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?