Introduction

The Philippines Before the Coming of the Spaniards

The Philippines is an archipelago comprising of more than 7,000 islands and islets from

north to south of the land with three big islands namely Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. According

to Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department in its book entitled A Pronouncing Gazetteer and

Geographical Dictionary of the Philippine Island that the Philippines was formed because of

volcanic eruptions and earthquakes coming from the earth surface. The different kinds of

geographical areas like volcanoes, coastlines, river systems, mountain ranges were formed because

of environmental changes and catastrophes.

The climate in the Philippines is probably tropical because its location is near in the

equator. The geographical setting of the Philippines has a great impact in the development of the

early Philippine society. The environmental changes impacted directly in negative and positive

results in the geography and topography of the Philippines.

The origin of the early Filipinos has many theories and researches of several scholars.

According to Henry Otley Beyer in his theory the Wave Migration Theory, our early ancestors

came to the islands first via land bridges which would occur during times when the sea level was

low. Otley Beyer believed that the first inhabitants of the Philippines were the dawnmen (or

“cavemen” because they lived in caves), followed by Negritos, Indonesians, and lastly Malays.

(Beyer, 1916). The early people from different parts of Southeast Asia settled in the Philippines to

avoid the dangerous conditions brought by the environmental disasters. On the other hand, contrary

to Wave Migration Theory, F. Landa Jocano states in his theory the Core Population Theory that

the early inhabitants of Southeast Asia were once of the same ethnic minority with similar culture
and tradition, but eventually through a gradual procedure driven by environmental factors

differentiated themselves from one another. (Jocano, 1975) These theories explain a lot in tracing

the origin of the early Filipinos, even though there are speculations about the origin of the Filipinos

still it is beneficial for us to know the anthropological genesis of our early Filipino races.

The early Filipinos got their ideas on various economic activities to supply the needs of

their community. According to Teodoro Agoncillo in his book entitled History of the Filipino

People, that agriculture was the main source of livelihood of the early Filipinos. The early Filipinos

cultivated different crops like rice, coconuts, sugar cane, vegetables, and other fundamental food.

The pre-colonial Filipinos had other economic activities aside from agricultural settings such as

poultry, stock-raising, fishing, mining, shipbuilding and weaving. (Agoncillo, 1990). The

economic life during the precolonial days was not much different at this present day. The

significant change is in the speed of the lifestyle: the precolonial period was characterized by less

economic and social pressure than it is today.

Every group of people have their own perspective on how to manage their community by

political power and laws. The early Filipinos had a concept of village called the Barangay. It was

the unit of government in the early Philippines with 30 to 100 families. Every barangay was ruled

by a chieftain or Datu, who has a ultimate power in the legislative, executive, and judicial domains

in administering the welfare and interests of the people in the barangay. The concept of early

barangay was inherited in the Philippine society at this present time. It made the Philippines as an

organized community in which it is commonly seen today. The early Filipinos indirectly gave us

their political ideologies in governing the people with peace and prosperity in Philippine society.
 The Philippine society in the early times was divided into three classes: The nobles, the

freemen or mahadlika and the dependents or alipin. The nobles were the highest class in the early

Philippines, they consisted of the datus and their families. Next to the nobles were the freemen or

mahadlika. They were composed of free men that earned freedom in the barangay. And lastly, the

dependents or alipin. Alipin were the lowest stratum in the social classes in the early Philippines.

(Agoncillo, 1990, 35). The social stratification in the early Philippines was the basis of the social

standing of the Filipinos today. We see that there is still a discrimination of social class and position

in today's society because of the idea of social structure of the early Filipinos that we had adapted

as our social standing in the Philippines.

The Filipinos in the ancient time believed in different deities in the nature. They were

animists or the worship of nature spirits. Bathalang Maykapal was supposed to be the creator of

earth and man and therefore higher-ranking to all other deities. The different deities had their roles

to the daily life of the early Filipinos. Idiyanale as deity of agriculture, Sidapa as deity of death,

Balangaw as a rainbow deity, Mandarangan as war deity, Agni as fire deity, and other deities with

their particular purposes to the early Filipinos believers. (Agoncillo, 1990, 44). So the early

Filipinos had their own notion in religious beliefs being part of their everyday life. Religion had a

big impact in the lives of the early Filipinos like the way they make decisions and actions as

negative or positive results. They consulted with the deities through prayer and to receive guidance

in the things that they would do.

The pre-colonial Philippines was the starting point of Filipino civilization. The different

aspects of the way of life of the early Filipinos such as economic, political, social, and even

religious domains made the Philippine as the Pearl of the Orient Seas because of the glowing of

ideas of the early Filipinos in their concept of way of life. The early Filipinos gave their efforts in
developing the civilization of the Philippines. Without them, our great nation would not become

an actuality.
PRE-COLONIAL DANCES IN THE PHILIPPINES

In these modern days there are many different kinds and types of dances that have been

popularized and many traditional dances are seemingly forgotten, specially to the millennials and

youth. Ever since before the colonization of the Spaniards in the Philippines, the early Filipinos

had different kind of dances. These dances were for different kinds of rituals, like appeasing their

gods and maintaining a harmonious relationship between spirits and man. This was for their

everyday lives like a good harvest, health, prayers for peace and safety in war.

