“BAYANIHAN”

A CRITIQUE PAPER

SUBMITTED BY: Daniella Khylyn D. Glean

SUBMITTED TO: Professor Jmes Loreto Cabilin Plscos

4CLM

 “Dance is the timeless interpretation of life.” Life is a dance—whether it is hip-hop, ballet, or

jazz. Each of us can choose the dance we want. In our culture, the illusion is that we think life is static,

but in reality it is always in movement. Life is always dancing with us, same with Philippine Culture.

All cultures change through time. No culture is static. However, most cultures are basically

conservative in that they tend to resist change, but Filipinos can easily adapt to changes based on

society’s shared philosophies, ideologies, values, assumptions, beliefs and attitudes. And to change

your culture, you need to understand your culture.

Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines is a multi-awarded company

recognized both nationally and internationally. Bayanihan were tasked to research on and preserve

indigenous Philippine art forms in music, dance, costumes and folklore; to restructure and enhance

these research findings to evolve repertoires suited to the demands of contemporary theater; and to

promote international goodwill through performances at home and abroad. Bayanihan never stopped its

research into Philippine folk culture and has awakened a new pride among Filipinos in their cultural

heritage; added a new dimension to the country’s dance tradition; and has built a rich reserve of

international goodwill. With the help of Bayanihan, “millennials” who easily adopted the modern

culture will now know their history as Filipino people and the origins of the culture they live in today.

The Spanish influence on Filipino culture has been profound, having originated from the

Spanish East Indies. A variety of aspects of the customs and traditions in the Philippines today can be

traced back to this influence. During the Spanish rule, westernized culture gradually began to seep into

the Filipino way of life. Western music, dance, art, recreation and customs were adopted by Filipinos.

Even their beliefs and perspectives about life experienced a bit of a drift away from Eastern muslim

philosophies to a more westernized perspective. It was also part of the Spanish conquest to convert all
the natives to Christ through their Catholic tradition. Today as a result, the Catholic church still remains

a very powerful force in the Philippines. For example, divorce is illegal there because of the Catholic

church’s influence in the government and law-making. These Spanish influence on culture and religion

has always been the Philippine’s clear difference to other Asian countries.

One of the folk dances that was shown in the theater are the Cordillera Tribal Dance. Cordillera,

a name given by the Spanish Conquistadors when they first saw the mountain ranges. Meaning

"knotted rope", the Spanish term refers to the jumbled rolls and dips of this long-range traversing the

northern part of Luzon Island. Inhabiting this rugged terrain are six ethno-linguistic tribes known as the

Ibaloy, Kankanay, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao, and Bontoc. This homogeneous group is recognized by

their common socio-cultural traits. Among these people of the Cordillera, dance continues to be an

expression of community life that animates the various rituals and ceremonies. It serves for self-

edification of the performers and entertainment for the spectators. They dance to appease their

ancestors and gods to cure ailments, to insure successful war-mating activities,or to ward off bad luck

or natural calamities. They dance to congregate and socialize, for general welfare and recreation, and as

an outlet for repressed feeling. They also dance to insure bountiful harvests, favorable weather, and to

mark milestones in the cycle of life. Examples of Cordillera Folk Dance are Paypayto, Ragragsakan,

Salip, Tachok, Uyaoy / Uyauy.

There are dances which have managed to steer clear of European influences and to this day

without visible foreign characteristics. Perhaps the best known and closest to Filipino heart are the

dances from the rural Christian lowlands: a country blessed with so much beauty. To the Filipinos,

these dances illustrate the fiesta spirit and demonstrate a love of life. They express joy in work, a love

for music, and pleasure in the simplicities of life. Such as dance like the “Maglalatik” a tagalong war
dance. The subject matter of this dance is open combat between Christian and Muslim soldier over

“Latik” or coconut residue. What is unique is that no sword or dummy are used. Instead each

combatant has eight coconut shells tied to his body on the chest, behind the shoulders, above the knees,

and on the hips. In addition each combatant has a pierce of shell in each hand. After the mood of

fighting has been reached, they clash each one aiming blows at the coconut shells on his opponents’

body creating rhythmic sounds. Gradually, positions shift and though the shift can be determined who

is beating. Other examples includes Bayluhan, Binasuan, Gaway-Gaway, Kandang-Kandang, Kuratsa,

Oasiwas, Palu-Palo.

