Islamic Communi-es of the Southern
Philippines
Context:
• Animis.c beliefs before religious (Islam)
contact
• Worship of local divini.es and spirits of the
dead (ritual prac.ces)
• Islam arrived through trading and
introduced by missionaries
• Indigenous prac.ces (animist worship) and
Islamic forms of worship were combined
• Most pre-Islamic prac.ces became cultural
icons of Filipino Muslim communi.es
Ethnolinguis-c groups:
• Maguindanao of Cotabato
• Maranao of Lanao and Cotabato
• Samal and Jama Mapun of Sulu islands of
Sibutu and Cagayan de Sulu
• Tausug of Sulu islands of Jolo, Siasi, and
Tawi Tawi
• Yakan of Basilan and Zamboanga
Smaller groups:
• Sama-Bajao scaNered throughout the Sulu
archipelago
• Sangil in Cotabato and Davao
• Melebugnon of Balabac Island
Gong tradi-ons:
• Bossed-gong cultures are the most visible
and familiar symbols of the musical
tradi.ons of Filipinos
• Related to other bossed gongs in
Southeast Asia
• Each group uses some form of bossed-
gong ensemble
• Kulintang music - important social
property; highly valued; heirlooms;
dowries
• Ownership of instruments indicatrd high
social status and cul.vated taste
• Usually regarded as a secular social ac.vity
but also integrated into religion-sanc.oned
ac.vi.es (e.g., weddings, bap.sms)
The Maguindanao Kulintang Tradi.on
Instruments:
• Kulintang - set of graduated gongs laid in a
row in a wooden frame
• Agung - large, deep-rimmed gong, with a
higher boss
• Gandingan - gongs with narrower rim and
lower boss
• Babandil - smaller than an agung, with a
narrower, turned-in rim and a low boss
• Dabakan - drum
Social func-ons:
• Entertainment
• Interac.on
• Compe..on
• Dialogue between man and woman to
courtship
• Social and religious func.ons (e.g., young
men play gandingan to communicate love
 to women, the agung is played to call
people to assemble or to mark important
hours during the Ramadan)
The Maranao Kulintang Tradi.on
Instruments:
• Kulintang - eight-piece
• Dabakan
• Bubundir
• Pumalsan and Penanggisa-an - two deep-
rimmed gongs played separately by two
musicians
Social func-ons:
• Express culture and e.queNe
• Communica.on especially among the
players
• Formal and ar.s.c conduct during the
performance is emphasized
• Seniority and deference to more seasoned
masters
• Dialogue, courtship, moderated by
babandir (kulintang and dabakan)
• Kulintang repertoire expresses Maranao
culture, emo.onal and intellectual
content, and structural complexity and
demands the ar.st’s skills
The Tausug Kulintang Tradi.on
Instruments
• Kulintangan - eight or eleven gongs laid in
a row
• Duwahan - pair of hanging gongs
consis.ng of the pulakan, a medium-sized,
deep-rimmed gong and the bua, a large,
narrow-rimmed gong
• Tunggalan or Aalakan - large, deep-rimmed
gong some.mes played with one kulintang
gong and a gandang
• Tungtungan - one of the upper gongs of
the kulintang
• Gandang - pair of two-headed drums
Social func-ons:
• Weddings
• General entertainment
Other Instruments
• Kwintang - Yakan instrument having five
gongs in a row
• Gabbang - small, flat xylophone from the
Sulu Archipelago
• Kwintangan kayu - Yakan percussion beams
made up of five logs
• Luntang - Maguindanao percussion beams
made up of five to eight logs
• Garakot - Maranao scraper
• Kagul - Maguindanao scraper-type
instrument and an idiochord half zither
• Tuntungan - Yakan log drum
• Oniya-niya - Maranao wind instrument
made of coconut leaf and rice stalk
• Suling (Maguindanao, Tausug, Yakan), Insi
(Maranao), or Pulao (Sama) - ring flute
• Palendag - Maguindanao lip-valley flute
• Kubing (Maguindanao) or Kulaing (Tausug,
Yakan) - bamboo jew’s harp
• Lute - two-stringed instrument plucked in
formal gatherings (kudyapi or kutyapi in
Maguindanao and ku)yapi or ko)yapi in
Maranao)
• Tangkol - four-stringed version of the tube
zither
• Sirongaganding - idiochord tube zither
Vocal Music in Islamic Communi-es
• Some metered, some unmetered (chants
are usually unmetered)
• Some with instrumental
• Some syllabic
Genres
• Ancient epics and religious songs
• Ceremonial exhorta.ons
• Entertainment ballads
• Love songs
• Lullabies
• Songs for various occasions
Forms
• Bayok - lyrical rendi.on of improvised texts
for weddings, feasts, and crowning of
sultan; Maranao bayok showcases musical
talent and knowledge
• Maguindanao epics - e.g., Raja
Indarapatra, tale of two brothers, and
Diwata Kasalipan, a young prince in search
of his lady love
• Tausug epics
• Lugu - religious ritual/rites of passage
• Lugu maulod - song cycle, birth and life of
the Prophet
• Paggabang - entertainment
• Sindil/pagsindil - song debate; male wins
the love of the beau.ful maiden
• Langan-bataqbataq - lullaby while rocking
the baby’s cloth cradle
• Pangadji or Pangadjiq - recital of the
Qur’an
• Katakata - long/old epic poems
• Aembo-aembo - song of play, rhythm with
the rocking of a baby between the
mother’s raised feet (metered)
• Puk lara - game song while the children are
playing a game of catch (metered)
• Lele - old entertainment song with dancing
during weddings and social celebra.ons
• Leleng - new song with guitar or ukulele
(metered)