2ND WEEK

• Ms. Golden Grace R. Gammaru: 'Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Region'
• Pre-conquest in art historical terms means "pre-conquest"
• Pre-conquest in stylistic terms means "indigenous"
• Pre-conquest in cultural terms means "pre-colonial"
• Art before are everyday expressions and were all integrated within rituals
• Earliest forms of Theater / Rituals
• Mayvanuvanua (Batanes)

  Ritual that opens the fishing season of dibang (flying fish)
• Cañao or Kanyaw (Cordillera Administrative Region)


  Officiated by a shaman or mumbaki, involves animal sacrifice where the entrails are read through a process of divination
• Kashawing (Lake Lanao of Mindanao)


  Ritual to ensure abundance during rice planting and harvesting
• Tagbanwa (Palawan)

  Shamans go into a trance amidst ritual chanting and dancing and are believed to be taken over by the goddesses themselves
• Ethnic Musical Instruments

  • Kudyapi
  • Kulintang
  • Gangsa
  • Agong
• Kudyapi


  • A three-stringed guitar, also used for courtship among the Lumad and the Bangsamoro groups
• Kulintang


  • An array of bossed gongs used for celebratory occasions such as festivals, weddings, engagement parties, and baptisms, as well as in musical competitions
• Gangsa


  • Flat gong, a percussion instrument used in the Cordillera region during gatherings, celebrations, and even rituals
• Agong (Agung)


  • A large bossed gong heard in various occasions like weddings, water baptism called paigo sa ragat, and curing rites called kapagipat. Also played alone to announce an emergency and to mark the time of the day
• Occasions where Agong (Agung) is heard

  • Weddings
  • Water baptism called paigo sa ragat
  • Curing rites called kapagipat
• Agong (Agung) is a large bossed gong
• Agong (Agung) is played alone to announce an emergency and to mark the time of the day
• Native dance forms

  • Pangalay (Sulu)
  • Kinabua of Mandaya
  • Banog-banog (Binanog-Banog) of the Higaonon and B'laan
  • Man-manok (Bagobos)
  • Talip (Ifugaos)
  • Inamong of Matigsalugs and Kadaliwas (T’boli)
  • Tinikling (Tagalog)
• Pangalay (Sulu)


  Mimetic dance of seabirds to retain the feeling of close relationship with the environment through movement of palm, ocean waves, sea birds, etc.
• Kinabua of Mandaya


  Performs swooping movements imitating the movements of an eagle
• Banog-banog (Binanog-Banog) of the Higaonon and B'laan


  Courtship dance that portrays the flight of the birds
• Man-manok (Bagobos)

  Imitate the movements of predatory birds
• Talip (Ifugaos)


  Courtship dance mimetic of the movements of wild fowls
• Inamong of Matigsalugs and Kadaliwas (T’boli)

  Represent the comedic movements of a monkey
• Tinikling (Tagalog)

  Evocative of the movements of the crane balancing itself on stilt-like legs or flitting away from the clutches of bamboo traps. Represents the attempts of Filipino rice farmers to catch and prevent the Tikling bird from stealing ripe rice grains from the fields
• Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Region

  • Carving
• Carving

  Bulul (Cordillera): granary god that plays important role in rituals, anthromorphic bulul appears in containers bowls and spoons. The bulul is a carved wooden statue that the Ifugao people of Northern Luzon used to guard their rice crop
• Carving examples

  • Bulul (Cordillera), Hagabi (Ifugao), santos (Paete Laguna and Betis Pampanga), okir (Southern Philippines), Sarimanok, Naga, Pako rabong, Manunggul Jar
• Carving is a significant art form in the Philippines, with various styles and cultural significance
• The sarimanok is a legendary bird of the Maranao people, with the name derived from "sari" meaning "various" and "manok" meaning "bird/chicken"
• The naga is an elaborate mythical serpent or dragon with curvilinear motifs to suggest its scales
• Pako rabong is a stylized growing fern with a broad base gracefully tapering upwards
• The sarimanok and naga are found in the panolong, the extended floor beam, and the interior beams and posts of the large sultan’s house called torogan
• The Manunggul Jar, excavated in Manunggul Cave Lipunan Point Palawan, is dated to the late Neolithic Period (890-710) and features two anthropomorphic or human forms atop the lid
• During the Metal Age (5 BC-225 AD), another type of anthropomorphic jars was produced, with the human figure more pronounced, having the lid as the head and the base as the body
• In later years, pottery became more associated with objects for daily use, such as the palayok for cooking, and the banga and tapayan for storing liquids, with the making of burnay pottery continuing as a tradition in Vigan Ilocos
• Granary god characteristics


  • Plays important role in rituals
  • Anthropomorphic
  • Appears in containers, bowls, and spoons
• The bulul is a carved wooden statue that the Ifugao people of Northern Luzon used to guard their rice crop (Torres & Daugard, n.d)
• Hagabi (Ifugao)


  • Wooden bench that marks the socio-economic status of the owner
  • Only Ifugao of the cadangyan (wealthy) class were allowed to have hagabi (Lowe, n.d)