1. Indigenous Music
By Antonio C. Hila
Tuklas Sining: Essays on the Philippine Arts
Pages: 1 | 2 | 3
Of all the arts, music is regarded as the most universal in its appeal and acceptance. This
universality, however, does not mean
that music is without individual
character. Each country has its own
kind of music that embodies the total
experience, the collective
consciousness of its people. Music,
therefore, is the collective expression
of the musical genius of a particular
people.
Such is the case of Philippine
music which today is regarded as a
unique blending of two great musical
traditions – the East and the West.
Being innately musical, the Filipinos,
from the earliest to contemporary times, have imbibed these traditions and have woven their
musical creations along these mainstreams of musical thought. Through time, Philippine
society has witnessed the evolution of music expressed in different forms and stylistic
nuances.
A people gifted with a strong sense of musicality, the Filipinos turn to music to
express their innermost feelings. Hence, every song they sing, every instrument they play,
every music they make is a direct, almost spontaneous reflection of their hopes and longings,
frustrations and fulfillment, failures and triumphs – Antonio C. Hila
ndigenous music before the colonial era was largely functional. Expressed either
instrumentally or vocally or a combination of both, music was deeply integrated with the
activities of the natives. The ancient Filipinos had music practically for all occasions, for every
phase of life, from birth to death.
This type of music is largely retained and practiced by about 10 percent of the
population concentrated mainly in three regions: Northern Luzon, the Central Philippine
islands of Mindoro and Palawan and the southern islands of Mindanano and Sulu. In
Mindanao and Sulu, two musical and cultural traditions may be noted – the Islamic, consisting
of such groups as the Maguindanao, Maranao, Yakan, Tausog and Samal, and the pre-
Islamic which is composed of the Bagobo, Manobo, Bukidnon, Tagakaolo, Bilaan, Mansaka,
Subanon and Mandaya, among others.
The understanding of Philippine ethnic music is premised on an appreciation of
indigenous instruments which are used in the various ritual and secular activities of these two
peoples and which are generally grouped into the aerophones or wind instruments;
chordophones or stringed instruments; idiophones or percussion instruments struck with a
mallet, or against each other, or against another object like the hand; and membranophones
or percussion instruments using animal skins or membranes.

2. A few differences may be noted between the instruments of the Northern and
Southern Philippines. These differences lie primarily in the manner of construction, the style
of playing them and the sound they produce. By and large, however, instruments found all
over the Islands are strikingly similar.
The aerophones are best represented by the many types of bamboo flutes that are
found all over the country. The lip valley flute found in the North is called the paldong, or
kaldong of the Kalinga. In the South Maguindanao call it palendag, the Manobo, pulalu.
This flute has three holes on one side and fourth hole on the opposite side.
There is also the popular nose flute, which produces soft and soothing sounds heard
clearly in quiet late afternoons. The northern tribes call this kalleleng (Bondotc and
Kankanai), tongali (Ifugao and Kalinga) and baliing (Isneg). In the Central Philippines, it is
known as lantuy among the Cuyunin, babarek among the Tagbanua and plawta among the
Mangyan.
In addition, some aerophones are composed of several bamboo tubes of different
lengths, like the Kalinga saggeypo and the diwdiw-as, a panpipe common to Igorots. The
diwdiw-as is made of five or more slender bamboo tubes tied together. The upper ends of the
tubes are open and into these a performer blows without his lips touching the instrument. On
the other hand, the six saggeypo tubes are left untied and may be played by a group of
people. The simultaneous blowing of the pipes results in harp-like sounds.
The Maguindanao, meanwhile, have the suling or ring flute, so called because the
blowing end is encircled with a rattan ring to create mouthpiece. The Tausog have a six hole
single-reed sahunay, with its characteristic cone-shaped pandan-leaf bell.
Chordophones also bound in many parts of
the Archipelago. These include the bamboo
zithers, the Spanish guitars, the bamboo
violins and the lutes.
The zither is a stringed instrument made
from a single bamboo section, around three
to four inches in diameter, with a node at
each end. Serving as strings, however, are
raised narrow strips of the outer skin fibers of
the bamboo itself, with the ends still attached
to the body of the instrument. Small wedges
are placed beneath the strings to produce
different tensions – and thus varying pitches
– as the player plucks the strings.
Variations of the zither can be found all over the country, like the Ilongot kolesing or
the Ibaloi kalshang, the Negrito pas-ing and Ifugao patting; in the central Philippines, the
Tagbanua play the pa’gang, while the Mangyan have the kudlung. The southern zither is
called tawgaw (Bagobo).
Two-stringed lutes knows as the kudyapi among the Bukidnon, hegalong among the
T’boli or the kadlong or kudlong in Central Mindanao are characterized by a boat shape or
an elongated oval between 40 to 45 inches long, and have tightening rods made of wood and
frets of beeswax and two-wire strings tuned in unison – one serving ad drone, the other

