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ANG ALIBANGBANG - Philippine Folk Song (Hiligaynon)

 This Ilonggo folk song about the butterfly is in the polka tempo. Similar to the Tagalog "Sitsiritsit" this song also uses the butterfly (alibangbang in Visayan languages) as a metaphor of a beautifully dressed woman. In this Hiligaynon version, the woman is wearing a skirt of silk (sutla), an embroidered nagwas (an underskirt or slip), and her whole get up is in the Parisian style (bayong de Paris).

This song first appeared in Emilia Cavan's Philippine Folk Song (1924). It was also reported in the Historical Data Papers of Iloilo Province (1953), as Ang Mariposa. The version below was taken from a learning module available online.



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