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Philippine Folk Dances: A Story of a Nation
Monica Fides Amada Santos
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n Philippine Folk Dances and Songs (1966) by National Artist Francisca Reyes-Aquino,^1 there is a photo of a group of Isabela province’s Kalingas accompanied by the caption: “Note how the baby is carried by the mother. Influence of their association with their Christian brothers may be seen in the use of a pair of shoes by one, the dress of one girl, and the shirt of the man. All others are still primitive.” The photo is under the Costume section, which includes various images of persons wearing native garb representing different cultural communities in the Philippines. This section is meant to be a guide on how to dress “authentically” or appropriately when performing the dances described in the book. The caption alludes to an evolutionist imaginary emerging from colonialism, i.e., “the primitive” unblemished by the trappings of modernity. Here, the impositions of colonialism are presented as endangering the “purity”, if not the entire existence, of traditional cultural expressions. Such sentiment is echoed by Lucrecia Kasilag, another National Artist, in her research with fellow National Artist Jose Maceda and with Aurora Diño, on the music of the Buid of Mindoro in 1953, in the interest of developing the repertoire of the Bayanihan 2 (Santos, 2004):
Most of the tribes were relatively untouched by modern civilization, but sadly there were a number of cases wherein only the elderly remembers their tribe’s old songs, and the young boys could not even speak their own dialect. The researchers realized that there was a very distinct possibility that many ancient Filipino cultures could be lost forever. The studies therefore assumed a sense of urgency; the preservation of tribal
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music became one of the Bayanihan’s most enduring contributions to the reestablishment of Filipino cultural heritage. (cited in Santos, 2004, p. 10)
Such sentimentality characterizes salvage anthropology, which aims to document cultures under “threat” of irreversible changes brought on by cultural impositions of colonizing forces. In postcolonial times, where newly liberated nation-states sought to define their existence through an internal search for their “own” identity, such anxieties persist.
In the context of the Philippines’ colonial experience, Christianity is perceived to be the social force that brought about change to its “primitive” peoples. However, contrary to colonial goals that would perceive such transformation as a positive cultural development, the comment highlighting the changes in the attire of Isabela Kalingas is meant to point out how their culture has been gradually changing. The shoes, dress, and shirt are not part of their “costume”, and by extension, their culture. Thus, it is the “primitive others” that represent what “true” or “authentic” Isabela Kalingas wear. Kasilag articulates the popular view of cultural workers and researchers in the country who see tribal cultures as the repository of what it means to be Filipino, and express the compelling need to do research on these cultural communities before their cultures “disappear”. This kind of perspective subscribes to a concept of culture that suggests the existence of a set of bounded objects that represent the lifeways of a particular group of people, and obscures the social and political processes involved in legitimizing the authenticity of such representations (Wright, 1998). In the Philippines, nation-building rests on a strategic essentialism that relies on the assumed primeval roots of particular cultural groups. This was facilitated through the promotion of their expressive traditions including their “dances”.^3
In this paper, I take off from Geertz’s understanding of culture as the “stories that people tell themselves about themselves” (1973, p. 448), and ask: What stories do Filipinos tell themselves about their nation through discourses articulated in the performances and literature of their folk
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Handler (1999) documents a similar case in Quebec, where folk ways, specifically folk dances, were subjected to cultural objectification “influenced by both romantic and nationalistic ideology and contributed to a vision of the peasant roots of the nation” (p. 71). He highlights the role of academia in this legitimizing process (see also Said, 1979). In the Philippines, similar efforts can be seen in the initiative of Jorge Bocobo, former President of the University of the Philippines (UP), to conduct research on the music and dances of different ethnic communities in the Philippines (Goquingco, 1980; Santos, 2005; Castro, 2011; Villaruz, 2006; Alcedo, 2014).^6 In 1934, Bocobo tasked particular members of the university faculty from the Conservatory of Music and the Department of Physical Education including Francisca Reyes (later, Aquino), a physical education teacher who did a preliminary survey of Philippine folk dances for her thesis on folk dances and games in the Philippines, to be part of the research team. This project allowed Reyes-Aquino to expand her research on folk dances, resulting in the publication of six volumes of Philippine Folk Dances , which were published between 1953 and 1980 (including new editions). These six volumes feature dances from different parts of the country, including Hispanized or Christianized dances, localized forms of European dances, as well as ethnic dances or those practiced by different indigenous communities in the Philippines.
