Country in South-east Asia comprising a complex archipelago on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean to the north-east of Indonesia.
II. Indigenous and Muslim-influenced traditions.
JOSÉ MACEDA (I, II, 1), LUCRECIA R. KASILAG (II, 2), DELLA G. BESA (II, 3), LEONOR OROSA GOQUINGCO (III)
The Philippine islands have become isolated from centres of cultural change in insular and continental South-east Asia. A strong Hindu influence in Java and Bali and a Buddhist mission in Thailand made scarcely any impression on the Philippines: there are no temples like those of Borobudur or Angkor Wat, stories of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyana (popular in South-east Asian countries) are not represented in shadow plays, and Hindu gods are much less known than in Indonesia. Islam was the only great Asian tradition that left a significant mark among powerful groups in southern Mindanao and the Sulu islands, while Spanish and American institutions changed the cultural patterns of about 90% of the population, now totalling about 70 million. This vast majority, living in most parts of the islands, speak only eight languages, whereas the remaining 10% speak more than 100. The major 38 cultural-linguistic groups are represented in fig.1. The contrast illustrates how 10% of the population has preserved a culture related to their languages, while 90% of the population brought about new literary forms.
Three principal minority groups (including those influenced by Islam) live in two separate areas, the north and the south. Altogether, these three cultural groups comprise about 8% of the Philippine population, divided more or less evenly between those settled in the Cordillera mountain range in northern Luzon, the inland peoples of Mindanao, Palawan and Mindoro, and the Muslim groups in southern Mindanao and the Sulu islands. A fourth group may be added: the Negrito, a very small group living in scattered areas of Luzon and in remote southern mountain areas.
The traditions of these minorites are related to those of other cultural groups in continental and insular South-east Asia. There are common elements in their settlements, house structure, tattooing, basket weaving, cultivation of rice and root crops, habit of chewing betel-nuts, kinship systems, communication with spirits, practice of divination and shamanism. Some aspects of indigenous culture, such as the cultivation of rice and use of pottery and bamboo, may have ancient origins. Former land bridges with continental Asia relate flora, fauna and early man in the Philippines to those of the mainland.
In spite of the above similarities, cultural differences do exist, in particular between the northern Luzon peoples and the Mindanao groups in the south. In the north, the Negrito, a Spanish term for a culture with the local names Aeta, Ita, Abyan, Agta and Dumagat, are the oldest inhabitants of the Philippines. They were formerly an itinerant group and are now partly settled in widely scattered areas in different parts of Luzon, in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Albay, Quezon, Bataan, Zambales, Isabela and Cagayan. The Negrito are similarly widely dispersed in the southern Philippines, living in communities in the island of Negros, as well as in Palawan, Panay and eastern Mindanao. These groups have persisted with their cultural ways, perhaps for thousands of years, although they are now influenced by their neighbours. Several anthropologists and linguists have studied their culture through the years.
The Kalingga, Ifuago, Bontok, Tingguian, Ibaloi, Isneg, Karao and Kankanay, referred to here as the Cordillera groups, are a completely different culture with a complex agricultural system; they formerly practised headhunting. They appoint ‘priests’ or specialists to lead prayers in complex rituals related to the cultivation of rice and use flat gongs without bosses and derivatives of the bamboo plant as their principal musical instruments. The Ilonggot in eastern Luzon are a people apart from the Cordillera with a similar culture.
In the south, mountain peoples in the islands of Mindanao, Palawan and Mindoro practise a slash-and-burn or swidden agriculture. The languages they speak (Ata, Bagobo, Bukid, Bilaan, Mandaya, Manobo, Mansaka, Palawan, Subanen, Tagakaolo, Tagbanwa, Tiboli and Tiruray) belong to those of a different group from the north. These mountain peoples grow a large species of bamboo, which accounts for the increased size of their tube zithers and other instruments. Their most important musical instruments are heavy, suspended gongs (agung), used as dowry and inheritance and played in all sorts of community activities.
In the 14th century, seafarers and trade with Indonesia introduced Islam into southern Mindanao among peoples living near the Mindanao river and the Sulu islands (the Magindanao, Maranao, Tausug, Sama-Samal, Badjao, Yakan and Jama Mapun). This brought about changes in political systems, education, dress and food taboos and introduced the practice of polygamy. These peoples became skilled in woodwork, brassware and especially in the performance of the gong-chime (kulintang), which was added to the existing ensembles of suspended gongs (agung).
Two centuries later, the Spanish introduced Christianity, Spanish law and feudal land tenure; in 1898, the United States brought an American way of life, leaving a democratic political system that distinguishes the Philippines from its neighbours. The ‘Westernized’ peoples of the Philippines may be divided geographically north to south according to the eight languages they speak: Ilokano, Pangasinan, Kapangpangan, Tagalog, Bikol, Waray, Sebuano and Hiligaynon. Stone churches, which exist in almost every town in the Philippines, in a courtyard surrounded by the houses of the landed gentry, symbolize the foundation of a Westernized culture that has produced folksongs (kundiman) and, since the early 20th century, renowned performers and composers of European classical music.
Under the influence of technology and mass media, musical interest has come to centre on popular music, transmitted mostly through radio, television and recordings. Popular songs are sung in the vernacular by local celebrities with large followings and played by groups in indigenous styles.
GEWM, iv (‘The Lowland Christian Philippines’, C. Canave-Dioquino; ‘Upland Peoples of the Philippines’, J. Maceda; ‘Art Music of the Philippines in the 20th Century’, R. Santos; ‘Islamic Communities of the Southern Philippines’, R. Santos; ‘Popular music in the Philippines’, R. Santos)
J. Maceda: ‘Music in the Philippines’, in M. Hood and J. Maceda: Music, Handbuch der Orientalistik, Abt. iii, Bd.vi (Leiden, 1972), 28–39
W.G. Solheim: ‘An Earlier Agricultural Revolution’, Scientific American, ccxxvi/4 (1972), 34–41
J. Maceda: ‘Music in the Philippines in the Nineteenth Century’, Musikkulturen Asiens, Afrikas und Ozeaniens im 19. Jahrhundert, ed. R. Günther (Regensburg, 1973), 215–31
J. Maceda: ‘Music in Southeast Asia: Tradition, Nationalism, Innovation’, Cultures, i/3 (1974), 75–94
J. Maceda: ‘Southeast Asian Arts: Music’, Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia, ed. W.E. Preece (Chicago, 15/1974), 873–8
J. Maceda: ‘A Search for an Old and a New Music in Southeast Asia’, AcM, li (1979), 160–69
J. Maceda: A Manual of a Field Music Research with Special Reference to Southeast Asia (Quezon City, 1981)
J. Maceda: ‘Contemporary Music in the Philippines and Southeast Asia’, National Centre for the Performing Arts Journal [Bombay], xii/4 (1983), 31–5
J. Maceda: ‘A Concept of Time in a Music of Southeast Asia’, EthM, xxx (1986), 11–53
In the northern Philippines, indigenous music is represented by the Negrito, a very small minority mostly from Luzon, and the people of the Cordillera mountain range, a larger population. In the south, the indigenous and Muslim-influenced peoples live separately. There, the influence of Islam is discernible in many singing styles and in some flute and reedpipe music, but there is no apparent Muslim influence in the music of the gong ensemble kulintang or in terms of other musical instruments.
(ii) Cordillera music in Luzon.
Philippines, §II, 1: Music: Dance
Among the Negrito in Bataan, marriage rituals and those for honouring the dead or curing the sick still exist. In a marriage ceremony (ambahan), ritual singing, dancing and jumping around a fire are essential elements. The singing style consists of a few lines of melismatic melodies sung by a leader and repeated responsorially by the crowd of men and women. The Negrito often speak of a need for gongs, but when provided with one they do not seem to have a traditional musical structure for its performance. The bansi (flute) is used as a courting instrument; the kuryapi (two-string lute) is still remembered, though it has long since disappeared from this region. The Negrito in Zambales have instruments similar to the kimbal (conical drum) used by the Ibaloi. They make a bamboo zither with two parallel strings connected by a bridge, as well as a flute with a chip on its ledge similar to that of Mindanao (see fig.14a below). In Zambales, the Negrito's five-string guitar resembles that used by their Westernized neighbours.
In the northern part of Quezon province, among the Dumagat of eastern Luzon, the musical bow, a rare instrument in the Philippines, is most probably an original Negrito musical instrument and is the single instrument that is found only among the Dumagat, being unknown to other indigenous groups. It is made from the midrib of a palm, with two strings of thin vine connecting the two ends of the midrib. To increase the strings' resonance the performer places the convex side of the palm midrib in his open mouth, between his teeth. A simple, three-note melody is repeated many times (two notes a 3rd apart, played on two strings, and one note at the interval of a 4th). Other possible resonators include a tin can, on which the palm midrib is placed, and the performer's own chest, on which the tin can in turn may be set. The other musical instruments played by the Dumagat have been borrowed from adjacent cultures, just as song texts contain words from their neighbours.
