Some of the richest displays of Filipin@ art and culture today are the dances of the indigenous tribes of the Philippines. Each year, Filipin@ cultural organizations in high schools and colleges across the U.S. often include performances of Philippine tribal dances in their annual cultural shows, all of which date back to several centuries ago. Some of the most popular dances in “traditional” Philippines culture come from the ritual and customary practices of the Igorot peoples.

Who are the Igorots?

Igorot (“Mountain People”) is the name used to collectively refer to the different tribes of indigenous people who have inhabited and continue to inhabit the mountain region of northern Luzon (located north of the capital city of Manila). While all these tribes share similar traits, they also vary in their cultural styles and behaviors.

Dancing: The Why and What

For the Igorot peoples, dance was the go-to medium of expression when it came to war victories, religion, courtship, and celebrations in general. Here are just some of the dances often performed by the different Igorot tribes:

Ballangbang: A dance performed by the Bontoc tribe (known for their war dances) to celebrate victories in tribal wars and success in headhunting missions. The “headtakers” (the men) rhythmically strike at copper gongs called gangsa, while the women imitate the movements of carabao or water buffalo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qfN12WOOac

Ngilin: This dance, which is performed by such tribes as the Kalingas (known for their courtship dances), is a marriage dance in which the dancers imitate a rooster and a hen “courting” each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cABeH0W57s

Uyaoy/Uyauy: A wedding festival dance performed by the Ifugao tribe (known for their burial dances), this dance would typically be performed by the wealthy members of a village (Kadangyan) to reassert their social status. Men would imitate the glide of a hawk while stamping their feet hard on the ground; dancing women would throw their arms upward while scratching the ground with their toes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3kGfTVJV6o (0:22 - 2:00)

Sources:

Alejandro, Reynaldo Gamboa. “Philippines.” The International Encyclopedia of Dance. Oxford University Press, 1998. Oxford Reference, 2005. Web.

“Cordillera”. SEAsite. Retrieved from http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/Cynthia/philippine_dances_cordillera.htm. Web.

“Mountain Suite: Echoes of the Cordillera”. Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company. Retrieved from http://www.hiyas.org/igorot.html. Web.

Spoken word poetry has gained ground over the years as a popular form of performance art, and this is especially true when it comes to the Philippines. For example, Words Anonymous, a group of Filipino performance poets, regularly holds open mic nights in a place called Sev’s Cafe in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. Their performances at these open mic nights and elsewhere capture expressions of “love, loss, inequality, and the struggles of finding one’s place in the world.” Below are examples of some of these members’ performances:

Abby Orbeta - “Struggle”

Louise Meets - “Sinners speak to God”

Juan Miguel Severo - “Naniniwala Ako”

(Source: Fritzie Rodriguez, “Young poets and the art of spoken word” http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/85315-spoken-word-poetry-ph)

Spoken word poetry is also alive and well within the U.S., as evidenced by the spoken word YouTube channel Button Poetry. One of the performers featured on this channel, Gretchen Carvajal, is Filipin@-American and has performed pieces relating to her ethnic and national identity. Here are her two pieces featured on the Button Poetry channel:

“On Opening Body Bags After Haiyan”

“Asian Girls and Hip Hop”

Igorot art was influenced by upland Filipin@ folk art, especially in wood carving. The art that was created was highly representational (objects that were easily recognizable). Animal motifs were widely used and their favorite animals included reptiles and pigs. The lizard motif was preferred because it symbolized longevity.

One particular motif, which was a favorite, was the labuyo (wild rooster) for their feathers which were used as ornaments in their headdresses. For the Igorots, the headdresses were merely ornamental and were worthy of admiration.. Other tribes who wore no head covering or only head-bands would look at the headdresses as a symbol of power.

Sources:

The Exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution and United States National Museum at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 1909. Washington: Press of Judd & Detweiler, 1909. Print.

Lopez, Mellie Leandicho. A Handbook of Philippine Folklore. Diliman, Quezon City: U of the Philippines, 2006. Print.

Today, Filipino music is just as diverse as American music. Unfortunately, one post cannot do justice to the rich history of music in the Philippines. This post is just an introduction to the sounds of Filipino music. 

Original Pinoy Music
Original Pinoy Music, often called OPM, refers to Filipino pop songs that are usually in Tagalog. The genre began in the 1970s and continues today. Below is a list of some of the most popular OPM songs throughout the years. 

Freddie Aguilar - “Anak” (1979) 

Fun Fact:“Anak” was wildly successful worldwide and was translated to at least 20 other languages. 

Rivermaya - “Kisapmata” (1996)

Regine Velasquez - “Dadalhin” (2001)

Sarah Geronimo - “Forever’s Not Enough” (2005)

Yeng Constantino - “Ikaw” (2014)

Works of theatre comprised one method by which Philippine nationalists and anti-imperialists sought to criticize and protest the occupation of their land by such powers as Spain and the U.S. Two prominent forms of theatre which emerged during the latter portion of Spanish colonial rule over the Philippines are moro-moro and zarzuela.

The moro-moro was the most popular form of theatre during the Spanish colonial period. The plays of this style often lasted for days and primarily featured Christian and Muslim kingdoms at war.

