“Kaluguran daka” is the typical way to profess one’s love, and it may sound insufficient at first hearing. “Kaluguran” is also the term for a “friend”, and certainly, a loved one is more than just that. But “buri daka” is even more anemic. According to the 18th c. Kapampangan dictionary compiled and annotated by Fr. Diego Bergaño, “buri”, means ‘mere liking it’ (versus “bisa”, which means ‘liking with affection’). But when conjugated, the meaning of “buri” changes: “pangaburi” means ‘affection’ or ‘love’. “Micaburi” refers to those who ‘agree to love each other’, while “makisangburi” refers to the act of ‘persuading parents opposed to a romantic relationship’.
“Lugud” is defined as ‘passion, affection’. Early Kapampangans apparently did not use this word much to refer to romantic feelings. To describe one as “malugud” is to mean ‘one with passion, affection and compassion’. “Caluguran” or ‘queluguran’ is ‘the one loved in this manner’, not necessarily, a sweetheart.
Fray Coronel, in his 1621 grammar book, Arte y Reglas de la Lengua Pampanga, took note of the phrase, “caluguran daca”, which means ‘you are beloved of me’. The other forms of “lugud” though had negative connotations: “malugud” is ‘illicit lover’, and two people engaged in an illicit relationship are “micalugud”. To go around this, early Kapampangan lovers used “buri da ka”, which was safer, even if it is devoid of intensity.
“Sinta” (cinta, in Bahasa Indonesia), on the other hand, means ‘love that always carries the pain and anxiety to enjoy one’s beloved’. Thus, “palsintan daka” means ‘I desire you’ or ‘I have feelings for you’. Its usage is more prevalent among Tagalogs, and if one were to say “palsintan da ka” today, he would be dismissed as old-fashioned and passé.
There are more ways to describe the nuances of love and the objects of one’s affection. A person inflamed by love has a “pusung micacalucu’ (a heart filled with ardent love). It is not uncommon for someone to dedicate a photo of his with the opening line: "Maluca queng bibie queca ing larauan cu.." (It is with ardent feelings that I give you this picture of mine..). Meanwhile, the feelings of a person madly in love emanates from his “busal king lub” (core of his being).
Perhaps, the best description of true love, is recorded by Bergaño by way of a morbid, but eloquent expression of what a Kapampangan would do in the name of love: “Tadtaran da cu man, ing catadtad a mitalandang, yang maquiasawa queia”: ‘They may cut me into small pieces, but one of these little pieces is enough to marry her!’. Ouch! See what love can do!
(*NOTE: Feature titles with asterisks represent other writings of the author that appeared in other publications and are not included in the original book, "Views from the Pampang & Other Scenes")