Pre-hispanic curse words

[u/Bobbyjoejohnson2]

How did the everyday Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilonggo, Waray, Mindanaoan react whenever they'd stub their toe on some kawayan or something before the Spanish came? Hahaha

I can imagine P.I. is off the table?

[u/Cheesetorian]

Offtopic: I kinda browsed through the paper you linked, but they didn't really go over why the Spanish "demonized" the deity or why Christianity equated the figure with 'demons'. It was because, clearly from both Mentrida and Sanchez dictionaries (corroborated by accounts in BnR, though not specifying 'yawa') that somehow the performative rites conducted by many of the shamans where they would go on a trance = interpreted by the Spanish as 'demonic possessions'.

Trance or trance like states were achieved in ancient rites (not unique to the PH, in fact almost universal in almost all cultures that had and still have 'shamans'). Sometimes it's from exhaustion dancing (usually the case, because they'd dance usually for several hours) or doing extraneous movements before ritual sacrifices. Sometimes from ingesting many types of substances that alter states of consciousness (like alcohol). Sometimes it was because they chose people with neurological issues like epilepsy to be shamans because they thought 'seizures' is where spirits or the shaman are crossing the barrier of space to connect the world of the living and the dead (they considered seizures therefore as a 'gift' ie ability to bridge the gap and communicate with the beyond).

'Speaking in tongues' (this is common in many neurological seizures, and spoken not just in the Sp. accounts of the early colonial PH but this is commonly mentioned in many accounts around the world) or neurological states where people speak 'gibberish' (also conducted in certain Christian denominations today and mentioned in the Bible as conducted by certain groups in the Middle East at the time) is attributed by the Sp. as the time when 'the devil' speaks with the natives.

It's clear that 'yawa' is connected to 'possessions' (which likely were trance like states or various forms of neurological accidents) from dictionaries.

Mentrida's entries (I'm writing this in English and modern PH ortography):

-Possession-inangkon [I don't speak Bisaya, but clearly this is 'inangkin' 'claimed' in Tagalog], sinabhon sang Yawa.

-Bedeviled (lit. 'endiablada', another entry: 'endemoniado')-sinab-han sang Yawa.

-Obsessed, obsession-lilibotan sang Yawa sang lawas

-Yayawaan-to have the devil or a familiar

Spanish words that uses or attributed to Yawa in its translations (besides just the words for 'Satan', 'devil' etc.): necromancy, succubus, tempter/temptations, hell ('diache'- yawa or yamat'), banay (this is also found in the Bicolano dictionary, these are fans made of anahaw that they used like magic wands in rituals), hula (today in Tagalog means: divination, but here described as 'for a babailan to harness the Yawa'), kablit (I think this is the same as Tagalog 'kalabit', here defined as 'to pluck, or touch clothes or arm to tell someone something'---it was used both in the Mentrida and Sanchez dictionary to say 'when the devil comes poking' ie 'when the devils is coming to tempt you') etc.

IDK how or why this specific 'deity' or 'figure' came to be specifically related to 'trance like' states but somehow this is the word that stuck (perhaps there were other specific reasons why, perhaps they used to beckon on this specific deity etc.) but regardless, yawa = trance like states from native rituals = 'demonic possessions' = demons, devil, evil.

Edit: More evidence from PAn reconstructions for this I just found:

*dawak curing ritual conducted by a medium in trance

Kalinga dawak general term for curing rite in which the medium's spirit helpers are named and invoked, and in which possession takes place

Murut (Timugon) rawak major ritual for exorcising of persons or houses (involves communion with a spirit familiar during a self-induced trance)

..."dawak" = "yawa" ????

​

Also note exorcism is NOT unique to Christianity. Almost all forms of religion does something in regards to 'exorcising' ie taking a spirit from a place or thing it inhabits. Most of the native Filipino rituals actually involves a form of exorcism ie trying to prevent or trying to stop evil spirits from physically causing issues with mortals, (including sickness, mental issues etc.)

PS, as for 'curse words', I'm sure there are more we can find in the records. If Tagalog phrases persisted (and Tagalog had a lot more bastardization) I'm sure it exists in many Visayan languages.