Lesson 2- Music of Mindoro & Palawan

Objective

In the end of the lesson, you will be able to analyze the musical elements of some vocal and instrumental
selections from Mindoro and Palawan after listening.

Lesson Proper

Located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan, Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the country. There
are many indigenous groups who live in the mountain ranges in Mindoro. The Hanunuo Mangyan or Yao-buhid also
called "true Mangyans" occupy Central Mindoro.

The Mangyans are simple people. They were once coastal dwellers but driven into the mountains to avoid
religious conversion by the Spaniards, raids by Moro pirates, and the influx of recent migrants. Other indigenous
groups include the Ratagnon, Alangan and Iraya (people from the upstream river or upland.)

Music is an important part in the everyday activities of the people in Mindoro. The functions of their folk
music are:

1. To celebrate festive occasions

2. To entertain visitors

3. To court a woman

4. To be used in religious rituals

 One of Mindoro's indigenous vocal music is called the "ambahan."
This traditional poetry is preserved in bamboo tubes called "luka" and
performed as a means of entertainment. The ambahan may be described as
having rhythmic-poetic lines, chanted verses, distinct melody and meter with
seven syllables.

Other folk music include the following:

1. Iyaya - lullabies

2. Igway - vocal music

3. Marayaw - spirit song

4. Ngayung - ritual chants

5. Urukay - performed during courtship, or to bring cheer to other occasions such as feasts and litigation
meetings. It uses eight syllables.

6. Pamuybuyen - legend “fear of water”

The indigenous musical instruments of Mindoro can also be classified into aerophones, chordophones,
membranophones, and idiophones.

Classification Instrument

Chordophones

Kudlong- boat-shaed plucked string instrument

Gitgit- an instrument with three to four strings. The bow is

made from human hair.
Aerophones

Lantoy- a tiny flute which can be played using the nose or

the mouth

Bangsi- an external pipe flute

Membranophones Gimbal – drum made from animal skin

Tugo- cylindrical-shaped drum

 Idiophones

Buray dipay- bean rattle instrument

Kinaban- jaw harp

Music of Palawan

Palawan is an island located in the MIMAROPA Region or the Region IV-B. Its capital is Puerto Princesa
City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of land area. Many years ago, Chinese traders named the
island, "Pa Lao Yu" which means, the land of beautiful safe harbor, because of its many safe places to land their
ships on. It has several famous tourist destinations like the white-sand beaches in El Nido and the underground river
in Puerto Princesa. It is where the fragments of the Tabon Man that were about 20,000 years old, were found.

Palawan is home to 87 different cultural groups and races. Some of them are:

1. Tagbanwas - meaning "people of the world"

2. Taaw't Bato - "people of the rock"

3. Palawan or Palawano - native lowland dwellers

 4. Batak - mountain people or the Aetas of Palawan

5. Agutayanen - the elite among the Palawan tribes

6. Cuyonen - people from Cuyo Islands

The Tagbanwas is one of the few remaining ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines that uses a type of
syllabic writing in the country before the coming of the Spaniards. Their songs and dances are distinct from other
tribes and minority group in the Philippines. The beat and rhythm of their songs and dances set them apart from other
Indigenous people.

Palawan music reveals general similarities with the remaining Indo-Malayan musical heritage before the
advent of Islam. It is also quite similar to that of Mindoro when it comes to musical elements, processes, and
functions. Folk songs are simple yet full of wisdom and practicality. Like other indigenous groups, their folk songs
also serve as a part of their social activity and everyday living.

Palawan music has the following musical elements:

1. Simple melodies

2. Stanzaic

3. Instruments have hemitonic scale with seven pitches

The following are the vocal music of Palawan:

1. Bagit 2. Cancion – popular serenade

3. Composo - ballads 4. Dagoy - love song

5. Kulial 6. Oiman - ballad song

7. Sandaw - lullaby 8. Tultul - epic chant

9. Ulit - shamatic chant

Like the Mangyans of Mindoro, the ethnic groups of Palawan also have their own instruments. Some examples are
as follows:

Classification Musical Instrument

Chordophone

Kudyapi- a two-stringed long-necked lute

Aerophone

Tipanu- mouth flute

Beberek- nose flute

 Aruding- Jew’s harp

Idiophone

Babandil- small bossed gong

Membranophone

Gimbal- drum made from animal skin

 Lesson
Mindoro, Marinduqe, and
1 Romblon Folk Arts

Learning Target

In the end the lesson, you will be able to identify characteristics of arts and crafts in specific areas in
MIMAROPA.
Exploration

 What are the provinces in region IV-B?

 What do you know about these places?
 Are you familiar with their arts and culture?