Philippines, §II, 1: Music: Dance
(a) Gongs and gong ensembles. Gangsa, flat gongs of bronze or brass (see Gangsa (i)), are found only in the north, principally in the Cordillera mountain range of Luzon ( fig.2). There are some similarities between Luzon gongs and gongs found among the mountain peoples in central Vietnam (similarities in name, performance context and playing technique), which may indicate musical and even prehistoric relationships between the two mountain peoples. The gongs have a diameter of approximately 30 cm, and their perpendicular rims are about 5 cm high, producing diffused sounds of an unfocussed pitch. The Bontok play gongs with sticks in an ensemble of six or more players as they dance in circular patterns. On occasion, one or a pair of dancers improvise beats with several dance postures while resting in place. The Kalingga play gongs with sticks as well as the hands. The Ibaloi use only two gongs together with two conical drums, while the Karao play with several gongs as they dance in rows.
Gangsa are played in such ceremonies as peace pacts between two communities, the inauguration of a new house or rice field, life-cycle celebrations given by the rich, or weddings. Gongs are stored by families inside their houses; they are lent only for special occasions, with the borrower taking full responsibility for their care and safe return: if a gong was dropped and broken it would be the duty of the borrower to replace it, which might mean crossing mountains to obtain a gong of similar tonal quality from a neighbouring tribe.
The value of a gong is measured in different ways: it may be offered as a dowry, sold or exchanged for animals, land and property. During ceremonies, a succession of community leaders perform on the gangsa or dance to its music. Gangsa music itself enjoys a certain preference among the Kalingga: during recreation and other secular occasions when gangsa playing is not allowed, young boys and girls continue to play its music using other instruments (zithers, tubes, buzzers, xylophones, panpipes). Whether plucked, struck or blown, the gangsa rhythm is accompanied by recognizable gangsa sounds; there is such an interest in gangsa music that the original solo music for bamboo instruments has been neglected and almost forgotten.
Gong ensembles of the north vary in their instrumentation: some consist entirely of gongs, others are combined with drums. The topayya ensemble, found among the Kalingga and Tingguian, consists of six flat gongs played with the palms of both hands as if the gongs were drums. Each performer carries his own gong suspended from his belt. He sits on his heels, laying the instrument on his lap with the open side facing down. Four performers with the biggest gongs of diminishing size use hand techniques consisting of a two-part repetition of movements, each part lasting about a quaver (at crotchet = c116). The first part is a stroke of the left palm on the centre of the gong, which makes a ringing sound. The second part consists of the same stroke, staccato, followed by a strong slap and a slide of the right hand from the centre to the outer edge of the gong away from the performer, the effect being an abrupt sound, followed by a swishing noise. The two parts are repeated continually. The four gongs have staggered entrances: the first gong, called balbal, begins the rhythm with the movements just described; the second, salbat, plays the same rhythm, but its first beat starts on the second beat of the balbal; the first beat of the third gong, katlo, will coincide with the second beat of the salbat, and similarly, the first beat of the fourth, kapat, will coincide with the second beat of the katlo. The overall effect is a mixture of faintly rising melody and harmony produced by the first left-hand beat of each gong and the combination of tapping and sliding sounds in the second beat of all four gongs. On top of this vibrating medley, the fifth gong, pokpok or opop, sounds a two-tone ostinato. The sixth gong, anungos, has a freer pattern, which may also turn into an ostinato (ex. 1).
The itundak or tinebtebak, an ensemble of seven gongs with different rhythms used by the Karao, accompanies dances with music played by beating sticks on the centres of the gongs instead of playing them with the hands. Here, the gangsa has a V-shaped wooden handle from which the gong is suspended by a string. The left hand holds the handle while the right strikes the gong with a cloth-headed stick. Among the Karao, the inner (ventral) side of the gong is struck, while among the Kalingga the dorsal side is struck. The Karao's ensemble has seven performers, each playing a rhythm on his own gong, each of which has a distinct timbre.
The rhythms of five principal gongs in the itundak ensemble are shown in ex.2. Gongs are played during big feasts, especially in the babeng, traditionally given by rich men of the community. While men play the gongs, women dance in rows, either advancing and retreating in slow dance steps with discreetly lifted legs, or making clockwise and anticlockwise formations. The right leg is raised and swings sideways from the knee in time with the music; then the woman hops forward on her left foot, with her arms raised straight in front of her. The tinebtebak dance has a different rhythm and dance position: as the left foot steps forward, the body's full weight is put on it; after this the body leans backwards, transferring its weight to the heel of the right foot.
In the palook, an ensemble of gongs struck with sticks, played by the Kalingga and Bontok, the back sides of seven gongs are beaten in one or two rhythms by seven men who assume various body movements and dancing postures (fig.3). In single file they advance sideways in short steps, first led by one end of the line then by the other; occasionally they move forward making a serpentine line. Sometimes they scarcely lift their feet and at other times they raise them high. The gongs are held in different positions: swinging, rocking raised above the shoulder or lowered to the ground. Body positions include crouching, standing upright, stooping or swaying. The women enter later: they appear suddenly, encircle the men and thus end the dance.
The kulimbet ensemble of the Ibaloi, consisting of two long, narrow barrel drums (one high-pitched and one low) and one gong, plays in a curing ceremony in which a couple dance anticlockwise around a sacrificial pig. The woman, as celebrant and principal dancer, wields a knife in her right hand; suddenly, the knife drips blood. The sick person revives and the knife is handed to the owner of the house for safe-keeping.
In the inila-ud, an ensemble of three gongs and one cylindrical drum found among the northern Kalingga and Tingguian, the first gong is called patpat, the second keb-ang, the third sapul and the drum tambul. Each gong is laid (dorsal side up) on the lap of a performer, who strikes it with the left hand using a stick, while tapping it with the palm of the right hand. In the pinala-iyan ensemble (four gongs and one drum) of the same two groups, the first and third gongs (talagutok and saliksik) are laid on the ground with the rims down and are each struck with two sticks. The second gong, pawwok, is held upright, in a slanting position with its base touching the ground. The fourth gong, pattong, is laid with its open side up; the stick beats on this ventral side of the gong. The tambul is played with two sticks. In a third ensemble, the pinalandok (six gongs), the gangsa are suspended from the belts of the six players, who slap them with both hands. The musical form used is the same as that of the topayya.
In the Ifugao gangha (three gongs), one gong (tobop), higher-pitched with more brilliant overtones, is played with the hands: the left hand taps while the right fist slides on the instrument. The other two gongs (hibat, ahot) are played with sticks beating on their inner (ventral) side. The gangha are played during harvest ceremonies or the inauguration of a new house, and accompany line dances (tayao) by men in semi-crouching positions with their arms stretched forward, and with open palms turned up. In another position the left hand stretches forward with the right arm bent at the elbow.
The Isneg have an ensemble consisting of hansa (two gongs) and ludag (one conical drum). The gongs are played by women while the long drum, which needs more force to produce loud sounds, is played by men. The ensemble accompanies two kinds of dances: tabok and talip. In the Ibaloi sulibao ensemble (two gongs, two conical drums and a pair of iron clappers), one deep-toned drum (kimbal) starts a rhythmic ostinato, immediately followed by the higher-pitched drum (sulibao) in another rhythm (fig.4). One gong (pinsak) is held in the left hand by its V-shaped handle, its dorsal side touching the forearm; the ventral side of the gong is struck with a soft stick held in the right hand. The second gong (kalsa) is played similarly, but has a freer part. The clappers (palas) provide another rhythmic improvisational part of the kalsa (see ex.3)
A Negrito ensemble composed of talibeng (bamboo drum) and palayi (gong) is played in an anito (spirit) ceremony to cure the sick. Among the Negrito of Zambales a cooking-pan is used instead of a gong, as the proper gong is no longer available.
(b) Solo instruments and other ensembles. Instruments made from bamboo, wood and other tropical materials do not enjoy the same prestige as gongs. However, they have important uses in rituals and secular activities. Timbres vary with the materials used (bamboo predominates), the shapes of the instruments and the manner in which they are played; often these timbral qualities are more important than rhythm and melody.
Idiophones. Most of the idiophones in the north are made of bamboo. Bamboo percussion tubes (Kalingga tongatong; Isneg tungtung; Negrito talibengan) are played by holding the body of the tube, open end up, in the right hand. The tube's closed lower end is then struck against a hard block of stone or wood while its open end is covered and uncovered by the palm of the left hand. Among Kalingga boys and girls, seven tubes are played during hours of recreation to imitate topayya (gong) music. Originally the tubes were used to accompany dances done by a dawak (medium) to drive away bad spirits from a person's body. The Isneg play these percussion tubes as solo instruments. The Negrito percussion tube, comprising three bamboo segments, is longer than the Kalingga variety.
A second type of bamboo percussion tube, the quill-shaped patang-ug (Kalingga) or patanggo (Isneg), is held near its base by the right hand and is struck against a hard object (e.g. another tube, a stone or the handle of a large knife). A second tone is produced by stopping a hole at the tube's base with the third finger. Among the Kalingga, this instrument is played on the way to a peace pact or an important celebration; it is believed to prevent ill-omens from befalling the celebration. An ensemble of six such tubes may also be played to imitate topayya music.
The patatag (Kalingga), an instrument comprised of six separate bamboo xylophone staves, is played with one segment laid on the lap of each performer. The ensemble uses the techniques of topayya music: the left hand, which strikes the blade with a stick, corresponds to the left hand's motions on the topayya, while strokes and slides by the right-hand stick correspond to the right hand's motions in topayya playing.
The bamboo buzzer (Kalingga balingbing, fig.5; Isneg pahinghing, paginggeng; Ibaloi pakkung) has a slit dividing the bamboo tube in half, allowing the halves to vibrate and buzz when one half is struck against the heel of the left hand. The instrument is played by young girls in the evening for recreation, or along paths to drive away evil spirits lurking there. The Kalingga use six of the instruments together as in topayya music.
