strings that bind, rhythm that defines

Volume XX • Number 6 • November-December 2017 • For Artists and Cultural Workers • ISSN 0119-5948

Official Newsletter of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts

Strings that bind, Rhythm that defines

Volume XX, Number 6 November-December 2017ISSN 0119-5948

The agung is a knobbed metal gong of the Philippines used in various communal rituals. Suspended in the air by rope or metal chains, the musical instrument is also employed by some indigenous groups as a means to announce community events, and as an indicator of the passage of time.

Agung is published bimonthly by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

The different boat-shaped lutes of different ethnic groups in Palawan and Mindanao

VIRGILIO S. ALMARIOchairman

RICO S. PABLEO, JR.executive director

MARICHU G. TELLANOdeputy executive director

Rene Sanchez Napeñaseditor-in-chief

Roel Hoang Maniponmanaging editor

Mervin Concepcion Vergara art director

Marne L. Kilatesconsultant

Leihdee Anne CabreraMay Corre TuazonRoezielle Joy IglesiaChristine Sarah SyArcie MillareHarvey James G. CastilloRamil Adrian Fariñaspublic affairs and information section staff

Faith L. Yangyangphotographer

About the cover

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts

As the government arm for culture and the arts, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is the overall

policy-making, coordinating, and grants-giving agency for the preservation, development and promotion of Philippine arts

and culture; and executing agency for the policies it formulates; and an agency tasked to administer the National Endowment

Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA). The NCCA traces its roots to the Presidential Commission for Culture and the Arts (PCCA), which was created when President Corazon Aquino

signed Executive Order No. 118 on January 30, 1987, “mindful of the fact that there is a need for a national body to articulate a national policy on culture, to conserve and promote national heritage, and to guarantee a climate of freedom, support and dissemination for all forms of artistic and cultural expression.”

On April 3, 1992, President Aquino signed Republic Act No. 7356 creating the NCCA and establishing the NEFCA, a result of over two years of legislative consultations among government and private sector representatives. The bill was sponsored by

senators Edgardo J. Angara, Leticia Ramos-Shahani, Heherson T. Alvarez and congressman Carlos Padilla.

The NCCA Secretariat, headed by the executive director and headquartered at the historic district of Intramuros, provides

administrative and technical support to the NCCA and other units, and delivers assistance to the

culture and arts community and the public.

Communities in socio-cultural environments possess an identity based on their language, race, cultural practices, religion, social mores, ideology and behavioural conduct. While a country exists with a national image in terms of

heritage and governance, it is made up of different socio-cultural communities that enrich its uniqueness, its history and its dynamic existence. This brief discourse shall focus on the small cultural communities that provide the deeply rooted distinctions to a national polity in terms of one of the most overt material emblems of their cultures—the musical instruments, their functions both musically and extra-musically, and their distinctions yet relatedness to the larger Southeast Asian expressive community.

The Philippines is one country where multiculturalism exists. Among its 90-million population, there are more than 170 ethno-linguistics groups that are scattered in the 7,100-island archipelago. These 170 ethno-linguistics groups can be grouped together into five to six cultural communities that are characterized by topographic location, religion and historico-cultural affinities.

In the north of Luzon, there are the Cordillera Mountain communities which are quite related to aborigines in Taiwan and southwest China. In Mindanao, the upland groups called lumad comprise another cluster, separate from the Islamic communities that may still be divided into those on the island of Borneo as well as the Indonesian and Malaysian peoples. The mid-west islands of Palawan and Mindoro have their own distinct culture. And then there are the Christian folk communities as against the urban residents that comprise the largest population in the entire country.

The musical instruments are a distinctive material culture of the traditional communities in that these play an important role in the social life of the people, both in their physical and metaphysical dimensions.

In Philippine indigenous groups, just like other cultural traditions in Southeast Asia, gongs and bamboo are the predominant materials in the manufacture of the most valued instruments, which are used for different purposes, such as communication with the spirit world, rituals, music making that mark the different life cycle and occupational events, as well as public or personal entertainment.

The use of gongs is an integral part in the lives of the people in the Southeast Asian region. In the Philippines, one will find gongs in both the highland as well as the Islamic cultures of the Philippines. Ownership of the gongs is a sign of prestige and its high value is manifested when it is given as dowry in a marriage contract. In the olden times, the gongs were used only for sacred rites and communication with the spirits. It was also played in order to transmit messages in far off places. Thus, in the gong culture, gongs are non-tempered and pitches are not as important as the sound, power and resonance of the instruments, since their use is related to the metaphysical nature of man, his physical environment and the entire universe.

On the other hand, other instruments made of bamboo, wood and strings have a different purpose, and that is to communicate with fellow human beings. Thus, there are scales and intervals between tones, which would correspond to linguistic norms in human message transmission.

In the Cordilleras, all the communities use the flat gong, which during ancient times must have come from China and Vietnam. While the flat gongs are only found in the Cordilleras of Northern Luzon, the different communities play it in a variety of ways. Among the Kalinga, Bontoc and Tingguian, the flat gongs are played by six persons in an interlocking manner. There are two styles of performance, one called toppaya is when the gongs are played with bare hands as they lay on their laps and attached to

in the PhilippinesBy Dr. Ramon P. Santos

MusicalInstrumentsas Emblems

in the Socio-CulturalCommunities

NOSE FLUTES OF THE CORDILLERAS: TONGALI and KALELENGThe nose flute is a common instrument in the Cordilleras. It is called tongali among the Kalinga; kaleleng among the Bontok; kulasing among the Ibaloi; bali-ing among the Isneg; and ungiyong among the Ifugao. The nose flute from the Cordilleras is a long bamboo tube with three finger holes, and is played by blowing through a small hole with the nose. The tongali is the most favored of the four types of blowing ends and is best cared for by its owner. Its music is played for courting and for entertaining one’s self especially during night time. One can study this music instrument as it is still actively taught in the University of the Philippines’ College of Music /Photos from the exhibit “Philippine Traditional Music Instruments from the Collections of Lucrecia R. Kasilag and Ramon P. Santos, National Artists for Music” of the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc.

their belts, while another style is beating the gongs with sticks, as they are held by the left hand, and this is called palook. The gongs are played either with dancers or the players themselves dance to their playing as in the palook or pattung style.

The Ifugao play at least three flat gongs in different ways, one is sounded with fists, while the two are beaten with sticks. The Ibaloi have only two flat gongs called kalsa and pinsak and they are played with two drums called sulibao and kimbal.

The gongs in Palawan and Mindanao are all bossed, but having different sizes. The most common bossed instrument is the kulintang, five to thirteen, but in most cases eight, gongs that are laid in a row and serves as the melody bearer in Islamic ensembles consisting of deep-rimmed gong called agung, shallow rimmed gongs called gandingan, and medium size gong called babandir. They are usually reinforced by a drum called dabakan. In the archipelagic Islamic communities, there are three large suspended gongs called bua, tamuk and pulakan.

The eastern part of Mindanao Island is the home of different mountain communities surrounding the highest peak in the Philippines, Mount Apo. They also practice agriculture. Among the lumad or highland indigenous peoples, the kulintang is played by at least two persons, one on the drone gong and the other on the upper gongs called tagungguan. The tagungguan player at times leaves the instrument and dances. The same is done when the gongs are large agungs numbering from five to nine pieces with one large drone gong called bandilan.

One of the main characteristics in gong playing is the communal nature of the music. Just like its counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the gongs are usually played in an ensemble. In the southwestern part of Mindanao Island which is predominantly populated by Muslim communities, their musical expression shows kinship with both the Hindu-Malay traditions as well as the Arab cultures. The principal musical instrument is the kulintang, a set of small, bossed gongs laid in a row on a wooden frame. As the principal melody instrument, it is supported by other bossed gongs like the agung, a large deep-rimmed gong, the babandir, a medium size bossed gong, and the gandingan, a set of four narrow-rimmed gongs that is characteristic of the Maguindanao kulintang ensemble. The only non-gong instrument is the dabakan or dubakan, a goblet-shaped drum that plays

the main rhythmic mode of the entire group.Among the upland peoples like the

Bagobo, Blaan and the Manobo, the agung is a principal melody-drone instrument which is hung from a frame, with a number of agung ranging from five to eleven gongs. It is played by at least two people, one playing the drone and the other playing the melody. Sometimes, the players also dance, exchanging beaters with other musicians.

The other material used as instruments is the bamboo. There are different types of bamboo instruments. In the north, the instruments are mostly made up of bamboo—various types of flutes and tube whistles, zithers (polychordal and half-tube), buzzers, scrapers, and other types of idiophones. Among the Kalinga alone, there are some nine different instruments that are made of bamboo, such as the tongali (nose flute), paldong (lip-valley flute) kolibit (polychordal zither), tambi (parallel zither), tongatong (stomping tube), patang-ug (quil-shaped bamboo tube), balingbing (bamboo buzzer), saggeypo (stopped pipe), and kubing (jews harp).

In other cultural groups in the south, there is the bamboo gabbang (xylophone), the gandang (cracked bamboo drum), and the serong aganding (bamboo zither with flap). These instruments fulfil different roles in community life, such as courtship, driving away evil spirits, and for entertainment.

In the aerophone family, there are five basic mouthpieces or embouchures or their blowing ends that typify all the traditional flutes in the Philippines, and these are (1) the nose flute, (2) the ring flute, (3) the lip-valley or notched flute, (4) the whistle flute, and (5) the chip-on-ledge flute. They also vary according to the bamboo that is used to make them.

Nose flutes are prevalent among the Cordillera mountain groups as well as in the Central West islands of Mindoro and Palawan. In the Cordilleras, different groups have their versions of the nose flute. Among the Isneg, it is called bali-ing, and several names for the Kalinga like enonggol or inonggol, innung-ngor, tongali or tongale. Among the Kankana-ey and the Bontok, it is kalaleng or kaleleng and kurareng. Among the Ifugao, it is ungiyung. The nose flutes vary in sizes, from a foot-long to two feet. It is used for courtship as well as self-entertainment especially at night time.

The second type of flute is the suling, or the ring flute, so called because of the rattan ring that half covers the mouthpiece of the instrument.

