Lifestyle & Culture

That Lowly Panghilod, A Tell-Tale Sign of Promdi-ness

By gladita ⋅ April 3, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Last January, I started a poll on this blog asking what’s the ultimate sign of Promdi-ness. After two months, and 15 votes, I am now ready to reveal the winner. To the 15 voters, you know who you are, thank you so much for taking time to vote. And now, the winner, for the ultimate sign of Promdi-ness, is no other than…drum rolls please…

Panghilod!

Caption goes here

Wow, really, I mean it’s about time we pay homage to this lowly stone. Which has been a part of our childhood (or life) even if you won’t dare admit it. It’s either you love it or hate it but somehow, somewhere, sometime in your distant past you have come across this nature’s wonder and gift to Filipinos, especially the promdis.

To the uninitiated, panghilod is a piece of rock or stone used in scrubbing out dirt and grime from the skin during bathing, much like how we use loofah.

Lugod? Ewww!

From my post Ilonggo Guid: You know you’re a true-blue Ilonggo if…

Your bathroom has at least one lugod (panghilod).

From the comments section of the Multiply site of a certain Ilongga, referring to the above.

• Girl1: hmmm…one thing needs to be changed…that lugod….only poor ppl have that….never in my life have i ever met anyone that has a lugod in their house
• Girl2: isn’t lugod the same as a loofah or somtng similar..?
• Girl1: i dunno its like a rock…that u use if u dont have soap or wutever…
• Girl2: ow… rilly…? ambot… basi ang nagsulat sini is poor.
• Girl3: over…. pa poor-poor kamo da! long before i discovered loofah i still remember using lugod…… that only means one thing…… indi kamo poor pero mga BULINGON kamo sang una!!!! mwahahahaha!

Girl1, the title says ‘true-blue Ilonggo’, not ‘true-blue RICH Ilonggo. Good for you, you were so fortunate to be born rich. Unlike us who were made to suffer the disgrace of having used lugod when taking a bath.

Girl2, the last time I checked, my bank account is in the minimum maintaining balance, my credit cards are almost reaching their maximum credit limit, and since I did not win the Lotto Jackpot last Sunday, yes, I’m poor.

Girl 3, how true, how true. I don’t know you but I like you already.

What makes the best panghilod?

Volcanic rock is the type that most people in the Philippines use since this type is very abundant and widely distributed in the Philippines. Some people prefer to use sandstone as panghilod. Think of it this way, have you tried rubbing sandpaper on your skin? That’s probably what it feels like using sandstone as panghilod. Can’t blame those people though, if it is effective in getting rid of dead skin and stubborn calluses, imagine what it can do to your grime.

According to Dr. Leopoldo P. de Silva Jr., Assistant Professor of Geology of the University of the Philippines Diliman. In his article ‘The Geology of the ‘Panghilod’, the Traditional Pinoy Stone Tool’, Dr. de Silva said that panghilod generally possesses three important attributes:

1. Small enough to be hand-held (Just imagine if you’re going to scrub yourself with a stone as big as a pail)
2. A naturally polished or smoothened surface. (Unless, you really need something rough to do the job)
3. Flat or oblate in shape (Cleans more surface area in no time)

Other Uses

This simple tool which probably dates back to antiquity is multi-use.

• Self defense at home. Imagine you’re taking a bath using your panghilod. Let’s assume you’re poor since according to Girl 1 above, only poor people use panghilod. I imagine your bathroom to be such in a bad shape that your friendly neighborhood manyakis would want to be up-close and personal. Don’t fret. Your handy dandy panghilod will do the trick. It’s a rock girl, so it will surely give anybody it hits with a good bump on the head.
• Self defense on the go. If it’s small enough to fit in your bag then you can even bring it with you whenever you go. You will no longer need a permit to carry it and it will pass through any metal detectors. What’s more, you don’t have to worry how to be grime-free no matter where you’ll be spending the night over.
• Excellent paper weight. Why don’t you dress it up too and paint it? Sounds cool, huh?
• Emergency hammer. Need to fix something but you don’t have a hammer? Panghilod to the rescue!

Limitless possibilities for our dear panghilod. Squeaky clean ka na, protected ka pa. Saan ka pa?

photo credit: anne_jimenez