3. providing the melody.
These long “guitars” or boat lutes are carved in soft wood usually to represent a
mythical two-headed animal, the naga
(serpent) or crocodile, or perhaps the
modified head, body and tail of the
sarimanok, a cockerel-like bird. The
kudyapi is alos known as a “speaking
instrument” because it figures
prominently in courtship. It is also used
as an accompaniment for dances.
Examples of chordophones
using bows are the three-stringed
gitgit of the Tagbanua, the spike fiddle
called duwagey of the Bilaan and the
biola of the Tausog, which is similar to
the European violin used to
accompany songs.
Perhaps the greatest number of indigenous musical instruments belong to the
idiophone group. In particular, some of these idiophones are the jew’s harp, suspended
beams, bamboo buzzer, percussion sticks and gongs.
Indigenous Music
By Antonio C. Hila
Tuklas Sining: Essays on the Philippine Arts
Pages: 1 | 2 | 3
The jew’s harp is a very thin slit of bamboo or brass with a narrow vibrating tongue in
the middle longitudinal section. Placed between the lips of the player, its tongue is made to
vibrate by striking the projecting end of the instrument with the thumb or by pulling a string
attached to it. The mouth of the player acts as the resonator, and as the shape of the mouth
cavity changes, the pitch and quality of the sound varies. This enables the player to
communicate message with his instrument. For this reason, the jew’s harp is a favorite of
lovers and is played by both men and women. It is thus considered a “speaking intrument”.
The jew’s harp is found in many tribes. The
Maranao call it kubing, the Tingguian, kolibau,
and the Tagbanua, aru-ding. The jew’s harp of
the South usually have handles carved with
various serpent designs and other scroll-like
patterns, and sometimes punctuated by head
bangles and tassels as in the Maranaw kubing.
Suspended beams like the kagul may be
found only in such groups as the Tiruray and
the Yakan of Mindanao. The kagul consists of
five logs ranging from two to two-and-a-half
meters long which are shaped and pointed at
the playing end. It is played by two people: one plays in the middle of the log a repeated

4. rhythmic pattern or ostinato, while the second player beats out a melody at the pointed ends
of the other logs. The logs are tuned relative to each other.
Another idiophone, the bamboo buzzer is known variously as the balingbing or
bunkaka (Kalinga) and batiwtiw (Central Philippines). The bunkaka, as the name implies, is
a bamboo tube which is open or split at one end. Sound is produced by striking the split end
against the palm. This instrument is played alone or in groups as a form and diversion or to
drive away evil spirits along a forest trail.
Percussion sticks are common to the North and South, like the Ifugao bangibang,
and the Mangyan kalutang. The bangibang is a row of sticks played only in the rituals for
curing very serious illness and in death ceremonies. The instrument is composed of sticks
measuring from one to two-and-a-half feet
long with diameters ranging from one to three
inches, hanging from a string which also
serves as a handle. A stick is used to beat
them in rhythm. Sometimes, however, only
two sticks are used, which are played by
striking one against the other.
The well-known gong is found
throughout the tribes in varying forms. All
gongs in the South have a boss, a deep or
shallow mound resembling a kettle or a pan
on the top middle portion of the gong, the
rims of which angle slightly inward. They may
either be suspended or laid horizontally in a
row. In the North, a flat gong called gangsa is
widely regarded as the most valued
instrument. The agung, a large gong with
boss, is known to both the Tagbanua of
Palawan and Mangyan of Mindoro. The
Magindanao also use a gong called agung,
which is played like a brass tom-tom by
striking the boss or knob with a padded and
rounded stick.
In the South, the gong may be used
as a rhythmic counterpoint to the drum
(Tagbanua), as an accompaniment to an
ensemble of gongs called the kulintang (Maguindanao and Maranao) or with other agungs
(Bagobo) producing an ostinato rhythm and melody to accompany the dances.
The kulintang, or gongs in a row, is basically a melody instrument played by a single
performer as a solo instrument or as part of an ensemble. It consists of eight gongs placed
horizontally in a frame and tuned to a flexible pentatonic or five-tone scale. Among the Islamic
peoples of the South of the kulintang ensemble, where it is the primary melody instrument
supported by the dabakan (A conical drum), agung, gandingan (four suspended narrow-
rimmed gongs), babandil (small gong, sometimes the last gong of the kulintang) – all of
which act as drones constantly repeating a particular rhythmic pattern for the duration of the
music. The kulintang player acts as the central player and makes various improvisations on
the chosen mode moving in progressively ascending and descending steps of sounds.
Usually, three types of rhythmic modes are utilized, namely, the duyug, sinulug and tidtu.
The dabakan starts with the music, announcing the mode, while the other instruments follow.