As indicated in the foreword of volumes 1 through 5, all by Serafin Aquino 7 who was then Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) 8 and later Chief of the Division of Physical Education at the Department of Education, Reyes-Aquino’s works serve as guides for the ‘authentic’ reproduction and performance of the dances in different social activities, including recreation. They are also meant to instill a patriotic and nationalistic spirit. In the first volume, Aquino (1953) remarks, “[t]he work being done to collect Filipino folk dances and to preserve their authenticity for future generations deserves the support of every patriotic citizen. We should be proud of, and keep for posterity, the best traditions and culture of our people” (p. I). In the
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second volume, Aquino describes folk dances as “really for and by the common people. A recreation program for these people, which includes folk dances that will uplift their spirit and provide a welcome relief from the monotony and dreariness of manual labor.” He continues, “This new volume on Philippine folk dances by Mrs. Aquino represents many years of continuous labor in the interest of preserving for posterity the genuine culture, customs, and traditions of the Filipinos as depicted in their folk dance.” (Aquino, 1960a, p. I). In the third volume, Aquino notes:
The value of folk dancing as a cultural and recreational activity is … more fundamental than its being a means towards development of nationalism. Its higher value lies in the wholesome recreation and spiritual satisfaction it can provide, and the preservation of the people’s culture … Care must be taken, however, to preserve the authenticity of the Philippine folk dances. It is therefore essential that for the real meaning and value of these dances, they be performed in their original form. In every case, authentic music, steps and costumes should be used. (1960b, p. I)
Aside from anthologizing the different folk dances in the country, Reyes- Aquino is also responsible for the inclusion of folk dancing in the physical education curriculum of public schools in the Philippines. She left UP after 18 years and joined the Department of Education, where she eventually became the Superintendent of Physical Education for the Bureau of Public Schools. By the fourth volume, the series would highlight the value of folk dances in education, and in defining and presenting ‘Filipino culture’ to the wider world. Note the foreword of the fourth volume:
During the past few years, marked interest in folk dances has been manifested throughout the country. Folk dances are generally given in school programs and community social affairs. The Philippine Folk Dance Society, of which Mrs. Francisca R. Aquino is the adviser, has helped much in popularizing the folk dances. It has established chapters in the cities and provinces and encouraged schools, colleges and universities to organize their folk dance troupes.
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folk dance as one of the categories of dance traditions in the country. Reyes-Aquino would form the UP Folk Song and Dance Club, now the UP Filipiniana Dance Group, a school-based dance troupe of UP Diliman which performs in school-related events as well as in folklore festivals in the country and abroad (Alcedo, 2018). Other university-based groups that perform and promote Philippine folk dances include the University of the East Silanganan Dance Troupe, Darangan Cultural Troupe based in Mindanao State University in Marawi city from the southern Philippines, and the FEU (Far Eastern University) Dance Company (formerly FEU Folk Dance Group).^11
Professional folk dance troupes in the country include the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group (ROFG) 12 and the Bayanihan. While the two groups differ in their approach to presenting folk dances in the country,^13 their performances continue to be dynamic embodiments of particular constructions of Filipino identity. Their performances of different folk dance traditions in the country are grounded on research, with the objective of promoting awareness about these expressive traditions, and Filipino culture in general, in mainstream performance venues locally and abroad. As such, these professional troupes have become important symbols of national patrimony and its effective disseminators. The Bayanihan has regular performances and outreach projects in different parts of the country and goes on regular tours abroad, visiting many Filipino communities in different parts of the world. Their level of influence can be seen through folkloric groups that have been established in the United States, which use the Bayanihan model (Castro, 2011; Gaerlan, 1999), 14 including noted cultural shows such as the Pilipino Cultural Night or PCN (Gilmore, 2000; Gonzalvez, 2010).