The third type is the lip-valley flute. It

SULIBAOSulibao is a conical drum common in the Cordilleras, specifically among the Ibaloi of Benguet. Strikingly,

some are long- and narrow-shaped. Sulibao is a longitudinal, lightly barrel shaped, hallowed-out logs with deer skin on one end. The sulibao

accompanies the Ibaloi flat gong ensemble with another conical drum called kimbal. /Photo from the

exhibit “Philippine Traditional Music Instruments from the Collections of Lucrecia R. Kasilag and

Ramon P. Santos, National Artists for Music” of the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc.

4 Agung • Number 6 • November-December 2017

is also called the notched flute because of the shape of the blowing end. The Manobo has the palendag, a long lip-valley flute with four finger holes, the first and the last finger holes are twice as large as the distance between the second and third finger holes. The palendag’s total length can sometimes be three feet long. The Kalinga on the other hand, has the paldong which is shorter than the Mindanao upland type.

Another instrument that is made of bamboo is the gabbang, a xylophone that is found in the Sulu archipelago. The Tausug and the Yakan of Basilan are the cultural communities where the gabbang is played. The Tausug gabbang has about thirteen blades and is usually played with biyula or violin. The Yakan gabbang which is portrayed in the exhibit is played solo or with the ensemble. Another main feature of the Yakan gabbang is that it has only five blades, but the playing is quite intricate in that it is based on nuclear figures called the lebad, or short melodic motifs. These motifs may be likened to words which can

have meaning when stringed together in a rendition.

The Mindanao communities, on the other hand, have the different two-string lute types. Sometimes, it is shaped like a boat, or sometimes like a lizard or even crocodile. Among the highland peoples, the most famous is the kudlung, in which the two strings function as one, a drone and the other the melodic carrier. The different cultural communities such as the Tboli, Blaan, Manobo, Ata, Bagobo Monobo, Mansaka, Mandaya, and the Tiruray have each a version of the kudlung, or hagelong, or hegelong, or the fegrong of the Tiruray. Among the Manobo, the kudlung is played together with the sauroy or sludoy, a polychordal zither, by a pair of a man and a woman. What is unique about this performance is that both of them also dance and the woman sings a narrative story.

Among the Maguindanao and the Maranao, the version of the two-string lute is called the kudyapi or kutyapiq. It is usually played solo by a master artist

Dr. Ramon Pagayon Santos, composer, conductor and musicologist, is a National Artist for music. He is currently the coutnry’s foremost exponent of contemporary Filipino music. A prime figure in the second generation of Filipino composers in the modern idiom, Santos has contributed greatly to the quest for new directions in music, taking as basis non-Western traditions in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He is the chair of the Department of Composition and Theory at the College of Music of the University of the Philippines.

This paper is to be delivered by Dr. Santos during the opening of the exhibit, “Philippine Traditional Musical Instruments,” on May 10, 2018, at the Embassy of the Philippines in Tokyo, Japan. In partnership with the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc., the exhibit will run until May 31, 2018.

who belongs to the entourage of a datu or sultan. The music consists of the different modes used in kulintang music, and is also a discursive instrument, which means it can send out messages and tells stories, through improvisation and variations.

These then are the instruments from the cultural heritage of each and every country in Southeast Asia. While they do have similarities in form, their materials and shape vary according to the evolution and historical development of each and every culture in terms of aesthetics, in function, and in the social contexts wherein these instruments provide the metaphysical dimension in human expression. Through the movements of people who engaged in trade, in war, and in other forms of a dynamic exchange of peoples in the region, these emblems continue to provide identities to individual societies, at the same time, enriching the whole sound environment in its diverse variety of imagination and creativity in the lives of communities in Southeast Asia.

SULINGThe suling is a ring flute, and is called as such because a rattan ring acts as the flute’s mouthpiece. Among the Maguindanao flutes, the suling is the only one classified

as a ring flute and the smallest bamboo flute of the Maguindanao. /Photo from the exhibit “Philippine Traditional Music Instruments from the Collections of Lucrecia R. Kasilag and Ramon P. Santos, National Artists for Music” of the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc.

SLUDOY/TOGOThe tube zither is a whole internode of bamboo with six strings cut free from the body itself. Strings are lifted up with two small bamboo pegs for each string. In Mindanao, it is sludoy among the Tboli people, and togo among the Teduray people. It is played in upright position held by two hands. The strings are plucked by the fingertips and its music is usually heard during festive occasions like wedding. /Photo from the exhibit “Philippine Traditional Music Instruments from the Collections of Lucrecia R. Kasilag and

Ramon P. Santos, National Artists for Music” of the Filipino Heritage Festival, Inc.

November-December 2017 • Number 6 • Agung 5

TRADITIONALMUSICAL

INSTRUMENTSOF THE

PHILIPPINESFROM THE COLLECTIONS OF NATIONAL ARTISTS LUCRECIA R. KASILAG AND RAMON P. SANTOS

Music has been a catalyst of connecting Filipino communities together, and has existed for several thousands of years. Even among the earliest ancestors, the Tagbanwa of Palawan, chanting and gong-playing are practiced in solemnity for their religious

rituals. These musical instruments evolved over long periods of time, overlapping among ethnic groups of the North and South, creating several varieties of instruments that

possess parallel characteristics with deviations in names. Interactions with Western music reached Philippines shores and exposed Filipinos

to music that is structured, methodical, and theoretical. Ushering a new wave of music—varying in composition and sound—rouses a fusion of the traditional and the

contemporary. This can be observed through the works of National Artists Lucrecia Kasilag and Ramon Santos. The sense of national identity is strongly infused in these

compositions and further weaves itself with contemporary musicality. The international acclaim of Kasilag and Santos roused new directions in music in the modern century.

Comprising the National Artists paraphernalia are their audio recordings and collection of indigenous instruments, this exhibition celebrates Kasilag and Santos’

trajectory to the avant-garde and expressionist thought in music.

This article is culled from the photograph exhibit “Philippine Traditional Musical Instruments from the Collections of Lucrecia R. Kasilag and Ramon P. Santos, National Artists for Music” of the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. (FHFI). The featured items are from the collections of Kasilag, which is housed at the Philippine Women’s University’s School of Music, and of Santos, loaned to FHFI to be photographed by Cinematic Studios and displayed for the exhibit, which travels around the country, especially during May for the celebration of National Heritage Month.

[ ]

AG

UN

G

The agung is a large, deep-rimmed gong that is suspended from a frame. Because of its size, low and loud sound comes from it when struck by a padded mallet. In southern

Philippines, the sound of the agung marks the time of the day, signals the village people in case of emergency, and announces the death of a datu. The Maguindanao people also believe that the sound of the agung posseses supernatural power. Agungs are played in

pairs to accompany the kulintangan ensemble during festive occasions such as weddings.

]

KU

LIN

TA

NG The kulintang is an instrument consisting of eight graduated

gongs laid horizontally in a row on a wooden rack and is played by striking the bosses of the gongs with two

wooden beaters. The kulintang frame is a necessary part of the instrument and functions as a resonator. It is known as an antangan by the Maguindanao and langkonga by the Meranaw. The main purpose of the kulintang music in the

community is to function as social entertainment. The music is unique that is considered a public music.

Gabbang is popular among the Samal people and has reached the farthest islands of Sulu. A miniature xylophone also called gabbang of the Yakan people of Basilan has only five keys. The Tausug gabbang is an important instrument that accompanies secular songs for the entertainment of guests in weddings

and anniversaries. The gabbang’s resonator is a box- shaped in trapezoid. Generally, it has 17 to 19 keys.

GA

BB

AN

G

GA

ND

ING

AN

Gandingan is a set of four large, hanging, knobbed gongs with narrow rims and less prominent bosses. The gandingan is usually played while standing behind the

instrument. The mallets, called balu, are used to strike the knobs to achieve the sound. Used by the Maguindanao as part of their kulintang ensemble, it functions as a secondary melodic instrument. When played solo, the gandingan’s ability to imitate

tones of the Maguindanao language has given its connotation—“talking gongs.”

GA

NG

SA

Gangsa is a flat gong that is played in an ensemble of two or more gongs of varying sizes. In Kalinga, the gangsa is played in a group of six. Each player strikes the surface of the gong with a beater (pattung style) or with their bare palms (topayya stye) in an interlocking manner that creates a resultant melody. Its music usually accompanies

dances in festive gatherings such as peace pacts and weddings. A set of flat gongs is the most valuable instrument in the Cordillera region. It is a traditional signifier of wealth

among the rich class. The flat gongs are made of bronze, brass, and iron.

DA

BA

KA

N

Dabakan is a conical drum among the Maguindanao and the Meranaw. It is a single-headed, goblet-shaped drum with animal hide stretched on top. Its skin may come

from a goat, lizard, or snake. It is struck with two thin bamboo sticks that produce high pitched sounds. Used by the Meranaw and Maguindanao in their kulintang ensembles,

the dabakan accompanies the kulintangan with its rhythmic patterns. During a performance, the position of the dabakan is to the right of the kulintang player, near the end of its frame. Traditionally, it is considered as a masculine instrument by the

Meranaw but a feminine instrument by the Maguindanao.

LIBB

ITUsed by the Ifugao, the libbit is a single-headed conical-shaped drum with a deer- or goat-skin head. The drum is

played with the hands. The libbit is generally used in rituals within the agricultural cycle.

BA

ND

UR

RIA

GITGIT

The bandurria is a stringed musical instrument of the lute family that is pear-shaped with a rounded back,

rounded sound hole and a short fretted neck. It is the principal instrument of the

Philippine Rondalla Ensemble.

FEG

AR

ON

G

GITGIT

Gitgit is a bowed instrument of the Mangyan people of Mindoro. The three-stringed fiddle is relatively

small that a player vertically plays it in standing or sitting position. The music of the gitgit is an expression of consoling one’s self in times of loneliness or love for someone. It

can also put a child to sleep or as an entertainment in social gatherings. It is also played to accompany the sung poetry among the Mangyan known

as the ambahan.

Used by the Tiruray people, the fegarong is a two-stringed lute with 5 to 11 frets. This

instrument is used for courtship and

entertainment. Part of the repertoire of the

fegarong are the musical pieces laminggang and

makigidawgidaw.

KU

DLO

NG

The kudlong is a two-stringed lute that is boat-shaped with wooden tightening rods and frets made of beeswax. One string plays a drone and the other string plays a melody.