5. The kulintang ensemble is often considered as the most cultivated of the region’s
musical expressions. Aside from being a medium of entertainment and hospitality, the
kulintang also serves as a vehicle for social interaction and group solidarity and for learning
ethical principles.
Other idiophones of the South include the gabbang or bamboo xylophone of the
Tausog of Sulu, and the edel or log drum, a plank idiophone made of molave wood
suspended and beaten with sticks and used by the Tabakaolo, Bilaan and Manobo.
Probably the most important and best known membranophones of the North are the
two conical drums of the Ibaloi – the sulibao and the kimbal. The sulibao has a higher pitch
than the kimbal and is played with a padded stick. Usually, however, these instruments are
joined by two other pairs of idiophones in the sulibao ensemble, namely, the kalsa and the
pinsak, which are two flat gongs, and the palas which are two short iron bard handled by a
single player. Similar types of drums exist in the South such as the dabakan of the
Maguindanao and the dadabuan of the Maranao. In addition to these conical drums,
cylindrical types of drums are exemplified by the tambul of the Maguindanao and the gimbal
of the Tagbanua.
Like the instruments, vocal music expresses and transmits in a concrete and vivid
manner a great variety of the thoughts, beliefs, customs, lifestyles, temperament and way of
life of the indigenous peoples. Singing is a main component of life among them. There will be
songs and singers, singing solo or in leader-chorus style with or without accompaniment, with
or without the benefit of words (the latter includes whistling, a highly developed musical from
among the Maguindanao of Mindanao).
NEXT
Solo and leader-chorus singing is done in the North, notably in such groups s the Bontoc,
Ibaloi, Kalinga and Negrito. In the South, on the other hand, while unaccompanied singing seems
to be the predilection of a majority of the indigenous groups, a kind of singing done with
instrumental accompaniment is practiced among certain groups, like the Tausog, who sing with
their gabbang (bamboo xylophone) and/or biola.
Both types of singing – the leader-chorus and singing with instrument – may be found in
the Central Philippine groups such as the Mangyan and Tagbanua, where often singing is done
with the flute (Tagbanua), the guitar or violin (Mangyan), either solo or as a group with a soloist-
leader.
One may be observe a highly divergent and seemingly endless variety of styles and
traditions of singing in the northern, central and southern Philippine indigenous communities. For
example, the Kalinga of the North generally sing in short phrases frequently broken by rests or
stops; the Maguindanao of the south sing in long melismatic phrases; the Mangyan sing mostly in
a monotone with turns at the end of phrases.