In 1998, the role of the Bayanihan as one of the country’s cultural ambassadors was legally recognized through Republic Act 8628, which designated the Bayanihan as “The Philippine National Folk Dance Company”. The law describes the role of the Bayanihan as an organization tasked to research on Philippine culture, specifically folk dances, to
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disseminate this knowledge. In the meantime, the ROFG is to continue its work of promoting and educating the public about Filipino culture through folk dance presentations. The members ensured the continuity of their organization through the Batang ROFG program, in which children and teens are trained in music and dancing in the tradition instituted by Obusan.
Folk Dances and the Cultural History of the Philippines
The dynamic embodiment of the national imaginary through dancing is not uncommon (see, for instance, Reed, 2010; Foley, 2001; Chakravorty, 1998; Fisher, 2003). As a visual spectacle, dancing can be easily recruited as a convenient symbol of the nation. In the Philippines, this is accomplished by presenting the diverse cultural communities in the country through stage performances of what is documented as dances in their culture. The Bayanihan compiles these different dances into four suites: the Cordillera suite, the Muslim Suite, the Maria Clara or Hispanic Suite, and the Lowland Filipino suite. 15 These suites are meant to display the array of cultures in the Philippines, from the non-Christian groups in the northern Philippines (Cordillera suite), the Islamized groups in the southern Philippines (Muslim suite), and the Christianized communities in the country (Hispanic and Lowland Filipino suites). While the Bayanihan has expanded its repertoire to include newly discovered dances, these four suites remain staples in their performances.
Leonor Orosa Goquingco, another National Artist for Dance, who wrote one of the major texts on Philippine dance, reinforces these groupings of Philippine dances. Goquingco (1980) uses two general categories to describe the different “ethnic” dance traditions in the Philippines: “Dances of Non- Christian Filipinos”, which is further divided into “Dances of traditionalist or pagan groups” and “Dances of Muslim Groups”, and “Dances of Christian and Lowland Filipinos or Western-Influenced Dances”. The twinned categories follow her categorization of the “chief cultural groups” in the Philippines: Major Christian Groups, Minor Christian Groups, Muslim “Moro” Groups, Principal “Pagan” or Traditionalist Groups, Negrito and Dumagat Groups,
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Archipelago. To visit them is figuratively to take a trip centuries back, through the time-tunnel of history, and to see how well they have preserved for us a great source-body of cultural traditions that might otherwise have vanished forever. The so-called “primitive” or traditionalist peoples are particularly interesting because they have generally adhered to their traditions and religious beliefs.^16 These traditions, rituals, and dances, retained in near- pristine form, could offer valuable clues in today’s search for the authentic roots of prehispanic Philippines. (p. 29)
Goquingco’s characterization of ethnic dances and her expressed concern over their preservation (which is similar to Kasilag’s sentiments) illustrate a reified view of culture reminiscent of cultural evolutionist Edward Tylor’s understanding of culture as a “complex whole” and of his categorization of world cultures as being in different stages of cultural development.^17 Goquingco’s representation of ethnic dances as “a rare and living documentary marking various and recognizable strata of cultural development” echoes Tylor’s views, and in this case, shows an undisguised appreciation for such primitivism. Moreover, Goquingco presents (and celebrates) these communities as ahistorical entities—as cultures with no past and no future. The assumption that their practices have remained unchanged does not acknowledge the cultural exchanges that these communities might have had with other nearby communities and the attendant changes that might have ensued even prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonial forces. 18
The Dance volume of the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art^19 describes ethnic dances as those that “have not been substantially Westernized” (Villaruz & Obusan, 1995, p. 34). The articles in the CCP Encyclopedia that discuss dances of ethnic groups refer to specific expressive traditions practiced by specific cultural communities but somehow resort to a generalized view of ethnic groups as the repository of the whole country’s cultural roots. Perhaps what captures this sense of rootedness is the way ethnic dances are represented as closely associated with social functions;