The body is also carved to represent a mythical animal with two heads of either a naga (serpent), crocodile, or the sarimanok. The kudlong is distributed among the southern Mindanao groups—the Tboli, Blaan, Manobo, Ata, Bagobo Manobo, Mansaka, and Mandaya. Among the Ata people of southern Mindanao, the long-neck kudlung is usually played by a man who dances with the instrument as he

follows the footsteps of a woman playing and dancing with a polychordal zither called saluray.

KU

DY

AP

I

The kudyapi is a lute with eight frets and two strings—one used for making the melody and one is for the drone. The instrument

predominates in the northern groups of Mindanao—the Subanen, Maguindanao, Meranaw, Higaonon, and the Agusan

Manobo. Among the Maguindanao, the two-string kudyapiq is played as a solo instrument by musicians associated with

the entourage of a datu or sultan. The kudyapi is a respected instrument among the Meranaw. The Meranaw kudyapiq is especially distinguished because of its ornate designs, and like the Meranaw wooden carvings, it could be identified as

different from other Mindanao lutes.

PA

TA

TA

G

KUBINGPALDONG

Patatag derived its name from pateteg, an Ilocano term for one of the indigenous musical instruments in the Philippines, the bamboo xylophone. Patatag is also known as patteteg among the Kalinga people. The group of bamboo blades is meant to sound

like a xylophone and is played by striking the blades with bamboo sticks. It has six blades in graduated sizes, played separately by six players. Ringing and dampened

tones are very important in the interlock method to create the resultant melody.

The lip-valley flute has a mouthpiece that is made to follow the shape of the player’s lips. Lip-valley flute is made of bamboo and is also known as a notched flute because

of the shape of its blowing hole. Like in the nose flute, its melancholy sound is used to court a girl in the olden days. It can also be used to entertain one’s self. It is commonly

known as paldong among the Kalinga people.

BU

NG

KA

KA

KUBINGPALDONG

The bungkaka are bamboo tubes of different sizes that are closed at one end while the other is cut into

two blades. The bungkaka is another Kalinga bamboo instrument played

as an ensemble of six players. Its sizes are graduated, producing from low to high pitches. Slits are cut on its sides that when it is struck against the hard ulnar part of the hand, it

vibrates with a buzzing sound. Again, using the interlocking way of playing,

a resultant melody is created. In the olden days, the bungkaka was used to

drive evil spirits away.

Kubing is commonly called jaw harp or Jew’s harp. Made of bamboo, it is played in the different language groups in the country. It is a type of mouth resonated

instrument. The kubing’s middle part, called “tongue,” vibrates as the player strikes or hits the end of the kubing with his thumb. To produce the sound, the player holds the instrument horizontally with its “tongue”

put in between the player’s lips. His mouth serves as the resonator and changing

the shape of the mouth creates different tonal colors. Traditionally, the kubing is

considered an intimate instrument used for communication or is played for recreation.

DIWDIW-ASSULIBAWTA

GU

TO

K/K

AG

UL

The scraper is a whole node of bamboo with notched edges on one side. On the other

side of the bamboo is a long slit that serves as a resonator. It is called tagutok among the

Meranaw and kagul among the Maguindanao. It can be played with two sticks. One hand scrapes

the notches to and fro creating a continuous sound; and the other stick strikes certain

rhythmic patterns. It is a popular instrument in the Visayas and Mindanao, and is played to scare

birds from the rice fields.

The sulibaw is a shorter version of the sulibao. The sulibao and sulibaw are both conical drums common in Cordillera specifically among the Ibaloi of Benguet. The sulibao is a

longitudinal, lightly barrel-shaped, hallowed-out logs with deer skin on one

end, and it accompanies the Ibaloi flat gong ensemble with another conical

drum called kimbal.

DIWDIW-ASSULIBAW

TA

MB

IThe tambi is a whole node of bamboo. Its two strings are cut free from the bamboo itself with rattan rings at the end to support them. The strings are lifted by small bamboo pegs. A piece of bamboo or platform

is placed in the middle to connect both strings. A hole is bored under the platform as resonator. It

is played by striking the platform with a stick. The Kalinga people play the tambi in a group of five to six in graduated sizes, producing a series of pitches that

create a melody through interlock.

Diwdiw-as consists of small bamboo pipes of different lengths tied together, closed off, and joined at the bottom. Played by

the Kalinga and Bontok people, its music is usually heard while resting in the rice field

after work for entertainment.

Kudyapiboat lute? What’s that? In the Philippines, people usually refer to it as kudyapi. It’s a

musical instrument with two strings and a narrow resonating body that reminds of a boat or canoe. Boat lutes come in many different sizes and designs (“types”), depending on the ethnic group using them. All boat lutes are basically carved out of one solid block of wood. The resonating body is hollowed out from the back and covered with a wooden board. The frets are usually made out of pieces of wood, bamboo, coconut shell or other materials and are glued to the neck and resonating body by means of black beeswax. In most cases, the instruments are played by using a plectrum that is tied to the index or middle finger of the player.

The symbolic meaning of the instru-ments actually does not refer to boats, but to animals, namely crocodiles, monitor lizards, horses, roosters and herons, as well as to the human body and to specific parts that can be found on royal houses. In most traditions, the lutes are merely played as solo instruments; in others, they are combined with bamboo zithers.

In the Philippines, boat lutes nowadays are exclusively played on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan. There is no proof for the claim made by some scholars that boat lutes could be found all over the Philippines in former times. It is true, however, that there used to be boat lute traditions on Mindoro until around 1970, which are now extinct, as well as on islands of Panay and Samar-Leyte, during Spanish colonial times, as reported by Francisco Ignacio Alcina in 1668. Nevertheless, the term kudyapì was also used in many areas of the northern and central Philippines where it seemed to refer exclusively to small lutes with a resonating body made from half a coconut shell, equipped with four strings, that were later called “gitara.”

The origins of boat lutes lie in India. From there, certain construction features, as well the instrument’s names (most of them deriving from Sanskrit kacchapa, “turtle”), first found their way to mainland Southeast Asia where they developed into the crocodile zithers of Burma, Kampuchea and Thailand. These crocodile zithers spread to insular Southeast Asia, to Sumatra, Sulawesi, Sumba, Borneo and the Philippines where they were transformed into an impressive diversity of both, lute and zither instruments.

Published sources on the boat lutes

A of the Philippines are very rare. These instruments are often just mentioned with a few sentences that can be found in books and articles. The first kutiyapì recordings ever were made by José Maceda in 1955 and released on a double album entitled The Music of the Magindanao in the Philippines (1961). They were followed by Maceda’s Ph.D. dissertation (1963), with a chapter on the kudyapi and the first detailed description of the instrument. Much later, his famous book, Gongs and Bamboo: A Panorama of Philippine Musical Instruments (1998), included a chapter on Philippine boat lutes.

Manolete Mora studied important aspects of Tboli hegelung music, and I published a number of articles on Philippine boat lutes in general. Maceda also released record albums on the music of Kulintang and Kudyapiq (1988) and, together with Nicole Revel, on Palawan Highlands Music (1992). There are also record albums available that include performances of lute music played by the Manobo, Higaonon and Banwaon of Agusan del Sur and by the Tboli. However, no comprehensive study on Philippine boat lutes has been published, up to now. And this was to become my plan.

For Agung, I was asked to write an article on the Philippine boat lutes. I have published several scientific articles on these instruments, in the past. However, I think that such an article would be much too technical and much too long for Agung. Instead, I decided to write a report about my past experiences in conducting my fieldwork. I want to talk about the researcher as a human being who is struggling to get things done, just like everybody else. Because this is an aspect that is usually ignored.

So, what made me interested in the Philippines? It was because my sister had moved to Manila at the end of the 1960s. And why the boat lutes? It was because I was a passionate guitar player with a strong interest in all kinds of plucked string instruments. At that time, in the early 1970s, I was still a recording and performing artist, one half of a duo called Flute & Voice, where I also used to play the Indian sitar, aside from singing and playing the electric and acoustic guitar.

The first time I saw a picture of a Meranaw kutiyapì was in 1975, when I wrote a term paper on the musical instruments of the Philippines for my course in ethnomusicology at the Free

Some Names of Boat Lutes of Philippine Ethnic Groups

KutiyapiMeranaw, Maguindanao, Higaonon Manobo,

Arumanen Manobo and Tagbanwa

KatiyapiTalaandig Manobo

KatjapiAlangan Mangyan

KutapiSubanen

KetyaphiTeduray

PiyapiHigaonon Manobo

Kusyapi and kudlunganPala-wan

KuglungMatigsalug Manobo, Ata, Tigwa,Obo Manobo, Mamanwa and Tagakaulu

KudlungMandaya, Mansaka, Mangguangan, Dibabawon, Bagobo Manobo,

Umayamnon Manobo, Batak and Tagbanwa

KudiyungAgusan Manobo

HegelungTboli

FaglungBlaan, Ubo and Tasaday Manobo

FuglungBlaan and Blit Manobo

FegerengTeduray

PeglungDulangan Manobo

Facing page: Hans Brandeis with his first kutiyapì of the Higaonon, somewhere in the mountains between

Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Ciy (Winter 1982-83).


Kudyapi

A Boat Lute OdysseyBy Hans Brandeis

Tboli hegelung virtuoso Mâ Fil Angkoy from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato (2004).


University in Berlin, Germany. It was on New Year’s Eve when I was compiling my sources, while firecrackers were exploding, outside the house. Well, people have different preferences.

In winter 1976 to 1977, I went on my first field trip to the Philippines. As there was hardly any literature on Philippine music available at that time, my plan was to travel to the Philippines first and, after interviewing some people, to decide which musical culture I should focus on. I contacted Prof. José Maceda who was considered the ultimate expert on Philippine traditional music. He proposed me three choices, one of which were the Higaonon of Agusan del Sur. I forgot which were the other two choices, but I didn’t know anything about any of them, anyway. My Filipino brother-in-law, José “Pepito” Bosch, had an issue of National Geographic magazine from 1971, with an article by Kenneth MacLeish, “Help for the Philippine Tribes in Trouble.” I saw pictures of Higaonon men with long beards, tree houses and other picturesque views, and I decided that I have to go there and see that all!

