KALINGA: Traditional Wedding Practices as well as its Music and Dances

PHILIPPINE WEDDING CULTURE AND SUPERSTITIONS...

Filipinos still adhere to numerous widely-held folk beliefs that have no scientific or logical basis but maybe backed-up by some past experiences (yet can be dismissed as mere coincidence).

Below are just a few that concerns weddings.

·       Brides shouldn't try on her wedding dress before the wedding day or the wedding will not push through.

·       The groom who sits ahead of his bride during the wedding ceremony will be a henpecked husband.

·       Throwing rice confetti at the newlyweds will bring them prosperity all their life.

·       The groom must arrive before the bride at the church to avoid bad luck.

·       The bride should step on the groom's foot while walking towards the altar if she wants him to agree to her every whim.

·       A bride who wears pearls on her wedding will be an unhappy wife experiencing many heartaches and tears.

·       In early Filipino custom, the groom-to-be threw his spear at the front steps of his intended's home, a sign that she has been spoken for. These days, a ring suffices as the symbol of engagement.

THE ENGAGEMENT

-      After the couple has decided to marry, the first order of business is the pamanhikan, where the groom and his parents visit the bride’s family to ask for her hand in marriage. Wedding plans are often made at this time, including a discussion of the budget and guest list. Don’t be surprised if the groom-to-be is expected to run some errands or help out around the bride’s house. This tradition is called paninilbihan, where the suitor renders service to his future’s wife family to gain their approval.

THE WEDDING OUTFITS

-      The white wedding dress has become popular in the last hundred years or so with America’s influence in the Philippines. Before that, brides wore their best dress, in a festive color or even stylish black, to celebrate a wedding, Orange blossom bouquets and adornments were a must during the turn of the last century. For men, barong tagalog is the traditional Filipino formal wear. It is a cool, almost transparent embroidered shirt, made from silky pina or untucked, over black pants, with a white-shirt underneath.

THE WEDDING CEREMONY

-      In pre-colonial days, a wedding ceremony lasted three days. On the first day the bride and groom were brought to the house of a priest or babaylan, who joined their hands over a plate of raw rice and blessed the couple. On the third day, the priest pricked the chests of both bride and groom and drew a little blood. Joining their hands, they declared their love for each other three times. The priest then fed them cooked rice from the same plate and gave them a drink of some of their blood mixed with water. Binding their hands and necks with a cord, he declared them married.

IMPORTANT TERMS TO REMEMBER ABOUT KALINGA'S WAY OF LIFE:

Bodong

-      refers to the system of peace pact or peace council used in the province of Kalinga in the northern part of the Philippines.

Kayaw

-      refers to the head-hunting sorties made by the Kalingas.

Pagta

-      peace pact holder or code covers all criminal and civil offenses committed against another tribe.

Pangat

-      a leader of a certain tribe who holds the peace agreement with another tribe.

Podon

-      Southern Kalinga dialect which means to bind together.

KALINGA WAY OF LIFE:

The term "Kalinga" has no derivative from any of the Kalinga dialects spoken in the Kalinga area. The name has simply been given to the people living in the mountains by outsiders. Some Ibanag writers claim that Kalinga is a term for warlike people in the mountains. Since the Ibanags of Cagayan have long been engaged in trade intercourse with their neighbors in the western highland region of the province, it is safe to say that the Ibanags own the word Kalinga. Besides, Kalingas were also known to have been head-hunting in the lowland areas along the western river banks of the Cagayan River now known as Kalinga.

There are even suggestions that the Kalingas came from the Ibanag "race." Those who are of this belief or theory point to the fact that many Kalinga names of persons are also found among the Ibanags of Isabela and Cagayan, like for example, "Simangon", "Panabang", "Manawag", etc. Physical features of the "lowland" Kalingas also support the theory that many of the tribal groups of Kalinga are of Ibanag ancestry. On the other hand, the Kalinga dialects also believe the fact that the Kalingas come from the so-called "Ibanag race." To Kalingas, Ibanag is totally Greek, and Ibanags regard Kalinga the same.

