Hampaslupa is a word that we mostly hear from our television soap operas when someone who has been in Alta-Sociedad (high society) belittles another person who is not equally the same with their social status. Hampaslupa, Pega la Tierra, is a derogatory remark originating from Spaniards which means "hits the ground" probably arises during the agrarian division between the haciendas and the rural folks tilling the land. It can also be associated with another Filipino expression of "isang kahig, isang tuka" (one scratch, one peck-as what a chicken does), for hitting the ground one would be able to feed himself or his family. Until today, it has been widely used for insulting someone and in Senorita memes for humor.
Hampaslupa used to describe our Filipino farmers, as pitiful, doing dirty work, considered a poor man's job. In contrast to other countries, farming/farmers are highly regarded. In China, Confucian ideology considered farmers as next to scholars, in Thailand, they taught their young in school that farmers are the backbone of the nation, in the United States, farming/farmers are particularly valued and mostly successful, even France and Germany shared the same view that farmers are an important factor in maintaining the equilibrium in the society's structure.
So it is not really demeaning to be a farmer, even in the United States, they have the 'No Farm, No Food Movement' giving importance to farming as their source of food and income. Hampaslupa is the farmers who feed us, they plant and put their harvest on our table. We are the consumers of their products, therefore we are participating in farming and affirming the value and role of farmers. We contribute to tilling the soil by the choice of food we eat. Collectively and individually, we are hampaslupa. For this, we are encouraging everyone to make a pledge of securing the food on our table, encouraging farmers as well. Read the pledges and Challenge yourself.
Read more:
Importance of Agriculture
No Farms, No Food
So it is not really demeaning to be a farmer, even in the United States, they have the 'No Farm, No Food Movement' giving importance to farming as their source of food and income. Hampaslupa is the farmers who feed us, they plant and put their harvest on our table. We are the consumers of their products, therefore we are participating in farming and affirming the value and role of farmers. We contribute to tilling the soil by the choice of food we eat. Collectively and individually, we are hampaslupa. For this, we are encouraging everyone to make a pledge of securing the food on our table, encouraging farmers as well. Read the pledges and Challenge yourself.
Read more:
Importance of Agriculture
No Farms, No Food