Unfortunately, during that first research trip, I didn’t see a single boat lute, although I repeatedly inquired about these instruments. My Higaonon informants always pointed towards Bukidnon. If I wanted to see the “real thing,” I should go there. And, by the way, in the end, I didn’t see any long-bearded men or tree houses in Agusan del Sur either. But at least the data that I was able to collect were sufficient to write my M.A. thesis in ethnomusicology.

After having finished my master of arts in 1981, I finally wanted to see the “real thing,” and I embarked for my second field trip to the Philippines in winter 1982 to 1983. In a small Higaonon settlement in Misamis Oriental, along Iponan River, I was able to see, hear and

purchase my first kutiyapì, incidentally one of the most beautiful Philippine boat lutes that I have ever seen. However, seeing this instrument would remain a rare exception during the coming years. Boat lutes have been fascinating me ever since I started researching on the traditional music of the Philippines that I kept on asking questions about them. However, among the Binukid-speaking lumad of Mindanao (Higaonon, Bukidnon, Talaandig and Banwaon), the traditional kutiyapì seemed to be virtually extinct. This sad truth led me to focus on the general musical culture of this area, instead, which I thoroughly documented during the early 1980s.

During my subsequent trips to Bukidnon, I almost lost track of the Philippine boat lutes that proved to be so rare. I had two piyapì of the Higaonon made especially for me, in two places in Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, respectively, but never found anybody who was able to play them. The piyapì has a very unique design, with a box-shaped resonating body that cannot be found in any other boat lute tradition of Mindanao, but rather reminds of the lutes that are used on the island of Palawan. The fact that hardly anybody, including the people of Bukidnon, has ever heard of the piyapì speaks for itself and suggests that this tradition has already disappeared. The two piyapì instruments that I was able to acquire are the only ones which I know to be in existence.

During these years, at least, I was able to document Talaandig overall Datu Kinulintang (Anastacio Saway; †1991) playing his katiyapì, as well as two Tigwahanon musicians from southeastern Bukidnon performing with their kuglung. I also systematically searched for musical instruments in the antique shops of Metro

Mâ Fil Angkoy playing the hegelung of the Tboli, while accompanying a mimetic dance performed by the famous singer Ye Gas. Lake Sebu, South Cotabato (2004).


Tboli hegelung virtuoso Mâ Fil Angkoy from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato (2004).

Manila, and I was very lucky to find, one by one, six of the last available kutiyapì of the Meranaw. Later on, I never saw a single Meranaw kutiyapì for sale anymore, anywhere, and I never heard one played, despite of my many efforts to find a Meranaw kutiyapì player, ever since that time. This is especially amazing because the kutiyapì of the Meranaw is clearly the most decorative of all Philippine boat lutes. Nevertheless, my findings resulted in a number of short publications, in which boat lutes are mentioned.

The obvious lack of research possibilities led me to the conclusion that the boat lute traditions of the Philippines had, more or less, died out; researching them did not seem to be very promising. In 1993, however, I visited two settlements of the Tigwa Manobo in southeastern Bukidnon to conduct a general survey of their musical culture, as I had done before, among the Binukid speaking people. I found a rich and vital boat lute culture, in this area. This experience changed my mind, as I thought: if the traditional boat lute music is so very much alive in these places, the same should also be true for other areas of Mindanao. Therefore, I decided to focus on the Philippine boat lutes, in the years to come.

From 1997 on, I systematically tried to visit all the places in Mindanao and Palawan, where boat lute music was still practiced.

Until 2011, I was able to document, at least partly, boat lute performances of the Agusan Manobo, Higaonon, Talaandig,

Western Bukidnon Manobo, Maguindanaon, Obo Manobo, Ata, Matigsalug and Tigwa Manobo, Subanen, Blaan, Tboli, Ubo, Dulangan Manobo, Tasaday, Mangguangan, Dibabawon, Mandaya, Pala-wan and Batak. All in all, I was able to personally collect fifty-seven boat lutes from the Philippines.

Just recently, I made my latest acquisition. Over the Internet, I bought a very big and beautifully decorated kutiyapì of the Maguindanao that was made around the year 1900 and that used to be part of the collection of Stanford University Museum. But I also documented many instruments in private collections, e.g. of ethnomusicologist Frank Englis, and in museums, in Manila at the National Museum, the museums of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, and UP’s College of Music, Xavier University Museum in Cagayan de Oro and Palawan Museum in Puerto Princesa.

I did not only study boat lutes within the Philippines, but also visited museums abroad where especially antique instruments from around 1900 are kept: the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) in Chicago, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, the Museums for Ethnology in Berlin and Vienna, among others.

It is needless to say that I had many remarkable encounters with interesting people and amazing musicians. And there were a number of situations when I smelled danger in the air. Sometimes,


The adorable Ganay Delikan playing her hegelung of the Tboli, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato (1997).

I didn’t even smell it, but it still was there! In 1977, only three days after my brother-in-law and I had left the house of overall Datu Mabalao (Ricardo dela Camara; †1977), our Higaonon host in Agusan del Sur and had returned to Manila, he was kidnapped, later on also his father-in-law Datu Dumagata and the latter’s two sons. None of them was ever seen alive again. They were probably kidnapped, tortured and killed by members of a Lost Command from Esperanza chasing after a hidden treasure.

While I was doing research in Bukidnon in the 1980s, the NPA was rather actively moving around in the area, and I kept on asking my informants where they were, at a specific moment, and if it was possible for me to go to certain places at that very time. I still remember the roaring thunder of heavy artillery at a distance, when I tried to fall asleep at nighttime in a remote Higaonon settlement called Kalipay, Misamis Oriental. Later, I heard that one of my informants from that place, who had brought me some rare kind of bamboo from the rainforest for making flutes, had been shot by soldiers at a checkpoint. He had refused to undergo a security check. He had considered himself invulnerable, because of an anting-anting that he was wearing. I’m very sure that I was always checked by resident members of the NPA whenever I entered a Bukidnon settlement. And I’m sure that, at first, they never really believed that I was an ethnomusicologist, but a geologist, missionary, linguist,

biologist, spy for the government, spy for the NPA, anthropologist, whatever, and finally, well, maybe an ethnomusicologist. In the end, they did believe me, because I often knew more about their musical traditions than they knew themselves. I remember that occasion, when I tried to make my advocacy clear by singing a traditional Bukidnon song, and one of the old Bukidnon men looked at me, with eyes wide open, and said: “My son cannot do that!”

I was always too scared to go to Muslim areas, though. In 1997, however, when I started to communicate with Maguindanao kulintang virtuoso Danny Kalanduyan (†2016), who was already living in the United States, back then, it turned out that I had already met his relatives from Cotabato City, when they had been performing in Berlin, Germany, ten years earlier. Now, this was my chance to visit Maguindanao territory, and it turned out to be quite enlightening to live with a Muslim family in Cotabato City for one week during Ramadan. It was in the house of my Maguindanao friend and musician Musib Kamensa that I met one of his relatives, famous kutiyapì virtuoso and Manlilikha ng Bayan Samaon Solaiman (†2011).

Musib sent his car to fetch Samaon from his place, some one-hundred kilometers away from Cotabato City. Samaon had played during a wedding celebration the whole night before, and he had hardly slept at all. No wonder he was very tired when he arrived in Cotabato City.


Elena Manioba, a resident of Kulaman, Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat, is playing the peglung of the Dulangan Manobo (2010).

When he started playing, his face looked so exhausted, but his nimble fingers danced like quick, little weasels across the fretboard of his kutiyapì. I was more than happy when Samaon Solaiman even sold me one of his kutiyapì instruments.

The second Manlilikha ng Bayan I was able to document was Masino Intaray (†2013), the highly praised epic singer of the Pala-wan people living in the Makagwa Valley, in the mountainous area near Brooke’s Point, southern Palawan. He was not only an expert in performing Pala-wan vocal music, but also in playing the basal (gong), aroding (mouth harp), babarak (ring flute) and kusyapì or kudlungan (boat lute)—a multi-instrumentalist, like many of the indigenous musicians in the Philippines.

I always wanted to visit Marawi City so that I could finally witness a performance on the kutiyapì of the Meranaw. I consider

the Meranaw lutes the most beautiful of all Philippine boat lutes, with their abundance of intricate carvings and painted designs.

When I came to know a Meranaw student from Mindanao State University in 2004, I felt that I should not pass up this opportunity. All the way coming from Marawi with the car, he fetched me in Iligan City. On the way back to Marawi, he told me, with a mocking smile: “By the way, Sir, this is the highway where all the kidnappings occur!” Later, when I moved around MSU campus, nobody there knew anything about the once famous kutiyapì. At the Aga Khan Museum, there was only one of these instruments exibited, which had been donated by a Meranaw university professor. According to her, the only time she had seen a kutiyapì player in the Marawi City area was thirty years ago, when she used to be a member of the Darangan Cultural Ensemble of MSU, and that player had also been


A Matigsalug Manobo couple playing kuglung (Camilo Gulam) and salurey (Ahunay Empolok), Marilog District, Davao City (1997).

a member of that ensemble. When we walked through the university offices, I asked the employees if any of them knew a kutiyapì player, and one of them answered me by asking: “Sir, what is a kutiyapì?” I haven’t found a Meranaw kutiyapì player, up to now.

Another dangerous area that gave me headache was Zamboanga Peninsula, which had seen many kidnappings, especially of foreigners, in the past. In 2008, finally, I came in touch with a Subanen princess, Bae Labi Sonita Manlin Mande-Ryde, thanks to social media. She holds three royal titles, which are recognized by Muslims and lumads alike: Bae of the Subanen in Western Mindanao, Bae Gamtebeng of 42 Tribes of Mindanao, and Bae Labi of 42 Tribes and the Muslims of Western Mindanao.

When I arrived at Zamboanga airport, she fetched me there, coming all the way from Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay, which means a

ride of four hours by car. She was accompanied by her three brothers, as her bodyguards, all carrying armalites. They sacrificed eight hours of their precious time just to fetch me. And what was even more surprising was how meticulously Bae Sonita had organized my stay in Buug.

Beside her royal palace, with its floors out of Italian marble, there was a traditional community house that she had prepared for the coming performances, with a huge wall hanging, saying, “Welcome/Hans Brandeis/Ethnomusicologist.” And when I left, she gave me a Subanen lute kutapi and simply said: “This is yours!” I was deeply humbled by Bae Sonita’s generosity. I had not expected that, and something similar never happened to me again, neither before nor after.