The Kalingas are spread over the present eight Kalinga municipalities of Rizal, Tabuk, Pinukpuk, Balbalan, Tanudan, Pasil, Lubuagan and Tinglayan. A Kalinga tribal group also inhabits the southernmost area of the Apayao region. Recent statistics reveal that the Kalingas constitute about 85 percent of the total population of the former sub-province of Kalinga.

The Kalingas as a tribal nation have 17 known sub-tribes each having its own dialect and customs. It is in their multilingual diversity that the Kalinga tribal community is often referred to as the "Babel of the Philippines." In spite of the number of dialects spoken by each of the sub-tribes, the Kalingas can understand each other even if they speak or communicate with other Kalingas in their own distinct dialect.

The Kalinga "Bodong" institution governs the lives of all Kalinga ethno-linguistic groups, even up to this day. Bodong is a Kalinga word for peace pact and a peace pact is a bilateral non-aggressive pact between the two communities" (Scott, 87). Strictly speaking, Bodong (Northern Kalinga dialect) or Podon (Southern Kalinga dialect) means "bind together." The Bodong refers to an agreement between two parties to make peace and to bind themselves with the maintenance of peace between the communities they represent.

In the early days, Kalingas made head-hunting as part of their lifestyle. They would launch massive raids on their enemy's villages and take home heads of their victims as trophies. These jaws of the heads of their victims were used as gong handles. These head-hunting sorties were called "Kayaw." Kayaws were resorted to by Kalingas because of revenge, to get even with the enemy. They were not launched against their tribal enemies for territorial expansion but purely redeem their pride lost to a pillaging enemy.

As had been stated earlier, the Kalingas are grouped into many sub-tribes, each having its own dialect, customs and traditions. These differences in culture and dialects often cause trial misunderstanding that lead to inter-tribal armed warfare. It is the lex talionis principle that gave birth to the Bodong.

Today, the Bodong is still an inseparable part of the socio-economic life of the Kalingas because it governs not only the security relations between two tribes or among tribal groups, but also the trade and commerce of Bobong parties. Its "Pagta" or code covers all criminal and civil offenses committed against another tribe. Among the provisions of the Pagta which is still observed among Bodong parties is the "automatic retaliation" provision, which allows an aggrieved tribe to avenge the killing or wounding of a fellow tribesman on the aggressor tribe.

The Bodong has been criticized by non-Kalinga ethnolinguistic groups as "anachronistic." Present-day Kalinga leaders, especially those educated and acknowledged religious leaders, frown at the Bodong as an active agent of tribal killing. There are Kalinga intellectuals who view the Bodong institution as an unnecessary and counter-productive practice. Some advocate the total scrapping of Bodong as a bilateral rule of the inter-tribe relationship. But the fact remains that many of the Kalinga elders still religiously cling to the Bodong precepts, reminding their youngsters that the Bodong has been an influential institution in the promotion of government programs in Kalinga "nation."

The Kalingas are a hospitable people and in spite of the frequent tribal violence that erupt between and among Kalinga tribal groups, they still live up to their time-honored practice of guaranteeing the safety and comfort of their guests. In tribal wars, warring parties do not harm any of the tribe or non-Kalinga tribe who has no involvement and participation in the cause of the tribal conflict.

As with other cultural communities who have been modernized in their way of life through the process of acculturation, the Kalingas are slowly leaving behind their old practices in favor of western culture brought in through education and intermarriage as well as association with the cultural majority.

THE TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE PRACTICES OF THE LUBUAGANS OF KALINGA:

KALINGA: Music and Dances

BINUTBOT: The Famous Gongs of Kalinga.

Gangsa or gong players, usually warriors, play the binutbot to dance the tachok and joined by the women. The men display masculine prowess while the women imitate the movements of birds.