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thus, labels for sub-categories of ethnic dances include “ritual dances”, “the life-cycle dances”, and “occupational dances” in the historical essay on ethnic dances.^20 Elaborating on her previous comment on the ‘traditionalist’ character of the country’s primitive peoples, Goquingco further observes that ethnic dances:
are dances that arose from the communal rites to conciliate the gods, to solicit rain, to seek deliverance from pestilence; or dances that came from special combat, and victory celebrations, or simply to lighten … such everyday tasks such as the planting, harvesting, pounding, winnowing of rice, fishing, rowing and tuba (coconut-wine) gathering. (p. 31)
On the other hand, this segregation of dances is not found in other historical essays on “The Spanish Colonial Tradition” and “The American Colonial and Contemporary Traditions” in the CCP Encyclopedia. In these essays, dances are categorized by dance form. While the CCP Encyclopedia acknowledges that “ethnic Filipinos” have continued to practice their dances, the romanticized representation of ethnic dances as expressions of social life seems to be a form of strategic essentialism as these “rites and dances provide substance to present-day documentation and presentation” especially to Filipinos living abroad (Villaruz & Obusan, 1995, p. 34).
Such way of describing ethnic dances follows a narrative of Philippine cultural history that places indigenous cultures as belonging to the past, untouched by Christianity and modernity. This is consistent with the historiography presented in Philippine history books used in primary and secondary education in the country. History of the Filipino People by Teodoro Agoncillo (2012; first published, 1960), one of the main resources used in educational institutions in the country,^21 has the following general headings for its many chapters: Pre-Colonial Philippines, The Spanish Period, Reform and Revolution, The American Period, The War Years, and The Third Republic. In the Pre-Colonial Philippines section, Agoncillo elaborates on the culture of “ancient Filipinos”. Here, a four-page description of the music and dance of “ancient Filipinos” includes some specific examples of musical
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influence of Christianity. The cultural processes that contributed to these transformations are described in the CCP Encyclopedia. Editor and contributor Basilio Esteban Villaruz (1994) opens the section “The Spanish Colonial Tradition” in the historical essay “Philippine Dance”:
With the coming of the Spaniards and the spread of Christianity, the people transferred the object of their worship to the saints, though they did not abandon their native impulse and style … Christianity turned native to a certain extent and became a vehicle for the Filipino way of spiritual and communal expression. (p. 20)
A few paragraphs later, Villaruz discusses how European dances fared when these were introduced to the locals:
[European dances] underwent regional transformation in the colony, as is evident in the variations of the jota from the northern Cagayan to the southern provinces. As they became localized, these dances gained regional characteristics, adapting bamboo, coconut or shell castanets, scented handkerchiefs, paypay , Ilocano kumintang gestures, etc. Musical accompaniment was also indigenized through a variety of native instruments. (p. 20)
These dances include imported forms such as the jota , habanera , malagueña , fandango , cachuchas , rigodon and lanceros , that eventually took on localized versions with more simplified movements and Filipinized names, as well as regional variations. In some cases, movements from these dances have been combined in what is known as surtido , which also has its own regional variations. 22 Hispanized dances or forms that existed prior to colonization, but only continued to exist as part of Catholic-related rituals include the subli , putong , and turumba (Goquingco, 1980; Villaruz, 1994). There are also dances that are labeled “Christian” folk dances but are not religious in nature. The CCP Encyclopedia lists the tinikling , itik-itik , kalapati/ sinalampati , and the pabo as examples. While the term “Christian” may
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mean nothing more than that these dances are performed by Christianized communities, the use of the term indicates the significance of Christianity as an important cultural force that shaped the transformation of these local aesthetic forms.
