Tabò to ThePocketBidet®
Tabò to ThePocketBidet®:
How a simple traditional tool has made people feel cleaner, provided greater access to hygiene and sanitation, built confidence and strengthened intimate relationships.
The history of Tabò
Writing on a simple handy tool, “Tabò (pronounced TAH bo) or water dipper is quite intriguing. On a deeper note, one can find it quite interesting as simple as it may be, yet, it is indispensable as a tool for a typical Filipino household. It cannot be discounted. A historical glimpse of tabò saw its prevalence even during the pre-colonial period. Lito Nunag, the historian from UP-Diliman, states that the tabò was developed to help Filipinos gain a convenient and practical access to a water source instead of going back and forth to rivers, streams, and wells.
Water is stored in jars or pails and the tabò was used to dip water. In earlier times, it was made out of coconut shell and bamboo. However, at that time the tabò was not used as a toilet implement. Dr. Michael Tan, Chancellor of UP-Diliman and a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, noted that this tabò found its way to our ancestor’s house entrances, usually beside a jar for the guests to wash their hands and feet before entering the house. It was simply a display of pure courtesies on both the host and its guests. Soon, it found its way into the kitchen where the tabò is filled with portable water just as the pitcher in modern times. Again, in the kitchen, the tabò is found beside a jar to take out water to drink, wash the hands and/or clean the dishes. In the bathroom, tabò was used instead of a shower head and thus saved the splurging of so much water. In short, it is for cleansing, bathing, cleaning the floor of the bathroom and for general purposes.
The Filipino mestizos refer to a tabò as sartin. To assuage the difficulty of standing up to reach the water, the sartin is passed around to save time in getting the water. The Americans modernized the tabò which is now made of plastic and used as a water dipper for various functions particularly in the bathroom. It is used to flush the toilet, wash the anus after toilet use, wash the hands, or for bathing the entire body. Its use highlighted personal cleanliness. Water is used first and the toilet paper comes next for drying. Thus, its use continued to flourish over the years, it is most seen as a common item to a Filipino family. My own family also has the luxury of using the plastic tabò even with the presence of the traditional bidet.
Cultural importance of the use of Tabò in a Filipino home
Interestingly, the use of tabò became an inherent part of our culture, an important indispensable tool to the Filipinos, young or old. It definitely is an essential fixture of being an important commodity in any household. The wide range of its use is such that it is a handy tool not only in the kitchen for washing dishes and hands, but in the bathroom for bathing, washing after-toilet use, in the garden for watering plants and in so many other household activities.
In water shortages or in a water crisis, a typical household can have a timba or bucket of water with a tabò nearby. It's also a way of saving water especially if there are a number of users. Many have experienced bathing just using two pails of water with a handy tabò. I have experienced doing it too. In the absence of a bidet especially in earlier times, there is always the reliable tabò for washing the hands, for bathing, and for washing the bums or anus. This is a typical situation in most Filipino homes especially among the poverty-stricken people; the Indigenous people and families in depressed areas. The rich have the tabò somewhere in their household for convenience of water transport. However, we all find the tabò a reliable tool for hygiene in all homes.
In a 2017 article of Willie Jose, he stated that the tabò is a hygiene tool for cleaning the bum or anus, bathing and hand washing. Toilet paper is simply not enough to really clean oneself. Nowadays, the tabò is hardly ever mentioned in any conversation. As of today, the rightful place of tabò is in the toilet or bathroom. Most people today refer to toilets as washrooms, restrooms, bathrooms, comfort rooms, or powder rooms.
If you find yourself visiting any place in the Philippines, whether it is in the countryside or urban cities, the tabò is a regular fixture in the bathroom of hotels, rest houses, pension houses and resorts. I suppose the maxim “cleanliness is next to godliness'' is simply embedded in Pinoy's minds and hearts. Even our great grandparents from colonial times have used a handy tabò in the house. It has been handed down to our generation. From my childhood in the countryside to adulthood in an urban area, the use of tabò is simply an essential part of my everyday routine use. Its use indicates that even our ancestors have the obsession for cleanliness. It's accessible and affordable as one can get it in shopping malls, markets, stores and from sidewalk vendors.
