Philippine folk and traditional dance taxonomy

Taxonomy is something we usually learn in our Biology classes. Small animals, plants, fungus and all that has breath are sorted out according to their commonalities. It is with taxonomy that we came to know that we - human beings - are hmmm... distant relatives of apes, monkeys, gorillas, baboons, and yes, even the huggable tarsiers of Bohol, Leyte and Samar! Now look at yourself in a mirror and see for yourself whether taxonomy confirms it or not.  Keep the answer to yourself, you only need to be honest with your finding.

Taxonomy is such an appropriate term to borrow if the need to classify, group and arrange things according to their shared characteristics, arises.  Philippine folk and traditional dances cover the far and wide and span colonial experiences.  It gets constantly updated and breathed with new interpretations. Pervasive influences from near and far continues to reshape (or rather, re-choreograph) whatever is extant and vibrantly performed in many communities this date.  Culture (including dance) is dynamic. It needs to adapt and change in order to advance/move on and survive.  Dance is not a museum piece that future generations, say for example, can witness in its exact time-tempered form. Dance can never be fossilized. 

If dance can never be fossilized, can we, at least stop the clock and answer this question: “What are the classifications of Philippine folk and traditional dances?”  Let’s try.

If by “folk dance” we refer to the dances created and performed collectively by the ordinary people, then we must be open to include terms such as ethnic dances, Muslim dances, rural or lowland Christian dances, creative [folk] dances, and so forth in our attempt to taxonomy.  Of course, many terms are more politically appropriate than what most Filipino dance enthusiasts are familiar with, but I would be of the defeatist-type if I use up my time trying to bleed out the propriety in me only to be misunderstood by the common tao.

Many attempts were made by dance scholars and by four (4) Philippine National Artists for Dance in classifying Philippine folk and traditional dance traditions.  One classification is very popular while another is more rational yet unpopular.  One classification uses motifs while another stresses heavy ethnolinguistic provenance reasoning out that each ethnolinguistic group has its own way of classifying their own folk and traditional dances.  What I usually do in classroom when classifying Philippine dance traditions is to reverse the Bayanihan classification which segmented Philippine dance traditions into five (sometimes six) groupings which this dance group aptly called ‘suites’.  The result is a more extensive classification which integrated the themes or motifs from non-Bayanihan classifications.

Preliminary Philippine Folk Dance  Classification

Nowadays, there is no definitive and authoritative classification, hence, this is but preliminary or tentative. The earliest classification of Philippine folk and traditional dances was done by Francisca Reyes-Aquino, a prolific researcher and a paramount authority on this folklore especially between the years 1910 to 1970.  Her classification are based on many considerations with overlapping parameters like:

a. region  (national or local) (for ex.  carinosa vs. tinikling)

b. religious or ceremonial   (for ex: dugso, subli)

c. number of performers

• solo - ex. makonggo or gitara
• couple - ex. kuratsa or pandanggo sa sambalilo
• group - ex. lanceros or rigodon
• etc - ex. 2 girls and 1 boy as in imunan or awan pumadpada or garambal of Tarlac

d. tempo

• slow - ex. ti liday
• moderate - ex. pandanggo sa ilaw
• fast - ex. polkabal
• mixed - ex. jota manileña or alcamfor or          jota moncadeña
• etc.

e. thematic

• courtship - maramion or cariñosa
• comic - alakayo or kinnoton
• game - sinenñalan or pavo
• martial - maglalatik, inabaknon, sagayan or pattong
• wedding - ex. pandang-pandang, alap, urukay or pantomina
• etc.

f. time signature   (2/4 or 3/4 etc)

g. Etc

The Bayanihan classification is probably the most recognized classification of Philippine folk and traditional dances which became a common template for many dance troupes nowadays.  Bayanihan Dance Company core authorities decided to segment its dance suites into a cohesive grouping and ethnographically similar in provenance or influence:

Cordillera Dances (dances of the Igorot people; ex: bangibang,pakkong, ifugao festival dance, kayasig, bendean,etc. )

Muslim Dances   ( dances of Islamic communities; ex: singkil, asik, unta, sagayan, kaprangmanis, mangalay, vinta etc )

Maria Clara Dances (Spanish colonial dances; ex: aray, promenada, jota caviteña, lazos de amor, chotis taaleño, lavezares, umbrales en flor, valse de tanda, etc.)