One of my most interesting research experiences was the documentation of Tasaday boat lute music in 2004. The case of the Tasaday has been controversial ever since the day they were first


The late Manlilikha ng Bayan Masino Intaray playing the big kusiyapì of the Pala-wan, in the sitio of Cabangaan, barangay of Samariñana, Brooke’s Point, Palawan (2006).

A typical ensemble of the Pala-wan, composed of two big kusiyapì lutes (Masino Intaray and Beryong Intaray) and a heterochord bamboo zither pagang (Salimuna Intaray), in the sitio of Cabangaan, barangay of Samariñana, Brooke’s Point, Palawan (2006).


pulled into the international limelight, as the alleged last survivors of a Stone-Age people living in the Daguma Mountains of South Cotabato. Selling them to the international public as a Stone-Age people was definitely a hoax. Aside from that, however, my stand is that human beings as such are never a hoax: they are born into a social environment, raised and educated, according to traditional values and beliefs, which they truely represent, during their lifetime. In fact, the Tasaday were a small group of hunters and gatherers living in the forest, leading a poor life that did not allow them to always buy the clothes or tools that they needed so that they had to rely on what nature offered them as a substitute, occasionally, including stone tools and clothes made from leaves. Although they were constantly moving around within their territory, they returned to the same places, once in a while, so that there were times when they also lived in the caves that later should become their infamous “trademark.” They led a lonely forest life, but they were never completely isolated from the lumad groups living nearby.

The Tasaday, beyond any doubt, speak a dialect of the Cotabato Mano-bo language, which is closely related to Blit Manobo. It was also the Blit Manobo with whom they fostered cultural rela-tions, and in their villages, the Tasaday traded their forest products and even found their women.

When I met a group of about thirty Tasaday who had come down to Lake Sebu, they looked to me just like any other lumad people living in this area, with their clothes and garments, but their behavior was very different, their faces very expressive, vigorous and vi-vacious. To me, they appeared to be the most “tribal” people that I had ever met in the Philippines.

I recorded two Tasaday players of the boat lute feglung. They had been given this instrument by an old Blit Manobo man who had also taught them how to play it. Degu Bilan-gan, a young Tasaday man of 28 years, was one of the best boat lute players that I have ever heard and recorded.

Presently, I’m working on a book with the title The Singing Crocodile—Boat Lutes the Philippines, where all 240 instruments that

I collected or documented will be described in detail, on more than 1,400 pages, presenting about 1,950 photographs.

This, however, will still take some time. The book will be meant as a handbook in which all the important aspects of Philippine boat lutes will be discussed. There will be a comparative study of the historical sources from the Spanish colonial times, ethnographic data about the present distribution of Philippine boat lutes, a thorough description how the instruments are carved out of a block of wood, word lists of the indigenous terminology in the

different local languages, a typology of the instruments describing the differences in design, explanations about the symbolic meaning of the lutes and information about performing practice, like context, playing techniques and ensemble playing. All this information will allow the reader to clearly identify the origin of a particular instrument, it will provide basic information for collectors, museum staff and indigenous craftsmen many of whom are starting to forget the basic features that are typical for the boat lute traditions of their own people.

My documentation of Philippine boat lute music has just scratched the surface of a virtually unknown world. There is still so much research to do. But it is high time, because many of the master players whom I documented have already

passed away, in the meantime. Aside from those who left us that I have mentioned above, let us remember the virtuosos of the hegelung of the Tboli, Ganay Delikan (†2010) and Mâ Fil Angkoy (†2014) from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, as well as the Blaan faglung master Lily “Lumbey” Julie (†2007) from Landan, Polomolok, South Cotabato.

Up to now, there are still many Philippine boat lute traditions that have not yet been studied and

documented in detail, among them those

During a recording session among the Subanen, Hans Brandeis sits beside Subanen princess Bae Labi Sonita Manlin Mande-Ryde, in Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay (2009)

Author with Higaonon musicians at ECO Village, Cagayan de Oro (2006) /Photo by Elson Elizaga

Author on the way to the airport, holding a kutapi given as a gift from Subanen princess Bae Labi Sonita Manlin Mande-Ryde, Cagayan de Oro (2009). /Photo by Elson Elizaga


The piyapi of the Higaonon Manobo that is probably already extinct, Dinagahan, Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental (1983).


An antique kutiyapì of the Maguindanao made around the year 1900, originally from the collection of Stanford University Museum, now part of the private collection of Hans Brandeis.


195 of 240 boat lutes from the Philippines that will be presented in the book-in-progress by Hans Brandeis.


of the Umayamnon, Kulamanen, Tinananon, Arumanen, Jangan, Tagabawa and Blit Manobo, Meranaw, Banwaon, Dibabawon, Mangguangan, Mansaka, Tagakaulo (Kalagan), Teduray, Mamanwa, Tagbanwa, and others.

And there is now an immense time pressure. In the settlements that I visited, many musicians and informants have already passed away. The tradition of the Batak is definitely gone forever. I was told by two Batak men that, in their community of about 200 members, all players of the kudlung have already died.

In Aborlan, the center of Tagbanwa culture, I asked the elders of a village council about the traditional boat lutes kudyapì/kudlung. However, even these elders were wondering about this instrument they had never even heard of. Among the Meranaw, hardly any kutiyapì player seems to be alive anymore. Despite continuous research and inquiries, since the 1980s, I was not able to find a single Meranaw kutiyapì player. In the 1980s, Bukidnon and Higaonon craftsmen were able to carve two of the rare lutes piyapì for me, but, even then, nobody knew how to play them. These are just some examples.

Boat lute traditions are threatened to disappear within the next coming years, due to the passing of the cultural masters and the unavailability of skilled craftsmen who still have the knowledge to make these instruments, coupled with the dwindling of raw materials needed to make new lutes. But, at least, there is still hope.

During the past years, there has been a growing interest in tra-ditional Philippine music, and especially in boat lutes. In 1993, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) honored Maguindanao kutiyapi master Samaon Sulaiman with the pres-tigious Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasure Award). This mark of distinction had a strong impact on creating a new, nationwide interest in boat lutes.

The number of boat lute collectors has kept on growing in recent years. Boat lute performances are included in all major festivals. In 2011, for example, the third Rondalla Festival, Cuerdas sa Pagkakaysa, was organized in Tagum City, with a main focus on the boat lutes of southeastern Mindanao. With its wide scope of string music performances, ranging from lumad traditions and rondalla music to international string ensembles, it was a huge success. There are now also many neo-ethnic bands, mostly in urban areas, using boat lutes, even though they usually do not play their instruments in the traditional style, but just strum them like guitars, accompanied by several African-style djembe drums.

In 2015, I came to know a Blaan cultural advocate who is now based in the United States, Arjho Cariño Turner. As I later found out, she is the great-niece of the late “Lumbey” Julie, the first Blaan faglung player that I had recorded a long time ago, in 1997. This surprising connection inspired the two of us to start an online cultural advocacy project by setting up the “Boat Lutes of the Philippines” Facebook page and website (Brandeis and Turner 2015a, 2015b). We wanted to feature lute players from all over the Philippines, traditional and modern, as well as the craftsmanship of the remaining master makers.

In the meantime, the “Boat Lutes of the Philippines” Facebook page has an international following of more than 2,600 people, ranging from academics, musicians, artists and cultural workers to cultural enthusiasts. By connecting visitors of these websites with boat lute makers in Mindanao, we were able to support their craft, and the demand for new instruments was simply amazing. The Internet users also ask many questions about the construction, playing techniques and music performed on the instruments. And we are always ready to help.

195 of 240 boat lutes from the Philippines that will be presented in the book-in-progress by Hans Brandeis.

Hans Brandeis with a newly acquired antique kutiyapì of the Maguindanao, made around the year 1900, originally from the collection of Stanford University Museum, now

part of the private collection of Hans Brandeis.

Hans Brandeis is an ethnomusicologist from Germany, specializing in the traditional music of the Philippines. Between 1976 and 2014, he made fifteen research trips to the Philippines, comprising almost four years of ethnomusicological research.He maintains an advocacy page in Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/boatlutesphilippines/) and a website (http://boatlutesofthephilippines.weebly.com/).


Selected Publications Referring to Boat Lutes

Alcina, Francisco Ignacio, S.J 2005 History of the Bisayan People in the Philippine Islands.

Evangelization and Culture at the Contact Period. Historia de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas... 1668. Translated, edited and annotated by Cantius J. Kobak, O.F.M. and Lucio Gutiérrez, O.P. Part One, Book 3, Vol. III. Manila: UST Publishing House.

Brandeis, Hans (The following publications can all be downloaded from https://fu-berlin.academia.edu/HansBrandeis) 1993 Musik und Tanz der Bukidnons von Mindanao - eine kurze

Einführung. Music and Dance of the Bukidnons of Mindanao - A Short Introduction. Berlin: Filipino Association of Berlin.

1995 “Bukidnon-s und Tigwahanon-s: zwei Musikkulturen im Vergleich.” [“Bukidnon and Tigwahanon: Two Musical Cultures in Comparison.”] In: Bröcker, Marianne (ed.): Berichte aus dem ICTM-Nationalkomitee Deutschland, Band IV. Bamberg: Universitätsbibliothek Bamberg. Pp. 103-119.

1998 “Zur Symbolik philippinischer Bootslauten.” [“On the Symbolic Meaning of Philippine Boat Lutes.”] In: Bröcker, Marianne (ed.): Berichte aus dem ICTM-Nationalkomitee Deutschland, Band VI/VII. Bamberg: Universitätsbibliothek Bamberg. Pp. 59-86.

2000 “Dance Song of the Tigwa Manobo, sung and played on the bamboo zither salurey by Pamana, and accompanied on the boat lute kuglung by Datu Alibudbud. Recorded by Hans Brandeis in Sitio Kisayab, Bonacao, San Fernando, Bukidnon, Philippines.” In: Musik! 100 Recordings — 100 Years of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv 1900-2000. Berlin: Ethnologisches Museum. CD 3, track 3; book: pp. 194-197.

2001 “Akkulturation bei philippinischen Bootslauten. Sonderbare Entstehung und Wandlung der Beschreibung eines Musikinstruments.” [“Acculturation Aspects of Philippine Boat Lutes. The Peculiar Formation and Change in the Description of a Musical Instrument”] In: Bröcker, Marianne (ed.): Berichte aus dem ICTM-Nationalkomitee Deutschland, Band IX/X. Bamberg: Universitätsbibliothek Bamberg, pp. 129-155.