Today, no matter how modern amenities have evolved, the handy tabò is still in use. One should also consider that not all the toilets or bathrooms have the pail/timba together with the tabò for doing your business or for taking a bath. A Pinoy is most likely aware of what to do but foreigners may be in a quandary on what to do, so awareness or knowledge of cultural beliefs such as use of tabò for toilet habits is a must to prevent problems.
As much as the use of tabò is part of our culture, it behooves that we must also keep abreast with modern hygienic tools in response to the widespread of deadly virus and harmful bacteria. Problems can incur similar to what happened to a Pinoy worker in Australia who was terminated from his job because of the perceived unhygienic use of water in the toilet instead of toilet paper to clean himself while going to the bathroom. For an action to be deemed posing a serious health risk is something else. It’s remarkable. Another commented that his termination was simply “atrocious and an invasion of a person’s rights and cultural beliefs’. I would think that if only this Pinoy worker handled his toilet habits properly, the incident could have been avoided. Actually, I see no harm in sticking to one’s belief of cleansing with water, but do it properly without leaving the toilet cubicle splashed with water. After using the water, he could have dried his bum with toilet paper. In contrast, you could possibly disturb other users who are not used to the idea of using water to clean themselves as you leave behind a mess giving the next user a disgusting feeling of improper use of the toilet.
A modern technology called ThePocketBidet® is available now (but wasn’t at that time) that could have helped him from having to experience this situation he was in. Our use of water to clean our bums aside from the toilet paper makes me wonder if we are not the cleanest people on this side of planet earth. The additional merit ti this advancement is an active crusade to nature.
Other countries in Southeast Asia also have their own version of the tabò and they call it ‘the gayung’. I agree that the use of the tabò can economically conserve the environment as it is a good substitute for toilet paper. Tom Kuegler, a foreign blogger, was so impressed with the usefulness of the tabò that he called it the ‘coolest Filipino household item’ which is a substitute for toilet paper. Amen to that.
The consequence of lack of water after toilet use (tabò) in pregnant women, the elderly, and children
Over the years, Filipinos used tabò for personal cleanliness and from then on for hygienic cleansing of sensitive (intimate) parts of the body. Water cleansing eliminates certain skin irritation and rectal area discomfort. As well as yeast and urinary cleanup to prevent itching, discharge, and any unpleasant odor. Anal hygiene is important which holds true for men and women especially pregnant women who have a frequent need to use the toilet, but have discomfort due to increased weight. In the past, it has been said that pregnant women make a bathe with guava leaves boiled in water and the tabò is used to dip water . It is still in practice today especially in the provinces.
Water provides relief, comfort, and a soothing pleasant experience. Similarly, the elderly and children are aware of cleanliness and the use of water in their toilet habits. It is ingrained in us and the usefulness of the general purpose of the tabò is too. When one does not feel clean, there's the anxiety or the feeling that something is lacking. Whether others do not understand, there are consequences. The feeling of disgust or discomfort is felt. This lowers the confidence to perform task, diminishes the "touch" to care or simply lost the feeling of vibrance and comfort.
The effect on emotions, mental state and behavior of a person is such that it can remove any feeling of satisfaction that is usually felt when one feels clean. In today's generation, we learn that our bodies, especially our private or sensitive parts, have to be cleaned thoroughly to prevent bacteria from proliferating. Thus, educating our people on cleanliness has come a long way to prevent an occurrence of illnesses.
How does it feel if you had to be intimate with your partner without cleaning your privates with water and instead it's being wiped with paper?
