Three Regions of Art

As mentioned before in an earlier post, there are three main islands of the Philippines, Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas. In this post, I will be talking about the different characteristics of the regions and if you answered my question in my previous post, I will basically be explaining why each region has different types of dances.

Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name of one of the three primary island groups in the country. Luzon is the economic and political center of the Philippines, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, and about half of the country's population. It is one of most populated islands in the world.The people of Luzon belong to the Filipino people, and are divided into several ethnolinguistic groups. These groups inhabit different areas of the island. The island is very mountainous, which basically influenced the Kordillera dances of this region. For the Kordillera people, rituals are central to their lives. It is their means to convey messages to a Supreme Being, the creator. The people perform rituals to show respect to a Supreme Being and to preserve the environment. It highlights the values of community sharing and sacredness of life. It reveals the connection of life- in community and nature - to the past, present, and future.

The central island of the Philippines, Visyayas, consists of seven large and several hundred smaller islands consisting of High mountains which are exceedingly hilly. Most Visayan festivals have a strong association with Roman Catholicism despite apparent integration of ancient Hindu-Buddhist-Animist folklore particularly the tradition of dances and the idols in the image of the Child Jesus commonly named as the Santo Niño. The oldest Catholic religious image in the islands still existing today is the Santo Niño de Cebú. Which explains why one of their main dances is Sinulog, which is a dance dedicated to the image of the child jesus. 

Sinulog is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo Nino. The dance moves two steps forward and one step backward to the sound of the drums. This movement resembles the current (sulog) of what was known as cebus pahina River, thus is cebuano, Sinulog. Celebration is alaways among the people in the region, consisting mostly of rural dances as well. 

Mindanao is the second largest and southernmost island in the Philippines. It is basically the melting pot of the Philippines. Mindanao is the most culturally diverse island where people of different languages, tribes and races meet. Mindanao is a Muslim outpost in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. Although Muslims are no longer a majority, Islamic culture is evident; there are many mosques, and distinctive brassware, including the kris, or dagger, is manufactured. Which explains why their suite is the popular Muslim suite influenced by that culture. 

This dance which originated from Jolo, Sulu is classified under Muslim Dance. Literally meaning “to dance,” the maglangka is used to mold the adolescent girls into ladies of good breeding and accomplished dancing skills. The girls are strictly taught to gracefully execute movements imitating birds in flight, fish swimming in the sea, or branches swaying in the air while remaining in the confines of a square cloth. these movements require intense concentration and innate style as the ladies express emotions and entertain guests.

 From where you are originally from, what kind of dances are found there?

Sweet Suites

Cultural dances are a part of every Filipinos lives and have long been practiced here. For this blog post, I will be giving a brief overview about the different suites in filipino cultural dancing. 

Theres Maria Clara, Tribal, Rural/ Bario and Mountain. 

Maria Clara

The coming of the Spaniards in the 16th century brought a new influence in Philippine life. The dance, Maria Clara is named in honor of the legendary Maria Clara, who remains a symbol of the virtue and nobility of the Filipina woman. Maria Clara was the chief female character of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. Displaying a very strong Spanish influence, these dances were, nonetheless, "Filipinized" as evidence of the use of bamboo castanets and the abanico, or Asian fan. Typical attire for these dances are the formal Maria Clara dress and barong tagalog, an embroidered long-sleeve shirt made of pineapple fiber. To me, Maria Clara is a very "classy" suite. It protrays the spanish influences on the Philippines. It is of the upper class and has a very rich essence to it. I love these dances because the costumes are oh so elegant and very nice. When ever I dance Maria Clara, I feel like im a princess because of all the big dresses and tiaras we have to wear. 

Tribal

Pockets of cultural minorities live in the style of their forebearers in the hills and mountains throughout the Philippine Archipelago. The hillside and interior of Mindanao in the southern part of the Philippines are inhabited by non-Christian Filipino tribes whose culture and animistic beliefs predate both Islam and Christianity. Dance for them is a basic part of life, still performed essentially "for the gods." Their dances are nonetheless closely intertwined with ceremonials, rituals, sacrifice, and life. Tribal dances emphasize the connection the native people have with the earth.  The dances consist of heavy footing and movements close to the ground which makes up for the strength displayed through its rituals. It is a tradition that tribal dances are performed without a costume usually or just in what you see in the picture. Typically it is done naked, so when ever we perform tribal dances, we have to wear nude colored leotards, and the little kids giggle at themselves when we do.

