When I was a young girl, I was often scolded by my mother for being a smart aleck. I had a reason, a justification, for every single action that I committed, whether or not it’s right.
My mother, at the height of her anger, while trying to discipline my younger self, would say, “Hala sige. Tubag! Tubag!” which, by semantics, means that she is prodding me to give her an answer.
In the first few times that this happened, I gave my answers but only to be spanked and told, “Tubag man ka?!” (How dare you give me that answer?!)
Over time, children of Visayan mothers like myself, have learned that when your mother says “Tubag! Tubag!” while she’s holding a belt or a broomstick, it means that you better zip your mouth or bite your tongue so you will not further suffer from the wrath of mother titan.
I am this mother now on “special” occasions. My children are still trying to figure this out.
So help them, God.
