Tabo is more than bathroom paraphernalia for the Filipinos. Even Jose Rizal, the country national hero used it in his novel El Filibusterismo that was published in 1891. As he begin his novel on the steamship Tabo, so named because it resembles the round shape of a water dipper.
The water dipper or the popularly known tabo for most Filipinos have been using it for a long time. It was first made by a polished coconut shells and by the early 70’s the plastic version became a hit in Quipo and Divisoria. You can choose from all sorts of colors, designs and sizes.
Mainly, the reason why dipper is popular among Filipinos is because of our unreliable and weak source of water supply. It would be very hard for us to have a shower when there’s not enough pressure for the water to make it at the shower head or even fill the tub. That’s why we are used to collect waters in pails and use dippers to fetch some water in it.
Our distinct use of the dipper makes it a uniquely Filipino identity. If Japanese use dippers in their ritual washing, Filipinos also uses it for washing things down there. Believe it or not, most Filipinos are not satisfied enough with the convenience of toilet paper alone. They let the magnificent tabo do the trick especially in cases wherein bidets are not a common sight in toilets.
Images by Flickr.com
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