FOLK SONGS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

This is among the most easily recognizable Cebuano-Visayan folk song. Thanks to Yoyoy Villame, this already popular song became even more popular especially to non-Visayan speakers. The comic song is about a fisherman named Filemon who went fishing in the sea. All he got was a small mudspringer ( tambasakan ), which he sold at a dilapidated market for 50 centavos ( kura ) each. His earning was enough to buy himself tuba wine.

This is originally a Cebuano nursery rhyme which became popular to Philippine school children in its Filipino translation. The Cebuano lyrics here given is translated: Tong, tong, tong, pakitong-kitong (Vocables)/ Crabs in the river ( suba ) are known to be hard to catch/ It is only me who can catch, and only I can eat.

Pentik Manok  is a Bagobo song that is often erroneously appearing in Philippine music textbooks as an Igorot folk song. This song is actually collected by Isaias Lim from a Bagobo singer in 1971 around the vicinity of Malita, Davao for the now UP Center for Ethnomusicology. The song was transcribed by Sr. Lilia Therese L. Tolentino and reprinted in a music book which I, regrettably, forgot the title. It later found its way to public school textbooks for Grades 3 and 4 sometime in the late 1980s. This song is translated: Use the sling on the brave chicken/ That is going around the trap/ The downward movement was stopped/ Chop wood now for firewood/ To cook the sweet potato. 

One of the most popular Philippine folk is this song about the parting of lovers. Dandansoy is the nickname of the man who is leaving his beloved in their place Payao.  Early version of this song appearing in the American period music book - the Progressive Music Series - Philippine Edition states that this song originated from the town of Culasi in Antique Province and was reported by a certain Fortunata Masipok.  The simple, yet lovely melody of the song truly have a universal appeal that it already have versions in many Philippine languages, primarily in the Visayan regions. The notation of the song below was taken from the thesis of Mr. Cainglet, available online. For classroom instruction purposes, only the first verse is given here.

Chua-ay is probably among the most popular Ifugao folk song. This simple song first appeared in Emilia Cavan's book "Filipino Folk Songs" published in 1924. According to this book, Chua-ay is an "Igorot Wedding Song." Nonetheless, it became popular in the academe as the Ifugao "rice pounding song," and the pounding of the pestles are supposed to follow the rhythm of the song. How this sudden change of understanding came down to present-day Filipino students is not known. The song text translation below was taken from Cavan's book, p. "v." Man-child brave, man-child strong, For thee we call, oe!, oe! Brave to fight, strong to work, We bid thee come, oe!, oe! Carry rice from field to town, oe!, oe!

  A Cebuano children's song about a rooster who loudly crows "kukuliya, kukula !" The rooster was later butchered and cooked into a delicious dish.  This is song was collected by Rosemary V. Diaz from a Cebuano-speaking area in the Visayas sometime in 1972. The complete song text is given below. The music transcription of the song below by Sr. Lilia Therese Tolentino, was taken from a learning module, available online.  Akong manok sa buhi pa, akong manok sa buhi pa  Kusog motuktugaok, "Kukuliya, kukula!" Kusog motuktugaok, "Kukuliya, kukula!" Akong manok sa buhi pa. Akong manok sa patay, akong manok sa patay na  Wa' nay motuktugaok, "Kukuliya, kukula!" Wa' nay motuktugaok, "Kukuliya, kukula!" Akong manok sa patay na. Akong manok sa lamisa, akong manok sa lamisa  Lami ang pagkaon, "Kukuliya, kukula!" Lami ang pagkaon, "Kukuliya, kukula!" Akong manok sa lamisa.

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...