The idea of cultural transformation lends itself to a view of Filipino culture as composed of ‘syncretic’ forms. Scholars have used this framework to explain particular religious (see for instance, Schumacher, 1984 and Macdonald, 2004), culinary (see Fernandez, 2003 and Zialcita, 2005) and artistic practices of Filipinos. Irving (2010) observes that music culture in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period included the rise of Manila as a multicultural center or “a forum for the intercultural exchange of ideas and commodities” (p. 32). He highlights the role of the galleon trade (1565-1815) in the intercontinental transfer of cultural practices and artifacts during the Spanish colonial period, especially between Spain, Mexico, and Manila.
Tiongson (1998) relates how theater forms with foreign origins, Spain specifically, have been localized in the Philippines and in Mexico. He provides detailed descriptions of the performances of these expressive forms, the posadas / panunuluyan, pastorela/pastores , and the moros y cristianos , and contemplates on the direction of influence between Mexico and the Philippines. In the end, he leaves this discussion in favor of an exploration of how these performative genres became integrated into the repertoire of expressive forms in different Filipino communities. He views these developments as acts of revitalizing the “traditional forms”:
So entrenched are the Hispanic/Christian forms in Philippine life today that they have become part of the Filipino’s cultural consciousness and his vocabulary for expression and communication. The more the Filipino is able to revitalize these traditional forms with messages that respond to contemporary national concerns, the more will these forms validate themselves as Filipino, the greater too will their contribution be to the definition of an identity unique to the Filipino. (p. 149)
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to preserve and celebrate the rich diversity of cultures in the Philippines by memorializing their practices as artifacts from (and in) the past. Ethnic and rural dance traditions were viewed as the country’s cultural treasures, and, as such, they became signifiers of what is assumed to be pre-colonial culture in Philippine history. In the process, these dances were reified synchronically and diachronically despite the fact that these dance forms are still being practiced today.
The use of such chronology for differentiating indigenous and contemporary dances is likewise implied in the introduction of the Dance volume of the CCP Encyclopedia, where the editors write:
[E]ven as the volume seeks to be of service to students, it also hopes to be a sourcebook for dance artists and designers, who will find in the book visual and verbal records of the various indigenous, Spanish-influenced, and American colonial dances that they could study as possible sources for inspiration and technique for the dances they create for the contemporary audiences…[M]ore and more choreographers [realize] that they can only contribute to the history of dance if they express themselves as Filipinos, and that they cannot create as Filipinos if they do not go back to their roots in indigenous and folk culture. The encyclopedia hopes to encourage this return to roots by making available to the would-be choreographer the essential data on those ancient traditions. (1994, p. 2)
In this passage, the different dance traditions that are practiced in the country are placed along a historical periodization where indigenous and folk traditions are considered archaic forms, thus presumed to hold the key to understanding “Filipino” culture. It also implies a continuous narrative of dancing traditions in the Philippines, which “begins” with the indigenous and folk, and continues (or ends) in the choreographed “dances for more contemporary audiences”.
Historically, though, these dance forms are unrelated to each other. Joann Kealiinohomoku, cautioning against such assumed continuities,
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delivers a critical reading of dance history texts where ballet dancing has been presented in dance history literature “as if it was the one great divinely ordained apogee of the performing arts” (p. 35), and excludes itself as a form of “ethnic dance”. To her, the term “ethnic” refers to a “group which holds in common genetic, linguistic, and cultural ties” (p. 39). She applies this to ballet, which has its own community of speakers, practitioners, and patrons, as well as practices and traditions that characterize it as its own form of dancing. Moreover, she points out that the history of ballet as a dance form cannot be divorced from a social history that informs its origins, development, and practice. Thus, it bears consideration as an ethnic dance despite its widespread practice in different parts of the world. In fact, its widespread distribution should bring attention to the dance form’s various culturally specific individual and social histories involving class struggle, colonialism, war, social exclusion, and the transnational movement of bodies.