During the Spanish regime, dancing played an important part in the social activity of the people.

Among the Christianized Filipino groups, the kumintang was the oldest dance and song. It was

pantomimed song and dance. The Pampango is another dance, characterized by the movements of the

lion and clapping of the hands. These dances were set aside with the coming of the Spaniards, but were

later revived as new dances such as the fandango, lanceros, rigodon, carinosaand curachawere

introduced by the Spaniards. The folk dances of today were adaptations of the old native dances. The

following dances were also some of the folk dances with Spanish influence not only with their

movements and with the dance steps, but also with the costumes and music used in every dance like

Estudiantina, Mazurka Boholana, Mazurka Mindorena, Polka sa Nayon. Philippine aristocrats created

Filipino adaptations of European dance as well.Aside from modifying ritual, occupational and imitative

dances, the Spaniards brought in their own dances. The most popular was the jota, later taking on

numerous regional variations. Another was the fandango that was re-styled as pandanggo — a dance

that was once prescribed in Spain by Rome, it rivaled the jota in popularity. A step so common in many

dances is the waltz, such as that found in the Cariñosa, Sayaw Santa Isabel, etc. In that way, the blase
proliferated in dances for religious feasts, wedding and other social occasions. Still others were the

paseo and the pateado (from zapateado).

The last performance is the Muslim suite. Although largely Christianized like the rest of the

country, the sprawling island of Mindanao to the south still possesses various ethnic groups professing

different faiths, among which the Muslim culture dominates. Brought by Javanese and Middle Eastern

traders, Islam is the religion of approximately 20 percent of the Philippine population. They are known

for their mysticism, royalty, and beauty which are evident in their music and dances. Accompanied by

the agong and kulintang, Filipino Muslim dance is marked by intricate hand and arm movement along

with shimmering costumes. This suite shows exotic dances performed as homage to the sultan with

very strong Indo-Malayan and Arabic influences. Some of the examples of the suite includes Asik

(Mag-Asik), Burong Talo, Tahing Baila, Kakulangan, Kapa Malong-Malong, Pangalay, Vinta, Singkil.

And the beat goes on! Traditional dance is still performed at celebrations of births and

weddings. Modern folk dance festivals still feature ancient dances performed in costumes of the tribal

period of the Philippines. A recent rebirth in interest for all folk and cultural dances has spurred many

resources to appear online. You can watch these folk dances on YouTube, read about the cultural

history on informational sites, and even learn some of the dances through instructional videos. Even

though, we invented lot of material culture for us to adopt into our surroundings, and through this

material culture like technology, smart phones, etc, we have created our way of connecting to our

historical culture. And even though life has changed us a lot, we still dance, either we use our old or

new dances, because “Dance is the timeless interpretation of life.”.

References:

Benna Crawford, (2015). Philippine Folk Dance History. Retrieved from https://dance.lovetoknow.com/

Philippine_Folk_Dance_History

Villaruz, Basilio Esteban, (2015). Philippine Dance in the Spanish Period. Retrieved from http://

ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-the-arts-sca/dance/philippine-dance-in-the-spanish-

period/

Edelstein, Bob, (2015). How Are You Dancing With Life? Retrieved from https://

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/authentic-engagement/201503/how-are-you-dancing-life

Lifey. (2018). Spanish Influence in the Philippines Retrieved from http://lifey.org/spanish-influence-on-

the-philippines/

Toh Goda (2001). Cordillera: Diversity in Culture Change: Social Anthropology of Hill People in

Northern Luzon, Philippines


Jules De Raedt (1987).”Similarities and Differences in Life Styles in the Central Cordillera of

Northern Luzon (Philippines)", Paper presented at the Conference on Ecology and Human Evolution

in the Tropics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 22-24 August 1986.