kalabaw

[Waruno Mahdi]

> In brief, Tagalogs had water buffaloes - which they mainly called "anwáng" -
> when the Spaniards arrived. Then, during the Spanish period, buffaloes must

This is greatly interesting. Good for you for having been able to trace
this on the basis of entries in old dictionaries.

> have been imported (probably as calves) from Indochina or the Malay world
> along with their local name. The latter must have sounded like _*krabáw_ to
> Tagalog ears and was tagalized as _kalabáw_. In its turn _kalabáw_ was
> hispanized as _carabao_.

There is another possibility, of course, because the dictionary entries
do not suggest that Tag _kalabáw_ refers to any other variety than _anwáng_.
Spanish may have acquired _carabao_ from Malay, and Tagalog borrowed
it from Spanish. Alternatively, the word could also have entered the
Philippines through Tausug, or perhaps Maranao. Is there any way
of determining how early the word already existed in Cebuano? whether
perhaps earlier than in Tagalog?

> Why this importation? Probably due to the development of husbandry and the
> will to enrich the genes of the "native" buffalo race.

One way of finding out whether this was so would perhaps be comparing with
the situation in the Central Cordillieran highlands, where the carabao is
deeply ingrained in the local culture (e.g. among the Tirurai). If a new
variety had been introduced by the Spanish in the lowlands, there must have
been some difference between highland and lowland carabaos, perhaps till
today? Is there any indication that highland carabaos are considered
inferior in quality?

Aloha,   Waruno