For the bamboo clapper hangar (Ifugao), two halves of a bamboo tube are shaped and narrowed towards the middle of the tube, making them flexible enough to flap against each other. In one ritual, men singers rhythmically strike the carcass of a sacrificed pig with this instrument to produce the clapping sounds.
The jew's harp (Kalingga ulibao, giwong, onnat; Ibaloi ko-ding; Bontok alibaw, abafiw, afiw, olat, ulibaw; Isneg oribao; Negrito kulibao; Ifugao biqqung, guyud) in the north may be of brass, bronze or bamboo, with or without a string. Most jew's harps in the Cordillera are made of a copper alloy but have the same names as those of bamboo. Among the Ifugao, the jew's harp with a string to pull and make the blade vibrate is called guyud, while that without a string is the biqqung. There are various rhythms associated with the jew's harp, but none is characteristic of any one region. Among the Kalingga the giwong is used to imitate gong sounds and vocal music.
Two wooden instruments are the percussion yoke-bar (Ifugao bangibang, pattung; fig.6) and percussion beams (Ilonggot pamagekan). The first is a yoke-shaped bar with a small handle at its middle, which is held by the left hand as the right hand strikes one side of the bar, producing a ringing tone. A set consists of three such bars each played with a different rhythm. Hundreds of sets of bangibang may be played together by men from several villages when a violent death has occurred, or as part of other ceremonies. The percussion beams are played in pairs, one long and one short. The long beam is laid on the ground, and rhythms are played on it by five people, each with two sticks. At the same time, a drone is played on the shorter beam by one person. The music is used in an anito (spirit) ceremony to drive away malevolent spirits from the sick. Percussion beams of another type are used by the Tiruray. They are played, suspended, by two men; one beats an ostinato on a single beam, while the other plays the melody on two or three beams.
Chordophones. Zithers form an important class of chordophone in the north. The bamboo polychordal tube zither (Kalingga kolitong, kulibit; Ilonggot kolesing; Isneg kuritao, uritang) has from 5 to 11 strings, which are plucked by fingers of both hands (thumb plus the two or three fingers next to it). The tones are distributed between the right- and left-hand fingers to form a melodic ostinato through the alternate use of left and right hands. The parallel-string tube zither (Kalingga dungadung; Isneg pasing; Negrito tabengbeng) has two strings joined in the middle by a bridge or platform that is beaten with a stick, producing deep sounds (fig.7). The board zither (Ifugao taddeng; Ibaloi kaltsang) among the Ifugao has three strings of bamboo or wire, or three iron strands, which are tapped to imitate gong sounds, while among the Ibaloi it has four wire strings that are plucked.
The musical bow of the Agta Negrito of eastern Luzon can have as its resonator the performer’s mouth. Alternate plucking on the two strings by fingers of the right and left hands produces a simple rhythmic pattern of three tones. Other types of musical bow use different resonators: a tin can pressed against the chest or a pig's bladder resting on the two bow-strings.
The Ilonggot have a three-string fiddle (called kulibao, gisada or litlit) that is similar to but larger than the three-string fiddle (gitgit) of a southern Philippines group, the Hanunoo.
In addition to the above chordophones, some northern groups have adopted European-type instruments. The violin (Kalingga biyolin) is used to play song melodies; the guitar (Negrito gitara) is used to play one or two chords in a fast rhythm to accompany dances that imitate animal movements.
Aerophones. In addition to various types of flute, northern aerophones include panpipes, a stopped-flute ensemble and reedpipes. In the lip-valley or deep-notched flute (Kalingga tongali, paldong), the shape of the rim and the number (three plus one), size and placement of stops correspond exactly with those of lip-valley Mindanao flutes; the northern flute is shorter, however. The duct flute with an internal plug is found among the Ifugao (ongiyong), Ibaloi (kulasing), Kalingga (olimong) and Balangao (kaleleng). The kulasing and olimong have three plus one stops. The ‘chip on tube’ flute with external duct (Ilonggot tolali; Negrito bulungudyung) is arranged so that between the chip and the tube a small passage allows the flow of air against the edge of a hole into the tube chamber (see fig.15b below). The tolali and bulungudyung have three plus one stops.
The main characteristic of the bamboo nose flute (Bontok kaleleng; Isneg bali-ing; Kalingga tongali, enongol) is that its blowing-hole is bored through a bamboo node (fig.8). It has three plus one stops, and melodies played on it usually have a descending pattern. This type of flute is found almost nowhere else in the Philippines (though one has been seen in Palawan), a limited distribution that invites comparison with nose flutes elsewhere in South-east Asia.
The panpipes (Bontok diwdiw-as, diwas), a raft of five tubes, are no longer played in the Cordillera. The stopped-pipe ensemble (Kalingga saggeypo), comprising a set of five pipes, one for each player, may occasionally be played; its music simulates that of the topayya gong ensemble. The hupep of the Ifugao is an idioglot single-reed pipe about 7 mm in diameter and 24 cm long.
Philippines, §II, 1: Music: Dance
Among peoples of the Cordillera in Luzon there are no generic terms for song, only names for particular song forms. Among the Ibaloi, the badiw (leader-chorus singing) is the principal vocal form. It is used in ceremonies for the dead (du-udyeng, ta-tamiya) as well as on such occasions as weddings, peshit (anniversary feasts celebrated by rich couples) and thanksgiving rituals. In a du-udyeng, which may last for several nights, the badiw singers may speak in riddles, invite spirit-relatives to drink rice wine with the living or talk of properties left by the deceased, of humorous conversations between a song character and the evening's host and of plants and animals related to the deceased's entourage. At a peshit, the lines of verse in the badiw extol the virtues of the man being honoured. Leading members of each village take turns in these praise songs. The leader's verses are extemporized, but his melody follows a traditional pattern. The chorus repeats the last syllables of his lines in slower rhythm, and as it finishes its own melody, the leader must be ready with his next line (ex.4). This continuous opposition between leader and chorus lasts a long time, testing the soloist's creative ability and imagination.
Among the Bontok, one of the most important feasts is the chuno, the last of three ceremonies to commemorate the wedding of rich citizens. Another is the ap-apoy, held after the planting season to prevent calamities befalling the community. The kay-aya celebrates a war victory, and the siyenga is a curing ritual. The leader-chorus song form is used for all these occasions; specific songs include the Bontok churwassay, a funeral song for an older person who has just died, which uses a characteristic singing technique in which meaningless vowels are repeated many times before a word is formed (see ex.5).
With the Kalingga, the dango and ading song forms are traditional in important ceremonies such as peace pacts, weddings and discussions, and are used to express a declaration, greeting or statement related to the occasion. The restrained manner of singing, the economy in the use of notes and the formality of the event indicate these songs' importance in the society. In the ading (ex. 6) slides, uncertain pitches, trills, stops and speech-like sounds are particularly characteristic. After the initial song declarations and discussions, other types of song follow, including the ullalim (epic), ogayam (ballad), balaguyos and salidomay (popular songs). Other occasions for singing occur in curing ceremonies (dawak), laments for dead relatives (ibil, alba-ab), lullabies (owawi) and others.
(ii) Gongs and gong ensembles.
(iii) Solo instruments and other ensembles.
Philippines, §II, 2: Music: Western art music
Pre-Western traditions in the southern Philippines exist in the large island Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago and two smaller western islands, Palawan and Mindoro. In addition, in the islands of Panay and Negros, there are isolated minority groups who have retained their pre-Hispanic musical heritage though surrounded for four centuries by peoples who have become musically Westernized. Indigenous peoples are more widely scattered in these islands, while Muslims are centralized in western Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.
Instruments found only among Islamic groups are principally the kulintang (gong-chime), gabbang (xylophone), saunay (single-reed aerophone), biola (violin) and gandang (two-headed drum). Not all these instruments may have been brought to the islands by a Muslim culture; their presence may be the result of trade relations that the coastal people of Mindanao and island dwellers of Sulu had with several islands in Indonesia and Malaysia. The most common instrument among the Muslim groups is the kulintang, generally played in a group with other instruments. The saunay is a solo instrument, and the gabbang, though sometimes treated as a solo instrument, generally accompanies the suling (ring flute), the biola (violin) or a secular song (fig.9).
Instruments found among both indigenous peoples and Muslim groups are the agung (suspended bossed gong with wide rim), palendag (lip-valley flute), suling (ring flute), duct flute with a chip on its ledge, kudyapi (two-string lute), kubing (jew's harp), kagul (percussion beams) and the tube zither with parallel strings. The Agung with a wide, turned-in rim and high boss has the widest distribution among bronze instruments, found among practically all groups in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (fig.10). The indigenous groups do not generally use the kulintang except as an instrument borrowed from the Muslims. The most developed agung ensembles are those of the Tiruray, Tiboli and Bagobo; they are also played in pairs or in simple ensembles among the Manobo, Mansaka, Bukidnon, Mandaya, Subanen, Palawan and Tagbanwa. An interesting agung ensemble without a melody is found among groups in Palawan and Mindoro; its musical interest lies in timbral qualities and rhythmic counterpoint.
