutan in Ilocano, nabutas in Tagalog) probably due to the pecking of birds
26. Naunawan -- has blemishes as a result of being over-ripe
27. Naungutan -- seeds already have tough fibers (nakabbutan in Ilocano)
28. Naviyu^ -- rotten (nabuyok in Ilocano, nabulok in Tagalog)
29. Navungis -- literally "with cleft lip", a condition when the fruit develops a slit while still in the tree
30. Neyamsan -- seasoned, ready to harvest (natangkenan in Ilocano)
31. Neyum -- forcefully ripened (hinog sa pilit in Tagalog)
32. Neyutu -- ripe (naluom in Ilocano, hinog in Tagalog)
33. Pinayutu -- artificially ripened (pinaluom in Ilocano, pinahinog in Tagalog)
34. Pingi -- looks like conjoined twins (singin in Ilocano, kambal in Tagalog)
35. Sinlu-ayaj -- one cluster (sangaraay in Ilocano, isang bungkos in Tagalog).

 Well, well... here's a photo of a naunawan an mangga (mango with blemishes):

The black parts (unaw in Isinay) of this mango are signs that the fruit is at its sweetest stage.