boraw

English: Definition

A traditional game or organized play session in which participants competed for food or other pooled prizes. Winnings commonly included wrapped glutinous-rice delicacies such as *ibos* and *bino’tong*. The term may also refer to playing the game, the pooled stakes, or the winner’s share; the exact distinctions remain uncertain.

Part of Speech

noun

Example Sentence

Naborawan ko ading mga ibos kaga’bi.

English: Example Sentence

I won these “ibos” last night.

Notes

Part of speech: noun; possibly also a verb or game-name base

Status: Obsolescent cultural term, remembered by Boie’nen elders from approximately the early 1970s or earlier.

Example sentences:

Magboraw kita ki Iya. “Let’s play cards at Iya’s place.”

Naborawan ko sa intrikwatro. “I won this/these from intrikwatro.”

Etymology: Possibly adapted from Spanish burro, the name of several traditional Spanish card games. One documented form of burro requires players to collect four cards of the same rank, which may relate to the remembered association between boraw and the four-player game intrikwatro. This borrowing remains unconfirmed: the sound change from Spanish burro to Boie’nen boraw has not been demonstrated, and the rules of the Buhi game are not yet known.

Cultural note: Winners could take home edible prizes, especially ibos, bino’tong, and similar delicacies. The practice may have involved friendly noncash wagering or reciprocal food pooling during neighborhood and family gatherings.

Usage note: Do not treat boraw and intrikwatro as established synonyms unless oral-history evidence confirms that they referred to the same game. Further naturally occurring examples are needed to determine whether boraw denotes the game, the act of playing, the stakes, or the winnings.

Semantic domains: Games and recreation; Traditional practices; Social gatherings; Foodways

Related entries: intrikwatro; bara-a;

Boie'nen (Old Buhi Language)

boraw