The polychordal tube zither is played only by the indigenous groups of Mindanao, while the parallel-string tube zither is used by the Maranao and Magindanao. Among the Tiruray, the polychordal tube zither is played by two women: one, holding one end of the tube, plays a melody on three strings, while the other, grasping the other end of the tube, plays a drone on two strings. Among the Tiboli and the Palawan the zither may also be played in unison with a kudyapi. Other instruments that appear only among indigenous groups are the single-string spike fiddle, stamping-tube, stamping-stick, log drums and board drums. A single-string spike fiddle is found among the Bilaan, Higaonon, Bukidnon and the Manobo. The stamping-tube was reported among the Manobo of Agusan; the stamping-stick among the Bukidnon is used agriculturally, to bore holes in which to drop seeds. The log drum of the Tagakaolo is similar to the board drum with jar resonators of the Yakan, which is suspended from a frame with the board lying a few centimetres above the ground. Two inverted jars, one big and one small, are suspended from the frame, their mouths barely touching the board. Two performers beat a steady rhythm in unison on one end of the board, while a third performer improvises another rhythm with changing patterns at the other end of the board.
Philippines, §II, 2: Music: Western art music
As in the north, bronze or brass gongs are the most important instruments, but in the south they are all bossed (with a protrusion in the centre). The presence of the boss and the structure of the gongs themselves both account for a difference in musical aesthetics between the north and the south: gongs in the south make round, full sounds in contrast to the diffused, unfocussed tone qualities of gongs in the north. Suspended bossed gongs are older instruments than the smaller gongs laid in a row (Kulintang) that were introduced in Sulu and in a limited area in southern Mindanao, probably through trade and commerce with the outside world. The arrival of kulintang in the Philippines, after hanging gongs, means that the musical concepts of ‘melody-producing’ gongs-in-a-row and ‘punctuating’ suspended gongs were initially separate entities, becoming fused over time. The music of the kulintang in the south is built on scales with identifiable pitches in contrast to the indefinite pitches of the northern flat gongs. Sound on bossed gongs (agung) may be cut off quickly by damping the boss with the left hand to produce short, drum-like effects. The lighter gongs of the Tiruray, with high-pitched sounds, are allowed to vibrate freely, while the heavy, suspended gongs of the Magindanao (gandingan) vibrate in long, low sounds.
While men are assigned to play the heavy gongs, adolescent or young boys and girls play the melody on the kulintang. In the town of Dulawan, boys practise it as a sport, competing with each other in virtuosity and musical skill; they make rhythmic permutations on three or four suspended gongs as a test of speed and endurance. In other towns adept women display their individual improvisational styles. Some kulintang are made in Lanao and Cotabato, but the older hanging gongs (agung) may have come from Kalimantan, Sarawak or Sabah, while the Kulintang gongs in a row probably came from the Moluccas, with whose chiefs the Magindanao Sultanates were associated politically. The agung (with a high boss and a wide rim) are the most valuable gongs; different types are widely distributed among Islamic and other groups in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.
Gong-chime ensembles, known as kulintang among the Badjao, Magindanao, Maranao, Samal, Tausug and Yakan, vary from group to group in their exact composition, the common element being the presence of the gong-chime, kulintang, itself (fig.11). The five instruments in the Magindanao kulintang ensemble are the kulintang (a gong-chime of eight gongs), babendil (gong with turned-in rim), agung (one or a pair of larger gongs with wide turned-in rims), gandingan (two pairs of gongs with narrow rims) and the debakan (cylindrical drum). The babendil is played with one or a pair of sticks striking its rim to produce thin, metallic sounds. The agung gives off short, dampened sounds, in contrast to the gandingan, which produces long, low vibrations. The debakan adds the sharp sounds of a struck membrane. (For melody of the kulintang and ostinatos of the other four instruments, see ex.7). In the Maranao kulintang ensemble the gandingan is absent. With the Yakan, not only is the gandingan absent, but the babendil is replaced by a lone bamboo pole laid on the ground and struck with two sticks as a percussion instrument. Among the Tausug and Samal the kulintang is accompanied by a double-headed drum (gandang) and suspended gongs tunggalan and duahan. The duahan consists of two gongs, one of which (huhugan or buahan) has a narrow rim similar to that of the Magindanao gandingan; the other is a wide-rimmed pulakan similar to that of the Magindanao and Maranao agung. The Badjao kulintang is accompanied by two agung and a cylindrical drum.
In all these ensembles it is the kulintang that carries the melody. Compositions for the kulintang are based on rhythmic modes. Three modes (duyug, sinulug, tidtu) used by the Magindanao are sometimes similar to those used by other groups in name, structure or both. The Magindanao mode name sinulug is similar to sinug, a term used by the Tausug, but the rhythms of the two are not identical. The Magindanao tidtu, an iambic rhythm with beats in the ratio 2:3, appears not only in the Sulu and Mindanao areas, but also in other areas among non-Muslims as a rhythm without a particular name. Among the Magindanao, melodic development on the kulintang is based on nuclear tones; permutations and variations on two or three tones are the performer's main concern. Yakan kulintang music includes the continuous, extremely fast repetition of a simple melodic pattern. In Tausug kulintang compositions the kuriri pattern is used; it consists of descending melodic passages and fast repeating rhythms, while among the Maranao, loudness, virtuosity in handling of the mallets and a kind of dialogue between instrumental parts are important characteristics of kulintang pieces.
Gong ensembles with only suspended gongs consist of agung-type gongs with wide turned-in rims. Among the Tiruray the agung ensemble is made up of five small light gongs with delicate sounds, played by five men or women. The smallest, segarun, leads the group with a steady beat, and the others follow with their respective rhythms (ex.8). This ensemble is played at weddings, big gatherings and meetings to entertain visitors. The Bagobo and Tagakaolo agung ensemble usually consists of eight wide-rimmed gongs suspended from a beam in vertical rows and played by two people. A standing man plays the melody, while another man or woman, kneeling, taps an ostinato on the lowest-hung, lowest-sounding gong. After a certain time, the melody performer stops playing, but the ostinato player continues. The melody performer starts to dance in small steps away from the gongs, following the ostinato rhythm of the remaining gong player. Eventually the dancer returns to his original position and again plays his gongs, this time in a faster tempo. Among the Palawan and Tagbanwa the agung ensemble includes two small suspended gongs (sagung among the Tagbanwa), one, two or three big suspended gongs (agung) and one small cylindrical drum. In the Palawan ensemble there is another pair of smaller gongs (sanang), each played by a performer with two sticks. There is an alternation of emphasis between the two performers: while one plays his rhythmic permutations loudly, the other plays his beats softly and without permutations. Together with the other instruments in the ensemble they create complex cross-rhythms. The Tagbanwa agung ensemble is similar to that of the Palawan, except that the music of the smaller pair of gongs (babendil) is not so developed. Among the Subanun an agung ‘ensemble’ is one gong (with wide turned-in rim) played by two performers: one player beats the boss with a padded stick and damps it with his knee; the other taps the rim of the gong with two sticks, producing a thin, contrasting sound.
The Hanunoo agung ensemble consists of two light gongs played by two men squatting on the floor: one man beats with a lightly padded stick on the bosses of the two gongs, the other strikes with a stick on the rim of one of the gongs. Both performers play in simple duple rhythms. The Magindanao agung ensemble consists of one agung (gong with turned-in rim) and a tambul (cylindrical drum). The tambul maintains a fast, steady, rhythmic pattern while the agung provides a counterpoint with its mixture of slow and fast patterns.
Philippines, §II, 2: Music: Western art music
Most instruments in the south are made of bamboo and are blown, plucked or struck; with bamboo flutes, the shape of the mouthpiece, number of holes and size of the bamboo may be clues to their distribution in South-east Asia generally (Maceda, 1990). Instruments whose sounds are produced by other materials (e.g. wood, skin, vine, bean pod, wire, seashell) extend the range of sound qualities. Ensembles without gongs comprise a combination of two instruments (e.g. tube zither and two-string lute), or two persons sharing different parts of the same instrument (e.g. bamboo zither), or a song with instrumental accompaniment (e.g. xylophone and voice), or two instruments of the same type (e.g. a pair of two-headed drums) or a variety of instruments.
The jew's harp, kubing, is widespread among groups in the southern Philippines and is known by this name among the Bagobo, Bilaan, Bukidnon, Magindanao, Mansaka, Palawan, Subanun, Tiruray and Yakan (fig.12). Its bamboo filament is vibrated by plucking. It is made from various kinds of bamboo in many sizes and shapes, producing various sounds and dynamics. Some jew's harps are barely audible, with quick sound-decay; others twang loudly and vibrate for a long time, like a reed. Colour and timbre can also vary according to the tongue placements of the performer. Plucking the jew's harp with the tongue placed near the alveolar ridge produces vibrations similar to the vowel ‘i’; other vowels can be suggested as well, using other tongue placements. The jew’s harp can thus simulate words, phrases, simple conversations and speeches. Using this instrument young boys and girls ‘converse’ in front of their elders without being understood by them.
The Bukidnon talupak or stamping-stick is a chordophone used as an idiophone. It is a bamboo tube zither having many parallel strings with a common fret attached at the upper end of the tube. A slit that almost divides the bamboo in half allows one side of the tube to flap against the other each time the instrument is struck on the ground to bore holes in which to plant rice seeds. Another instrument connected with rice growing is the tagutok, used by the Maranao. It is a bamboo scraper consisting of two sticks rubbed back and forth across a serrated bamboo tube to drive away animals from a field where rice is almost ready for harvest.
