Challenge to universalist claims of emotions
Liget is a word used by the Ilongot of the island of Luzon in the Philippines to refer to “people, spirits, and certain objects, like wind and rain, liquor, illness, chili peppers, and fire… as a noun or adjective [it suggests] potency, energy, intensity, the irritating heat of chili peppers, the rush of rapids, or the forces of wind”. It is a word that has some of the meanings of anger but also much more.
For people to si liget, or “have anger,” means that they are neither shy nor fearful, not unduly quiet or reserved. Liget points in human life to a readiness to be “different” or take offense…, to stubbornness and conviction, but also to the fact that one is quick-moving, youthful, active…., and “tied up tight” or “strong”.
From a book The science of emotions by Randolph R. Cornelius, p. 171
