Tagalog Wedding Vows from the Philippines
The Philippines has two official languages: Filipino, which is based on Tagalog with its eight main dialects, and English, which tends to be American English.
Wedding vows are usually spoken in English, but below, we show the Tagalog version, (kindly translated for us by a nice Filipina lady).
One quaintly interesting term is seen in the first line: pag-iisang dibdib, which literally translated means 'union of chest'. And in the second line: kaisang dibdib means 'one chest'. If we consider the chest in this context as being one's body or one's heart, then we can translate 'union of chest' to mean 'marriage', and 'one chest' to mean 'spouse'. (Or we could romanticize a bit and think of our spouse as a treasure chest.)
Either way, it shows that Tagalog, like its country and people, is both interesting and beautiful.
(See also Weddings in the Philippines)
Tagalog
- Vows from the groom to the bride:
Minister:
Sisimulan na natin ang pag-iisang dibdib nila (groom's name) at (bride's name)
We will now start the marriage/union of (groom's name) and (bride's name)(groom's name), tinatanggap mo bang maging kaisang dibdib si (bride's name),
na maging kabiyak ng iyong puso,
sa habang buhay,
sa hirap at ginhawa,
sa sakit man o kalusugan,
at mamahalin mo siya
sa habangbuhay,
gaya ng sagradong utos ng Panginoon?
(groom's name), do you accept (bride's name) to be your wife,
to be part of your heart,
forever,
in hardship and in pleasure,
in sickness or in health,
and you will love her,
for all eternity
as the sacred ordinance of God?Groom:
Opo
I do. - Vows from the bride to the groom:
Minister:
(bride's name), tinatanggap mo bang maging kaisang dibdib si (groom's name),
na maging kabiyak ng iyong puso,
sa habang buhay,
sa hirap at ginhawa,
sa sakit man o kalusugan,
at mamahalin mo siya
sa habangbuhay,
gaya ng sagradong utos ng Panginoon?
(bride's name), do you accept (groom's name) to be your husband,
to be part of your heart,
forever,
in hardship and in pleasure,
in sickness or in health,
and you will love him,
for all eternity
as the sacred ordinance of God?Bride:
Opo
I do.