Other bamboo instruments of the south are the bamboo slit-drum (Maranao agong a bentong) and the trough xylophone (Tausug gabbang). The Maranao play two agong a bentong like agung in an ensemble with bamboo xylophone and cylindrical drum. The Tausug gabbang has about 16 to 19 bamboo keys tuned to a heptatonic scale with equal intervals. The melody is divided between the leading line (ina, ‘mother’) and a following line in the lower register (anak, ‘child’). As a solo instrument it is used for preludes to songs; it is also an important accompanying instrument for all secular songs and for the biola.
Two additional idiophones are the Hanunoo buray dipay, a bean-pod rattle used for merrymaking in ensemble with other kinds of instrument, and the kalutang, also found among the Hanunoo, percussion sticks played in pairs to produce harmonies of 2nds, 3rds or 4ths.
The types of chordophone used in the south include lutes, zithers and fiddles. On the two-string lute, known as the kudyapiq, kusyapiq or kutyapiq among the Bukidnon, Magindanao, Maranao and Tagbanwa, one string provides a rhythmic drone (fig. 13); the other has movable frets allowing melodies to be played in two different pentatonic scales, one containing semitones, the other anhemitonic (ex.9). Excellent soloists among the Magindanao of Cotabato play melodic patterns resembling those of kulintang melodies. Among these groups a kudyapiq may also be played with a saluray (bamboo tube zither), kutet (one-string fiddle) or tumpung (duct flute). A four-part ensemble consists of the kudyapiq, jew's harp, fiddle and flute.
Zithers include the polychordal tube zither (Tiruray togo; Bukidnon tangkol; Bilaan sluday, sloray; Mansaka takol; Ata saluray; Mangguangan tangko), which has an anhemitonic pentatonic tuning and on which melodic patterns are repeated over long periods (fig.14), and the parallel-string bamboo tube zither (Maranao serongagandi; Hanunoo kudlung; Mandaya takumbo; Subanun tabobok; Tagakaolo katimbok), which, like the northern Philippines dungadung, is also played by striking the bridge that connects the two strings. Among the Tiruray, two pairs of parallel strings are played with one stick. The Maranao instrument has a half-open lid on one end of the tube, struck to provide a sound quality contrasting with that of the resonating tube chamber.
The one-string fiddle (Mandaya and Manobo duwagey, kogut; Bukidnon dayuray, dayuday) is used to play melodies with quick triplet patterns. Some groups, such as the Tausug, have adopted a European-type violin, which they call biola or biyula.
Flutes are the most important class of aerophone in the south. The transverse flute (Hanunoo lantuy; Buhid palawta; Cuyunin, Batak and Tagbanwa tipanu) has six stops (five among the Hanunoo) and is tuned diatonically. End-blown flutes include notched flutes and various types of duct flute. The most widespread notched flute is the lip-valley or deep-notched type (Magindanao and Bagobo palendag; Tiruray falendag; Mansaka parundag), which generally has three plus one stops. The lips control and affect the air flow through minute changes and create a degree of tonal control and sensitivity not possible in flutes with differently shaped blowing-holes (e.g. the ring flute, suling). In addition, the Tagbanwa have a short notched flute with no stops (an example is held by the National Museum of the Philippines), whose native name has not been recorded.
The ring flute (Magindanao, Tiruray, Manobo, Bukidnon and Tausug suling; Maranao inse) is a type of duct flute whose sound is produced by adjusting the ring on the mouthpiece in relation to the blowing-hole. Among the Tausug the suling may be played in ensemble with the biola. With the Maranao, an ensemble consists of the suling, kudyapiq, jew's harp, bamboo zither and metal dish.
The duct flute (Hanunoo pituh) is diatonically tuned and has finger-holes but no thumb-hole. Transverse flutes among the Tagbanwa and Hanunoo (palawta) are diatonically tuned and have five or six holes. The other duct flutes in the south are defined by the position of the attached plug or chip which forms the duct. In the external-duct flute with a chip tied on to its rim ledge (Bukidnon pulala; Manobo lantoy), a narrow passage between the chip and the ledge allows air to be blown into the tube itself, producing a sound much like that of a whistle (fig.15a). A third type is the external-duct flute with a chip tied on to the tube of the flute (Hanunoo bangsiq; Magindanao tumpung; fig.15b). The tumpung here has three plus one stops.
Other types of aerophone in the south include trumpets and a single-reed instrument. The budyung is a bamboo trumpet found among the Hanunoo and Mandaya; among the Bukidnon the same word denotes a shell trumpet used as a signalling or call device. The single-reed pipe (Tausug saunay, sahunay) has six finger-holes and no thumb-hole. Its melody line is a continuous flow of changing pitches produced by circular breathing interspersed with mordents.
Cylindrical drums with one or two heads are known in the southern Philippines. The gimbal of the Mandaya, Tagbanwa and Palawan is a single-headed cylindrical drum played with two sticks, used as part of a gong ensemble or with other instruments.
Philippines, §II, 2: Music: Western art music
Indigenous and Muslim-influenced cultures in the south differ in the types of songs they sing and in the singing styles they use. The latter use both a tense, high-pitched style with complex melismas, as well as a relaxed style in the natural speaking range with less melisma. Indigenous groups prefer the relaxed style, and have in addition other techniques such as responsorial singing and songs imitating the sounds of musical instruments.
The Islamic musical tradition is represented by various song types. Among the Tausug, the melismatic style is exemplified in the lugu, highly melismatic solo songs sung in Arabic, mostly by women, for Islamic ceremonies (e.g. Ramadan and the birthday of Muhammad) and local rituals such as weddings and funerals. Five songs of the lugu tradition are the jikil, sail, tarasul, baat and langan bataq-bataq. The jikil serves as a vehicle for virtuoso singing in competitions and entertainments; sail is used sometimes to mean the lugu song style used at weddings and wakes; tarasul are commentaries on verses from the Qur'an; baat are highly refined allusions to love; and langan bataq-bataq are lullabies with texts about love, nature and life. Lugu songs are sung in free tempo with weak or no metric beats; the melodic phrases seem slow because of the long held notes separating melismas from each other. Although few of the people understand Arabic, they value highly the refinements of lugu singing: women who study this tradition undergo personal training with a leading guru of the community. The Tausug use the second, more relaxed style for secular affairs such as entertainment at weddings and social gatherings. A male or female singer is generally accompanied by a gabbang and a biola. Texts are in Tausug rather than Arabic, and melodies are metrical. The liyangkit (ballad) is a metrical song sung in the lower register using two or three notes.
Among the Magindanao in Cotabato, a Muslim group, four characteristic types of song are the tutol (epic), bang (call to prayer), sindil (song of insinuation) and bayok (love-song). The tutol tells of the exploits of heroes like Rajah Indara Patra, a man of noble birth who makes fantastic flights to the palace of the clouds and fights with legendary monsters to save his people from destruction (see ex.10, the beginning of the epic in which a greeting to Allah is expressed in melisma, showing the use of long notes, trills, mordents, fast notes and a long descending melodic line). The bang is sung on Fridays and has the same function as bellringing in Christian communities of the Philippines (see ex.11, in which another form of melisma with a long vocalise on a vowel is sung in a relaxed voice). The bang contrasts greatly with the strained technique used for the sindil (ex.12), in which vowel changes, microtonal variation and the bell-like quality of the voice give a sensual effect to the performance. In a performance recorded in 1954, one singer who had been trained by a visiting musician from the Near East sang the bang in a relaxed low voice, while another, trained in the local style, sang it in the same melismatic, high-pitched, strained manner used for secular songs such as the sindil. The bayok (ex.13), usually sung in the more relaxed style by the women of the village, has a simple melodic line and more use of repeated tones, with a syllabically set text. Among the Maranao, however, bayok are more complex songs. Along with the darangan (a type of epic), they are the most popular song for weddings and festivities in Lanao; the singers are specialists who become centres of attraction at social gatherings where, as protagonists, they vie with each other in extemporizing allusions and double meanings, much to the delight of their audience.
Indigenous peoples make less use of the melismatic style; their songs are in a more syllabic style, centring on a few notes as in Western psalm singing (see ex.14, a Tiruray courting-song from western Mindanao). Among the Manobo, songs are metrical and imitate the plucking sounds of a bamboo zither. Leader-chorus singing prevails among the Tagbanwa: in one ceremony a woman leader sings and dances around jars of rice wine prepared for the occasion and placed at the centre of the house; she tries to communicate with deities and invites them to join the festivity. As she dances a group of young girls follow her, and as she sings the chorus repeats the last syllables of her lines (ex.15). The Tagbanwa believe that when she falls into a trance spirits enter her body and through her suck the first wine from the bamboo tubes placed in the jars.
In a wine-drinking festivity, participants sing verses whose lines must rhyme and have certain numbers of syllables. Other songs use traditional prose texts. In both the verse and prose forms there are many metaphors and allusions; archaic words often provoke long discussions, even among older speakers, regarding the real meaning of certain words.
There are two types of courting-song among the Hanunoo: the urukay in eight-syllable verses accompanied by the kudyapi, a six-string guitar, and the ambahan in seven-syllable verses accompanied by the gitgit, a three-string fiddle.
