Manong

[Basa Benejan]

ManongMah-noh-ng) is an Ilokano term principally given to the first-born male in a Filipino nuclear family. However, it can also be used to title an older brother, older male cousin, or older male relative in an extended family. The feminine "manang" is a term given to an older sister. It is a term of respect, similar but secondary to Dad or Mom, but not comparable to Mister or Ma'am, which expresses no elevated affection. A hierarchical marker, it is used to refer to any male who is older than the speaker within his or her family but it could also be used for men outside the family to convey respect.

Additionally, the male partner of an older sibling may be referred to as a manong irrespective of the speaker's age relative to the partner (i.e., a male younger than the speaker may be called manong by virtue of status and not by age difference) although this is not always necessary.

Manong/manang is arguably the derivative of the Spanish word for brother/sister - "hermano" and "hermana". The addition of "ng" and loss of "her" could have been for a variety of reasons such as regional slang.

Manong can also refer to the Ilocano manongs, laborers who migrated to the United States to work in plantations in the 1930s. Stories of the manong, Filipino migrants displaced from their homeland and faced with the racism and challenges of a foreign land, is a common theme in many Filipino-American writers' works. These include most prominently, Carlos Bulosan (America Is in the Heart), a Filipino migrant himself, and several stories by Bienvenido Santos "Scent of Apples" and "The Day the Dancers Came").

Some manongs sent their pay back to the Philippines, and others tried to save up enough to return home to marry or retire, or to attend college in the U.S. Few ever realized these dreams. Fred was one of the few who was able to find a female companion. Because she was a white woman, they kept their relationship hidden from the public for years to avoid legal persecution or, worse, violent retribution.

With the onset of the Great Depression, Filipinos and other immigrants were convenient scapegoats for the troublesome economic times and subject to racist attacks. In 1930, a mob in Watsonville, California, dragged dozens of Filipino men from their homes and beat them. One was shot and killed. Deaths also resulted from the bombings of Filipino labor camps, often with the complicity of local law enforcement. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, organizing efforts among farm workers were often met with violence, persecution and imprisonment, with agribusiness interests abetted by local, state and national policies all but ensuring the mostly immigrant workforce effectively remained second-class citizens.

Despite the charged racial and economic environment, the manongs never abandoned their dreams for a better life and dignity in America. Throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s they organized successful strikes and work stoppages, formed unions and began winning significant improvements to wages and work conditions. By the 1960s, with the prominence of the Civil Rights movement and a spirit of social change in the air, these workers consolidated under the leadership of manongs Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong and others as the mostly Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC).

In September 8, 1965, the AWOC decided to strike against Delano grape growers, demanding pay equal to the federal minimum wage. It was a bold move. Few strikes of this scale had been attempted, and growers had refined their own strategies for combating such efforts. They included fear tactics, hiring thugs to break up union activities and keeping the workforce effectively divided by pitting workers of different races against each other.

This set the stage for the last major wave of immigrant farm labor from Asia: Filipinos. Because the Philippines was a U.S. territory, Filipinos were exempt from immigration restrictions, and in the 1920s and 30s over 100,000 men would come to the U.S. seeking employment and economic opportunities.

With changes in immigration policy and the availability of new economic opportunities, the participation of Filipino Americans in farm labor declined rapidly. By the 1980s and 90s only a handful of manongs, now in retirement, survived. Today, a few remaining monuments help keep their story alive for future generations.

In 2013, the National Park Service identified two sites in Delano, California, for potential inclusion in the National Park System for their relevance to the Filipino farmworker story. They include The 40 Acres, former headquarters of the UFW and the site of Agbayani Village, built by volunteers in 1974 to house aging Filipino farmworkers. The second facility, Filipino Community Hall, was the site of critical meetings and organizing efforts leading up to and after the start of the 1965 Delano grape strike.

Adjust lang the garlic, siling labuyo and onions to your liking. The first time I made it, saktong pampulutan. I used 1 medium red onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and 2 siling labuyo. Kulang pa sa anghang for me hahaha. I adjusted this for the general taste and for kids kasi.

it might be easier and give better consistency/texture to heat half the liquid with the sugar and soy sauce first, while separately dissolving the flour and cornstarch with the other half of the water. Once the soy-sugar mixture starts boiling, carefully pour in the flour-starch slurry while stirring. this would ensure that all the starches are properly gelatinized and cooked.