Go and Learn

Mindoro, Marinduque, and Romblon are three of the four provinces which make up Region IV-B or the MIMAROPA.
All of these provinces have a rich culture and folk art tradition.
Mindoro

Mindoro is home to the Mangyans. Mangyans are made up of eight indigenous tribes related by language,
culture, and religion. Aside from buri palm baskets decorated with black Nito vines, they also make traditional
beadworks that include necklaces, bracelets, and other items. The Mangyans are noted for weaving cotton for
clothing and blankets. Women weave baskets while men forge bolos, axes, and knives.

At present, Mangyan culture is preserved and documented by the Mangyan Heritage Center which is
located in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro. The handicrafts they feature are handmade and sourced from the following:
1. Woven textiles by Hanunuo Mangyan mothers of Mansalay and Bulalacao like the ramit textiles woven
on back strap looms called harablon featuring intricate geometric patterns
2. Rattan baskets by the Alangan Mangyans of Naujan Nito baskets by the Iraya Mangyans of Puerto
Galera and San Teodoro
3. Nito baskets by the Iraya Mangyans of Puerto Galera and San Teodoro
4. Beaded items by the Alangan and Hanunuo Mangyans
What are the art elements of basket woven by the Mangyans?
Made by Shape Size Materials
Irayan Mangyan Six sides or hexagonal Small (18-20 centimeters Narrow strips of buri pal
in diameters) leaf
Hanunuo Mangyan Base is square but mouth Small Split nito or red-dyed buri
is round

Mindoro also celebrates the Malasimbo Festival that features visual and concert artists both local and
international. The festival is held at the foothills of Mt. Malasimbo. This festival aims to promote and sustain the
development and preservation of the indigenous culture and heritage of the Mangyan tribes by offering their different
artistic handicrafts for sale.
Marinduque

The heart-shaped island of Marinduque is known as the

smallest province in the Southern Tagalog region. Marinduque has no
indigenous groups except Tagalogs. Their products include potteries,
ceramics, and mats woven from the buri or raffia plants.

Marinduque is also known for the Moriones

Festival, one of the most colorful festivals annually held on
Holy Week. Moriones are men and women wearing
costumes and masks like Roman soldiers.
Moriones costumes and masks are made of
materials like capiz, hardwood, metal, and cloth, which are
sewn, carved, and stitched together laboriously.

Romblon

Romblon is known for its traditional

weaving and basketry. Handicrafts are a major
home industry where women are engaged in but it
is for marble where the island is best known for.
Marble is very popular as a construction material for
flooring tiles and can also be made into decorative
items such as ashtrays, statuettes, miniature
mortars and pestles, jars, and flower vases.
 Romblon baskets are unique in materials and weaving technique. They use an important material called the
kokolongkoy vine in a technique called roping.

Another popular basket material is the nito vine, used for covered market baskets and bowls of various sizes.
The usual design would be dark nito vine woven against a light-colored vine.
Romblon is also the name of a variety of a pandan plant used in weaving different products like the following:
a. sleeping mats
b. small bags
c. backpacks and market totes
d. boxes and other containers
e place mats
f. trays
 Romblon weavers also use a combination of buri strips
overlaid with split nito by means of plaiting. They also use other
kinds of vines like the malipali, ungali, and sagagap which are
usually made into baskets, coin purses, salakot, sets of small
boxes, covered jars, open bowls, and covered trays.

Some variations of the Romblon basket are the following:

Materials Technique Used Characteristics, Shapes, and

Sizes
Kokolongkoy vine Roping (used only in Romblon) Strong and shiny
Nito vine Weaving of dark nito against a light- Strong and durable market baskets;
colored vine. native bowls and containers of
various sizes.
Buri strips and split nito Plaiting (buri strips overlaid with split Export baskets, coiled baskets,
nito) covered trays, or open bowls

What are the art elements and principles of the artwork of the people in Romblon?
Rombloanons’ Folk Art Lines Color Design

Interlocking Subdued earth Alternation of

horizontal and colors repeated geometrical
vertical lines shapes.
 Lesson

1 Music of Cordillera

Learning Target

-Identify the musical characteristics of representative selections of Cordillera.

-Analyze the musical elements of some vocal and instrumental music selections.

Exploration

 Have you been to Baguio?

 What do you know about Baguio City and other towns in the
Cordillera region?
 What about their music?
 What do you know about Cordilleran Music?