Epic songs may be sung at a wedding, in gatherings to entertain guests or simply as evening entertainment for the villagers themselves. Epics are common in Mindanao, and Palawan, among the Manobo, Agusan and Bukidnon, and among the Mandaya, Mansaka and Bagobo groups whose tales describe the lives of the heroes Agyu, Tuwaang and Ulahingan. Epics may last one or more nights and are attended with keen interest. The singer performs either sitting or lying down. In the manggob, an epic among the Mansaka, the singing style requires extra vowels and syllables to be added to the words. These additions obscure the words themselves so that even a native speaker of the language who is unfamiliar with the epic will not be able to follow the story. Among the Palawan, epic melodies are long lines with the text sung syllabically and enunciated clearly; changes of tonal structure and pitch identify the various characters in the epic.
Among indigenous peoples in Mindanao, some songs are accompanied by instruments such as the kudlung (two-string lute), saluray (tube zither; see fig.15 above) or palendag (lip-valley or deep-notched flute). Other song forms include debates, narrative solo songs, dance-songs and speech-like songs. Among the Magindanao some skilful whistlers using only tongue and lips can simulate difficult passages of flute melodies.
With close to four centuries of rule over the Philippine archipelago, Spain left an indelible musical imprint and caused an almost complete obliteration of Asian musical traditions in some areas. The first Spanish soldiers brought priests, who taught Filipinos how to sing plainchant for Mass and other Christian services and how to play various instruments. These priests received musical training in Spain before coming to the Philippines; a few were composers of religious music. One of the first teachers known was the Franciscan Geronimo Aguilar, an excellent musician who started teaching in 1586. He was succeeded in 1606 by Juan de Santa Marta (formerly a tenor at Zaragoza Cathedral), who gathered 400 boys from different provinces and trained them in singing, playing and instrument-making at Lumbang (near Manila). After their training, these boys were sent back to their respective home towns, where they taught others.
In 1742 the Archbishop of Manila, Juan Rodriguez Angel, founded a singing school at Manila Cathedral. In the 19th century the school was known as Colegio de Niños Tiples (School of Boy Sopranos); it admitted boys of over six who could pass the entrance requirements. The curriculum was patterned after that of the Madrid Conservatory; singing teachers used the solfège book by Hilarion Eslava, and courses in harmony, composition, piano, organ and strings were given by a staff of clergy and laymen. Two other churches in Manila that taught music to young boys were the convents of S Agustin and S Domingo.
These and similar institutions elsewhere in the Philippines provided a large base of amateur and professional musicians who evolved a syncretic style using Philippine and Western elements. Musicians trained at these schools included the pianists Antonio Garcia (1865–1919), Hipolito Rivera (1866–1900) and Ramon Valdes (d 1902); the violinists Andres Dancel (1870–98), Cayetano Jacobe (fl 1893), Bibiano Morales (b 1872) and Manuel Luna y Novicio (1858–83); and the composers José Canseco jr (1843–1912), Simplicio Solis (1864–1903), Fulgencio Tolentino (fl 1887), Julio Nakpil (1867–1960) and Julian Felipe (fl 1898).
The church schools taught mainly religious music. The most famous composer of church music was Marcelo Adonay (1848–1928), whose works show the variety of common musical forms used by friar musicians at that time. Besides liturgical settings, Adonay's works include a descriptive fantasy, The Tarumba of Pakil, for chorus and brass band, using a native Philippine setting to honour the Virgin Mary, and Rizal Glorified, a hymn with orchestral accompaniment in praise of a national hero.
In Philippine provinces new musical forms developed around the new religious and secular activities. The pasyon is a chanted story of the Passion, sung in the vernacular during Lent; the santa-cruzan and flores de mayo are annual celebrations with special songs for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the dalit is a mournful plaint in her honour. Secular songs include the tagulaylay, a recitative lament; the awit, a chanted story based on the crusades; and the kumintang, a war song, now known as a love song. Stage plays that developed are the moro-moro, with a stereotyped theme depicting encounters between Muslims and Christians; the duplo, a form usually performed during the ninth day of a series of prayers; the cenaculo, a drama on the Passion and death of Christ; and the carillo, a shadow play with suspended cardboard figures.
In Manila and nearby provinces, literary musical organizations that appeared in the late 19th century presented a wide range of light musical programmes, concerts, operas, literary and brass band contests. Operas found special favour among a cosmopolitan audience; Italian opera companies that toured the orient made long visits to Manila and exerted such a strong influence that airs from La traviata, Rigoletto, William Tell and Poet and Peasant became popular household tunes.
As Spain ruled the islands through Mexico, there were some Mexican as well as Spanish and European influences on Philippine folk music. The cariñosa, pandango, polka, dansa, rigodon and other dance forms of the Philippines show traces of the Spanish habanera, jota, tango and fandango, and even of the French valse and rigaudon. The kundiman(love song) and the balitao (serenade or dance) are native Philippine versions of 19th-century European musical genres. The instruments used in the rondalla (plucked string orchestra) – the banduria, laud, octavina, guitara and bajo – are adaptations of European and Mexican string instruments. One of the few bamboo organs constructed in the 19th century exists in Las Piñas (near Manila), built in 1818 by the Augustinian Diego Cera.
The Revolution of 1896 against Spain incited a sense of nationalism among composers, who collaborated with Tagalog playwrights to write zarzuelas depicting Philippine life and culture. The libretto for the first operetta, Sandugong panaginip (‘The Dream Pact’), was written by Pedro A. Paterno (1858–1911) with music by Ladislao Bonus (1854–1908). Other zarzuela composers included Francisco Buencamino (1883–1972), Juan de S. Hernandez (1881–1945) and José A. Estella (1870–1943), who wrote music for El diablo mundo to a libretto by Rafael del Val. Another well-known play, Walang sugat (‘Unhurt’), was written by Severino Reyes (1861–1942), with music by Fulgencio Tolentino.
The public co-educational system introduced by the Americans facilitated the teaching not only of Philippine but also of foreign folksongs, which quickly spread throughout the whole country. American jazz and film music gained favour among the younger generation of the upper middle class. As regards European classical music, new methods of piano teaching were introduced by Baptista Battig, a German Benedictine missionary who had studied with Ludwig Deppe. She taught the piano at the music school (founded 1908) of St Scholastica's College for women, where her influence was lasting. The Conservatory of Music (founded 1916) at the University of the Philippines helped to raise standards of performance and to increase public appreciation for European classical music. The first two directors of the school, Wallace W. George and Robert L. Schofield, were succeeded in 1926 by Alexander Lippay, a Viennese conductor and composer who introduced changes in the curricula and appointed European artists as members of staff. He resigned in 1931 to found a new school, the Manila Academy of Music. He also helped to organize and develop the Manila SO, which became disciplined and highly proficient under his direction. The conservatory continued under Francisco Santiago (1889–1947), its first Filipino director, who together with Nicanor Abelardo (1893–1934) and Antonio Jesus Molina (1894–1980) formed a triumvirate of composers well known for their nationalism, teaching and creative work. The works of other composers, Bonifacio Abdon (1876–1944), Buencamino, Estella and Hernandez, showed the prevailing musical taste of that time.
In 1903 the Philippine Constabulary Band, which continued a long tradition of brass bands, was founded under the direction of Walter H. Loving (fl 1903–15; d during the Japanese Occupation, 1942–5). It won an international band contest at the St Louis Exposition (1904), participated at the inauguration of President William H. Taft (1909), the first governor-general of the Philippines and, in 1915, performed at the Panama Canal Exposition, under the baton of Pedro B. Navarro (1879–1951).
The first Filipino artists to gain recognition abroad were the singers Jovita Fuentes (1905–78), Isang Tapales, Mercedes Matias and José Mossegeld Santiago-Font, and the violinists Ramón Tapales (1906–95), Ernesto Vallejo (d 1945) and Luis Valencia (1912–82). A new interest in native Philippine music was encouraged by Jorge Bocobo, president of the University of the Philippines, who in 1924 created a research committee consisting of Francisca Reyes-Tolentino (1899–1933), Francisco Santiago and Molina and Antonino Buenaventura (b 1904), which travelled over the main islands and collected folksongs and dances.
The occupying Japanese discouraged jazz and the music of the allied nations, favouring the performance of Philippine and other Eastern musical forms. Prizes were given for compositions using native themes; Filipino soloists were encouraged to give concerts. Alfredo Lozano (b 1912) organized the New Philippine SO, composed entirely of Filipino musicians. Various Filipino conductors gave concerts, including Francisco Santiago, who presented an all-Philippine programme. One of the few music schools that remained open during the war was the Philippine Conservatory of Music (affiliated with the Philippine Women's University), which was directed by the singing teacher Felicing Tirona (d 1952).
Although Japanese music was played almost daily on the radio, and the works of the Japanese composer Koszak Yamada were performed in a special concert, Japanese music had no effect on the style and content of Philippine music.
Philippine music showed a growth of cultural consciousness and nationalism after independence. The number of music schools increased greatly, offering BMus courses in the piano and organ, string and wind instruments, singing, theory, composition and music education; some offer an MMus.
