Tabo
In the jurassic age of our lolo and lola, there were no showers or spa; just a simple pail of water, soap and the ever-reliable tabo (there’s really no english translation, sorry). No one really knows how it was invented, but the tabo has been used for a long time now, and ever since then, it has gone through different stages of evolution. Baths (that’s showers to you modern man) then were sometimes taken outside, since the poso or water pump was seldom paced indoors. It was limited to just a jar of water (banga), soap and gugo (the bark of a tree mixed with aloe vera) which was then used as shampoo. Then the tabo was born and the most commonly used was the bao or the core of a coconut. Some had long sticks attached to it making the bao a water carrier or pang-salok (a scooping device). Then along came the use of ceramic water pitchers which proved to be more efficient than the bao. Then the recycling of empty aluminum cans which were used for milk and canned goods became popular amongst the Pinoys back then.They made them into pots for plants and often times were also used as tabo. The aluminum tabo, which were mostly empty milk cans that came in different sizes, was also used as a plant sprinkler when the holes were drilled from the bottom of the can. As the country moved into stages of modernization, it was in the early 70’s that the plastic variation of the tabo were manufactured. Mostly sold in Divisoria and Quiapo, it became a popular item along with the kulambo (mosquito net), the batya (large water basin) and the balde (pail). Nowadays the tabo is sold in different designs, with the popular ones in neon colors, ranging from P30 to P70. They come in different sizes, different forms and shapes with or without the handle. They say you can tell a Pinoy from USA to Europe with his ubiquitous tabo, ever present in his bathroom. He would never leave home without it.
Unfortunately, I'm only destined to do one thing. =(
All the work I do is considered charity! I clean your pwet for free!