To follow Kealiinohomoku, one would need a closer examination of the particular histories of the different dance forms in the Philippines, since each dance tradition’s history and development cannot be assumed to be part of the same historical path. For instance, Sally Ann Ness (1997) writes about a significant development in the repertorial history of Philippine ballet in her article on the works of Agnes Locsin, a Filipina choreographer whose works incorporate movements used in expressive traditions practiced by indigenous communities in the Philippines. Although Ness focuses on issues of appropriation and cultural responsibility arising from Locsin’s choreographic innovation, auspiciously labeled “neo-ethnic ballet”, she calls attention to the need to further examine the historical particularity of different dancing traditions in the Philippines, in this case, ballet dancing in the country. In fact, she goes as far as to call neo-ethnic ballet a ‘Filipinized’ form of ballet (p. 76). Locsin (2012) herself capitalizes on her innovative practice in her own book, where she outlines the choreographic techniques she uses to create her works. She also narrates the choreographic processes in some of her more notable pieces and includes notes from the dancers
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public about these. Another objective is to discover young musicians who are carrying on their traditions using local learning methods. In the course of the competition, different performing groups audition to be part of the concert. In the early years of the Traditional Music Concert, these auditions were held during the regional level competitions in the different provinces throughout the country through live performances in front of judges who mostly come from Metro Manila. In recent years, audition tapes are sent in from all over the country and are evaluated by the Traditional Music Committee in Metro Manila.
In its early years, the Traditional Music Concert mostly featured local masters and their students, or family ensembles. Today, the performing groups that audition for the concert are usually those that were formed in schools and within local communities themselves. These musical performances^26 sometimes include some form of body movement^27 (i.e., dancing). Recently, they have become more stylized theatrical versions of their expressive traditions. In the NAMCYA Traditional Music Concert held in November 2017, almost all performances incorporated some form of dancing or body movement. In some cases, the dancing was more prominently displayed than the performance of music, as this kind of arrangement is deemed more visually striking.
NAMCYA has indeed become a powerful social force that has influenced the direction of folk expressive traditions (indigenous and Hispanized) in the country. Here, the encounters between the communities, their local intermediaries, and the “expert” judges from Metro Manila, who decide on the performing groups that will participate in the concert, have influenced the aesthetics of the performance of these expressive traditions. Local communities have viewed the NAMCYA as an opportunity to participate in mainstream Philippine society by showcasing their “culture” at the CCP. Thus, their performances of their local community traditions have undergone some changes based on their perceptions of what judges might find appealing and acceptable for Manila audiences. Such rare and limited occasions for indigenous and rural communities in the Philippines to
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display their cultural wares have forged an aesthetic direction for particular expressive traditions in the country, as schools and communities have created their own performing groups, 28 and more theatrical elements (such as dramatizations of life events) are incorporated into their performance (instead of featuring just the musical tradition). Yet, this does not necessarily mean that the expressive traditions of these communities have been totally transformed. These folkloric presentations comprise just one strand of the history of particular dance traditions. As Castro asserts, “folk” and “folkloric” dances should not be seen as having a unidirectional relationship, where “folk” is the source of the” folkloric”. Citing Anthony Shay, she adds that “folk and folkloric exist as ‘parallel traditions’ (p. 68).
Although Castro’s assertions refer to the presumed historical connections made between indigenous expressive forms and those the Bayanihan performed, I extend her discussion to the school- and community-based performing groups that have formed in recent years with the aim of preserving dance traditions by exposing them to a wider audience. The mainstreaming of otherwise less popular and marginalized expressive traditions demonstrate the ongoing, intersecting, and rich contemporaneous histories of folk traditions alongside what is considered more “modern” dance forms, such as ballet and hip hop, that are practiced in the country. It also reflects a social history replete with cultural engagements between different social groups and cultural communities in the country. These forms of preservation—which include methods used by the Bayanihan and the ROFG, as well as the performances in the NAMCYA— involve some form of intervention from individuals and institutions outside of the community.
As can be noted, different dance forms and traditions in the country have their own respective social histories embodied in their performances and performance practices. These histories may or may not intersect at certain points, and reveal the cultural exchanges and underlying social and political relations between individuals, communities, and institutions. As such, the construction of the or even, a history of “dance” in the Philippines