2004 “Versuch einer Typologie philippinischer Bootslauten.” [“Preliminary Typology of Philippine Boat Lutes.”] Paper read during the conference of the ICTM Study Group on Folk Musical Instruments, May 10-16, 1995, in Terschelling, Netherlands. In: Fontana, Eszter / Michel, Andreas / Stockmann, Erich (ed.): Studia instrumentorum musicae popularis, Vol. XII. Halle an der Saale: Verlag Janos Stekovics, pp. 75-108.

2008 “Music and Dance of the Bukidnon of Mindanao — A Short Introduction.” In: Kinaadman. Cagayan de Oro City: Xavier University. Vol. 30, pp. 67-120.

2012 “Boat Lutes in the Visayas and Luzon — Traces of a Lost Tradition.“ Paper read during Cuerdas sa Pagkakaysa (Strings of Unity): 3rd International Rondalla Festival, February 12-19, 2011, City of Tagum, Davao del Norte, Philippines. In: Musica Jornal 8. Center for Ethnomusicology, University of the Philippines, 2012. Vol. 8, pp. 2-103.

2016 “The Boat Lutes of the Philippines.” Paper read during the 10th International Organology Congress “Blagodatov Readings” at the Russian Institute of Art History, St. Petersburg, Russia, December 5-7, 2016. (To be published in the conference proceedings.)

2018 Das singende Krokodil — Bootslauten auf den Philippinen. [The Singing Crocodile — Boat Lutes in the Philippines.] (Book publication, work-in-progress).

Brandeis, Hans and Josephine Turner 2015a Boat Lutes of the Philippines. Online version

https://www.facebook.com/boatlutesphilippines 2015b Boat Lutes of the Philippines. Online version http://boatlutesofthephilippines.weebly.com/about.html

Englis, Francisco A. 2006 “The Higa-unon Kutiapi: A Two-Stringed Plectrum Lute.” In:

Silliman Journal. Dumaguete City: Silliman University. Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 87-114.

Maceda, José Montserrat 1963 The Music of the Magindanao in the Philippines. Vol. I and II.

Los Angeles: University of California (Dissertation); Ann Arbor: University Microfilms.

1998 Gongs & Bamboo. A Panorama of Philippine Musical Instruments. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press/National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

Mora, Manolete 1987 “The Sounding Pantheon of Nature. Tboli Instrumental

Music in the Making of an Ancestral Symbol.” In: Acta Musicologica. Vol. LIX, Fasc. II,. Pp. 187-212.

2005 Myth, Mimesis and Magic in the Music of the T’boli, Philippines. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila Press.

2008 “Lutes, Gongs, Women and Men: (En)Gendering Instrumental Music in the Philippines.” In: Ethnomusicology Forum. London: Taylor & Francis. Vol. 17, No. 2, November 2008. Pp. 225-247.

Audio Recordings that Include Boat Lute Performances

Aves, Grace Nono 2001 Kahimunan. Cultural Music of the Manobo, Higaonon,

Banwaon of Agusan del Sur. Compact disc with commentary booklet. Tao Music 012. Tao Music: Quezon City.

2002 Mendung Sabal. Tudbulul Lunay Mogul. T’boli Hero of Lunay, the Place of Gongs and Music. Compact disc with commentary booklet. Tao Music 011. Quezon City: Tao Music.

Lelong, Boris 2002 Philippines: Musique de luth en pays T’boli. Finnguy Flang

& Luming Tuan– Luth Hegelung. Compact disc with commentary booklet. Éditions BUDA Musique. CD No. 1987872. (Musique du monde / Music from the World.)

2007 Philippines. Femmes artistes du lac Sebu. Women Artists of Lake Sebu. [Lemhadong Collective.] Compact disc with commentary booklet. Éditions BUDA Musique. CD No. 3017557. (Musique du monde / Music from the World.)

Maceda, José Montserrat 1961 The Music of the Magindanao in the Philippines. Record album

with commentary booklet. New York: Folkways Records and Service Corp. 1961. (Folkways Ethnic Li-brary. Folkways Records Album. No.FE 4536 A/B.)

1988 Kulintang and Kudyapiq. Gong Ensemble and Two-String Lute Among the Magindanaon in Mindanao, Philippines. Record album with commentary booklet. Quezon City: Department of Music Research, College of Music, University of the Philippines.

Mora, Manolete 1997 Utom: Summoning the Spirit: Music in the T’boli Heartland.

Compact Disc mit Kommentarheft. Rykodisc RCD-10402.

Revel, Nicole and José Maceda 1992 Philippines: Musique des hautes-terres palawan. Philippines:

Palawan Highlands Music. Compact disc with commentary booklet. Harmonia Mundi, Le Chant du Monde LDX 274 865. (Collection du Centre de la Recherche Scientifique et du Musée de l’Homme.)


Distribution of Boat Lutes in the Philippines


If the Spaniards tried to convert the Filipino to their ways pri-marily through religion, the Americans did it through educa-tion.The American military regime in the Philippines never under-

estimated the importance of education as a colonial tool. Although the Jones Act granted the Filipinos more autonomy and Filipinos were given government posts, the Department of Education was never entrusted to any Filipino. Americans always headed this de-partment up to 1935. And when a Filipino took over under the Commonwealth, a new generation of brown Americans had al-ready been produced. There was no longer any need for Ameri-can overseers in this field because a captive generation had already come of age, thinking and acting like Americans.

This Americanization is most profound among the elite, hav-ing had the closest contacts with the colonizers. But this kind of transformation is more or less shared by almost all adult Filipinos who have gone through formal education both in public and pri-vate schools.

A subtle but most effective medium of colonial education was music. The seemingly innocent thrust into the psychic world of Filipino children through songs helped much to produce an un-conscious dislike of their own culture and a high preference for American culture.

American thoughts, values and practices were introduced as models for the desirable, the modern and civilized. In contrast, the peasantness of traditional Philippine life was made to appear as a liability. What was there to be proud of the little nipa hut when, in book illustrations, impressive American homes designed for a colder climate captured the imagination. Even the brick houses in the stories of “The Little Red Hen” and the “Three Little Pigs,” appreciated out of context, reduce the nipa hut to inferior status. So who would realize the advantages of the bahay kubo in a tropical setting? Let us sing my “Nipa Hut.”

Deliberate or not, the Westernization of our education pro-vided the Filipino children with a point of reference for contrasts which tended to glorify an alien tradition and discredit our own. The educators structured an outlook which has succeeded in alien-ating us from our roots. Thus, in Philippine society until now, we

put at the top of the social ladder those who are most Westernized and at the bottom those who are the least. This places the Manileño at the top, followed by the provincial city dweller, then the pobla-ciones or town-dweller, next comes the taga-baryo or taga-bukid, ‘yung tinatawag nating promdi, and lastly comes the taga-bundok, especially if the taga-bundok is indigenous or one of the so-called minorities, who many Filipinos regard as almost subhuman. If only the Manileño realizes that the Filipino New Yorker looks down on him, too.

But our Westernized education makes it very difficult for most Filipinos not to look down on our indigenous peoples living in the mountains. What were made available in the schools were books containing sceneries of wealthy American urban life. So who would like to be “poorly born on top of a mountain”?

The consequence of glorifying an alien lifestyle is to make us dream of dreams that are irrelevant to our real needs and exist-ing social and material conditions. Many of us dream of a white Christmas complete with Santa Claus, sleigh bells and mistletoes. The scent of apples, somebody has remarked, “attracts the Filipino elite and middle class like bees to a flower and sends them to a fren-zy like a stud smelling a mare in heat.” Our experiences as a people have been so devalued that, according to a survey, eighty percent of farmers’ children do not want to become farmers but would like to land into white collar jobs and live a burgis lifestyle. Indeed, who would like to labor in the fields when planting rice is never fun? Though we can have fun singing it.

The imposition of the English language, particularly the prac-tice of translating every Filipino song into English and teaching it in that language, has given the Filipino the impression that the many beautiful songs they have been singing in the schools are of American origin. Even such an intimate and lyrical expression of Filipino feeling, as in the lullaby “Tulog Ka Na Bunso” or “Tulog na Neneng” was not spared. Its English version, “Sleep My Darling Baby,” has been sung by generations of Filipinos thinking it was an American song. But we love this song because it is really ours. It is actually a kundiman from Bulacan.

How tender and sensitive is this song. Could it be anything but Filipino? Masyado nang maraming Filipinong tinatawag na

Defining the Filipino Through Song


Baby dahil siguro sa pagkanta ng English version, bihira na tayong gumamit ng Neneng, Nene o Nena.

The use of English in Filipino folk songs oftentimes produces an incongruous and ridiculous combination of words and music. The flowing melodic style of our folk music is incompatible with the choppy syllables and hard consonant clusters of English. And when this happens to a lively and humrous song, as in “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang,” its spontaneity is lost and we fail to get its humor, although the incongruity may make us laugh.

The alienation of the elite from his cultural roots while pro-ducing only a half-baked understanding of the colonizer’s culture may have produced a profound split in his personality that is the basis of such a masterpiece of incongruity as the English version of “Sitsiritsit Alibangbang.”

This disturbing but perhaps unconscious dissonance in the Filipino soul is evident even in Filipino names, where a girl can have the first name of Marie Antoinette but with a surname of Dugaduga. We feel ashamed if our names sound too native. Some of us do not even want to be identified as Filipino at all, as in the case of a local pop singer during a singing tour in the U.S. because Filipinos supposedly do not have a good image there.

Fortunately, the Filipino masses and some conscientisized elites have managed to retain pride in their culture and continue to cultivate some of the best aspects of our character as a people, like the capacity to laugh at our own misfortunes, to achieve grace un-der pressure and flow with the life process. These are very evident in the very Filipino “Leron, Leron Sinta.”

The English version, “Maria Went to Town,” did not become very popular because again the lyrics do not fit the music plus there is something puritan about the message. Who would like to be Puritan or a WASP? So the Filipinos decided to make fun of the English version.