6. Viewed as a whole, certain patterns and
characteristics of singing emerge among these
groups. First, improvisation seems to be the rule
in song creation. In fact the quality of the song and
the singer if often measured by his/her ability to
improvise fluently and creatively. Second, there is
generally a low and limited range of notes (more
or less an octave) and within this range, a great
number of uncertain pitches, speech-like sounds,
slides, shakes, tremolos or trills are often added to
bring about some flexibility and richness in the
singing despite the narrow range. Third, melodic
ornamentations such as the glissandos, slides and
tremolos are not only accessory but principal
elements in music because they may even
determine the structure of a song. Fourth, since
everyone is a singer, there is a greater variety of
voice quality due to differences in age, sex or
cultural factors (e.g. the Manobo sing in a more
relaxed manner and with more embellishments
than the Tiruray). Fifth, a wide variety of scales
may be observed. The scale, however, is, often
treated as a flexible structure upon which equally
important elements are embedded to adorn the
scale and render it less obvious. Sixth, while decrescendos and crescendos (gradual decrease
and increase in volume, respectively) and up and down movements may be noted in the singing
styles of some groups especially in the South, a syllabic chant-like monotone singing prevails in
many groups. Chanting utilizes the vocal range of a singer which is most consistent with his
natural speech melody. This is the reason why sometimes it is difficult to discern whether a
particular enunciation is sung or uttered. Seventh, there are no exact time elements that limit the
existing vocal forms. Songs create an impression of remarkable rhythmic freedom, with the
rhythm and speed of singing often governed by the language and text of the chants. The frequent
use of tremolos and long-held notes highlight the fact that there is no effort to reach a climactic
utterance or a strong rhythmic drive. Eighth, a large number of reiterated and marked accents on
one vowel (eee ~ 000 ~ uuu) may be noted in the singing of the song texts of the chants. Ninth, in
the leader-chorus type of singing, instead of harmonic chords, a leader may simply give an
introductory, monodic "intonation" which the others follow in a quasi-canonic manner, making use
of imitation and singing in unison.
There are many different vocal forms with specific names and uses, each one with a
particular rhythm of its own. Songs mark every stage of human development from birth and
infancy to adulthood and death, night and day, and many occasions in the cycle of natural events
and the flow of human activities whether personal, social, economic, political, spiritual or cosmic.
Songs that pertain to the life-cycle of an individual are the Kalinga appros, sung for half a day
after the child's birth and the luguh maulud of the Tausog, which is sung to celebrate the birth of
Mohammed. There are many kinds of children's songs such as the Kalinga kawayanna for the
tying of the child's first necklace; the Maranao bakbato and the Tausog lia-lia. There are
countless lullabies, among which are the chag-ay sa maseypan of the Bontoc the iyaya of the
Mangyan, the binua of the Badjao. There are also the adolescent songs - the Bontoc ayegka,

7. sung for visiting friends and the Maranao kasingbaga~kanada~tudatu ago kanbaibai, group
singing by boys and girls.
There are genealogical chants, courtship songs by adolescents and love songs for
adolescents and love songs for adults - the Kalinga ading, the Tingguian inegegkak si labago
and the Tausog sindil, a dialogue song described as a song of insinuation. There are songs
related to marriage like the Tingguian rice-pounding song imma-isa-i-isa and the nan-sob-oy
(Sagada) which is chanted at the conclusion of the wedding ceremonies. The Maranao
sarongkawit is a girl's song of displeasure on a marriage proposal, while the lakitan tells of a
boy's request that his mother propose marriage to a girl he fancies.
And of course, death and the spirit world bring to the fore a big collection of songs on death
and the burial rituals, like the Maranao dikir, a funeral or wake song, and the an-nako, a Bontoc
song for funerals occasioned by natural death. The lbaloi too have their ba-diw, which uses a
leader-chorus type of singing during "death watches", centering on the character and activities of
the deceased and the hope of gaining favors for the living from the spirit-relatives.
Besides songs relating to the lifecycle, there
are also work songs. These include the Bontoc
ayoweng, a field work song and the soweey, a
song for rice-pounding; flalok to sawa, a Bilaan
harvest song which helps harvesters forget the
heat and thus work faster; hunting songs;
narrative songs for entertainment and relaxation
during the evenings and also for the entertainment
of visitors, such as the tenis-tenis, an impromptu
Samal song of four-line stanzas with an a,a,a,a
rhyme whose words often joke or chide those
present, or simply tell stories; songs for the
blessing of a new house; songs for debates,
pleading of cases or for plain conversations;
didactic songs based on the Qur'an for the
Muslims; feasting songs; songs for dancing; battle
songs; songs for curing boils and stomach ache,
for preventing sickness in the community, for
chanting in the presence of a person who is fatally
ill or for accompanying the administering of a
massage; not to mention countless epics and
legends that tell of heroic exploits which are sung
in all the important celebrations such as during
wakes, weddings, weeding time, but most espe-
cially during harvest time. There are other songs
of broad social utility such as the ltneg oggayam
(ballad), the salidum-ay (which is sung even by
school groups today) and the dalleng of the
Tingguian.
As a whole, the ethnic songs serve as a vehicle for the expression not only of these peoples'

8. thoughts, dreams, recollections and desires, but also of matters that otherwise may not be
acceptable in speech or ordinary conversation. The response, if there is to be one, must also be
rendered in song because traditional methods of communication depend not only on speech and
memory but also on song.
Nature has played a great role in shaping up the music technology and aesthetics of the
various ethnic musical traditions. Ethnic musical instruments are primarily objects of nature as
they consist mainly of bamboo, wood, shell, animal skin and metal; just as many of the melodies
and rhythms of tribal chants imitate some aspects of nature's sounds and movements.