Go and Learn

The Cordillera Central is a massive mountain range situated in

the northern central part of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. Six
provinces and one chartered city make up the Cordillera Administrative
Region. It is the ancestral domain of some ehtnolinguistic groups called
"people of the mountains." These ethnolinguistic groups include: Itneg
(Abra), Isneg (Apayao), Kankanaey and Ibaloi (Benguet), Ifugao (Ifugao),
Kalinga (Kalinga) and Bontoc and Kankanaey (Mountain Province).
Indigenous tradition is practiced by these groups of people.
 This is where the famous Rice Terraces, one of the
"Seven Wonders of the World," is located. It was built through the
cooperation of various ethnic tribes.
They have developed unique culture through epics, rituals, and
music. They were also able to preserve their indigenous musical
traditions and these are integrated in their day-to-day activities.
They appreciate the beauty of nature and create varied forms of
artistic expressions through songs, dances, and art forms. Their
songs have generally limited tones. The vocal style they use varies
according to their day-to-day activities.

Music is a part of the lives and everyday living of the people in Cordillera. They have a rich variety of songs
and music performed using instruments. Their music is communal and participatory and is usually in unison of
pentatonic melodies which are transferred from generation to generation. Their folk songs addresses social issues
depicts the people's way of life, their spiritual life and their entertainment.
The following are some of the folk songs of the Cordillera Region.
1. Salidumay - an indigenous folk song associated with the Igorot and Kalinga natives of the Cordillera Mountains in
the northern part of the Philippines. It is sung during weddings, festivities and rituals. It uses pentatonic scale, duple
meter and it has a slow to moderate rhythmic flow
- among the Itneg people, it is the response song of young women to the kalkalimusta songs of men during the
weaving season
- it has a sweet melody and it also expresses graitude
2. Hudhud hi Aliguyon - consists of narrative chants traditionally performed by the Ifugao community. It is sung during
the rice sowing season, at harvest time and at funeral wakes and rituals. It was thought to have originated before the
seventh century. The Hudhud is comprised of more than 200 chants, each divided into 40 episodes. A complete
recitation may last several days.
3. Dang-dang-ay si Dong-ilay - a traditional tune made popular by the guerrilla soldiers during World War II. The
words may be extemporaneous to suit the occasion. It is usually sung by a male as a form of entertainment.
What are some examples of vocal music in the Cordillera?
1. Performance Practice
There are different performance practices in the Cordillera that are related to the following occasions:

 Peace peacts
 Healing rituals
 Invocation of the gods
 Rites of passage
 Courtship and weddings
 Birth and other life cycle events
2. Representive Songs/Genre

Lullaby Courtship - performed in song-debates

-Oyayi (Kalinga) - Dajeng (Kankana-ey)
- Batac inanen, estijaro of the Tagacaolo
Other infancy-related songs
- Bandayuy of the Matigsalog
- Dagdagay and Oppia (Kalinga)
- Langan bata-bata (Tausug)
- Bua (Subanen) - Kawayanna (Kalinga)

Love incantations Work songs

- Antang (Manobo) – matchmaking
- Sindaay, tarasul (Tausug)
- Tamuyong, dango, and oggayam
- songs of greetings and advice during
a Kalinga wedding
- Duduru (Aeta) and gagonapu (Subanen)
- referring to both fishing and hunting
- Danding and owayat (Kalinga)
gathering firewood
- Didayu (Gatac) - wine-making song
- Sowe-ey (Bontoc) – rice-pounding song

Entertainment songs Death rites

- Salidummay, dongdong-ay, - Didiyaw (Bontoc)

Bayok (Mandaya) - Balow - sung by the Matigsalog wife
- Limbay (Manobo) to honor her dead husband
- Tamiya (Ibaloi) – allegorical ballad - Ulaging (Manobo)
- Sangsangit (Isneg)

Pre-colonial music could still be heard among the Bontoc, Igorots, Iblois, Ilongots, Tingguians, and Aetas.
Many of their songs are improvised or spontaneous.
Below are some of the vocal traditions of these indigenous groups.

 Ayegka - a love song (Bontoc)

 Ayyeng - a feasting song (Bontoc)
 Ayoweng/Mangayuweng - a field work song (Bontoc)
 Orakyo - a story song about catching a sacrificial carabao (Bontoc)
 Bagbagto - a game song (Bontoc)
 Tiptipa - a song accompanied by clapping used by mothers, older brothers, and sisters as they take care of
the baby (Bontoc)
 Annako - a mourning song by old women while doing a vigil beside the dead (Bontoc)
 Apros - a song after a child's birth that usually lasts half a day (Kalinga)
 Kagaykay - for child's good health and growth (Kalinga)
  Kawayana - a song during the tying of a child's first necklace (Kalinga)
 Koggong - a song to awaken the child's senses (Kalinga)
 Egam - a song for the rite of passage from boyhood to manhood (Kalinga)
 Gablon - a ritual chant for curing the sick (Aetas)
 Ruduru - a long ritual chant (Aetas)
 Pamarag and Palasinta - characteristic songs (Aetas)
 Awara - a debate song (Aetas)

