Most young men’s dances enact a fierce fight or a martial art.

Among the Badjao,

Tausug, and Sama, the silat, also known as kuntao, lima, pansak, belongs to the

general and martial langka, a gamesome dance. The Badjao learn this out at sea or on

a boat where they spend most of their lives. Among the Maranao, the youth is

initiated into the marinaw which is a precombat chant and ceremony which lead into

the full-fledged sagayan dance that transforms him into a respectable young man.

Like the sagayan, the Subanon soten supplicates the spirits to give strength and

courage to a warrior who shakes a shield and palm leaves.Courtship is enacted by

adventurous young men and attractive maidens whenever the Matigsalug play the

saluray and kuglong/haglong/faglong, and sing and dance together. Among the

Kalinga, the gangsa dominates the rhythm of the salip where a roosterlike male

swoops around a maiden who as well spreads out her arms wide or keeps them on

her hips. He may hold in hand a gift for her.

A similar imitation of two mating fowls obtains in the manmanok of the Bago.

They use blankets that are spread out with their hands or are kept around the hips.

The men seem to scratch the ground, while the women keep shuffling steps close

together and to the ground. Again, blankets enlarge the movements of the takik of

the Ibaloy with hands held up and flicking with percussive accents. The nearby

Gaddang of Nueva Vizcaya dance out a similar rooster-and-hen courtship in

bumbuak, without the usual blankets but with active hands and shuffling, skipping

steps.

Even more gamesome is the Maguindanao chase-and-run through several malong

held up by friends. Surprising is the dance of the lovers performed inside one such

malong in which dancers strike symmetrical poses. The malong also serves as a

whip against intruders in the danced liaison. Flirtatious but bolder are the salok or
scooping hand gesture of the old, old pantomina in Bicol, which is still danced by

the much marginalized Abiyan. More sedate is the dalling-dalling of the Tausug

(from the English word “darling”) also called pagsangbay. A dance that displays

grace as much as affection, it is considered a courtship dance, especially when

done in pairs.

Among the Yakan, a young man has to dress up fastidiously to visit a girl. In the

negotiation for marriage called muatangan, the whole community is involved. The

man is borne on the shoulders, bringing the dowries. On the final day, the man

rides a horse and is shaded with an umbrella. The wedding itself called pagkawin is

long and complex, with the bride and groom heavily made up. The groom offers

food to his bride and puts a scarf of cloth on his seated bride’s shoulders.

Flirtatiously but demurely she rejects all these several times but finally accepts. In

their sumptuous makeup and colorful headdresses and sablay, the couple finally

dances in the schooled style of the pindulas.

Pagkawin is also the name of the Badjao wedding which is celebrated on a boat, with

maidens dancing by the bride’s side as the kulintangan, agong, and the tambourinelooking dambara
play. As in the Yakan rite, a datu or imam officiates and covers the

groom’s hand and his own (with their thumbs “kissing”) with a ceremonial cloth.

To finalize the relationship, they both hold the bride’s head.

In kasal sa banig, the Bagobo go through the exchanges of food and chewing of betel

by a stream. The couple is made to incline their heads and their hair is wound

together. Similarly, the kawin of the Manobo includes the exchange of food, plus

the sacrifice of a pig on which the groom and bride ritually place their feet. In the

end they both step over the pig. General festivity follows.

Food is again exchanged in the Matigsalug’s paasawauy where there is an

exchange of gifts between the bridal parties. The groom’s thigh is placed over the
bride’s while they are seated on a mat. The datu talks to the couple about marital

obligations and finally makes them stand back to back with their heads together.

Again marriage is negotiated on a mat among the Bilaan. In their samsung the

parents negotiate over the dowry, much coming from the groom’s side (prized

gongs, jewelry, implements, etc.). There is also an exchange of verbal chants and

of kampilan called falimac. From the bride’s side a tinalak cloth is given to the

groom’s parents to clarify that she had not been “bought.” Finally, the groom is

urged to put a foot on his bride’s shoulder, while the hesitant bride does the same,

maybe with a provocative shove. Then they dance and everyone else follows. In

their tinalak clothes, headscarves, and jewelry, the people dance to the tangungo

gongs and the perpetual tinkle of women’s belt-bells.

