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INDIGENOUS SONGS: AN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR

SOCIAL VALUES DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE YOUTH OF BENGUET,
PHILIPPINES

Conference Paper · November 2012

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 INDIGENOUS SONGS: AN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
FOR SOCIAL VALUES DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE YOUTH OF
BENGUET, PHILIPPINES

Prof. Gretchen Shagami C. Mangahas

Department of Development Communication
Benguet State University
Benguet, Philippines, 2601
Office: (063) 74-422-4278
Email: greta_mangahas@yahoo.com

November 2012

Paper submitted to the 2013 World Communication Association Conference program, Seoul,

Korea. The research reported here was made possible through the support of the Benguet State

University-Open University where Gretchen Mangahas is also a faculty member.

 INDIGENOUS SONGS: AN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
FOR SOCIAL VALUES DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE YOUTH OF
BENGUET, PHILIPPINES

Abstract

Through the years, the indigenous peoples of Benguet have evolved and innovated
themselves as their communities open up to modernized societies dominated by advanced
technology and commerce. This study presents how the cultural values of the Kankana-ey and
Ibaloi tribes of Benguet, is being communicated through the composition of original songs which
are aired over local radio stations as well as on Youtube.com. A group of young male musicians
coming from both tribes surfaced as the most popular indigenous band for creating songs using
the local language of their tribes. Through content analysis, all their eleven (11) songs aired on
local radio contained messages of social values inherent to their tribes. Youth listeners of this
band identified these values and affirmed that upon listening to the songs, they were affected to
apply these social values in their lives. Thus, these songs can be an effective intercultural
communication strategy for the social values development of the youth.

Keywords: Indigenous songs, cultural values, social values, local language, youth development,
communication strategy
Introduction

Social values are honed in relationships from which man, a single unit of the society,

belongs to. It is therefore within these relationships, that social values are learned from. These

values are learned primarily by communication which is “a transactional process of sharing

meaning with others" (Rothwell, 2010).

Each year, the celebration of the “Adivay” (an Ibaloi term which means “to get

together”), a fellowship and thanksgiving festival of the different towns of Benguet province

gather the different tribes of the province in the spirit of camaraderie and sharing. Among the

attractions of the festival are booths showcasing the unique products of each town. One most

captivating scene is the flocking of people around a booth playing videos and music of

indigenous songs.

The proliferation and airing of Indigenous songs have garnered a substantial following of

listeners and subscribers especially to the youth who belong to these indigenous tribes. The

migration of the youth out of the farms and into the seat of education in central business districts

and town centers has given these youth access to mass media. Since the Benguet people are

rooted on its culture where songs and dances are intrinsic parts of their communities, it can be

ascertained that the Benguet youth identifies songs as a daily ingredient in their life.

These Indigenous songs have become a source of meaningful messages of social values

that may guide the youth in their everyday struggles especially to those who are away from

home. Further, the songs breed a vehicle for familiarity and comfort especially because these

songs use the dialect that they grew up with.

 Popular indigenous songs make its way to the youth of Benguet through radio stations,

record outlets and the internet. The most accessible medium is through radio stations since it is

cheaper to buy a radio than CD players or computers from which these songs may be played.

This study shows the potential of indigenous Kankana-ey and Ibaloi songs as a possible

communication strategy of social values development among Benguet youth.

History and characteristics of indigenous songs in Benguet

Fong (2007) has detailed the history of the local music industry in the Cordilleras

specifically citing Baguio City (situated in Benguet province) as the seat of popularization and

distribution of songs recorded and released by Indigenous bands and singers being the base of

the Mountain Province Broadcasting Corporation’s (MPBC) DZWR. This station popularized

and aired folk and country songs which can be attributed to the influence of American folk and

country music during their occupation in the region. Even when the Americans officially left the

Philippines in 1946, American popular music continued to dominate the airwaves.

The very first Ibaloi song recorded was an adaptation of the tune and lyrics of Hank

Williams’ “Blackboard of my heart.” During the 1990’s there were a number of local languages

used in the recordings, now in cassette tapes and the themes have increased and are more varied.

Fong (2007) stated that, “Some of the recording artists claim they have only been recognized as

singers in their respective communities after their albums came out. Hitherto, they were not

known as singers. Some of the songs produced in the 1970s’ in 45 rpm records were also

reissued in cassette tape formats. At this point, some of the recordings were done in makeshift

studios in Baguio City, no longer in Manila.”

 The introduction of the western culture in Benguet during the American occupation in the

Cordilleras in the early 1900’s has inevitably influenced the local music industry. Thus, some

local songs have a touch and air of “country music” which is rationally probable because of the

highland setting of Benguet province from which the same setting and culture bore the Western

Country Music style. Some local songs would be renditions, interpretations or translations of its

original western country song. Others were composed of the original melody of the song paired

with lyrics of local dialect.