Instrumental Music of the Cordillera

Have you ever wondered what are the musical instruments of the Cordillera? Are you familiar with how they
look and how they sound? The indigenous musical instruments of the Cordilleras play a very important role in their
ceremonies, rituals, and celebrations. These instruments are made of gongs, bamboo sticks, wood, and animal skins.
An example of these instruments is the gangsa, which is the main and the most useful ensemble instrument in rituals.
It consists of five to six flat gongs played in standing or in bending position. The gongs are struck with the palm of the
hands while resting on the lap (topayya) or beaten with the wooden mallets (palook) while held with the left hand.
This is usually played by men.

Classification Indigenous Musical Instrument

А. Chordopohones - These instruments make sounds
from the vibrating string stretched at points.

Pas-ing - bamboo guitar of the Igorots

B. Aerophones - These are wind instruments whose
sounds are produced by blowing on the instrument. It
includes various types of flutes, panpipes and reed
pipes.

Diw-diw-as - a panpipe composed of at least five

slender bamboo pipes of different lengths tied together
like a raft. This instrument is popular among the
Tingguians.
 Kalleleng - a long bamboo nose flute among Bontocs
C. Membranophones - These are drum-type
instruments that are sounded from tightly stretched
membranes. The palm of the hands is used to sound
these instruments.

Sulibao- a conical drum of the Ibalois and Bontocs

D. Idiophones - These instruments have sounds
produced from the substance of the instrument itself.
They may be struck, blown, shaken, scraped or rubbed.

Balingbing/Bungkaka - a bamboo buzzer from the

Kalingas

Bangibang - percussion bar of the Ifugaos

Gangsa - metal flat gong with a narrow rim found

among the Ifugaos and Apayaos
 Kalutang/Tongatong - considered as one of the oldest
indigenous instruments

Palipal - a bamboo clapper from Ifugao

Kubing (Jews Harp) – the instrument is held

horizontally with the tongue in front of the opened
mouth while the left end is either strummed or plucked
by the hand.

1. Gangsa Ensemble
Gangsa is a single handheld smooth surfaced gong with a narrow rim. It is played according to the traditions
of the different tribes of the Cordillera: Kalinga, Ifugao, Bontoc, etc.
Each musician plays one gong consisting of gangsa tuned to different notes.
  Two ways of playing the gangsa:
A. Toppaya style - The musicians play the surface of the gangsa with their
hand while sitting with a single gangsa resting on each lap.

B. Pattung style - The gangsa is suspended from the musician's left

hand and played with a padded stick held by the right hand.

Lesson

2 Palawan Folk Arts

Learning Target

In the end the lesson, you will be able to identify characteristics of arts and crafts in Palawan.

Go and Learn

Palawan is known as the last ecological frontier of the Philippines." It is known for its pristine, white sand
beaches, amazing landscapes, and high biodiversity. It is a part of Region IV-B.
 The Tagbanua tribes used to carve
earplugs from the hardwood bantilinaw, ornately
designed and inlaid with mother-of-pearl in geometric
patterns. They also carved wooden combs and
bracelets. Anklets of copper and brass wire were
also crafted and worn by women.
 Presently, Tagbanua artistic crafts include the tingkop (harvest baskets) made of hard strips of bamboo or
occasionally blackened and natural bamboo, and soft rice baskets called bayong-bayong that are also made with
different unusual shapes. These have generally square bases and round tops with plain buri sides superimposed with
colored buri. The colors red, blue, violet, grey, black, and green are woven into the Tagbanua baskets with the use of
dyed palm leaves.

The Tagbanua are known for weaving durable mats as shown by

the way they reinforced the woven rattan strips together by locking the edges
with smaller strips.

Tagbanua carving or sculpture are

characterized by incisions, etchings, and scrapings
of polka dot designs, V-marks, white triangles, plant
and leaf motifs, lines, and geometric shapes that are
made using a knife (pisay).

The Palaw-ans are also fond of creating blackened wood carvings of animals as
symbol of fertility and luck. Using a small curved knife, they carve the actual shape and the
fine details on a soft and white wood (alimutyugan tree). They used a sandpaper leaf
(agupi) to smoothen out the surface. To blacken it, they passed the sculpted object over a
piece of almaciga resin, which is burned on the ground.
 Another outstanding product from Palawan is the tepina fabric. This contemporary fabric is exclusively
woven by the Rurungan Sa Tubod Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Palawan which was created as an
alternative livelihood for women. The tepina fabric is made of a blend of silk and pineapple fibers that is delicate and
sheer, but at the same time strong. It is used to create barong material, shawls, and cover-ups.