Filipinos have a curious habit of thinking that anything good

and beautiful must be foreign, to the extent that our genuine achievements as a people are belittled as copies, imitations or deri-vations from foreign ideas. This is true of our ancient script, which even our scholars attribute to Sanskrit, no matter how farfetched; of our hero Jose Rizal, whom we hail as the Pride of the Malay Race, rather than of the Filipino people, even if anthropologically speaking, there is no such thing as a Malay race.

This is also the case with our national anthem, which a not-ed Hispanophile, who became a National Artist for literature by presidential decree, seriously believes is derived from the “Le Mar-sellaise” of France, Verdi’s “Triumphal March” from the opera Aida, and the “Marcha Real” of Spain. Similarly, many highly educated Filipinos still believe that “Philippines, My Philippines,” translated into Filipino as “Pilipinas Kong Mahal,” is an imitation of “Mary-land, My Maryland.” Both songs were actually inspired more by local traditions, such as religious processional music and the kun-diman, than by any foreign model.

Much work needs to be done, especially in the field of edu-cation, before we can truly reclaim our identity as Filipinos in the realm of consciousness. But since the American period, we have come along way towards defining ourselves through song. If we look at the developments since the sixties and seventies, we have seen how poet-musicians or songwriters have tried to use song as a force for liberation from imperialism and colonialism, a way of breaking down barriers between the elite and the masses, a means of serving the people and not simply treating them as consumers in a capitalistic environment, as criticism and an instrument for confronting problems, and for developing our sense of identity as Filipinos.

Without a strong and positive identity as Filipinos, we will never feel any commitment to the nation, and without this com-mitment, as the anthropologist Dr. F. Landa Jocano always admon-ishes us, we will not be capable of worthy achievement.

Defining the Filipino By Felipe M. de Leon, Jr.Through Song

Felipe M. De Leon, Jr. was chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. He is a professor of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines where he taught humanities, aesthetics, music theory and Philippine art and culture, and a lecturer on social transformation courses at the Asian Social Institute. His experience as a cultural administrator/manager is extensive and widely recognized. De Leon, Jr. is the son of National Artist for music Felipe Padilla de Leon, Sr. and the father of musician Diwa De Leon and multi-awarded triathlon athlete Ani De Leon.


Ability of a writer to effectively use a politically charged theme is a no mean feat. This is a case where the poet and fictionist turned playwright German V. Gervacio won his case to present a narrative about Mindanao’s lumad lore.

Lore is not used as a pejorative term here. The lumad live their lore and believe.Their plight, in particular, the Agusanon Manobo’s, took center stage when the Mindanao State Uni-

versity-Iligan Institute of Technology’s (MSU-IIT) resident theatre company, the Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), mounted the play Datu Mankalasi by Gervacio on November 20, 2017, at its gymna-sium. Road tours soon followed after these performances at the gym.

It was an overwhelming sight to note the presence of the number of datus from the Manobo and Higaunon Manobo groups who came to witness the performance preceded by a lecture on the lumad groups’ experiences.

The struggles of the lumads against logging and land grabbing of ancestral lands, mining, abuse of hu-man rights and other plaints were aired by Manobo datus Roger Plana and Nilo Cabungcal and Higaunon datu Joseph Paborada before a group of students, faculty members and other guests.

The organizers, Kalumbay Regional Lumad Organization, said that the plight of the lumads often do not get any publicity from mainstream media so they hoped that their hurts might be laid bare in the social media and in performances such as IPAG’s mounting of Datu Mankalasi, whose titular character was played by Miguel Joven Perfecto.

The IPAG was at its usual best in dialog that made use of Filipino and Binisaya; excellent light and set designs by Hermi Dico, Jan Pagarigan, Christian Jay Legaspi and Meshaq Dangel; synchronized technical management by Andrew Salazar, Karl Razul Casurra, Argiel Sasil and Mark Saura; and authentic, colorful and breathtaking Manobo attire, contrasting to the costumes of the Bughawan that had a smorgasbord of influences, including the manga comics, animation, post-apocalyptic water world and the video game Final Fantasy.

Best of all, the rhythmic movements of Manobo dances were earthy and seemingly natural, thanks to the research on Manobo dances by Prosfe June de la Victoria Yee, choreography by Melvin Pascubillo, stage management by Lilibeth Maraon and production management by Arlem Abanes.

The music, composed and arranged by director Steven Patrick C. Fernandez, appealed to both young and old. Variations of themes from Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark” dance and other MTV and Western music the Millennials are familiar with were hits during the performance. Fernandez’s compositions, with as-sistance from Michael John Lagura, marked a more upbeat and mature take on love and drinking songs.

The beating of the drums and the sound from the synthesizer, along with the thumping of feet by the Taong Aso/Taumbayan, played by Gaspar Cortes, Jr., John Paul Francisco, Remegio Dayanan, Jr., Jack Cyril Llagas and Elias Point; and from the Bughawan, headed by actor John Michael Lagura, carried the whole narrative to its finish despite a few low moments where scenes needed to have flawless segues.

Explorations of Folklore Versus Reality

Integrated Performing Arts Guild Mounts German Gervacio’s Datu Mankalasi

By Christine F. Godinez Ortega Photos by Alf Caro Evan Pacana

Explorations of Folklore Versus Reality

Integrated Performing Arts Guild Mounts German Gervacio’s Datu Mankalasi

The veteran Lagura as the mutant Karakuda stole the show. He was too comfortable with his role to the point of portraying a bad guy as “fun,” eclipsing the antics of his sidekick Wariwap, played by Primo Bagasol, Jr., and Perfecto as Datu Mankalasi.

Mindanawons, on the other hand, hear about the plight of the lumad of Central and Northern Mindanao, but somehow the play Datu Mankalasi, a true-to-life narration of a Manobo datu and his people, if for anything, raised the lumad struggles and their frustra-tions against the powerful symbolized by the Bughawin, played by Kim Sumagang, Danielle Salaan, Shairah Mae de los Santos, Jonna Mai Iniego, Dency Caballero and Joy Annabelle Cimafranca.

If life is short and art is long, this writer was skeptical about how a play with a seemingly political agenda would be handled by a writer, and “trans-created” by a seasoned theatre group such as the IPAG.

For hundreds of years and after the artist and writer were ele-vated to a high status in society with the rise of the middle class in Europe, the artist creates beyond his times, but always cognizant of the society that nurtures his art.

If his art must live after him, his themes must go beyond the political, and Gervacio did not necessarily play to the galleries. He has woven into his narrative a more human perspective and made relevant the Higaunon lore that recounted how the Higaunons sprung from women and dogs, hence the Taong Aso or Man-Dog

warriors.Many Filipinos are not familiar with such lore and, if known,

they would be put off by it because of Westernization and being too engrossed in teleseryes, perhaps.

Varieties of this lore likewise exist but it is the writer or artist who makes the selection for his own purposes. Scholars later delin-eate between folklore and present realities, which is which, and all of its wherefores.

Therefore, it was not surprising to see a Datu Mankalasi often in a drunken stupor because unbending in his vision, and not much of a decisive leader in a folkloric sense after Joseph Campbell or Vladimir Propp.

Researchers Ivy Victorio and Airen C. Sajulga may have un-earthed variations of how Datu Mankalasi dies but the play’s abil-ity to show the betrayal by some of the datu’s people (led by Datu Burdagol played by Fyr Mykiel Gonzales) because material gain can alleviate their poverty and other deprivations is most plausible. One who symbolizes the idealist in the play was Batikan, played by Daf-friel Bucayon.

Again, it is to the credit of Gervacio that he portrayed women as capable leaders exemplified by Malayumi (Yvonnie Emit). In the end, and in her frustration, she returns to her roots, foreshadowed by the dialog about trees with her father Datu Mankalasi, and she eventually reverts to her “aso” or true self.

Christine F. Godinez Ortega is a poet and fictionist. She is a former IPAG managing director. She has recently retired as a professor of the MSU-IIT Department of English, College of Arts and Social Sciences and as director of the Office of Publication and Information (OPI). She is the director of the Iligan National Writers Workshop and is currently the president of the Mindanao Creative Writers Group, Inc.

Alf Caro Evan Pacana (also known as AC Lloren) is the MSU-IIT OPI’s official webpage manager and graphic lay-out artist who occasionally turns photographer when he feels like it. Photography, in particular portraiture, developed to be his passion when he received his first camera as a boy of eight. He has been working for the MSU-IIT official yearbook Tadman as head photographer and is the portraitist for Clique.


A Valuable Documentation of the Rich Intangible Cultural

Heritage of the Philippines

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is de-fined by the United Nations Education-al, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) as “the practices, representa-tions, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills (including instruments, objects, artifacts, cultural spaces), that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recog-nize as part of their cultural heritage.”

In the Philippines, experts have so far identified and documented hundreds of in-tangible cultural heritage elements in the country. Three of them have been inscribed to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: the hudhud chants and punnuk ritual of the Ifugao and Darangen epic of the Meranaw.

The Philippines became a signatory to the UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of 2003. And since the passing of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, the NCCA, particular-ly its Intangible Heritage Unit, has intensified the listing of intangible heritage.

The result of the continuous documenta-tion and the subsequent database that was pro-duced out of it thus far is the book, Pinagmu-lan: Enumerations from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, published in 2013 by the NCCA together with the UNE-SCO International Information and Network-ing Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP).

Edited by anthropologist and award-win-ning writer Dr. Jesus Peralta, the book is a pio-neering and the most extensive publication thus far on Philippine intangible cultural heritage.

The book has entries from Peralta, former National Museum and Metropolitan Museum director Corazon Alvina, Peabody Museum of Natural History curator emeritus Harold Conk-lin, renowned anthropologist Robert Fox, au-thority in Kalinga culture Fr. Francisco Billet, the

great Ivatan scholar Florentino Hornedo, socio-anthropologist F. Landa Jocano, textile expert Dr. Norma Respicio,

among others.Their contributions include

intangible cultural elements of the country in five ICH domains—oral traditions and expressions; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship spanning from pre-colonial Philippines to the traditions and practices of the present.

Some of the elements in the initial inventory include the Meranaw folk narrative “Radia Indarapatra,” Hinalawod epic of the Sulod of Panay, Moros y Cris-tianos street drama of the Tagalog, kuratsa dance of the Waray, pechen (peace pact) of Bontoc, Magpandi-pandi of the Yakan of Basilan, Tau’t Batu cosmology, agsana (salt-mak-ing) of Ilocos Norte, baor-making (inlaid wooden chest) of Tugaya, Lanao del Sur, and various agricul-tural, burial and religious practices and traditions of the country.