Years before the Spanish arrived in the country, indigenous people already had their own

traditional dance. It worked as a form of entertainment/ritual on occasions such as weddings,

festivals, inaugurations, as well as funerals. They had various dancing styles in different regions,

as each of the more than one hundred ethnic groups scattered on the islands of Luzon, Visayas,

and Mindanao produces their own dance that has its own significance, and it is very clear that up

to now our ancestors from different regions are still performing this traditional way.

According to the book of Agoncillo entitled “History of the Filipino People “There are a

variety of dances in the Philippines. The dances were as different as the people here are. Filipino

dances are the expression of many things. Filipino dances are categorized from a geographical

location; the social functions of dance influences and time periods. This indicates that dance was

very prevalent in our early Filipino society, because it really demonstrates how much we love our

community even without any impact from the colonizers of our land.

The art of dance is the expression of grace, love, creativity, religion, culture, spiritual

beliefs and festivities. The Filipino dances are categorized from a geographical location; the social
functions of dance influences and time periods. This means that dance was very abundant in our

early Filipino culture, because it really shows how much we value our culture.

In early times, Filipino dances were a representation of the function of society. We can

consider that the Filipino dances are unique, as they convey not only the artistry of the movement,

but these movements are often the same these movements are often associated with the function

of life, such as weddings, the imitating of certain animal movements or sounds through dance, and

even the warding off of evil spirits. This means that dance was very abundant in our early Filipino

culture, because it really shows how much we value our culture even without any influence from

the colonizers of our country.

According to Reynaldo G. Alejandro in his book “Philippine Dances”, rural dances include

favorites such as the high-stepping Tinikling, which imitates a bird, and the Gaway-Gaway, a

harvest dance that celebrates the bountiful harvest of the gaway--a plant of the taro family that is

grown both for the vegetable and its roots. The pagan tribes, the Higaonon, Subanon, Bagogo and

others who have lived for thousands of years in the Philippines, preserved our customs and

symbolic dances.

There are different examples of different dances that our ancestors practiced, here are some

examples of dances from different locations in the Philippines: Manmanok (bago) -a courtship

dance that dramatizes three Bago Tribe roosters vying against each other to get the attention of a

hen. By using blankets that depict their feathers and wings, they try to attract her.

Another kind of dance is Burung Talo (Tausug), a dance in the form of martial arts. The

performers depict a battle between a hawk and a cat. This unique style of dance is accompanied
by lively gong and drum beats as performers do acrobatic movements. The classification of burung

talo dance is as imitated animals and self-defense dance.

Last example of a dance is a Kadal Tahaw (Sebu Lake). Kadal Tahaw originated in Lake

Sebu, South Cotabato. This dance is performed by the T'boli during planting and harvesting which

shows the flights and hops of the tahaw bird. It is a story about a flock of sister birds left to look

for food and ended up losing themselves. During the journey, one of the sisters hurt her leg and

was unable to fly. With the flock at her side, motivating her and supporting her, she was able to

fly again and they were able to get home safely.

Early Filipinos have their own way depiction of dances, where we can see the purpose of

their dance based on their lives, worship, thanksgiving, and many more that represents their

everyday lives. The early Filipinos have been rich in culture and life since then, without or with

the influences of the colonizers of the Philippines. The Filipino has its own foundation in its own

country, based on their dance, beliefs, and practices. Until now, some of the Filipino folk-dances

shows have been held at festivals from the last century.

The history of dancing in the Philippines is a long and rich story that shows how intertwined

the dances were with daily life and important events. This culture is a great representation of our

diverse, colorful and rich culture. Somehow, Filipinos made a good preservation these activities

by imparting it from generation to generation. Through shows and festivals, we can still feel and

see a glimpse of the richness of our culture.

Everyone has their own taste when it comes to music and on how they use it. We all know

that music is also considered as part of the culture because music plays a huge role in the society.

Traditions, way of life, expression are depicted through music. Music defines a social group. Social

groups get to know themselves as a group through cultural activities, and music is one of the keys

for them to have their own cultural identity.

Philippines, known as the home of great singers, made people presume it has a rich musical

culture. Variation of genres and forms came into place of music. We can’t hide the reality that

Filipinos love to listen to music. Walk on the streets. You see people humming, singing while

walking and nodding their heads while earphones jacked in their ears. Filipinos love music so

much that they still sing even while taking a bath.

But have we ever thought of where did it all started? Did the Philippines have its own form

of music before the colonizers came? How rich and functional music was in pre-colonial

Philippines? What instruments were they using? And how did they incorporate their music with

their way of living?

According to the (Encyclopedia of Philippine Art: Music Second Edition v.7, 2017), Page

3, before the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines on 1521, indigenous people had their own music

and musical instrument. These were influenced by the trade relations of other races like Malays,

Indonesians, Arabs, Chinese, Indo-Chinese, Japanese and Hindus or also known as the old Asians.