I cannot feel anything but redundant in afforestation that most of us adhere to personal cleanliness and proper hygiene. The use of water provides a refreshing, pleasant feeling of being clean or feeling rejuvenated throughout the day. As the saying goes, “habits die hard,” unless one is determined to change his or her lifestyle by a simple change. We tend to stay within a routine and stick to what we are used to doing.
We see it from our parents, and they have too from their forebears. It is handed down from one generation to the next until some changes occur resulting from technological innovations that may help foster a change in people. Even from the onslaught of any technological inventions like feminine wipes. We Filipinos are still stuck with using the tabò and the habit of washing with water after defecation or urination. Many changes have been seen today with modern bidets and feminine wipes among others in the market, yet one has to reach out to all...much has to be done to make changes in one's habits.
What happens when you perform some intimate acts with your husband or partner? Do you wash your privates with water rather than wipe them with paper? In this case, one has to consider what the person is accustomed to do. As I stated earlier, we Filipinos especially women (young and old) cannot do away with just what cleanliness habits one has. We all want to be satisfied and in the same manner we want our husband to feel satisfied too.
It is a fact that water gives a refreshing feeling and if you are accustomed to using it before and after the act, then you gain the feeling of satisfaction. Maybe you have read about couples bathing together before, during, or after the intimate moments. Undesirable feelings such as annoyance, disgust, irritation, anger, feeling dirty, and any unpleasant behavior is avoided after getting the refreshing feeling of being clean. I personally think these feelings are the same on both sides. No one wants negative consequences so one prepares oneself for the ‘battle’ with the husband. Feeling refreshed and simply looking good creates positive results and it is easier to achieve than when having the ‘dirty feeling’ of being unclean.
The Tabò compared to ThePocketBidet®
The unsurpassed tabò is a great tool Filipinos have continuously used for many generations and it seems as if it isn't going anywhere. The important takeaway from how the tabò has benefitted the lives of Filipinos is the ability to access fresh and clean water to keep personal hygiene controlled to where they feel refreshed. The use of the tabò has brought many positive results to the people of the Philippines that it has become a habit to use water to clean private areas of the body.
In regards to the positive outcomes of the tabò, the innovative advancements of ThePocketBidet® can become the new tabò for generations to come if we begin to use them now. ThePocketBidet® has great features that have similar, if not more, beneficial advantages than the tabò. For starters, ThePocketBidet® is a wonderful tool that is used in the restroom for the same reasons as the tabò, but you can carry it with you wherever you go as it collapses to the size of a CD disc. This can be beneficial to you when you are on the go and need to put it away quickly in your purse, backpack, or even in your pocket.
Not to forget ThePocketBidet® is extremely helpful to the economical environment as the usage of water and toilet paper is decreased when you use ThePocketBidet® that has sufficient amount of water to clean yourself. The world has seen how the unfortunate effects of cutting down millions of trees look like and how much paper is being misused around the world, so why not choose to change the way we clean ourselves in exchange for a healthy environment.
As I’ve mentioned before, the tabò can leave a mess when you try to use it in an unusual restroom or different country, but with ThePocketBidet® you are able to resolve that issue. With ThePocketBidet® you can adjust the position of the bottle to where you feel most comfortable, and you can add any kind of pressure to the bottle that will release the water. Moreover, if you do not use all the water in the bidet you can empty it out without making a mess. This can come handy whenever and wherever you are.
Everyone’s hygiene becomes an important matter regardless of the situation you are in. This is why it is important to use a tool that will give you the best results after cleaning yourself. They call it a "magic bottle". Whether you have just used the restroom or have been intimate with your partner, water is the best cleaning product to use as it will leave you feeling refreshed, clean, and rejuvenated. ThePocketBidet® can be a new experience for you, but it will be a life-changing experience you never knew you needed until you try it. As we’ve seen with the tabò, the Philippines has adopted a tool that leaves them feeling clean and refreshed while positively affecting the earth, and the whole world can do this too by using The Pocket Bidet®
