etymology of Philippines bantay 'guard, watch'

[David Mead]

A number of Philippine languages (Tagalog, Ilonggo, etc.) have a root 
bantay 'guard'.  Compare for example Cebuano bantay 'watch s.th., 
keep watch over', bantayan 'guardhouse, guard post' (Wolff 1972 
Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan p. 110)

I have seen two etymologies for this stem, and I am wondering whether 
specialists in Philippine languages consider one to be more likely 
than the other.

1.  In a 1970s unpublished work, Zorc proposed a Proto-Philippines 
etymon *baNtay 'guard, watch'.  However, I have not seen this 
reconstruction (or any higher level reconstruction) proposed in a 
published work.

2.  Prior to this, in 1948 Arsenio Manuel (Chinese Elements in the 
Tagalog Language) proposed Philippines bantay < Hokkien bang-tai 
'watchtower, lookout, watch'.  I do not have direct access to 
Manuel's work.  However I have looked in the Barclay & Douglas Amoy 
dictionary and supplement, and have not found the compound bang-tai 
listed anywhere, only the roots bang (vowel a with macron) 'hope, 
expect' and tai (vowel a with circumflex) 'platform, pedestal'.  So 
is bang-tai a bona fide Hokkien compound, or something which Manuel 
'constructed'?

Thanks much.  Some languages of central and southeastern Sulawesi, 
Indonesia, have a form bantaya or bantea (see data below) which I 
think can be traced back as a borrowing from the Philippines. I was 
just wondering where it goes from there.

David Mead



Wolio bantea "guesthouse for patrolling officials".(Anceaux 1988)
Kulisusu bhantea "1. guard post; 2. small house for holding 
traditional ceremonies"
Muna bhantea "temporary forest hut, shed, storing place, 
shelter".(Van den Berg 1996)
Moronene bantea "hut, tent"
Pamona bantaya, bantayangi "feast hut, temporary shelter for guests 
at a feast" (Adriani 1928)
(Note that all these languages reflect only the derived form 
bantay-an as an unanalyzed whole, they do not have a corresponding 
stem bantay or bante.  Paragogic vowel in Pamona bantayangi is also 
highly suggestive of borrowing.)







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