# Momonding



## peelip

My grandma (she has already passed away) used to sing the word "momonding" to my baby brother as a lullaby.

Does anyone know what "momonding" means in Tagalog or in any other Filipino dialect?

From what I've gathered, I am beginning to think that it's a name. Please correct me if I'm worng.

Also, if this is a lullaby, does anyone know the origin story of this lullaby? Where does it come from? How did parents/grandparents start singing this to their children?


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## DotterKat

It could be a baby talk variant of _bondying_ (little big boy). As sometimes happens with lullabies, people improvise with their own babbles, gurgles, intonations and rhyming styles that are intelligible only to themselves. If your brother was a chubby baby then _bondying_ would be a possible source word for the idiosyncratic variant _momonding_, probably made up solely for its rhyming possibilities. Note that Bondying is also a comic book and movie character (a grown up man playing a big baby).


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## peelip

DotterKat said:


> It could be a baby talk variant of _bondying_ (little big boy). As sometimes happens with lullabies, people improvise with their own babbles, gurgles, intonations and rhyming styles that are intelligible only to themselves. If your brother was a chubby baby then _bondying_ would be a possible source word for the idiosyncratic variant _momonding_, probably made up solely for its rhyming possibilities. Note that Bondying is also a comic book and movie character (a grown up man playing a big baby).



DotterKat - thanks for your reply. Just to clarify, _bondying_ isn't an actual word in Tagalog, but only the name of a popular character in the Philippines. Do you know of any other lullabies of this same nature? Or, in other instances where _bondying_ is used in the same way?


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## DotterKat

_Bondying_ is indeed a proper noun, the name of a fictional character. However, this character has been around for decades that reference to him reminds people of certain traits that do not need to be explained. This would be similar to incorporating names like Superman, Batman or Spiderman in a sentence. Most people would have some idea who you are talking about and the archetypes represented by these characters without having to go through a lenghthy explanation. Using proper nouns as adjectives, adapted verbs or as an embodiment of an ideal or trait is common in English (Don't be such a _Scrooge_. My brother's a real _Einstein_. _Pasteur_ized milk. Every artist dreams of finding his _Maecenas_). 
The character Bondying is essentially a big baby, with the exaggerated traits of a big baby. As with proper names in English that are used in ways other than to pertain to a specific person, Bondying can be used similarly. Those familiar with the character don't need an explanation when they hear the word _pabondying-bondying _(lazing around or loafing), a verb adapted from the proper noun Bondying or when they hear the sentence "_Para kang Bondying_" (depending on the context it can mean _You look like a baby_ or _You're acting like a big baby_).
Having said all that, I still say that _momonding_ is too idiosycratic that it would be almost impossible to derive a meaningful linguistic source. It is not a Tagalog word, though that does not mean the originator did not modify a Tagalog source (let's say Bondying). I am not aware of any Tagalog lullaby that uses the word momonding. It is possible that it is based on another dialect. More likely it is typical of original lullabies that parents or grandparents sometimes create spontaneously, incorporating made-up words that are meaningful only to themselves.
Since the originator is deceased, a clue may lie in the dialect she habitually spoke or the name of your brother (could momonding be a rhyme for a name like Ramon or Dindo?). Also though your brother may have been very young at the time, sometimes sensory impressions persist. Perhaps he knows what momonding means. His opinion would be more valid than mine.


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## peelip

Thank you, DotterKat! You've been very helpful!


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## Magindara

peelip said:


> My grandma (she has already passed away) used to sing the word "momonding" to my baby brother as a lullaby.
> 
> Does anyone know what "momonding" means in Tagalog or in any other Filipino dialect?
> 
> From what I've gathered, I am beginning to think that it's a name. Please correct me if I'm worng.
> 
> Also, if this is a lullaby, does anyone know the origin story of this lullaby? Where does it come from? How did parents/grandparents start singing this to their children?



My aunt used to sing this to me as well! Less as a lullaby more like a nursery rhyme. I have no idea what it means. She spoke kapampangan and Tagalog. Sorry it doesn’t help but I was so surprised to find someone else who knew this word!


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