These songs are recorded in studios in Baguio City and La Trinidad (the capital town of

Benguet). They are sold as compact discs (CDs) or digital video discs (DVDs) in six (6) record

outlets in La Trinidad. Some are also sold through house-to-house marketing done by relatives

and even the composers/singers themselves.

The Kinnoboyan band

The three local radio stations airing indigenous songs in Benguet identified the

Kinnoboyan band as the most popular from the number of requests for their songs to be played

on air.

The Kinnoboyan Band was formed after the culmination of the MPBC’s search for local

folk and country singers in 2006 dubbed as “Magic Countryhan.” Five of the finalists namely:

Junei Rey Bag-ayan, Heintje Pis-oy, Gelasio Beray, Stephen Lael Senio and Christopher

Longalong were gathered by the MPBC, formed them into a band and named it “Kinnoboyan,” a

term which is popularly known in the Cordillera as “the state of acting and being like a cowboy.”

When asked why they write and sing Indigenous Kankana-ey and Ibaloi songs, these young men
mentioned that their primary goal was to create songs that are original “not one that is copied,

translated or with borrowed melodies.” They added that they write the songs to share their

personal experiences and lessons in life. By doing so, they also find achievement for themselves

and perhaps motivate other local singers to pursue their singing careers. Three of them belong

to the Kankana-ey tribe while two are Ibaloi.

The band composed a total of twelve (12) songs - eight (8) Kankana-ey songs, three (3)

Ibaloi songs and one (1) English song (Table 1).

Table 1. The songs of the Kinnoboyan

No. Kankana-ey Ibaloi English

1 An-anusak (I will Persevere) 834 Halsema
2 San Biyag (This Life) No Ayshi Ha Highway
3 Pangaasim Koma (I Beg of You) (If You are Gone)
4 Tsismosa (Gossiper) Seseskeren taha
5 Bay-am Kod Pay (Leave it Be) (I am Waiting for You)
6 Linmingling Ka (You Have Forgotten)
7 Kimat (Lightning)
8 Ed Ili (In Our Hometown)
Total 8 songs 3 songs 1 song

Social Values identified the Indigenous songs of Kinnoboyan

The Indigenous songs of Kinnoboyan were were subjected to content analysis. The

social values were identified and classified according to the cultural values of the Kankana-ey

and Ibaloi tribes as determined by Malanes (2009) and Perez (1979) (Table 2).

Table 2. Categories of Social Values in Benguet

Economy Politics Relationship Environment

Thriftiness Justice Respect for elders Respect for the environment
Diligence Equality Fidelity Love for hometown
Patience Social Bayanihan
Generosity responsibility
 There were 11 out of the 13 social values identified in all of the Indigenous songs of the

Kinnoboyan. The social value found most in the songs was Responsibility (7). This is followed

by Justice (6) and Fidelity (6). The social values that were least identified in the songs were

Thriftiness (1), Bayanihan (1) and Respect for Environment (1) while there were no social values

on Respect for elders and Generosity identified in the songs

Table 3. Social Values identified in the Indigenous Songs of Kinnoboyan

Social Value No. of Songs
Responsibility 7
Justice 6
Fidelity 6
Patience 4
Diligence 3
Social Responsibility 3
Love for Hometown 3
Equality 2
Thriftiness 1
Respect for Environment 1
Bayanihan 1
Respect for elders
Generosity

Total 37

*Multiple Response

A total of 37 social values were identified in all of the Indigenous songs of the

Kinnoboyan. “Ed Ili” and “Seseskeren Taha” had the most number of social values (5) (Table

4). These were closely followed by the songs “An-anusak,” “Tsismosa,” and “Bay-am Kod

Pay” with four (4) each. The song with the least social value is “Pangaasim Koma” with only

one (1) present.

Table 4. Social Values in each Indigenous Song of Kinnoboyan

Song Social Values identified
Ed ili (In Our Hometown) 5
Seseskeren Taha (I am Waiting for You) 5
An-anusak (I will Persevere) 4
Tsimosa (Gossiper) 4
Bay-am Kod Pay (Leave it Be) 4
San Biyag (This Life) 4
No Ayshi Ha (If You are Gone) 3
Linmingling Ka (You Have Forgotten) 3
834 2
Kimat (Lightning) 2
Pangaasim Koma (I Beg of You) 1
Total 37

“Ed Ili” (In Our Hometown) is a song about the richness of natural resources of the

province. It paints a picture of luscious forests, clean rives and diverse animals. The song also

tells of the degradation of the forests and its effects to the future generation. It calls on the

people to rise up and stop the destruction of the environment. This situation is one of the most

heated issues in Benguet as it is the objective of the exploitation of natural resources by multi-

national mining and energy companies. On the other hand, “Seseskeren Taha” (I am Waiting

for You) is a song about a woman who had to leave her lover to work in another country. The

man tells his beloved to work hard and be patient with whatever she had to do and that no matter

what happens, he knows she will come home. He promises to wait for her and will pray for her

always. Similarly, the influx of overseas workers in Benguet has continually increased because

of the lack of employment opportunities in the province. Contributory to this is the fact that

Benguet is one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.