Several organizations were founded to foster the development of music. The National Music Council, an agency of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, organized the Regional Music Conference of South-east Asia in 1955. This meeting was followed in 1966 by a symposium on the musics of Asia, in which musicians from India, Indonesia, Ceylon, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as from the West, participated. Founded by Jovita Fuentes, the Music Promotion Foundation of the Philippines was created in 1956 to promote the development of music and musicians in the country through grants, commission awards and scholarships. Its functions were taken over by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1986. The Manila Symphony Society continued to support its orchestra, which amplified its concert activities under the direction of Herbert Zipper; subsequent music directors were Oscar Yatco (from 1970) and Sergio Esmilla (until the mid-1980s, when the orchestra disbanded owing to financial difficulties). Among many other active performing groups are the National PO, the Filipino PO, the Philippine Choral Society, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, the Opera Guild of the Philippines and the Pangkat Kawayan (bamboo orchestra). The Philippine PO, established in 1982 and subsidized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Philharmonic Society, originated as the CCP PO, founded in 1973 out of the Filipino Youth SO, which was formed in 1946. The Philippine Youth Orchestra was created by the University of the Philippines in 1974, and is subsidized by the Cultural Center.
The League of Filipino Composers was established in 1955, with 11 charter members: Antonino Buenaventura (b 1904), Rodolfo Cornejo (1909–91), Bernardino Custodio (b 1911), Felipe de Leon (1912–92), Lucrecia Kasilag (b 1918), Antonio Molina, Eliseo Pajaro (1915–84), Hilarion Rubio (1902–85), Lucino Sacramento (1908–84), Lucio San Pedro (b 1913) and Ramón Tapales (1906–95). The league holds annual music festivals that feature new works. A younger generation of composers includes Laverne dela Peña (b 1959), Jonas Baes (b 1961), Conrad del Rosario (b 1958), Kristina Benitez (b 1945), Arlene Chongson (b 1959) and Virgina Laico-Villanueva (b 1952). Popular composers and film music arrangers include Francisco Buencamino jr (b 1916), Miguel Velarde jr (b 1913), Ariston Avelino (b 1911), Restituto Umali (b 1916) and Tito Arevalo (b 1911). The ethnomusicologist José Maceda (b 1917) has collected and studied the musics of many ethnic groups throughout the Philippines and in parts of south-east Asia; he has also composed a number of avant-garde compositions using native materials.
The Philippine Women's University sponsored the Bayanihan Folk Arts Centre's extensive collection (founded 1957) of indigenous instruments and tape recordings of various ethnic musics of the Philippines for use by the faculty in lecture recitals. From 1958 the Bayanihan Dance Company, through its many international tours, has made Philippine culture known abroad.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (inaugurated 1969) was designed to serve as a showcase for works by Philippine artists. Music, dance, drama and visual art of various styles have been presented in the centre's national and international festivals. The National Music Competition for Young Artists was established in 1973 to develop and promote Philippine music and discover young musical talent through regional and national competitions and festivals. The Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers was founded in 1965. For music teachers there are the Philippine Society for Music Education (1971) and the Piano Teachers Guild of the Philippines (1973).
The music colleges of the University of the Philippines, the Philippine Women's University, the Silliman University and the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music all have staff trained in Western techniques and native music, and conduct courses in Philippine and Asian music. The Philippine Music Ensemble was established in 1983 by teachers and students of the PWU College of Music, to preserve and disseminate Filipino music of all kinds. Its four sections consist of a Muslim gamelan, a chorale, an angklung ensemble and a guitar quartet.
Filipino popular music may be traced to songs sung in the course of everyday living: work, war and drinking songs, lullabies and ballads. Western contact in 1521 brought Spanish colonization and Christianization to the islands; this produced musicians trained in the performance of Western music and resulted in new forms of music adapting Western idioms (e.g. jota, habanera and valse), which became the accompaniment to indigenous dances at town fiestas and celebrations.
After three centuries, Spanish occupation gave way to the American period (1898–1946), the influence of which is still strongly felt. Early in American colonial rule the kundiman or Filipino love song reigned supreme. Also prevailing were songs from the sarswela, an adaptation of the Spanish zarzuela. These musical plays, depicting love of country in time of revolution or espousing traditional values over encroaching foreign customs, waned with the establishment of dance-hall cabarets, musical reviews and vaudeville.
Radio, cinema and the American recording industry all aggressively promoted American popular music; by the 1920s Filipino bands were playing foxtrots, charlestons and tangos. Nicanor Abelardo, revered as one of the composers who raised the kundiman to the level of art song, led one such group, playing at the cabaret at night and teaching at the University of the Philippines College of Music by day. Traditional folksongs arranged in dance rhythms were in the repertory, as were movie themes popularized through radio and variety shows. At this same time, recording companies such as Victor and Columbia recorded kundiman and sarswela songs by Francisco Santiago, Constancio de Guzman and Abelardo.
American music was banned during the Japanese occupation, but when the Americans returned in 1945 the euphoria of liberation reinforced further the Filipino fascination with Americana. In the 1950s and 60s American popular culture was so strong that performers were often gauged on how well they could copy US singers, with contests for the Filipino counterparts of US pop stars. Philippine pop music by then meant Western pop, and it eventually incorporated the whole range of Western styles.
Despite the seemingly absolute reign of Western pop music, small pockets resisted the trend. Villar Records, founded in the early 1950s, recorded over 500 albums and 300 singles of kundimans, folksongs and local pop songs, including the well-known Dahil sa iyo (‘Because of you’), written by Mike Velarde, the composer Antonio Maiquez's Sapagkat kami ay tao lamang (‘For we are only human’) and Manuel Villar's Diyos lamang ang nakakaalam (‘Only God knows’).
In the 1960s pop idols who had begun by singing foreign songs (exemplified by Nora Aunor and Eddie Peregrina) began recording original compositions with English lyrics and forms. Foreign songs were also translated into Pilipino: Celeste Legaspi's highly acclaimed 1975 concert at the Cultural Centre of the Philippines, for example, featured Cole Porter, Burt Bacharach and Jim Webb songs translated by the poet Rolando Tinio.
By the 1970s the desire of composers to produce truly Filipino music that would find acceptance among the young found expression in Ang himig natin (‘Our music’) by Joey Smith and the Juan de la Cruz Band. Considered the first Pinoy (slang for Filipino) rock piece, it spoke of the lonely struggle of Filipino musicians for acceptance by an audience addicted to foreign music, arguing that Filipinos would only achieve true unity when they could appreciate and sing their own songs.
In 1974 the band Hotdog achieved success with Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng buhay ko (‘You are the Miss Universe of my life’) and Pers lab (‘First love’), the first songs in the style that later became known as the Manila Sound, characterized by sentimental subjects and lyrics in Taglish, the urban student argot that combines English and Tagalog.
This new movement was facilitated by a Broadcast Media Council memorandum requiring all radio stations to play at least one Filipino composition per hour (this later became two and, in 1977, three per hour). The first Metro Manila Popular Music Festival was also organized in 1974; Ryan Cayabyab's Kay ganda ng ating musika (‘How beautiful is our music’) won the top prize, but the most record sales were generated by Anak (‘Child’) by Freddie Aguilar, and Heber Bartolome's Tayo'y mga Pinoy (‘We are Filipinos’). Anak, based on the familiar Filipino theme of children risking pitfalls by not heeding their parents' advice, enjoyed unprecedented success and was translated into several foreign languages. The humorous Tayo'y mga Pinoy criticized Filipinos aping American ways; also decrying American influence on Philippine culture was a song contributed by one of the country's most enduring singing groups, the Apo Hiking Society, graphically called American Junk.
Though Philippine popular musical forms are predominantly derived from or inspired by the West, in language and spirit they are now Filipino. Traditional views on undying love and a resignation to heartbreak, carry-overs from the kundiman, still prevail in local ballads as sung by figures such as Celeste Legaspi, Basil Valdes and Sharon Cuneta. Protest songs, born in time of revolt (against Spain, the US and the Marcos regime) have begotten what is now called ‘alternative music’, which focusses on social conditions, environmental issues and human rights. Prominent exponents are Susan Fernandez Magno, Jess Santiago, Gary Granada and the duo Inang Laya.
Francis Magalona pioneered rap with his famous Mga kababayan ko (‘My countrymen’), a call for patriotism. Rock and folk music exhibits the influence of the musical patterns, rhythms and instruments of indigenous musics. Joey Ayala and his group Bagong Lumad (‘New natives’) were the front-runners of this trend, using a hegalong (two-string lute) and kubing (jew's harp) together with electric guitar, bass and drums. Such instrument combinations have blurred the distinctions between rock, folk and alternative music, evolving what could be best described as ethnic rock (or pop). Among its exponents are the groups Ang Grupong Pendong, Waling-Waling, Pinikpikan, and singers Grace Nono and Bayang Barrios. Full-length musicals and rock operas are also being written in increasing numbers, by composers such as Ryan Cayabyab.
At the end of the 20th century all-Filipino recordings stood at 60% of the industry's total output against 40% for foreign artists, reversing the conditions of the 1980s. The bestselling artists are rock bands that play mostly original music, and the major label is OPM (Original Pilipino Music); the same acronym is consciously used for the association of pop singers called Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mangaawit. After years of imitating Western pop, indigenization has taken over, with a strong consciousness of Filipino identity that has inspired creators and performers of popular music to look back to their roots.