I am a parish priest (pastor) of a big Filipino-American parish near Washington, DC (Maryland) I am planning to serve fishballs with this recipe for the sauce on the feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz next month.

Thanks for sharing this recipe. I have looking for it for a long time so I can make it myself at home. I do not want to partake of the sauce provided by manong because of the Hepa virus that it might contain. How about the recipe of the fishball itself? Do you know any?

Cut up the fish into cubes. Put all the ingredients except for the ice cubes in a food processor or blender and blend for about 2 mins. Or until smooth. Then add the ice cubes and continue to blend for another 3 mins or so. The paste should be a lot of elasticity and thick. The paste should be very smooth with no solid pieces of fish. Scoop the paste into a bowl and refrigirate for about an hour before using.

Prep for fishball:

Add grated carrots,minced onions/scallions and minced parsley into the cold fish paste and be sure to mix it very well. Then form the fishballs and cook them in boiling water for 3-5mins depending on the size you formed. Once they floated that means they are cooked.

Thanks for the awesome looking recipe I am sure it taste just as good. My problem is the fish balls, where can I buy those? Can I order them online? Or do you also have recipe??I live in Kansas and all we have down here is BBQ. lol

just want to share my variation on how this sauce is done.

In a heavy sauce pan heat

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoon butter

add 2 tablespoon all purpose flour and stir until flour is light brown. set aside.

saute in 1 tablespoon oil the chopped medium sized onion, chilli and 2 cloves minced garlic until soft. This will bring out the spice flavors.

pour 4 cups of sprite or water, add the butter and flour mix and stir well. season with 4 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon salt.

add the 3/4 cup brown sugar and continue stirring.

dissolve 2 tablespoon corn starch with 2 tablespoon water and add to thicken shine your sauce. after a minute remove from heat and continue stirring for another minute. Let cool.

Thanks! Nagdagdag me 3-4 tbsp each ng cornstach saka ng flour nakuha ko na din ung lapot niya. Ginamit ko po kasi is ung cups ng 4 water.. yes ako din nahihiwagaan bakit di nagswak first try ko but Im so happy I found this site. Thank you so much po for sharing!

Mine took 2 hrs! I wonder why.. Could it be the pot im using? Ive got an electric stove top though. I wonder if the heat was too low.. Hmm.. How long did yours take ms. Mhel? But anyway thank you for this! Always appreciate a taste from home..

Is there a certain brand of frozen fishballs used? Ive researched everywhere online and cannont find the right brand. Even my local/ only Filipino store is having the same problem! We cant find the crunchy flatter ones to order. Please help. I know there are many Filipinos here in Alaska that would be very grateful. Thanks c:

Thank you, thank you , thank you Michelle for this recipe. I stopped buying fishball from Manongs because I was confined in the hospital for 4 days many years ago for hepatitis from the fishball sauce. Now that I can make this at the convenience of our home, we have option to buy the kind of fishball that

we want .

I just tried this recipe. I doubled the measurements as it is intended for a big batch. I had to add more sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce and salt. Thanks for this recipe and finally I found out that vinegar is no longer needed. The garlic will suffice

Awesome article. Good idea to not put vinegar in the seeet sauce for me cause i like mixing the sweet sauce with spicy vinegar. Also got good brands pf fishball from the discussions. Seaglow is fair but nog as good as the streetood variety ?

Hi! This recipe is a winner! Just added 1more tbsp of cornstarch as I wanted it to be thicker in consistency. It amazingly tastes like the sauce used by manong fish balls vendor! Thank you very much for sharing ?

It would be better, i think if the constarch is dissolved in water. In the kitchen we call this a slurry. There is no need to add flour anymore as this will also act as a thickener the constarch is enough already .

More than their Labor: Sites of Manong Leisure in the Pajaro Valley expands scholarship on the manong generation of Filipino migrants. In particular, this exhibition visualizes moments of rest and leisure to build an understanding of how manongs found a sense of belonging and home despite exclusionary policies and in-humane working conditions. By focusing on their everyday experiences, More than their Labor shows how manongs did not just work, but also created families, nourished friendships, practiced hobbies, and found joy. This exhibition asks: What did they do on their off time? Where did they go for pleasure? Who were their chosen families? Where did they hang out? By asking these questions, the exhibition offers a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of the manong experience. This exhibition features photographs and objects from the Watsonville is the Heart research initiative. More than their Labor features the objects of five families who participated in the WIITH project: the Alminianas, Ibao-de los Reyes, Recios, DeOcampos, and Sulays.

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