Juan Tamad
Encyclopedia
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
noteworthy for extreme laziness
Laziness
Laziness is a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so. It is often used as a pejorative; related terms for a person seen to be lazy include couch potato, slacker, and bludger....
. He is usually portrayed as a child, although in some interpretations, he is said to be a young man.
Stories
Arguably, the Juan Tamad story most often told illustrates his utmost laziness to the point of stupidity that it becomes comedicComedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
. In it, Juan Tamad comes upon a guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
tree bearing ripe fruit. Being too slothful to climb the tree and take the fruits, he instead decides to lie beneath the tree and let gravity do its work. There he remained, waiting for the fruit to fall into his gaping mouth.
Other Juan Tamad stories include:
- "Juan Tamad and the Mud Crabs"
- Juan Tamad is instructed by his mother to purchase mud crabScylla serrataScylla serrata is an economically important crab species found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australia and Asia. In their most common form, the shell colour varies from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown...
s at the market. Being too lazy to carry them home, he sets them free in a ditch and tells them to go on home, as he would be along later.
- "Juan Tamad and the Rice Cakes"
- Juan Tamad's mother makes some rice cakePutoPuto is Philippine steamed rice cake, eaten as is or with butter and/or grated fresh coconut or as accompaniment to a number of savory dishes for breakfast .-Preparation:...
s and instructs him to sell these at the market. Passing by a pond, he sees frogs swimming to and fro. Being too lazy to sell the cakes at the market, he instead throws them at the frogs, who eat the cakes. Upon reaching home, he tells his mother that all the cakes had been sold on credit; the buyers would pay for them the next week.
- "Juan Tamad and the Flea-Killer"
- Juan Tamads mother instructs him to go to the village market and buy a rice pot. A fleaFleaFlea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
infestation in the village soon has Juan Tamad jumping and scratching for all he's worth; he lets go of the pot and it breaks into pieces. Thinking quickly, he picks up the pieces, grinds them into fine powder and wraps the powder in bananaBananaBanana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
leaves, which he markets as "flea-killer."
- "Juan Tamad takes a Bride"
- Juan Tamads mother tells him it is time he took a bride. He asks his mother what sort of woman should he look for. His mother replies "a woman of a few words." Juan Tamad searches long and hard, but all the women he encounters seem to talk too much. Finally, he comes upon a house where an old woman and her daughter live. Upon seeing the girl, he proposes "Will you marry me?" The girl simply stares at him. He tells himself, "Ah, here is a woman of a few words," and lifts her up and takes her back to his mother. His mother chastises him, for he had brought back a corpse.
Books
A book published by an unknown author in 1919 in ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
entitled Buhay na Pinagdaanan ni Juan Tamad na Anac ni Fabio at ni Sofia sa Caharian nang Portugal (Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
for "The Life lived by Juan Tamad, son of Fabio and Sofia, in the Kingdom of Portugal") contains a poem consisting of 78 pages of four-line stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s at seven stanzas per page. It tells of how Juan Tamad was born to a couple named Fabio and Sofia, and his adventures in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
In 1957, Manuel E. Arguilla (author of How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife) and Lyd Arguilla wrote the book Philippine Tales and Fables which included the story of Juan Tamad with illustrations by Romeo V. Tabuena. In 1965, playwright and publisher Alberto Florentino took the Arguillas' re-telling of Juan Tamad and published it as Stories of Juan Tamad, part of a series of 3 booklets for young readers. Illustrated with woodcuts by the late J. Elizalde Navarro (post-humously declared National Artist for Visual Arts), the book is out-of-print and is now considered a collector's item.
Films
Several Filipino filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s have treated Juan Tamad as a central or supporting character.
- Si Juan Tamad, released in 1947 and directed by Manuel CondeManuel CondeManuel Conde was born on October 15, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte . He was an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen...
. - Juan Tamad Goes to Congress, released in 1960 and directed by Manuel CondeManuel CondeManuel Conde was born on October 15, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte . He was an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen...
. - Juan Tamad Junior released in 1980, features Niño MuhlachNiño MuhlachNiño Muhlach is a Filipino actor and former child actor, known as the "Child Wonder of the Philippines".-Early life:Muhlach was born on October 27, 1971 to Alexander Muhlach and Rebecca Rocha. He is the brother of Allan-Ronald Muhlach, the nephew of Amalia Fuentes and Alvaro Muhlach. His cousins...
as Juan Tamad Jr. and Manuel CondeManuel CondeManuel Conde was born on October 15, 1915 in Daet, Camarines Norte . He was an actor, director and producer. As an actor, he also used the screen name Juan Urbano during the 1930s aside from his more popular screen name. His first film was "Mahiwagang Biyolin" in 1935. He made almost three dozen...
as Juan Tamad Sr. - Mongolian Barbecue The Movie, released in 1991, features director Manuel Urbano, Jr.'s television character Mr. Shooli and Eric QuizonEric QuizonEnrico Smith Quizon, also known as Eric Quizon is a Filipino actor, director, producer and writer. He is the son of the famous "King of Comedy" Dolphy and a co-owner of Café Famous in Greenbelt, Makati.-Early life:...
as Juan Tamad. - Juan Tamad, released in 1993, again bills Eric QuizonEric QuizonEnrico Smith Quizon, also known as Eric Quizon is a Filipino actor, director, producer and writer. He is the son of the famous "King of Comedy" Dolphy and a co-owner of Café Famous in Greenbelt, Makati.-Early life:...
as Juan Tamad.