Eight clusters of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) from everywhere in the Visayas descended upon Negros Museum and the Ayala Malls within the now bustling metropolis of Bacolod, as soon as a logo of malnutrition and semifeudalism. The event was Dayaw within the Visayas, a spin-off from the latest competition in Luzon celebrating tribal way of life, custom and tradition.
The eight clusters had been 1) the Ati of Iloilo, Capiz and Guimaras; 2) Panay-Bukidnon (“of the fields”), Iloilo, Aklan, Panay Island and Vintage; 3) Ata-Bukidnon Negros; 4) Waray Abaknon of Samar; 5) Ilonggo, Hiligaynon, Aklanon and Kiniray-a; 6) Romblonon-Tagalog, Sibuyan Island-Mangyan; 7) Palawan Batok, Tagbanua; and (8) Jama Mapun Palawanin and Mulbug Muslims.
Marichu Tellano, deputy government director of the Nationwide Fee for Tradition and the Arts (NCCA), which sponsored the occasion, hailed the indigenous peoples as “the shepherds of the surroundings.”
Pablito Gonzales, vice head of the NCCA’s Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Conventional Arts, stated that the competition was organized “to acknowledge, promote and respect indigenous folks’s rights, and to provide consciousness to the ‘shepherds’.” He added, “A lot has occurred, a storm, a pandemic, however you (the contributors) are all nonetheless right here.”
Babaylan ritual
Issues acquired off to a begin on the Negros Museum, with a solemn Babaylan ritual by male members of the Ata-Bukidnon Negros, clad in pink and black, performing to the beat of gongs, castanets, drums, cymbals and a local bamboo flute by a four-man indigenous band. The normal ritual was meant to bless the occasion.
The boys wielded makeshift swords and lances, chanted, and danced with whiplash actions, and made a ceremony of presenting salt packets and burned incense.
The performances adopted, as every ethnolinguistic group displayed their wares in dance and music. A spotlight of the night was a courtship dance by Panay Bukidnon contributors—with a distinction. The good-looking younger man was wooing not one however two comely maidens. The person was energetic, his arms wildly swinging whereas the women had been, after all, extra sleek and sedate.
After that efficiency I approached the three younger dancers and requested if the dance meant that the Panay Bukidnon courageous may have two girlfriends or two wives. The person gave a half-smile, whereas the women solely giggled at my interpretation.
To the shops
The next day the festivities moved to the Ayala Malls within the metropolis, as representatives from the clusters showcased their conventional dances and music. To the sound of an all-male band beating their drums and gongs, the ladies danced in rhythmic trend and exhibited fancy footwork (Palawan). 4 performers, three ladies and one man, emphasised the actions of their palms (Capiz/Guimaras Ati).
With every presentation, dancers and musicians grew in quantity, guitars and bamboo percussion coming into play. Every dance had one performer giving a dramatic spiel. There was a choral quantity, warnings of a hurricane and a powerful no to poisonous tradition (kadiri). The quantity concluded with a joyful refrain (Samar).
The Jama Mapun introduced a lone girl Muslim dancer, who flashed her lengthy fingers, painted white, and carried out with aptitude, with intricate actions, hips swaying provocatively. There was thanksgiving for a great harvest (Sibuyan). Panay Bukidnon got here out with their Binanog Dance, primarily based on a legend, as extra members joined in and the three younger dancers replicated their courtship dance.
This system ended with a rousing neighborhood dance, because the members of the viewers had been prevailed upon to bop.
“That is the primary time Dayaw is carried out face-to-face within the Visayas,” Gonzales stated. “And there shall be one in Central Mindanao quickly. So, we are able to say that Dayaw is basically nationwide, as it’s in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.” —CONTRIBUTED INQ
