FOLK SONGS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

From the Ivatans of Batanes to the Samals of Tawi-tawi, the Philippines is replete with songs which revolves around the occupation or livelihood of the people. Damiana L. Eugenio, considered as “Ina ng Folklore sa Pilipinas” classified these kinds of songs in her monumental anthology “Philippine Literature Series VIII: The Folk Songs” into “occupational songs.” The Ivatans sing the kalusan while their seamen row boats.  The Ilocanos of the north have songs about salt-making, the Ibaloy of Benguet have hunting songs.  Who could ever forget the short and choppy Ifugao rice pounding song “Chua-ay”? The Visayans, living in an archipelago surrounded with seas teeming with marine resources are expectedly sea-oriented, in terms of culture, life ways and livelihood. The Eastern Visayas is no exception. Jaime B. Polo wrote in 1983 about a colorful fishing “ritual-drama” in the village of Binalayan in Leyte. Much is also written about the buhat ritual to attract schools of d...

The song "Bato nga Pamunakan" vividly describes the ways back then, when the Samarnon women, heavily-laden with a basin-full of soiled clothes goes for the nearest river, brook or stream for laundry.  It is in this set-up that news and gossips about the town's prominent and the common folks' lives are unintentionally subjected under scrutiny and deliberation.  It is in such gossip-mongering situation that the persona of the song laments. The song is actually sung in the common dodecasyllabic lines of the Visayan balitaw  or more specifically, the ismayling  or amoral  of Samar.  This version of the song was notated by Mr. Irasga as sung by an unidentified staff of the Division Office of Borongan City in Eastern Samar sometime in 2014. Further research on the song yielded more versions from Tacloban City and Western Samar.  The longest version so far is the one found in the unpublished manuscript Antolohiya han mga Tradisyonal ng Porma . Nevertheless...

This is one of the more popular folk songs of Samar and northeastern Leyte.  The song is probably a dance music because of the similarity of the melody to the Pandangyado dance music.  The song texts are the most popular version available, although other song texts are used by the people of Eastern Samar.  Further research on this song found out that songs is just a part of a two-part song from Eastern Samar, the "Miripiti Kanding."  This "Han Nakadto Ka Pa" is actually, the second part of that song. Han nakadto ka pa, ka pa Ha kahigrayu-an, yu-an An kasingkasing ko, singko Alang nakain man diyes man. An pag-ilalanat, kinse Sobrado kapinan baynte Pero pag-aanhon kon mag-aalkase, When you were still there, still there On that very far place, far place My heart, beats not for fifteen times No, more than twenty times But what can I do if I lost. Source:   Courtesy of Mr. Irasga.

Scanning through my collection of Philippine folk song books, I find it easier to find samples of songs which express pride of one's ethnicity, especially, the noteworthy virtues of each people group's maidens/womenfolk: industrious, beautiful, socially-accomplished, good example, modest, peerless, and so on. Folk songs like the Babaeng Bikolana, the Kapampangan  Ing Manai, the Tagalog Ang Dalagang Tagabukid and Lulay ; the Waray An Marol (featured earlier in this blog's series, No. 3) , the Ilocana a Nadayag and the Daragang Taga-Cuyo  of Palawan all take pride in the prime qualities of their womenfolk. However, our love for the Filipinoness outside our own ethnicity is rather rare in the themes of our folk songs. That could be safe, probably, to presume that there could be a lot of folk songs which embody the ardent love for one's place of origin: a town, a province, an island, a region or an island group; however, for folk songs with theme of love for our country co...

Marol is the Samarnon word for the sampagita, the white dainty flower, long considered as the national flower of the Philippines. Across the country the sampagita is indeed renowned as it delicate white petals and unmistakable scent is commonly used metaphor for the Filipina maiden: simple, modest yet alluring.  Expectedly, many sampagita-inpired folklore materials are present in the Philippines, Samar included. This song for example, is also a version of a song-dance from Catbalogan.  Borongan, however, boasts the earliest published version of this song, when Priscilla V. Magdamo published the "An Manol" song from Borongan in her Philippine Folk Songs: Songs of the Visayas Vol. VI in 1958.  This version, from Villareal town on the western part of Samar was collected by Crispina C. Garcia. Pagkamatahom han marol bukad han tuna ta Kamakakaaawil han hamot niya Kundi labi na an marol, bukad han Villa Bantog humiyom, bantog tumawa, bantog ngatanan. An ha Vill...

Estehanon folk songs on matters of love, courtship or even serenades are typically Waray Bisayan which, as described by Sugbo reveal the "images of kasakit (suffering), palooylooy (pity), and kuri (difficulty) on the part of the person in love."  The song below, learned by Mr. Irasga from his grandfather, Tomas Corral who came from Hernani town fits the images mentioned by Sugbo.  The raw or literal translation, here given, was from an unpublished manuscript entitled "Laylay han Kasanhi: The Songs of Samar Island" an aborted folk song book project with the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, where our contributor - Mr. Irasga, was one of the author and researchers. Di ka ba nagsiring, ha akon nagsaad? Im' ak' uunungan halad an im kalag. An im' kinabuhi, ngadto ha lubnganan Di ngay-an tapuran, sugad la hin dampog  nga waray hi-uran. Uunan-on ko la nga pagliaw-liaw Nga makatambal la han mga kamingaw San-o la kakulop, san-o man kaadlaw Nga ...

Of the very scant resources on published Samar folk songs, the song "Ha Kan Inday" is probably the only song published which I came across when I was an elementary pupil.  The song, which is said to have originated from the town of Taft in Eastern Samar is actually a love song and serenade.  Presumably, the version of this song which was reproduced in many music textbooks was from music books of former Bureau of Public School and Adult Education supervisor Salud R. Enriquez.  Four other known versions of the song came from Tacloban in Leyte and the towns of Oras, Can-avid and McArthur, all in Eastern Samar.  Dr. Jesusita Arteche, who recorded the Oras version claimed that there are many versions of the song texts, to this melody. Of the available versions of the song, the Can-avid version, collected by a certain Mr. A. Irasga has probably the complete text, with two more stanzas describing the singer's fondness to the the way Inday laughs and smiles and how she stan...