H (Filipino Cultural Dictionary)

Habal-habal. [Visayan, slang] 1 A single motorcycle used as public transport that can accommodate as many as five passengers, including the driver. 2. A motorcycle without trappings hired as public transport. 3.Any of the single motorcycle used as public transport in mountainous areas where regular conveyances cannot reach. 4. A motorized transport with extended seats.

Halalan. [Arabic halal, lawful, not forbidden.] 1 An electoral exercise. 2. An election. 3. Halal, to proclaim the winner of an election.

Halal. 1. A Muslim food processed through Islamic rites.2.Any food that is blessed through Islamic ceremony before being processed or packaged. 3. A specific standard covering food products for Muslims, laws that layout the rules on hygiene, preventing contamination from banned and diseased sources, and- specify the proper way to kill animals. 4. Also, in Tagalog: To proclaim an election winner.

Halo-halo. [Tagalog, from halo-halo, or mixture of anything, a hodgepodge.] 1.A refreshing concoction that is a mix of cubed ripe banana, jackfruit, avocado, gelatin, sago, cooked kidney beans, milk, crushed ice, white sugar and a scoop of ice cream as topping. 2. A snack drink that combines ice milk, and ice cream with an assortment of fruits and condiments. 3. Any similar process that mixes ice and milk with something edible.

Hawala. [Arabic for courier] 1. Asystem of dollar remittance. 2.A cheap and unregulated and unsecured system often preferred by overseas Filipino workers in sending their money back home. 3. A courier system or delivery service that resembles the door-to-door and the padala system.

Hermana mayor. [Spanish] 1.A major fiesta sponsor, normally a private person. 2. Any individual who sponsors a big event in an annual festivity dedicated to saints. 3. A person who supports a Church-backed celebration by extending financial assistance.

Hilot. A common term used to refer to popular Filipino therapies such as dinalisay, kisig gallmg, unang lanan, fapik kawayan, oslob, paligo, and dagdagay. 2. A rural midwife without formal education in child delivery. 3 To massage the body using herbs, oil, or other liniments to soothe an aching body. 4. A therapist known to be a breach during birth.

Hipngat. [Ifugao] A rite performed following the cleaning of the rice terraces. This is done to ensure that the rice in the granaries would not be destroyed.

Hubag. [Cebuano] 1. Slang. Connoting a woman has a generous front, esp. the formation of a vagina as seen from the outside of an underwear or pants. 2. A sexually implicit term denoting a girl's gorgeous breasts.2. Also, a swell.

Hudhud. [Ifugao] A chanting ritual, which was estimated to have originated in the in century, that is recited and chanted during the sowing and harvesting of rice, funeral wakes and other rituals. Performed by women, it takes three to four days to recite the whole 40 or so chapters of the ritual. In 2001, the UNESCO cited it as among the 19 oral and intangible heritage of the world.

Hukbo. [Chinese hok (;conquer) + bu (militia·).] 1.Soldier. 2.A person ;enlisted in the military service.

Hulbot-hulbot [Visayas]. 1. Destructive local equivalent of Danish seine. It has a long sacre rope that encircles a large area with a cul-de-sac at the middle to trap the fish. At its mouth is the sinker, weighing about a ton, which closes towards the end of a fine-meshed bag, dragging its weight to scrape the corals and the seabed where fishes converge or hide. 2. Also known in the Bantayan Island as manchuria.

Husgado. [Spanish juzgado, court of law, courtroom.] 1.The magistrate. 2.A judge presiding over a courtroom.