I went home this weekend. Among the several photos I managed to capture, I caught this one. One of my younger sisters was having an argument with our brother. She was "making tampo" (for lack of a proper translation).
Tampo. I can't be sure if my knowledge of the filipino-english lexicon is lacking, or if I'm just experiencing a mental block now... but I cannot think of a proper translation for this word. Maybe english-speakers don't tampo. Maybe only Filipinos tampo or give importance to tampo.
Tampo is a behavior often elicited during conflict. When you are nagtatampo, you purposefully ignore or shun the person you are in conflict with. You can choose to address everyone except the object of your tampo. However, the objective of your pagtatampo is not to ignore the person per se, but to elicit a response from the other party. The goal of pagtatampo is to make the other person cajole you, or sweet talk you to take them back into your graces.
It's a very strange, non-confronting, means of settling conflict. It involves a very strong power struggle. And it will only work if the person (nagtatampo) has a significant emotional or relational tie with the person of conflict.
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