Rural

Perhaps the best known and closest to the Filipino heart are the dances from the rural Christian lowlands: a country blessed with so much beauty. To the Filipinos, these dances illustrate the fiesta spirit and demonstrate a love of life. They express a joy in work, a love for music, and pleasure in the simplicities of life. Typical attire in the Rural Suite include the colorful balintawak and patadyong skirts for the women, and camisa de chino and colored trousers for the men. Rural dances are filled with joy and laughter, which is why it is my favorite suite. As like Maria Clara, in Rural dances, it is required that you smile through out your performance. However, I feel like in Maria Clara, my smile is forced sometimes because I would get tired, but in Rural dances, you cant help but smile the whole time because of how much fun you are having. 

Mountain

The mountainous Central Cordillera region of Northern Luzon is also known by the term "Philippine Skyland." These tribes were generally unfazed by Spanish colonization. They hold common religious beliefs, generally nature-related, and make propitiatory offerings to anitos, or household gods. Among these people of the Cordillera, dance continues to be an expression of community life that animates the various rituals and ceremonies. They dance to appease their ancestors and gods to cure ailments, to insure successful war-mating activities, or to ward off bad luck or natural calamities. They dance to congregate and socialize, for general welfare and recreation, and as an outlet for repressed feeling. They also dance to insure bountiful harvests, favorable weather, and to mark milestones in the cycle of life. Mountain dances usually depict movements of birds like hawks and eagles in flight. I like doing these dances because it is an honor to perform them like rituals. It is amazing to me that because this region wasnt touched my spanish colonization, it is pure filipino and nothing else. You wont be able to see the techniques used in maria clara and you obviously wouldnt find those movements  in these mountain dances. 

Can you think of why these different regions have completely different types of dances?

The Regions of Dances in the Philippines

Folk Dances are a reflection of who the native people of the Philippines are. The Philippines consists of 7,107 islands, and is broken down in three groups of islands. The Luzon, Mindanao, and Visayas. Each of these regions contain different languages, history, religion, and traditions. And with this, each region has different influences in their ancestorical dances, display a wide array of art. 

Alot of these Cultural and Folk dances represents hardships and daily backbreaking tasks, that has turned into a art form, and is reflected onto the native people who live there and perform them.

LUZON 

Northern most region of the Philippines, Luzon gets it’s Cultural influence from Hindu-Buddhist, Spanish and many ethnic religious tribes. All with differences and beliefs, all the Cultural and Folk Dances from this region represent different factions in one way or the other.

Igurot Dance (Kordilliera Suite) 

VISAYAS 

Being the Central Island of The Philippines, Visayas is also broken down into three sections. Central, Eastern, Western. Many others tribes from around surrounding island would come after the downfall or break up of their tribes. Visayas became a melting pot for many different Tribes and Cultural backgrounds. You will see that the dances of the Visayas are more upbeat and exciting, not so much in Drama and tribal meanings as other regions.

                                            
                                                                  Binasuan ( Bario Suite) 

MINDANAO 

Mindanao is the southern most region of The Philippines. Its is also the region where my family is originally from. Being the second largest island in the Philippines, its Culture consists of mostly Muslim or " Moro " people, which is also composed of other ethnic groups such as the Maranao, Tausug, Banguingui, and indigenous tribes.

ACPA Performing Sinkil  ( Muslim Suite)

There are many other dance styles in the Philippines as well. Many of them include, Maria Clara: which is the Spanish influenced dancing, Mountain dancing, Tribal dancing, and Barrio which is basically dances they perform during fiestas in their village. Although I have danced all of these forms, my favorite is the barrio suite. This is because I love how these dances are fun and up beat. 

The fact that there are so many different styles of dancing in the Philippines makes me proud to be a traditional folk dancer because through dance, it helps me share the life styles of the native people. Being able to share these dances allows everyone to learn about the Philippines in a more fun and interactive way. A lot of people don’t know the hardships and struggles the native people go through and many of these dances depict these struggles. Many of the dances portray not only daily life- hunting, courtships, etc- but also the celebration of life, recognizing the role of the deities in daily living. 

After watching these videos, which dance do you like the best? Maybe I can teach it to you!! :D