Culture: Arts and Music

Cuyonons use various traditional musical instruments made from the gifts of nature. “Tipanos” or bamboo flutes provide the “primera” or melody, the “segunda” or the alto and the “bajo” or the bass of the song. The “redoblante” or snare drums and the “tambor” or bass drum provide the beat. A “batingting” is sometimes used as an accompaniment.

The variety of Cuyonon songs is as endless as the sea. Occupational songs such as “Manig Pangisda,” “Cuyo Balitaw” and “Layang Pasiak” are played during special celebrations. Simple folksongs are handed from generation to generation and taught to children. Love songs such as “Ploning” and “Daragang Taga Cuyo” are sung during courtship. Finally, religious songs fill the air with inspiration and solemnity during Flores de Mayo, the Pasion and Lent.

Dances

Like their music, Cuyonon dances have a lot of variety. Most of the dances are influenced by either native or Spanish performances. Spanish dances include the “Pastores” or the Christmas Dance of the Shepherds, the “Chotis” derived from the German Schothische, the “Lances de Cuyo” or local French guadrille , the “Birginia” or the Virginia reel, the “Paraguanen” which is a romantic comic duet and the “La jota paragua” which is a Castillian type jota.

“Pinundo-pondo” is perhaps the most popular native Cuyo dance. Performed during weddings, it is a stylish wedding dance marked by sudden pauses and divided into two distinct parts. The first part features solo dances of the bride and groom. The second part, called a suring, is a love play between the newly wed couple.

Other exotic native dances include the “Ati-ati sa Bukid” and “Lancero,” old tribal dances done during moonlit nights to while away the time while fetching water from the village well.

For the Tagbanuas, rice is a gift considered to be divine. In fact, the shifting and cultivation of upland rice to the lowland plains are considered to be part of their cultural and economic practices. Aside from being a staple food, rice is also fermented to make rice wine, similar to Japanese sake. The strong tasting wine is then drunk as part of the Pagdiwata, or rice wine ritual. The Pagdiwata is performed to thank and ask invisible deities of nature for a bountiful harvest. Tagbanuas are among the oldest of Philippine tribes.

Historians and anthropologists believe that they are descendants of the Tabon Caves inhabitants, the original settlers of the Philippines.

Music

The various musical instruments that make Tagbuana music are usually various types of agung ensembles. Thus, their music is quite percussive, a common style among tribes. Typically, Tagbanuans use the “agong,” “babandil” and the “gimbal.” The “agong” looks similar to a gong with a fist sized node at the center.

The “babandil” is a smaller cousin of the “agong.” The “gimbal” acts as a wooden snare drum that provides the beat of the music. Usually, these instruments serve as accompaniments for the “oiman” or ballad and the “dagoy” or love songs.

Dances

Tagbanuas dances or “kendars” are usually interpretative, imitating the work done in rice fields. Every harvest season, they perform the “Pagdiwata.” This religious dance is offered as a thanksgiving for a good harvest. Usually, the dance is held in December, during the full moon, and is headed by the chief or the barangay captain.

Bataks are hunters and farmers since time immemorial. They are adept at seeding food plants and trading. In fact, they have had trading relations with Chinese merchants as early as 500 AD. Those living in less fertile areas develop and sell non-timber forest products, rattan, tree raisins and honey.

The Bataks’ farming and collection methods are so effective that conservationists have adapted these ways on re-forestation and re-farming, rather than use techniques by commercial concessionaires.

Hunting, of course, has always been important to the Bataks. For them, this ancient activity has both economic and spiritual value. Believing that spirits reside in nature, they show great respect to the land. Bataks regularly make offerings, sing songs and perform dances to honor these spirits. Meanwhile, the Shaman undergoes a ritual in order to communicate with the spirits and heal the sick.

Bataks tend to marry neighboring groups other than their own.

Music

Batak music boasts of simplicity. The main instrument, called a batongtong, comprises of a piece of bamboo one and a half meters long and tied in both ends by a string. While the women play the tune, the men dance. Influences from other tribes allow them to play gimbal or babandil for the beat.

Batak songs, such as “Adidao” are simple and enchanting. These songs are dedicated to honor the “diwatas” or “anitos” which are their ancestral spirits.