Music in Mindanao Indigenous Practices: Himig Collection, On Philippine History and Culture 1 Comment

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MUSIC IN MINDANAO INDIGENOUS PRACTICES

Himig Collection, On Philippine History and Culture 1 Comment
Indigenous Philippine folklore is characterized by sacred rituals and

practices, and made more fervent and vibrant by the music that
accompanies them.
In Mindanao, the sounds of the agum and guimbao signal the assembly of

the participants in the performance of sacrifices by indigenous groups.
The miminsad, a dance song, is also chanted as they walk before the altar.
The wedding feast is another occasion where music plays a key role. Some
Muslim groups play music using small and large kettledrums as
accompaniment to dancing, one of the highlights of the celebration.
In Jolo, the sua-sua is a celebrated courtship song and dance that has

often been modernized for troupe performances.
A war dance in Bukidnon called the sagayan epitomizes the gallantry of
Muslim combatants while little girls perform a festival dance wherein they
wear hollow copper anklets and ring little cells to produce certain sounds
“to the accompaniment of a variety of tom-tom and an indigenous
xylophone.” (Bañas 1975).
In Agusan, the tud-ob, a song composed of four notes, is sung during rice
harvests. In Sulu, four gongs are used to produce a kind of music called
the tagungo.
Mindanao folk music includes the ancient Muslim folk song and dance
called estijaro, and a Mindanao folk song called uruyan. These are usually
accompanied by drums, gongs, or other percussion instruments like
the subing, a gong.
Source:
Bañas, R.C. (1975). Pilipino Music and Theater. Quezon City : Manlapaz

Publishing.
Photo:
Ceremonial music gongs, Marawi City, 1970 (Retrato Photo Archive)
Asiatic Musical Traditions in the Philippines
Asiatic Musical Tradition in the

Philippines
https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-
the-arts-sca/music/asiatic-musical-traditions-in-the-philippines/
A Southeast Asian Musical Tradition is practiced by those

who resisted Spanish—and later American—Colonial
Rule, comprising roughly 10% of the Philippine population.
These musical traditions relate to the social, political and
economic life of the people, and are connected to their
spiritual beliefs and their relationship to the natural
environment.
Generally, two “types” of Southeast Asian music could
be found in the archipelago. A “northern tradition” found in
the Cordillera Mountains in northern Luzon and a
“southern tradition” found in the islands of Mindoro,
Palawan, and in Mindanao and the Sulu group of islands
in the extreme south. Northern traditions relate to various
music cultures in continental Southeast Asia while
southern traditions relate to the immediate islands in
insular Southeast Asia.
In Mindanao in the south, Islamic groups consist of
the Maguindanao, Maranao, Yakan, Sangil, Tausug, Sama,
Badjao, and the Jama Mapun. Non-Moslem groups, sometimes
referred to collectively by outsiders as Lumads, consist of
the Manobo, Bagobo, Subanun, Tiruray, Tagabili, Mandaya,
Mansaka, the T’boli and the B’laan. The Pala-wan,
Tagbanwa and Cuyunin are located in the island of Palawan,
while various groups like the Hanunoo-Mangyan,
the Alangan and the Iraya are collectively called the Mangyanand
are located in the island of Mindoro, south of Luzon.
In the island of Mindanao, however, bossed gongs of various
profiles are played in ensembles, usually led by a row of gongs
(kulintang) and supported or accompanied by other gongs such
as, among the Maguindanao, and the Maranao, the agung,
the gandingan and the babandil and a drum, the dabakan. Among
the Tiruray, the agung ensemble is made up of five individual
gongs, each played by one person. Among theBagobo, these
gongs of the agung type called tagunggo are suspended with
ropes and played by two, three or more persons. Smaller
suspended gongs, on the other hand, are sometimes
called kulintang. Bossed gongs are also found in Palawan and in
Mindoro.
imilar traditions of bossed gong ensembles in Mindanao are found
in the islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumatra, and elsewhere in
the southern archipelago. In both the northern and southern
traditions, however, gongs are associated with important
community celebrations such as harvests and rituals.
hile ring flutes log drums, xylophones, suspended beams, two-
stringed boat lutes and bamboo jew’s harps relate to insular
Southeast Asia.
n the south, the use of a tense, high-pitched style with complex
melismas characterizes solo singing among the Moslem groups.
This style is used in the singing of epics such as the Radya
Indara Patra and theDiwata Kasalipan among the Maguindanao,
the bayok a love song among the Maguindanao and the Maranao,
and the Tausug lugu, a solo song sung in Arabic, mostly by
women, for important Islamic ceremonies. A more “relaxed” style
in the natural speaking range with less melisma is used by non-
Moslem groups. Among the Manobo, for instance, singing is
accompanied by a two-stringed boat lute and/or a bamboo
polychordal zither.
While the music of these peoples relate very much to their social
and natural environment, their continuous absorption into the
mainstream Philippine culture seems to pose a threat to their
survival and the cultivation of their culture.
About the Author:
Jonas Baes has done research on the Iraya-Mangyan
music of Mindoro which has been published in journals
such as “Ethnomusicology” and the “International Review
of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music”. He teaches at
the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music, the Philippine
High School for the Arts, and the University of the
Philippines.
Chavacano Song by Major Chords

https://www.tagaloglang.com/chavacano-song-by-major-chords/
Chavacano or Chabacano is a Spanish-based creole language
spoken in the Philippines. It is most associated with the
Zamboanga area on the southern island of Mindanao. There are
at least one million Filipinos who speak this language fluently.
Top 4 Festivals In Zamboanga, The Philippines
https://trip101.com/article/festivals-in-zamboanga
The Philippines can be considered a melting pot of different cultures that
date back to colonial times. Zamboanga City is located on the country’s
southern and second-largest island—Mindanao. It has not only accepted
the culture of Spanish colonial masters but also imbibed some of the
Spaniards’ traits as well. The culture of celebrating festivals has been
well-preserved, and such fiestas, as they are commonly called, are
abundant up to the present. Experience the intermingling of Spanish and
Filipino cultures as you visit and take part in the top festivals in
Zamboanga, the Philippines.

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https://www.filipinaslibrary.org.

MUSIC IN MINDANAO INDIGENOUS PRACTICES

Indigenous Philippine folklore is characterized by sacred rituals and

In Mindanao, the sounds of the agum and guimbao signal the assembly of

In Jolo, the sua-sua is a celebrated courtship song and dance that has

Bañas, R.C. (1975). Pilipino Music and Theater. Quezon City : Manlapaz

Asiatic Musical Traditions in the Philippines

Asiatic Musical Tradition in the

A Southeast Asian Musical Tradition is practiced by those

Chavacano Song by Major Chords

Top 4 Festivals In Zamboanga, The Philippines

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