A most interesting marital arrangement is made in the pig-agawan of the Talaandig.

Here, three maidens attract the attention of one man (the group has more women

than men), with their tall feathered combs, bead jewelry, and embroidered scarves.

Dancing all along, the man plays the role of the prized and fickle one, teasing each

maiden as his or not his choice. After the women have taken turns shoving each

other, the man finally chooses by laying his kris on one of the women’s scarves.

Similarly, the karasaguyon of the fastidious Tboli of Cotabato also provokes the

women to preen themselves up endlessly and fight over a man who makes a choice

for his fifth wife. These women are preferably sisters and cousins of his first wife,

and they may be as young as 10 or 11 years of age.

After performing their own courtship dance called talip where the man lures a

woman with an attractive blanket to place on her shapely shoulders, the Ifugao

celebrate the intaneg or wedding with the festival dance called dinnuyya. In the

presence of a mumbaki drinking ceremonial wine, the bride is dressed with the
dong-dong and the groom with the horned kango on their heads.

In most ethnic groups, mourning is communally observed with song and dance.

The Tinguian will have three to four women representing their villages and

relations to the dead conversing over the victim; in the part called sangsang-it,

they sing over their dead. The Abiyan will dance around the grave in the lidong.

Young and old will do the same in the say-ang. In the monghimong, the Ifugao

men turn up in mass at the burial of a murdered tribe member, bouncing up and

down in rhythm on one or two feet. Wearing white headdresses from betel-nut

palm, crowned with red dongla leaves, some carry a spear in hand or two. The

rest carry the death sticks called bangibang which they beat in strict syncopation.

These used to be stained with their enemies’ blood, now only with carabao or

chicken blood. Their dead, seated and addressed by the living, is fetched at noon

so that when he acts in revenge it will also be as clear and bright. In the udol of the

Tagakaolo, the women lure back their men from battle by dancing around and

beating a musical log called udol. This log is pounded, as belts and anklets with

bells are shaken for the spirits to hear. The smoke of kamangyan (incense) also

leads the spirits to find their way back home. This call of the grieving women can

last for days.

The Occupational Dances

Life in the ethnic communities is characterized by a variety of activities relating to

livelihood or defense. These activities are joyfully celebrated in mime and dance.

Most common to the varied ethnic cultures of the Philippines is the transformation

of the rice cycle into dance. The Bilaan, for instance, act out a whole sequence,

from men choosing and clearing a field, to women bringing food, the men digging

the ground with poles, the women sowing seeds from their baskets, and finally,
harvesting to a more leisurely rhythm of the haglong and gongs. The same is done

by the Bukidnon with their tudak (digging poles), seed and harvest baskets, and

pestles for pounding—all to the accompaniment of the same musical instruments

and an open-mouthed bamboo kalatong. The Talaandig of northern Mindanao also

enact the same planting style in their tudak, while the Aeta of Zambales, in their

own manner, dance out the planting of gabi in mangbutot.

Being hunters, many tribal peoples create actions appropriate to the object of the

hunt—a bird, a beehive, a frog, or fish. The lakulak (frogs) are the imaginary objects

of the hunt in the Matigsalug panulo. A man dances this out with his bolo,

while a woman attends with a basket to store his takings. Similarly, an Aeta of

Pampanga, boy or man, dances out much of his life, like in the traditional talipi, or a

situation where he is attacked by bees as in the pinapanilan.

Fishing itself is very much around in this archipelago of islands and lakes. The

Bilaan dramatically mime and dance out the amti with fish traps, prepare a plant’s

poison to daze their catch, build a fire for their meal, and mark the rhythm with

their bodies, even as they crawl or are up on their busy feet. Danger and defeat can

engulf a tribe’s life and they have to put up a fight. Again, these are not just

valiantly met but creatively danced out. Dancing gives courage before (and after) a

battle and relieves if not actually transforms grief.

In the kalasag, the Matigsalug enact a combat with shields and spears. The dance

is full of hops, skips, and vibratory hand movements with a spear.