August 05, 2005

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Betakong Betlog

It's been more than two years and this mystery has yet to be solved.

On an unassuming cement wall on the way to my buddy's place -- the paint fading from prolonged sun exposure and years of clueless gazing from passersby -- you read the words in large capital letters: "BETAKONG BETLOG". I remember seeing this all the time as a child, as a teenager, all the way to my young adulthood where only now do I ask: what the heck does that mean?

"Betlog", of course, means testicles in Tagalog. "Betakong" is alien to me, even as a native speaker. My buddy, who lives adjacent to the wall, doesn't know what it means either, and can't recall when those words were painted there in the first place, not that its origins would necesarily give rise to its meaning.

Any help?

Comments

Could be a Filipino nickname. You know, like, Juan Tamad.

Idol Happy,

betakum yun.... short for "kubeta con betlog"