Abstract
Due to the scarcity of historical records documenting pre-colonial and indigenous Filipino culture, scholars primarily rely on sources authored by Spanish colonizers. Dictionaries compiled during the early Spanish occupation are particularly valuable, as they capture indigenous cultural practices through terms and their definitions. This study examines Fr. Diego Bergaño’s 1732 Kapampangan-Spanish Dictionary, highlighting culinary terms that reveal insights into sustainable food practices among the Kapampangan people. The identified terms are categorized into dishes and drinks, ingredients, cooking methods and techniques, cooking tools and equipment, descriptions of taste, and associated culinary practices and beliefs. These categorizations serve as a foundation for interpreting Kapampangan culinary heritage, demonstrating how traditional food practices embraced sustainability, such as utilizing local ingredients, minimizing waste, and adopting efficient cooking methods. This analysis also provides insights into how these historical sustainable practices could inform contemporary culinary innovations, entrepreneurship, and community development. More than a mere lexicographical tool used to find definitions of words, Bergaño’s Kapampangan-Spanish dictionary emerges as a valuable resource for understanding indigenous sustainability principles embedded in the culinary culture of the Kapampangan people. It is a treasure trove of information about traditional and indigenous pre-colonial Kapampangan culture, mainly if the terms are appropriately categorized and contextualized, in an otherwise undocumented period of Philippine history.
Presenters
John Edward Edquilag AlfonsoAssociate Professor, Professional and General Education, National University, Pampanga, Philippines
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Fed Up: Learning From the Past, Imagining New Futures
KEYWORDS
Colonial Dictionary, Kapampangan Culinary Heritage, Sustainable Food Practices