The Social Values identified by the Youth in the Indigenous Songs

One set each of 10 Kankana-ey and 10 Ibaloi youth were randomly and purposively

selected from the two largest universities in La Trinidad – Cordillera Career Development Center

(CCDC) and Benguet State University (BSU).

The youth were made to listen to one Kankana-ey and one Ibaloi song after which, they

were asked to answer a questionnaire in a Focus Group Discussion.

Table 5 shows that a total of 90% of the youth was able to identify Responsibility in the

Kankana-ey song. This was followed by Thriftiness (85%) and Social Responsibility (75%).

Only a few identified Respect for elders and Bayanihan with just 10% each and only one youth

identified Fidelity in the song

Table 5. Social values identified by the youth in the Indigenous Kankana-ey Song

Social Value No. of youth who % Rank

identified
the social value
Responsibility 18 90 1
Thriftiness 17 85 2
Social Responsibility 15 75 3
Patience 12 60 4
Diligence 11 55 5
Generosity 7 35 6
Respect for environment 5 25 7
Love for hometown 5 25 7
Equality 4 20 8
Justice 3 15 9
Respect for elders 2 10 10
Bayanihan 2 10 10
Fidelity 1 5 11

Further, Table 6 shows that all twenty (20) youth identified Patience in Seseskeren Taha.

This was followed by Responsibility (75%), Fidelity (65%) and Love for Hometown (65%). The

least identified was Thriftiness with one (1).

 Table 6. Social values identified by Benguet youth in the Indigenous Ibaloi Song
Social Value No. of youth who % Rank
identified
the social value
Patience 20 100 1
Responsibility 15 75 2
Fidelity 13 65 3
Love for hometown 13 65 3
Diligence 12 60 4
Respect for elders 7 35 5
Generosity 6 30 6
Social Responsibility 6 30 6
Equality 5 25 7
Justice 2 10 8
Bayanihan 2 10 8
Respect for environment 2 10 8
Thriftiness 1 5 9

The youth identified the presence of all of the presented social values in both the

Indigenous Kankana-ey and Ibaloi songs with the values of Patience and Responsibility as the

most identified.

Most Appreciated Component in the Indigenous Songs

The songs were broken down into components namely: lyrics, language, melody, beat,

and singer. The youth were asked to identify which of the components they liked most in the

songs presented to them.

Table 7 shows that in both Indigenous Kankana-ey and Ibaloi songs, they appreciated the

lyrics the most followed by the language used. This shows that the lyrics of the songs which

bear the messages were most liked by the youth and that because the local language was used in

the songs, the messages come across clearly to them. Kincaid’s (1981) Convergence Model of

communication corroborates with the result since mutual understanding is bred between the
listener (youth) and the sender of the message through the songs using language and experiences

common to both.

Table 7. Component Most Liked by the Youth in the Indigenous Songs

Song Component No. of Youth

Kankana-ey song Ibaloi Song
Lyrics 18 18
Language 7 16
Melody 5 13
Beat 5 5
Singer 4 2

*Multiple Response

Effects of the Indigenous Songs to the Youth

After subjecting the youth to listen to the Indigenous songs, they were asked whether

they agree to the messages presented by the songs and whether they were going to apply the

messages (social values) and use it in their lives.

Table 8 shows that although not everyone was not familiar with the Indigenous songs, all

agree with the messages and are going to apply the message (social values) and use it in their

lives.

Table 8. Effects of the Indigenous Songs to the Youth

Question Yes No Total

Are you familiar or have you heard of the song 11 9 20
played before?
Do you agree to the message(s) of the song? 20 0 20
After listening to the songs, are you going to apply 20 0 20
the message (social values) and use it in your life?
 Bennet (1998) states that in intercultural communication, common language, behavior

patterns, and values form the base upon which members of the culture exchange meaning with

one another in conducting their daily affairs. The total acceptance of the youth to the messages

of the Indigenous songs bearing social values shows that the songs are effective in imparting

messages that can help hone and develop the listeners to make positive decisions in their lives.