The zarzuela was a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre of theatre which emerged towards the end of the Spanish colonial period and the start of the American colonial period. This form of theatre typically incorporates popular song and dance along with its spoken dialogue. One example of a zarzuela play is Walang Sugat (1898) by Severino Reyes, which revolves around two young lovers–named Tenyong and Julia–and focuses the plight of Filipin@ domestic life and on Filipin@ frustration with Spanish colonialism.

Sources:

Briones, Nikki Serranilla. “From War Dance to the Theater of War: Moro-Moro Performances in the Philippines.” 2010. Web. Retrieved from http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/bitstream/handle/10635/18627/01ChapterBRIONESN.pdf?sequence=1.

“Drama (section)”. visitphilippines.org. Web. Retrieved from http://www.visitphilippines.org/guide/8_43_19_1_Arts-and-Literature-.:-VisitPhilippines.org-a-Best-Destination-Travel-Guide-by-Travelindex.html.

“‘Walang Sugat’ at the Ateneo de Manila University (Irwin Theater)”. Filipino Writer. Web. Retrieved from http://www.filipinowriter.com/walang-sugat-at-the-ateneo-de-manila-university-irwin-theater.

The form of theatre known as zarzuela (or sarswela) truly boomed following the American colonization and occupation of the Philippines beginning at the start of the 20th century. Last week, we briefly described zarzuela and mentioned one example of such a type of play: Walang Sugat by Severino Reyes. This week (Thanksgiving week), we’ll briefly talk about another example of zarzuela: the three-act play, Paglipas ng Dilim.

Paglipas ng Dilim, first written by Precioso Palma and with original music by Leon Ignacio, was staged for audiences in standing-only Manila theater houses several times and has gone on to be made into more contemporary performances in the 2000s. The play essentially revolves around a a man named Ricardo (a new graduate of medicine) and his attraction to a woman named Estrella. As the play unfolds, plots of envy and greed caused by a woman named Caridad and her mother.

 On the surface, this play seems to be portray an ordinary love triangle of sorts. However, it is also likely that Palma had tried to incorporate the everyday struggles of Filipino nationalism against Western ideals (i.e.Spain and U.S.). Here’s a picture of a scene from an early performance of this zarzuela play:

 This and Walang Sugat are definitely worth the read, if anyone would care to read these works or see them performed.


Sources:

Castro, Frederick R. “The Past is Present, The Present is Past, The University of the East Drama Company’s Production of the Classic Sarsuwela ‘Paglipas ng Dilim’”.

UE Drama Company

, University of the East. Retrieved from 

https://www.ue.edu.ph/manila/uetoday/index.php?nav=15.htm&archive=200902

“Scene from an early Sarswela”. Retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/Palipas_ng_Dilim_scene_zarzuela.jpg

American Colonialism began in 1898 and officially ended in 1946. However, American pop culture heavily influenced Filipino pop culture. 

One of the most notable groups of this time period was The Rocky Fellers. The Rocky Fellers was a quintet composed of four Filipino brothers and their father. They rose to fame in 1963 and had one hit single, “Killer Joe,” which managed to reach No.6 in America. The song definitely has American influences. Hear the song below!

American rock and pop continued to dominate the Philippine airwaves until 1973, when Joey Smith of the Juan de la Cruz band started using Tagalog lyrics. Thus began the genre, Pinoy Rock.

Pinoy rock was still very much western sounding. The music itself was influenced by American rock and pop, however the lyrics were in Tagalog and spoke of Filipino life. This was considered revolutionary because most of the songs played at the time were all sung in English.

Juan de la Cruz Band’s 2nd Album, Himig Natin, is one of the founding albums of Pinoy Rock. Take a listen below!

Pinoy rock, like American rock, has branched into different types of categories such as alternative, punk, heavy metal, etc. However, these subgenres developed at a later date. Watch out for next week’s post to hear what Filipino music sounds like today!

Sources:
Fernandez, Doreen G. “Mass Culture and Cultural Policy: The Philippine Experience”. Philippine Studies 37.4 (1989): 488–502. Web.

Fernandez, Doreen G. “Philippine Popular Culture: Dimensions and Directions the State of Research in Philippine Popular Culture”. Philippine Studies 29.1 (1981): 26–44. Web.

“The Rocky Fellers.” All Music. Complex Music. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

One of the most distinct Filipino traditions today is Harana, which when translated means song. It is a traditional form of courtship typically done at night that was popular during this time period. A man would woo the woman of his interest by usually playing a guitar and singing under her window. However, if the man could not sing himself, he could always hire professional haranaistas to sing for him. Though this was popular in its day, modern music and courtship has started to leave the practice of Harana in the past. 

Befitting of the time period, Harana music was a combination of Spanish style melodies and Tagalog poetry. The soundcloud link below shows perfect examples of harana.  

https://soundcloud.com/florantea/sets/florante-aguilar-introducing

If you want to know more about Harana, Florante Aguilar’s documentary, Harana, searches for the last remaining haranaistas in the Philippines.  

Source

Welcome to our blog! This week’s posts will center around the arts of pre-colonial Philippines, before the arrival of the Spaniards. The time period will roughly cover the years before 1565. We hope you learn something new about our indigenous roots!

In general, art has been a tool to communicate to a larger audience. After the Philippines gained its independence, the country was considered underdeveloped with high amounts of poverty, even though cities such as Manila seemed to strive, from the perspective of an outsider. Street art was used to promote critical thinking among its viewers and question the system in which they were living.