Rural Dances  (dances in the rice-growing lowland Christian provinces; ex: curacha, tinikling, subli, pipigan, pagtatahip, filemon-mang-i-isda, etc.)

Lumad Dances  (non-Islamic, non-Christian Mindanao peoples’ dances; ex: makatod, uh yayee, tingli, madal tahu, binaylan, falimac-b’laan, etc.)

Regional Variations or Halinhinan (Aeta, Tagbanua and extant pre-Christianization dances among Christian groups; ex: talik bake; pagdidiwata; saraw; ati-atihan; itik-itik, dugso, etc.)

         Dances of the Emerald Isles author Leonor Orosa-Goquinco offered a more rational classification, albeit exclusively dealing to the dance traditions of the Christianized Filipinos.  Contained in the aforementioned book is an essay of classifying Philippine dance according to shared motifs or what the author called local leitmotifs.  A classification subscribed to by other academics like Obusan and Landicho, however in a more widely covering or encompassing scale.  Goquinco's classification is as follows:

1.  Occupational Motifs

     ex:  pasigin, kinnaras, binislakan, ibanag, tanobong, 

            mangingisda, pandanggo sa bulig, binatbatan, 

             etc.

2.  Mourning, Funeral or Patay Motif 

     ex: la jota moncadena, purpuri, ti liday, etc

   

3.  Male Dominance Motif

     ex: urukay

4.   Social Visit Motif

      ex: putungan or tubong

5.   Mock Fight or Combat Motif

       ex:  maglalatik, palu-palo, pukol, etc 

6.  Nature or Wildlife Motif

     ex:  itik-itik, tinikling, pabo, salampati, balamban, 

            alitaptap. culebra, inalimango, etc.

7.   War Dance Motif

      ex:  sambali

8.  Coy Maiden Motif

     ex:  hele-hele bago quiere, cariñosa , kuradang, etc.

9.  Show-off Motif

     ex.   tinikling, ti yadut, sayaw sa bangko, sayaw sa 

             palaton, kuradang, etc.

10.  Tree-Dance Motif

        ex:  kakawati, lubi-lubi, lawiswis kawayan, etc.

11.  Wedding/Courtship Motif

       ex:   pantomina, osi-osi, maramyon, biniganbigat, 

               carinosa, pag-aring, sayaw sa pag-ibig, 

               annafunan, wawway, punundo-pundo,  

                jota ilokana, ising inbestida, sayaw desposorio,                       

                etc.

12.  Celebration Motif

       ex:  sayaw kasiyahan, karakol, mardicas

The most comprehensive classification which covered the far and wide of Philippine folk and traditional dance traditions was attempted by CCP dance authorities forming a panel of writers (for CCP Encyclopedia of the Philippine Arts – Dance volume) led by dance  ethnologist/ anthropologist/ folklorist  Ramon Obusan and classical/modern dance guru Basilio Esteban Villaruz of the University of the Philippines. A good number of dance academics helped put out a good write-up on Philippine dance with the first chapter of their output classifying Philippine dances into broad groups:  (1) ethnic tradition, (2) Spanish colonial tradition and (3) American colonial and contemporary Philippine dance tradition.  Subsequent chapters discusses in length each group and a detail classification is given.  For ethnic tradition for example, there are ritual dances, life-cycle dances, occupational dances, etc. The resulting classification reverses the Bayanihan per provenance  classification and uses an exhaustive and updated version of Aquino’s thematic and Goquinco’s motif approach to classification.