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The many indigenous dances of the Philippine archipelago have varied origins. Dances derived from South-east Asia are related to social life and/or religious rites, wine-drinking festivities, fighting, celebrations of pacts, victories, weddings, births, deaths and funerals. Certain dances are performed to conciliate gods or spirits, or to beg them to drive away human illness or crop disease, increase the rice harvest or mark certain occasions (e.g. tilling the soil or harvesting sugar cane and rice). Philippine dances are remarkable for their wide diversity: they include dances during rain-calling ceremonies (among the Bontok), fish dances (Badjao and Tausug), a ritual dance for a good fish catch (Badjao), princess and slave dances (Maranao), dances for royalty, nobility and commoners (Davao), a torture dance, a comic honey-gathering dance and a potato-thief dance (Negrito), a spider-game dance (Tagbanwa), various animal and bird dances, dances associated with weddings, funerals and sacrifices, as well as hunting, mock duel and mock fight dances.
Early Spanish writers on Philippine dances include Antonio Pigafetta (1491–c1535) and the Jesuits Pedro Chirino (1557–1635) and Francisco Colin (d 1660). Chirino related that the people in Mindanao made offerings to idols in their homes; the Tagalog-speakers called their priests or priestesses katalonan, and the Visayans, babailan. These priests danced to the sound of a bell in sacrificial offerings in private houses, especially where there was sickness. Colin described dances he saw:
The banquet was interrupted with local music, in which one or two persons sing and the rest respond. Their dances generally go with the beating of the bells, which seem of hollow metal sound. The beating is shrill and rapid in a war dance, but with measured variations which verily elevates one or puts him in suspense. The hands generally hold a towel or a spear or shield, and with the one or the other make their rhythmic movements, which are full of meaning. At other times, with empty hands, movements are made corresponding with those of the feet – now slow, now fast, now forward, now backwards, now together, now separately, but always with such grace and vivacity that they have not been judged as undignified to add solemnity to our Christian festivities. The children dance and sing with no less ability than the grown-ups.
Dances of isolated groups, having been least subject to change, are among the most interesting in the Philippines. The vigorous and mimetic dances of groups such as the Negrito and the Batak require agility and endurance. Negrito dances are accompanied by the drum or guitar, Batak dances by gongs and drums, or by rhythms beaten out on a long percussion log. In trance dances, performed mostly by women among the Tagbanwa and other groups, the shaman claims communication with spirits and possession by one or more of them.
The colourful dances of the Bontok, Ifugao, Benguet, Apayao and Kalingga tribes of the mountain province of Luzon are performed during large celebrations called peshit and kañao. A leader and several other men dancing in rhythmic unison form twisting lines, spirals, circles and serpentine patterns, each man beating a gong. Dance steps are usually earth-bound and include shuffling feet, flexing toes, light skips, mincing, cutting steps and low hops and jumps. Hands are held either with closed fists, or with the thumb out and fingers held together, or loosely. Some dances are accompanied by song and speech. The tempo usually gets faster and faster as the dance proceeds.
Dances of the Ifugao include the dinnyya (festival dance), wedding dance and the bangibang (war or funeral dance); of the Bontok, the takik (flirtation or wedding dance) and the pattong (war dance); of the Kalingga, the pot dance, where women pile seven pots on their heads, and a wedding dance; of the Benguet region, the tayaw, the offering of sacrificial pigs by a priestess to the god Kabuniyan, and the tchungas, a victory dance over ghosts of slain enemies. With the advance of westernization, some of these dances, especially the trance dances of the shamans, are increasingly difficult to view.
Instruments of the various tribes include gongs of varying timbres, drums, metal sticks beaten together, and the takik, a piece of iron hit with stone.
Muslim Filipinos, possessed of legendary courage, withstood repeated Spanish attempts at conquest and subjugation, and the arts of attack and self-defence (silat, bersilat) are celebrated in some of their men's dances. Although their culture has been receptive to Arab influence as well as Chinese, Hindu and Javanese, it has retained its individuality. The women's dances are characterized by inner intensity and absorption, mysticism, a languid grace, much use of the upper torso, nuance of facial expression, flowing arm movements (the fingers sometimes held close and stiff, sometimes circling), the flexed elbow, the shifting of body weight from one bent and turned-out knee to the other, the use of singuel (metal anklets/bells) and the expert manipulation of fans. In Moroland dances improvisation is allowed, and the dancers perform according to their mood. Contrapuntal movements are sometimes used; the feet may follow a vigorous rhythm while head, arm and hand movements are languid, leisurely and smooth.
Among Muslim Filipinos the better-known dances are the Tausug pangalay (wedding dance), the sua–sua (‘orange tree’, a courtship dance) and the kandiñgan (a wedding dance whose name may derive from gandangan, the two-headed cylindrical drum used to accompany it), the fish dances of the Yakan and the sagayan (war dance) and kazaduratan (women’s dance) of the Maranao. The ka-singkil (royal fan dance) of the Maranao is performed between four or more criss-crossed bamboo poles.
Instruments for such dances include agung (gongs), kulintangan (gong-chimes), bamboo xylophones and drums.
In their zeal to promote Christianity the Spaniards destroyed indigenous and Hindu images and forbade native ceremonies and rituals. Dances such as the jota and habanera were introduced and adapted; gradually a new style evolved, which was softer, more rounded and gracious in the new Castilian manner. The costumes took on elements of Spanish dress, and the fan was used to attract attention subtly, or to hide a modest blush. Percussion no longer dominated the music, and the native kudyapiq (two-string lute) gave way to the Spanish guitar. Sentimentality was introduced in sad interludes between lively moments, as in the jota moncadeña and the purpuri (potpourri). Modified versions of balancing dances of Asian origin and of indigenous wine-offering dances appeared in the pandango sa ilaw (‘dance with oil lamps’ from Mindoro), binasuan and abaruray. Such ‘bird dances’ as the sinalampati (dove), pabo (turkey) and itik (duck) evolved. Waltz, polka, mazurka, paso doble and other ballroom steps were paraphrased and sometimes used at random, as in bailes de ayer (‘dances of yesteryear’, a quadrille from Tarlac Province), polkabal (polka-waltz), polka sala (ballroom polka) and jotabal (jota-waltz).
The bamboo-pole dance (also found in Thailand, Laos and India) came to be danced in slow triple time. Mock war dances (maglalatik, magbabao) and mock duel dances (palo-palo) between Moors and Christians developed. Coconut shells were held instead of shields and swords, clicked together and against shells held by strings close to the body.
Dances arising among the Catholic Filipinos included the subli, or dance in honour of the Holy Cross, in which men danced in a bent-over position; the bulaklakan, a garland dance, performed in May; and the putong, in which an honoured person, sitting between two girls dressed as angels, was crowned. Childless women danced and sang at midnight in the Maytime procession of the turumba (in Pakil, Laguna) and at the fiesta of St Pascual Bailon (in Obando, Bulacan). The salubong involved the re-enactment of the meeting of the risen Christ and his mother. Dances of drunkenness (binadyong), quarrelling (bakya, pukol) and embarrassed bridegrooms (pandang-pandang) emerged.
In 1924 Jorge Bocobo, president of the University of the Philippines, created the University Committee on Philippine Folk Songs and Dances. A member of the committee, Francisca Reyes-Tolentino, wrote several books describing dances found during their fieldwork and initiated the teaching of these folkdances in Philippine schools. Further research into and recording of traditional dances has been continued by scholars and organizations, including the Philippine Folk Dance Society.
The pioneer Filipino choreographer Leonor Orosa (b 1917) produced the first Philippine folkloric ballet in 1941, Trend: Return to Native, followed by others such as Vinta! and Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance. Traditional dances are performed by travelling groups such as the Bayanihan Dance Company; they also continue to serve as a resource and inspiration for contemporary Philippine dance-theatre.
P. Chirino: Relación de las Yslas Filipinas y de lo que en ellas hàn travajado los Padres de la Compañia de Jesus (Rome, 1604); ed. as Relación de las Islas Filipinas/The Philippines in 1600 (Manila, 1969); Eng. trans. in Blair and Robertson, xii (1903–9)
F. Colin: Labor evangelica, ministerios apostolicos de los obreros de la compania de Jesus, fundacion y progressos de su provincia en las Islas Filipinas (Madrid, 1663)
A. Pigafetta: Primo viaggio intorno al globo terracqueo ossia ragguaglio della navigazione alle Indie Orientali per la via d’occidente, fatta dal Cavaliere Antonio Pigafetta (Milan, 1800); Eng. trans. in Blair and Robertson, xxxiii (1903–9)
E.H. Blair and J.A. Robertson, eds.: The Philippine Islands 1493–1898, xii, xxxiii (Cleveland, 1903–9)
S.Y. Orosa: The Sulu Archipelago and its People (Yonkers-on-Hudson, NY, 1923, enlarged 2/1970)
F.R. Tolentino: Philippine National Dances (New York, 1946)
H.O. Beyer and J.C. de Veyra: Philippine Saga: a Pictorial History of the Archipelago since Time Began (Manila, 1947)
L.A. Reid: ‘A Guinaang Wedding Ceremony’, Philippine Sociological Review, ix/3–4 (1961), 1–54
L.A. Reid: ‘Ritual and Ceremony in Mountain Province: Dancing and Music’, Philippine Sociological Review, ix/3–4 (1961), 55–82
H. de la Costa, ed.: Readings in Philippine History (Manila, 1965)
W.H. Scott: Pre-Hispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History (Manila, 1968)
L.O. Goquingco: The Dances of the Emerald Isles: a Great Philippine Heritage (Quezon City, 1980)
N.G. Tiongson: Tuklas Sining: Essays on the Philippine Arts (Manila, 1991)
M.Y. Orosa: Philippines 2000: a Vision for the Nation (Manila, 1995)