The Kalingas are the brave inhabitants of the southern half of Kalinga-Apayao province in northern Luzon. Known as the peacocks of the Cordillera, the Kalingas are especially proud of their fabulous dressing tradition, their music and dances.

KALOOB’s repertoire gives a glimpse of two important Kalinga institutions: the peace pact known as vochong or 

bodong and the palanos or wedding ceremony.

CHALIJOK: Dance of the Harvest.

A playful dance rendered by men and women imitating the movements of an eagle. This festival dance is also performed at harvest time.

SALIP: Courtship Dance.

A courtship dance centered on the use of kain, a hand woven Kalinga cloth used as clothing or blanket. To the accompaniment of crowd singing of Ela-lay, the man thrusts his arm initiating the movements of roosters while the woman simulates the movements of a hen. The dance ends when the woman finally gives the kain cloth to the man.

TACHOK: Drum Dance.

Merriment starts with the Tachok dance, followed by the Salip to the accompaniment of Tuppaya music with menfolk beating gongs with their palms.

  

ALISIG: Wedding Ritual.

The man-aalisig or priest officiates in an age-old wedding ritual.

PALPALIWAT: Driving out the bad spirits.

                                           

A ritual for driving out the spirits -- including the effects of drinking. Usually with humorous and pithy statements.

Banga
Tribe: Kalinga

"Banga" literally mean pots. The Banga or pot dance is a  contemporary performance of Kalinga of the Mountain Province in the Philippines. This dance illustrate the languid grace of a tribe otherwise known as fierce warriors. Heavy earthen pots, as many as seven or eight at a time, are balanced on the heads of maidens as they trudge to the beat of the "gangsa" or wind chimes displaying their stamina and strength as they go about their daily task of fetching water and balancing the banga.

Lumagen / Tachok 
Tribe: Kalinga
Origin: Luzon

When the Kalinga gather to celebrate a happy occasion like the birth of a firsr-born baby boy, a wedding, or a Bodong(peace pact), the Kalinga Festival Dance (Tachok) is performed. This is danced by the Kalinga maiden. The dance imitates birds flying in the air. Music is provided by gangsa, or gongs, which are usually in a group of six or more.

Ragsaksakan
Tribe: Kalinga

This dance portrays the walk of the industrious Kalingga women, carrying water pots on their heads and wearing the colorful hand-woven "blankets of life" around their necks. Their walk imitates the climb up the Rice Terraces in the Mountain Provinces of the Philippines.

Salisid
Tribe: Kalinga

The Salisid is a courtship dance, performed by a male and female (and thus is sometimes called the "cayoo" dance). The dance starts when each of the dancers is given a piece of cloth called a ayab or allap. Usually the most important people in the village are the second to dance after the host has signified that the occasion is formally open. The background and meaning in this dance is evident. The male simulates a rooster trying to attract the attention of a hen while the female imitates the movements of a hen being circled by a rooster.

Salip
Tribe: Kalinga

Tribes in the mountain provinces of Luzon preserve their identity, customs and lore. Their dances celebrate important events in life such as birtg, wedding, victory in war and thanksgiving. A Kalinga wedding dance is an important celebration. The bridegroom offers the bride the protection and comfort of his blanket. He simulates the movements of a rooster at love play, aspiring to attract and seize his love. The brides friends are ready to help prepare the bride by offering "bangas" (earthen pots) filled with fresh water from the mountain spring.

References:

http://asiarecipe.com/phiwedding.html

http://filipinotraditions.ph/filer/toledo-cebu/Special-Issue_Culture-Customs-Traditions.pdf
[PDF] The Traditional Marriage Practices of the Lubuagans of Kalinga1

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&authuser=0&source=hp&q=Kalinga's+Wedding+Ceremonies+during+Pre-Colonial+Times&pbx=1&oq=kalinga&aq=1p&aqi=p-p2g3&aql=undefined&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=0l0l1l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=9f6e7b644b6b25dd&biw=1280&bih=634

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igorot_people

http://www.kaloobdance.com/Kalinga/Kalinga.html