The fact that the indigenous people were the closest to nature, their instruments were made by

bamboo, shell, wood, skin, vine, hair and other materials that can be found in their nature.

Indigenous people’s flute, pipes and panpipes were made by wooden or bamboo, while their Gongs
or Gangsa were made by metal. This gave us insight on how indigenous people gave importance

the things around them. They could make use of anything around them and use them for their

activities. Instruments made of wood, metals and other natural resources were made by the

innovation of early people.

There were a lot of functions of music in the pre-colonial Philippines. They used it for

rituals relating to their gods or godesses and heroes. They used music a way to worship and please

their gods. Ilokano has dal-lot, it is Ilokano ballad song that narrates the exploits of their legendary

hero Lam-Ang, from the epic poem Biag ni Lam-ang. (Agoncillo 1990).

Corazon Canave-Dioquino, musicologist, is a professor at the University of the Philippines,

College of Music where she has taught for the past 42 years. She is actively involved in the

collection and archiving of musical Filipiniana at the UP Center for Ethnomusicology at Diliman,

Quezon City. She stated in her article in National Commission for Culture and Arts entitled

Philippine Music, A Historical Overview: that early Filipinos used to dance in music as a form of

prayer to a god for them to have a good harvest. Same way as they did when they had a great

harvest, they offer this kind of ritual as an offering to the god they prayed to. And in Agusan, they

had a harvest song called tudob.

Ritual songs were sang for the occasions: marriage, birth, victory, songs for the dead

people, courting and many more festive occasions. Singing ritual songs were believed to drive

away bad spirits and invite the good spirits.

Indigenous people or the early Filipinos were really rich when it comes to culture. Some

of the indigenous people like the Igorots and Aetas are still using some of the ritual songs. It

became a part of their culture. According to the book CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art: Music,
indigenous people had their epic songs, life cycle songs in connection with events abound all the

groups. Examples of the ritual songs in the pre-colonial are: song for the first bath for children;

chants during the Subanon circumcision; Khundit-it, a song for curing sick people; and a chant for

the Egam Ritual, which celebrates the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood.

Music that time was more on recitative and the melody incorporated with their practice of

music was really amazing: for it includes their customs, traditions, love for their culture and the

indigenous people’s aspirations. The early Filipinos made the Philippine music rich in culture and

sentimental in ways they formed a music in regards with their lifestyle.

Long before the Spaniards arrived in the country, early Filipinos people have already

possessed their own native music along with their own musical instruments. Musical instruments

vary among regions, as each of the more than a hundred ethnic groups scattered in the islands of

Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao produces its own instruments.

Traditional music is accompanied by musical instruments like string, wind, and percussion,

which are typically made of bamboo, wood, or metal. Flutes, pipes, and panpipes are wooden or

bamboo-finished products, while gongs or gangsa are constructed from metal.

Among the most common traditional music instruments used are kudyapi, kulintang,

gimbal, kubing, and tongali. Kudyapi is a two-stringed lute (guitar like instrument) native to the

Lumads in Mindanao. It is made out of wood and used by the Manobo, T’boli, Maguindanao, and

Maranao.

Musical instruments played a role in courting a lady by a young man by playing the nose-

flute in serenading his lady he loved. Before the Spaniards came, Philippines had its own love song

or also known as courting/courtship song called Kundiman. Igorots also have their serenade song
that called ayegklu and lastly the Tanggian’s wine song called Kuilaykuilay. (Agoncillo 1990). The

kaleleng and the diwdiw-as, both wind instruments made of bamboo reed, were used by the

Tanguians as instruments in courtship.

Kubing, a type of bamboo jew’s harp, is used for courtship or when trying to convey a

message to one’s family and loved ones. It is placed between the lips and produces various sounds

when its bamboo tongue is plucked. It is known as barmbaw in the northern part of the Philippines.

Antonio Hila, a professor at DLSU Manila, wrote on his essay "Indigenous Music - Tuklas Sining:

Essays on the Philippine Arts", jews’s harp like instruments were widespread and varied from

north to south. Some are the examples: kobing (Maranao), kolibau (Tingguian), aru-ding

(Tagbanwa), and aroding (Palawan).

Brass gongs were used not just for occasions but it is also used to drive out an evil spirit

from the sick man during pre-colonial. In early times, people believed that sick man maybe caused

not just by a disease but by the bad spirits in them. Kudyapi, a stringed instrument, was used by

the Visayans and Ilocanos in feasts and in spirit and nature worship.

Music that is native to Philippines should be preserved because it was made by years of

passing from tongue to tongue. Conservation of the Philippines’ traditional music and instruments

is essential for the succeeding generations, as it is a proof of our beautiful culture and traditions

and it is important to point out that we had our own way of entertainment before colonization. This

crucial part of history is often overlooked. Understanding how diverse our culture has become and

how it quickly evolved because of the conquerors is our role for us to appreciate our own arts that

will bring fire to our sense of patriotism.