HISTORY

PEOPLE 



The inhabitants of Pampanga are generally referred to as Kapampangans (alternatively spelled Capampañgan), Pampangos, or Pampangueños. The inhabitants are descended from the kingdom known as the Kingdom of Tondo or the Luzon Empire.

Kapampangan is one of the eight provinces in the country to have revolted against Spain. The population has produced two presidents, three chief justices, a senate president, the first Filipino cardinal and many outstanding personalities in public service, education, diplomacy, journalism, the arts and sciences, entertainment and business.

DIALECT


The word Kapampangan is derived from the rootword pampáng which means "river bank." Historically, this language was used in what was before the Kingdom of Luzon, ruled by the Lakans. In the 18th century, two books were written by Fr. Diego Bergaño. He authored Vocabulario de la lengua Pampanga and Arte de la lengua Pampanga. The Kapampangan Language produced two literary giants in the 19th century. FatherAnselmo Fajardo was noted for his works Gonzalo de Córdova and Comedia Heróica de la Conquista de Granada. Another writer, Juan Crisostomo Soto, was noted for writing many plays. He authored Alang Diosin 1901. The Kapampangan poetical joust "Crissotan" was coined by his fellow literary genius Nobel Prize nominee for peace and literature in the 50's, Amado Yuzon to immortalize his contribution to Pampanga's Literature.


CULTURE


The Pampangos share the general culture and traditions of the lowland Christian Filipinos, especially of their Tagalog neighbors to the east and south. However, they speak a distinct language, which is a source of ethnic pride. Spanish chroniclers and early anthropologists have remarked on the distinctiveness of that language and they have proposed theories that the Pampangos may have come to the Philippines from Java or elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

The Pampangos apply themselves to the same industries as the Tagalogs but are renowned for certain crafts for which they excel. They are exceptional jewelers and goldsmiths, as well as furniture makers and woodcarvers. Antique jewelry and furniture from Pampanga are considered valuable heirlooms by Filipino families and as priced possessions by antique collectors.

Pampangos are renowned throughout the archipelagos as excellent cooks. They have ingeniously incorporated indigenous, Spanish and Chinese elements into their cuisine that have made the Pampanga food preparation and culinary arts both exotic and sumptious. Among the more known specialities of the Pampangos include buro, which is meat, fish or vegetables preserved in brine or fermented with rice, tapa, or dried beef or venison, tocino, or cured pork, longaniza or spiced pork sausages, aligi, or crab fat, and sisig, or sizzling pig cheeks.