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

A Promdi Blogger’s take on life in the Philippine countryside.

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3 April 2008

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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:

Small enough to be hand-held (Just imagine if you’re going to scrub yourself with a stone as big as a pail)
A naturally polished or smoothened surface. (Unless, you really need something rough to do the job)
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

This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Philippines License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.promdiliving.com.

20 Comments »

lazarus said:

BULINGON pud ko sang una ug pati subong. hahaha. my sisters use them before. Probably till now.

lazarus’s last blog post..Do You Want To Change Your Blogger Template But Don’t Know How?

# 3 April 2008 at 4:56 pm

gladita (author) said:

hehehe…stopped using them i think since college. i think i just outgrew them.

# 3 April 2008 at 9:47 pm

gladita (author) said:

Yup, so you won’t be labeled poor, buy from Watson’s. hahaha…Didn’t they make pumice from lahar? I’m sure they got that idea from ‘lugod’.

# 3 April 2008 at 11:15 pm

ponchong said:

sa amon,since karay-a kami, tawag dyan is ludgud. and it’s like, daw indi kumpleto ang pagpaligo mo kon wala ka kapanglugud. ginapabalik kami ni lola dati sa banyo kon bal-an ya nga wala kami kapanglugud and it’s not pa-poor, sa Girl-1 nga nagcomment, komportable sya ayhan kon may ara sya buling? Mahal pa na gani presyo sang lugud.

ponchong’s last blog post..my COKE side of LIFE

# 4 April 2008 at 4:00 am

kaith said:

i remember my tita using this very old lugod kay feeling ko since elementary pa sya since nagka-ubra and nagkapamilya, same bato lang gyapon. haha. i think it is more effective than loofah gani ah, esp if sa tiil mo gamiton.

tawa lang ko sa mga feeling rich girls da sa babaw. hay, ignorance.
kaith’s last blog post..Going Nowhere

# 4 April 2008 at 1:02 pm

kwan said:

pwede man na.. if there’s something strange in the neighborhood… “ding, ang bato… darna!”

kwan’s last blog post..exclusively for young men

# 8 April 2008 at 3:59 pm

gladita (author) said:

@ponchong - pabay-i na lng da si girl1. bay-i da sya magdamol iya kalmadura. hehehe..magpa spa kag maggasto gali kay lugod man lng tani ang katapat. hahaha

# 8 April 2008 at 10:50 pm

gladita (author) said:

@kaith - i have a friend who brings her lugod wherever she goes. i don’t know if she brought it with her now that she’s in ireland.

Nouveau riche guru kay they have to flaunt that they are rich. At least ako poor for life.

# 8 April 2008 at 11:01 pm

gladita (author) said:

@kwan - LOL nakakadlaw man ta sa comment mo abyan ba. magasgas guru tutunlan ni darna sina.

# 8 April 2008 at 11:02 pm

Laarni said:

this post made me giggle. haha tlga? sign of promdiness un? for me hindi eh pero di ko matandaan na gumamit ako ng rock na ganun.

heehe.

nice post!

Laarni’s last blog post..Do Men Even Notice Chipped Nail Polish On Women?

# 9 April 2008 at 1:28 pm

fence said:

this entry reminds me of one expression we have in Mindanao– ‘mamaligya na lang ug lugod’.

this is usually said by the broke and desperate. I never thought it would come to pass that people would actually be selling ‘lugod’! My housemate came from Divisoria last week bringing with her a piece of rock. When I asked what she was doing with it she said she bought it in Divisoria for P10. Imagine that, the lowly lugod already has a price tag. lol.

fence’s last blog post..It’s The Heat

# 9 April 2008 at 1:53 pm

askani said:

Ang bantog nga lugod!!! Siling nila aswang ako hehehe pero indi ina matu-od hehehe, siling naman sang iban buang ako hehehe pero indi ina matu-od hehehe, ako isa lang ka tinuga nga indi mahuyogon maglantaw sng sini subng man sa politica hehehe gani karon suguran naton ang pagsasay one day isa sadto ka adlaw sa pagsudog sng kasaysayan sng LUGOD. Lugod the best kung damo ka buling hahaha kung damol nagid ang buling kala-kala na lolz singit na ang iloy ay abaw anak tubog na sa bomba kay ang imo kala-kala naga damol na ari LUGOD lolz

# 9 April 2008 at 3:37 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Laarni - Thanks for visiting! Hindi ka siguro libagin kaya di mo na try ang panghilod. hehehe

# 9 April 2008 at 8:26 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Fence - really? it’s my first time to hear that it’s being sold. We also have a joke when asked what’s the best business - selling lugod. Of course nobody would think of selling lugod for you can always get it for free at the riverbank. Hmmm…maybe there’s already a demand for it.

# 9 April 2008 at 8:30 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Askani - Baw avid listener ni Toyang Ermitanya. A ti kun lugod mabanat sa kala kakas gid na ya.

# 9 April 2008 at 9:23 pm

gladita (author) said:

@Tikalon - dapa2 = sole. Ti liog mo ya wala ginalugudan? hehehe

# 9 April 2008 at 9:28 pm

roxiegirl said:

Nalingaw gd ako basa sang parti sa lugod nga ini. man promdi gd ko ya gali kay may lugod kami sa balay asta subong, side by side with the body scrub and the loofah. d ba masyadong OC?

roxiegirl’s last blog post..Someday, I Just Know

# 10 April 2008 at 10:31 am

gladita (author) said:

@Roxiegirl - Yup, promdi ka gid dear… and OC too!

# 10 April 2008 at 10:41 pm