What is given below is an attempt by the blogger to synthesize the classification above-given.  Certainly, some dances will fit to more than one class. The result is exhaustive:

 I.  life-cycle dances

       a.   birth or birthdays

       b.   adolescence

       c.   courtship

       d.   marriage

       e.    death

              1.   mourning

              2.   funeral

              3.   revenge for a violent death

              4.   calling dead warrior’s soul to return home

II.  social and festival dances

III.  religious or ceremonial dances

        a.   lowland Christian 

              ex:  subli - honors the Holy Cross of Bauan

                      pandanggo - honors Sta. Martha of Pateros

                      baile de los arcos - the panatang sayaw  of old 

                                                           Makati

                       gozos - honors the Virgin Mary, from Borongan, 

                                      Eastern Samar

                        Nazareno - Agta people of Brgy Datag, Siaton, Negros Oriental dance this to honor the Black Nazarene

        b.   Islamic communities

                sayana - Maranao

        c.   animist groups

              1.   Luzon

              2.   Visayas 

              3.   Mindanao

IV.  war or martial dances

•          Borokil and rinompo   (Camarines Agta)
•          Sohten    (Subanon) 
•          Tumahik  (Yakan)
•          Latak-latak   (Waray)
•          Saut (Manobo)  
•          Maglalatik  (Tagalog)
•          Sikuting  (Ayta)
•          Palivuhoy  (Umayamnon)
•          Tamingan  (Tagbanua)
•          Palu-palo   (Ivatan)
•          Sagayan (Maranao)
•          Sambali  (Ibanag)

V.   mimetic dances

        a.   occupational
              
               exs: Buhay sa Bukid   (rice farming)

     Mananagat  (fishermen)

     Pangamuti  (camote gathering)

     An Labasero  (fish vending)

     Mamanyo  (fishing)

     Panulo  (hunting for edible frogs)

     Paningara  (gathering honey)

     Talek Pinacamote (digging for camotes)

     Admulak (bird-hunting)

     Kabpagagani (Maguindanao rice-cycle dance)

     Tanobong (broom-making)

     Mag-asik (Tiruray seed-sowing dance)

     Oasioas  (waiting for fishermen)

     Agdamdamili (claypot-making)

     Panangasin  (salt-making)

     Tauti  (catching fish or eels)

     Pahot-pahot  (mat weaving)

     Pabirik and pagdulang (gold panning)

     Kinnaras

       b.   plants and animal

                exs: Inamong / Inamo / Among    (monkey)

     Turayan  (eagle)

      Bubudsil  (hornbill)

      Ohoy Alibangbang!  (butterfly)

      Talek Gayaman   (centipede)

       Kabah-kabah  (butterflies)

       Kilingkingan  (bird of the same name)

       Karamag tu Kawayan  (bamboo leaves)

       Kinugsik-kugsik  (squirrel)

       Baki-baki (catfish specie)

       Makonggo  (monkey)

       Itik-itik  (duck specie)

       Pinuhag  (bees)

       Suwah Ku Suwah  (pomelo flowers)

       Binanog  (hawk/eagle)

       Tinikling  (bird called tikling)

       Binakbak  (frog)

       Tayaw nin Tadaw  (monkey)

        c.   daily activities

        Dinidibaba  (daily chores)

·         Denaega  (daily chores)

·         Buwa-buwa  (putting a baby to sleep)

·         Idudu   (putting a baby to sleep)

         d.   natural happenings, etc.

·         Binadyong (drunkard)

·         Dugso (wiping mus off the feet, etc.)

·         Maral Solanay (gestures of Solanay)

·         Lagundi (man stricken with arthritis)

·         Maral Fiew Awas  (fairies) 

               

VI.   game dances

•          Igal ha Panyuh
•          Pavo

VII.  show-off dances

                                Pabo

                                Sayaw ed Tapew na Bangko

                                Gitara

                                Sayaw sa Palaton

                                Kumakaret