Then NCCA chairman Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. describes the book in the introductory message as “a cele-

bration of our indigenous, ancient yet contemporary heritage of creative genius

and a testament to the profound sources of our cultural identity.”Finalist for the Elfren S. Cruz Prize for Best Book

in the Social Sciences of the National Book Awards in 2014, Pinagmulan is indeed an excellent guidebook and a good source

of information on the rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage of the Philippines.

By Edgar Allan M. Sembrano

Edgar Allan M. Sembrano obtained his Master of Arts in Cultural Heritage Studies degree at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila. Sembrano is a writer/contributor for The Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Daily Tribune, covering the arts, culture, heritage, and heritage conservation issues. He is the assistant area editor for architecture of the revised edition of the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. He also used to co-anchor “Ang Ating Katipunan” of DZAR Angel Radyo 1026 and “RMN Journalism Hour” of RMN Manila DZXL 558. This article was first published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer on December 28, 2015.


Flutists, students, music lovers and scholars from Southeast Asia and Korea gathered to-gether for the first ASEAN-Korea Flute Festival in the Philippines and Korea, from No-vember 26 to December 9, 2017.

A project of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information and made possible by the ASEAN-Korea Culture Fund, the festival was an initiative to promote cultural exchange and a regional talent showcase of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and Republic of Korea.

With the theme, “Celebrating ASEAN Traditions Across Cultures,” the project, implement-ed by the NCCA with Korea’s Seoul Music Group, explored and brought together a variety of resonance of Asian traditional flutes, harnessing both traditional and modern repertoires through a music festival where flute musicians from ASEAN countries and Korea could interact and cre-ate integrated perfromances for young audiences and the general public.

Under the artistic direction of National Artist for music Dr. Ramon P. Santos, the ASE-AN-Korea Flute Festival fostered a deeper sense of cultural awareness and a better understanding of our shared musical heritage with neighboring Southeast Asian countries and Korea.

Forty-four of the finest flute musicians from the region performed and conducted lec-ture-demonstrations in various cultural, public, and academic venues in the Philippines and Korea, bringing with them traditional flutes and other accompanying musical instruments.

The cross-cultural event kicked off with several pocket shows, lectures and cultural tours in Angono, Rizal (Angono National High School, Angono Regional Lead School for the Arts and Angono Private High School); Bulacan (La Consolacion University and Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School); and Angeles City, Pampanga (Angeles Trade National School, Angeles National High School, F.G. Nepomuceno National High School, Department of Ed-ucation Division of Angeles).

In the second leg of the festival in Korea, performances and supplementary lectures/work-shops were held at the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul and the ASEAN Cultural House in Busan from December 4 to 9. 2017.

The gala performance concert was held at Carlos P. Romulo Theater of the RCBC Plaza in Makati City on December 1, featuring all the forty-four delegates, performing together with their own compositions they collaborated on. The opening performance was a composition of Singa-porean flutist and festival director Qing Lun Tan called “Fireflies,” which speaks of nature’s fragile beauty, rendered by all the delegates.

The second part of show showcased collaborative compositions—“Sunrise” by Laos and

The First ASEAN-Korea Flute Festival

Breathing Life to Cultures Together

Delegates Thao Duc Nguyen, Mai Thi Ngoc Nguyen, Dang Thi Hoai Thu and Chi Le Bui from Vietnam

Cambodia, about new beginnings, energy and hope; “Water” by Myanmar and Vietnam about the sea, river and fishing; “Plant” by Sin-gapore, Korea and Thailand about farming, tea and rice; “Animals” by the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam about birds, family and friends; and “Sunset” by Indonesia and Malay-sia about calm and rest.

The culmination was the performance of “Ihip-Ihip-an” by all the delegates. Composed by Dr. Santos especially for the festival, “Ihip-Ihip-an” is an experimental piece that combines the flutes together and other traditional musical instruments of Southeast Asian countries. While the tones do not necessarily have any common temperament, the piece explores the different colors that these instruments can offer, attempt-ing to blend the homogenous and later develop-ing into a heterogenous amalgamation of tones. Furthermore, these sounds are gradually spread out over a time continuum that is defined by the drone and melody principle of Asian music.

The gala concert was followed by a public performance concert at the Rizal Park Open-Air Auditorium in Manila the following day.

The ASEAN-Korea Flute Fes-tival was part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ASE-AN, the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-Korea Dialogue Partnership, as well as the ASEAN-Korea Cultural Ex-change Year 2017.

The culminating performance of “Ihip-ihip-an” during the gala concert in Makati City, with National Artist Dr. Ramon P. Santos conducting

Worskhop and performance attended by studentsDelegates Benicio Sokkong, Maria Lourdes Cecilia Matute, Grace Joy Bugayong and Edgar Sabang

from the Philippines

The creation of the NCCA Gallery dedicated to contemporary arts was a joint initiative of the National Committee on Visual Arts (NCVA) and the National Committee on Art Galleries (NCAG). Through the establishment of the gallery, both committees envision to help young artists get their much needed exposure without hampering their zest to explore new tendencies on the edge of current art making. The gallery is outfitted to accommodate video works and movable panels for installation pieces. Contemporary artists are welcome to submit their exhibit concept along with their portfolio should they wish to exhibit at the gallery. The NCCA Gallery is at the ground floor of the NCCA Building, 633 General Luna Street, Intramuros, Manila. It is open 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., Monday to Friday. Visits on weekends and holidays are by appointment. For details, contact 527-2192 local 328, or email [email protected].

NCCA GALLERY

According to the United Nations, “Human rights are inher-ent to all human beings.” This is regardless of our national-ity, place of residence, color, creed, language, sex, econom-

ic status, or any other status. “Rights” is not a foreign concept. It is, in fact, embedded in our own Filipino language, karapatan, with its root lying in dapat or in what should be, what is right, or what must be. These rights, therefore, recognize each individual’s dignity and value as human beings.

On the contrary, “to deny people their human rights is to chal-lenge their very humanity,” Nelson Mandela once said. These rights are protected and promoted by the law: our right to life, liberty, and security; political rights including freedom from torture and slavery, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment; and the right to seek judicial remedy. And yet, these days, people can say that human rights can be cast away in favor of certain “higher” goals, such as peace and security, the elimination of drugs, criminality and terrorism, and thus the importance of the exhibit “Karapatan: Artists Stand for Human Rights,” mounted from June 13 to 30, 2017, at the NCCA Gallery.

The exhibit was part of the 2017 Looking for Juan Outdoor Banner Show of the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustain-able Development (CANVAS), a non-profit organization that works with the creative community to promote children's liter-acy, explore national identity, and broaden public awareness for Philippine art, culture, and environment. The Looking for Juan Outdoor project seeks to collaborate with artists and writers every year in exploring the use of art to encourage debate, reflection, and discussion on selected social issues, particularly national identity, free expression, and sustainable development.

“Karapatan” featured works by Emman Acasio, Rex “Dasig” Aguilar, Ledl Arvn, Renee Avila, Aiya Balingit, Janardan Balingit, Gori Bautista, Chelle Bebita, Lawrence Canto, Campo, Keb Cer-da, Marina Ceriola, Thomas Daquioag, Joseph Fraylon, Michael de Guzman, Boyet de Mesa, Carl Dumdum, Dale Erispe, Bam Garibay, Nina Garibay, Riel Hilario, Kyze Mamaril, Mark Mar-tinez, Pow Marin, John Marin, Norlie Membian, Dengcoy Miel, Chad Montero, Bert Monterona, Ottoniel Neri, Archie Oclos, Jim Orencio, Cheryl Owen, Sam Penaso, Eko Silverio, Adeodatus Santa Juana, Juan Tulani Tulas and Kiko Urquiola.

To take a cue from John Berger, who reflected on a Vietnam war photograph by photographer Donald McCullin, it can be ar-gued that some of the images and ideas in this exhibit reminded us “shockingly of the reality, the lived reality, behind the abstractions of political theory, casualty statistics or news bulletins.” And so we see through the eyes of the artists participating here—things that we perhaps have not seen, refuse to know, or choose to forget or ignore.

For What is Right

Human Rights for All by Bert Monterona

The First Mourning in Manila by Mark Martinez

Karne (Black Sun, Black Stars) Dengcoy Miel


IN MEMORIAM

Erma M. CuizonWriter and Editor

Award-winning writer and editor Erma M. Cuizon passed away on Novem-ber 9, 2017, after suffering from a

fractured limb. She was eighty-one years old.Born and raised in Cebu, Cuizon fin-

ished a bachelor’s degree in literature at the College of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. She had been with SunStar Publishing since the

early 1990s as editor of SunStar Weekend as well as a regular column.

Cuizon’s first book, Time of Year, is a collection of essays, published by Giraffe Books in 1999. Her second book, published by the University of Santo Tomas Publish-ing House, is a collection of short stories, Homecoming and Other Stories. In 2006, she published the novel Women in the House

(UST Publishing House). She co-authored Angelica’s Daughters: A Dugtungan Novel (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2010) with Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Nadine Sarreal Susan Evangelista and Veronica Montes. She edited the anthology Babayeng Sugid: Cebu Stories (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2011) with Erlinda K. Alburo, and The Cebu We Know (Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2009). Cuizon’s other essay collections are Vital Flow (UST Publishing House, 2001), and Woman: Collected Essays (University of San Carlos Press, 2014).

Cuizon co-founded the Women in Literary Arts-Cebu (WILA) in 1991 with Alburo and Ester Tapia. She won the Phil-ippine Free Press Literary Award for fiction and the Mariano Manguerra Award for Outstanding Writer in the Literary Arts.


BUSINESS MAIL: Entered as third-class mail at Manila Central Post Office under Permit No. 3C-14-10-276, dated October 14, 2014. Subject to postal inspection.

Send your comments and inquiries to The Editor, NCCA, Public Affairs and Information Office 633 General Luna Street, 1002 Intramuros, Manila. Tel. (+63 2) 527-2192 to 96 • Fax (+63 2) 527-5529 • E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] • Web site: www.ncca.gov.ph

Empoweringthe Filipino

Imagination

strings that bind, rhythm that defines

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