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Buhay na Pinagdaanan ni Juan Tamad na Anac ni Fabio at ni Sofia
sa Caharian nang Portugal (The life lived by Lazy John, son of
Fabio and Sofia in the Kingdom of Portugal"), published in
1919
Juan Tamad (Filipino
for "Lazy John"), is a character in Philippine folklore noteworthy for extreme laziness.[1] 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 comedic. In it,
Juan Tamad comes upon a guava 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 crabs 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 cakes 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 Tamad's mother instructs him to go to the village
market and buy a rice pot. A flea
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 banana leaves, which he markets as
"flea-killer."
- "Juan Tamad takes a Bride"
- Juan Tamad's 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 Manila entitled Buhay na
Pinagdaanan ni Juan Tamad na Anac ni Fabio at ni Sofia sa Caharian
nang Portugal (Tagalog 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 stanzas 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.
Films
Several Filipino films have
treated Juan Tamad as a central or supporting
character.
- Si Juan Tamad, released in 1947 and directed by Manuel Conde.[2]
- Juan Tamad Goes to Congress, released in 1960 and
directed by Manuel
Conde.[3]
- Juan Tamad Junior released in 1980, features Niño
Muhlach as Juan Tamad Jr. and Manuel Conde as Juan Tamad Sr.[4]
- Mongolian Barbecue The Movie, released in 1991,
features director Manuel Urbano, Jr.'s television character Mr.
Shooli and Eric
Quizon as Juan Tamad.[5]
- Juan Tamad, released in 1993, again bills Eric Quizon as Juan
Tamad.[6]
In
Philippine folklore
Juan Tamad is a man who is buried by monkeys who,
because of his laziness, thought he was long dead.
See also
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