This can also help in creating a better relationship of the youth towards others and their natural

environment as espoused by the cultural values of their own Kankana-ey and Ibaloi tribes.

Summary and Conclusions

Indigenous songs in Benguet have become popular today and singers/bands who write,

record and release these songs have gained a substantial number of listeners. Production of

music VCDs and CDs have also been a flourishing business. With the continuing inspiration

gained from “country music” singing contests and the airing of Indigenous songs in local radio

stations, as well as the availability of numerous recording studios in Benguet, Indigenous songs

make its way to the public especially to the youth.

The most popular band in 2009 is Kinnoboyan, a group of youth from Benguet who

wrote Indigenous songs primarily to share their experiences and to convey messages of values.

It has also been a vehicle for them to gain confidence as artists and to advocate writing original

songs among their fellow music artists.

The social value of Responsibility was the main message in all of the Indigenous songs of

the Kinnoboyan as it was the most identified in the Kankana-ey song “Bay-am Kod Pay” (90%)

while it followed second in the Ibaloi song “Seseskeren Taha.” (75%) And even in the Content
Analysis performed, it topped as the most identified social value in all of the songs of

Kinnoboyan.

Although not all of the Benguet youth were not familiar with these songs, all of them

(100%) agreed to the messages of the songs and were willing to apply the social values identified

in their lives.

The Benguet youth appreciate these songs mainly because of the messages that were

conveyed through its lyrics and second because of the language used. Kinship is gained from the

reality that singers/band of Indigenous songs are of the same decent and culture as theirs and use

the same language as they do therefore, there is an underlying familiarity to the hopes and

aspirations between the singers/bands and the listeners.

Indigenous songs will always be a part of the lives of the Benguet youth as it is rooted in

their culture primarily because of the messages and the languages used are those from the main

tribes of Benguet written and sung by singers/bands from Benguet.

It can therefore be deduced that:

1. The historical beginnings of the Benguet music industry has paved the way for local

artists to hone their talents and skills in songwriting and singing and they would

continue to write, record and release Indigenous songs;

2. Benguet bands/singers who write, record and release Indigenous songs use these songs

as a vehicle to communicate messages of social values;

3. Benguet youth identified social values in the Indigenous songs, agreed to these

messages communicated and were willing to apply these social values to their lives upon

listening to them;
 On the whole, Indigenous Kankana-ey and Ibaloi songs can be an effective communication

strategy to impart messages of social values for the social values development of the Benguet

youth.

Bands and/or singers who have acquired their own social values from the different

aspects of the society bounded in Benguet culture write, record and release Indigenous songs

impart these social values to their listeners who are their fellow people from Benguet specifically

the youth. The Benguet youth listen to these Indigenous songs and find familiarity and

understanding from its lyrics and from the local language of the main tribes of Benguet:

Kankana-ey and Ibaloi which were used in these songs.

This familiarity in hearing Indigenous songs from fellow Benguet people, makes it even

more easier for the Benguet youth to identify social values from these songs and from it, apply

the messages (social values) in their lives. This will lead to the development of their social

values which may be a contributory factor to the development of the society as a whole being

youth who would mold the society’s future.

Recommendations

To fully maximize the potential of Indigenous songs as a communication strategy for the

social values development among Benguet youth, the thriving problem identified in the Benguet

music industry, which is piracy, must be addressed. It becomes the decay that destroys the life of

the local artists and producers as it is the cause for producers to be discouraged to continue

searching for local talents and to help them record and release their songs.
 Another observation upon listening to song from local artists is that some of the songs

may not be considered as “original” as they commonly take the melodies of existing English

country songs and replace its lyrics with the local languages.

Lastly, a number of the VCDs and CDs released fall short in delivering quality audio

and/or visual components to the songs. It becomes one of the reasons why some radio stations

will not air these songs or why listeners are not enticed to buy the albums.

The following are then recommended:

1. The producers and local music artists as well as those involved in the music industry

should make a move to stop piracy of Indigenous songs and albums. This would

ensure that the life of the local music industry will thrive and flourish for it to be

institutionalized as a moving factor in the society;

2. Record outlets should continue to distribute and sell local albums and surpass their

sales by delving into other practical and creative ways to reach the widest number of

buyers and listeners;

3. Indigenous singers/songwriters should continue to write Indigenous songs and pursue

to create original ones and use the local language in their songs bearing the social

values dedicated for the listeners to adopt. They should continue honing their craft

and talents in music using their culture and own social values as their inspiration in

writing these songs. Using the local language of ensures an eager group of listeners

who will, without wane, continue to support these bands and singers.

4. Recording companies should continue striving for quality output in the VCDs and

CDs that they produce to be at par with the sales of mainstream music albums and

penetrate other local and perhaps the national market.

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