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posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Dec 28

Countries of the world have their own cultures made more colorful, beautiful and vibrant because of folk dances that are a reflection of who they are and what they are. In the East, the Chinese have their embolismic dragon dance; the Japanese have the familial dance Bon Odori. In the West, the Americans have their Square Dance. The Scottish people have their world-famous dances (Highland and Country Dance, Jig and Reel). On the other hand, the Philippines will not be left behind! The “Pearl of the Orient” boasts of a variety of Philippine folk dances.

The Filipinos pay tributes and owe itself to cultural heritage. One way of expressing such love and respect for the country gave birth to the growth of Philippine ethnic folk dances. And there are several of these; namely, Binasuan, Subli, Itik-itik, Tinikling, Maglalatik, Cariñosa etc.

Binasuan is a native dance of Pangasinan. This dance exactly means, “dancing with glasses.” The steps are executed with glasses filled with rice wine balanced on the head and the hands of the dancers. Danced to demonstrate balance and to imitate rural fun, Binasuan is performed frequently in wedding ceremonies and occasions in the barangay.

Subli owes its meaning to native words “subsub” meaning to fall with the head and “bali” or broken. This meaning is reflected in the dance steps. The dancers move feebly and tortuously as if without vigor. This dance, though, traces its roots to Batangas where it was initially played as a ritual dance that developed into a symbol of religious practice performed during town fiestas.

Itik-Itik is one of the Philippine folk dances which have an interesting origin. According to stories, a Filipina maiden-dancer of Surigao del Norte was asked to perform a native dance in one special occasion. She started to improvise new steps and imitate the courtship movements of a local species of duck known as “itik.” The spectators began to imitate her and that is how the dance came to be.

Tinikling is another Philippine folk dance that is inspired by an endemic bird called “tikling.” The steps of this dance are an imitation of the movements of a “tikling” bird that hops and escapes the traps set by hunters. Moving with grace and poise, the dancers hop in-between two bamboo poles that are seized to pound rhythmically adjacent to each other. This dance is a specialty of Leyte.

Maglalatik is danced to mimic the early battle against Christians and Moros to win coconut meat or “latik” during the time of Spanish colonization. This is also performed to pay homage to the town saint of Biñan, Laguna – San Isidro Labrador. This dance is divided into four parts: baligtaran, palipasan, paseo and escaramusa. This is performed by all-male dancers who wear blue pants to represent the Christians and red pant for the Moros. All dancers, however, have coconut shells mounted on their body parts.

Pandanggo sa ilaw. The word ‘pandanggo’ is taken from the Spanish word ‘fandango’. The dance is characterized by the lively steps performed in conjunction with the clapping while the dancers are following the ¾ beat. Once more, this dance requires graceful balancing acts in order that the lights seized by the hand will not drop. This dance is originally from Oriental, Mindoro.

These aforementioned Philippine folk dances are ethnic in nature and origin. On the other hand, there are several Philippine folk dances that were influenced by some Western countries as some of these had colonized Philippines in the past. One such country is Spain. Several of the alleged “influenced” Philippine folk dances are as follows: Pandango sa Ilaw, Cariñosa, Balitao and Rigodon.

To conclude, these folk dances whether ethnic in origin or not reflect the lively culture that the Filipinos have. These dances may be diverse but through these cultural forms, the Filipinos are unified and proud by way of having Philippine folk dances that are truly one of the best in the world.

posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Dec 24

The people of Cordillera is known for its rich culture and tradition, and the Lumagen dance is one product of its culture that helps make Cordillera what it is right now. The name Cordillera is a name that is rich in history too. This was the name that was given by the Spanish Conquistadores when they first saw the mountain ranges in the area. In their language, the term Cordillera means ‘knotted rope’ and the mountain ranges of the area looks like a twisted and knotted rope from afar.

Geographically and politically the Cordillera where the Lumagen dance can be traced is the only land-locked region in the country and this region host the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Apayao.

The city of Baguio is considered as the administrative center of the region. The region is home to the Cordillera Central mountain range and more especially the region is home to lots of indigenous tribes called the Igorot that is the source of their rich culture and lots of dances like the Lumagen dance.

The Igorot is just one of the many tribes that contribute to the culture of the region which can be seen in its songs and dances and the other tribes in the region are:

. Bontoc
. Ifugao
. Benguet
. Kalinga

These are the tribes that reign over the region and the dance of Lumagen is from the Kalinga. These tribes want to be called by their respective tribal names and don’t usually want to be labeled by the collective term called ‘Igorot’. These tribes are known to resist the moves of the Spanish colonizers and if the other people in the lowlands was under the culture of colonizers, these tribes protected their common socio-cultural traits. These tribes hold common religious beliefs and these beliefs are often nature-oriented.

Dances of the Cordillera as expression of their beliefs

Among the many aspects of the culture of these many tribes, dance is considered as the most popular expression of their beliefs. Dances keep on to be the major expression of the community life that can animate their several rituals and ceremonies. Dances for these tribes are self-edification for them and a form of entertainment for these who observe these dances. There are many other roles for their dances too.

They dance in order to appease their ancestors and to pay tributes to their ancestors. They also dance in for their gods in order to cure their ailments and they also dance in order to insure the success of war activities and they also dance in order to ward off bad luck and to pray that natural calamities may not do harm to their source of living and their everyday life. Dance is a form of socialization too for these tribes like the Kalinga and they often congregate in order for them to unload their feelings.

Lumagen is a dance performed during thanksgiving

And since agriculture is their main source of livelihood, some of their dances too are linked to agriculture- from planting to harvesting. There will be dances that will indicate that it is the beginning of the planting season, and there are tribal dance that are executed during harvesting. These dances are called thanksgiving dances and one example of these dances is the Lumagen dance from the Kalinga culture. The dance from a locale called Lumagen is truly a traditional dance that is performed frequently at Kalinga festivals as a way to rejoice Thanksgiving in time of good harvest. The dance is also performed during these events:

. Thanksgiving for the birth of a child in the family
. Victories in battle
. Celebration of marriage

This dance is considered as one of the most difficult dance to perform among the many dances in Cordillera. It can be also said that this can be one of the hardest dances to perform from among the lots of Philippine dances.

Though this dance is difficult to perform due to the strenuous dance steps, still its high level of energy and the creativity involved in dancing the Lumagen makes this dance from the Kalinga one of the most entertaining to watch. There are times too when the Lumagen dance is performed in some festivals in the region and during special regional occasions.