Story of Darangen- tagalog

http://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/bilingual-tagalog-english-version-of-epics-mga-epiko-darangan-an-epic-of-maranao-bilingual-tagalog-english-version_791.html/page/0/2

THE RHYTMIC MODES OF MAGUINDANAO

1. Binalig  - general expression of feeling

____I_____I______I______I_______I_____   R.H.

______II______I______I_____II______II       L.H.

  

2. Sinulog - expresses a feeling of sadness or sentiment

__I_______I________I__I__I_____I_______I______I_I__I______

______II______II_______I____II_____II______II____I_________

3. Tidtu - virtuosity

____________I___________I___________I____________I

_______I__________I___________I__________I_________

4. Tahunggo - rituals associated with Sagayan dance

_______I__________I___________I___________I_______

_______I____II_________II_____________I____I_______ 

Pok Pok Alimpako

Pok pok alimpako
Pokling pakong piko
Malalaguy si dali
Daon si Buru-buru
Bukar ka sa isa

(Repeat)

Ibayaw su alongan
Na ibaba su bitoon

(Repeat)

Na kuru kuru kuru
ta makaisa

No te vayas

No te vayas, no te vayas de ZamboangaQue me puedes, que me puedes olvidarNo te vayas, no te vayas, ni me dejesQue yo sin ti, no puedo estar

No llores, paloma miaNo llores que volvereNo llores que en cuando lleguePaloma mia, te escribire

Con un pluma de aveY un pedazo de papelCon la sangre de mis venasPaloma mia, te escribire.

Here is an English translation of No te Vayas de Zamboanga (which is actually erroneous)

Don't you go, don't you go to far Zamboanga

Where you may forget your darling far away

Don't you go, don't you go, for if you leave me

How can I, without you stay?

Oh weep not, my dear Paloma

Oh weep not, for I'll return

Oh weep not, my little darling

I shall remember, and I shall yearn.

With a feather of a bird

And a piece of paper

With the blood from my veins

My little darling, I shall write to you.

No Te Vayas de Zamboanga was written by Juan Cuadrado, Sr., a Spaniard who decided to stay in Zamboanga after the Spanish soldiers left the country.

Accordingly, this song was used in a Zarzuela entitled De Cavite A Zamboanga. In this Zarzuela, a Cavitena sings this song to her boyfriend who is going to Zamboanga. 

 This was composed by Juan Cuadrado, Sr., a Spaniard who decided to stay in Zamboanga after the Spanish troops left the country. He later married a Zamboangueña with whom he bore several children. According to the old-timers of the city, this song was composed among the taverns which Cuadrado used to frequent. There was no real intention to write the song, for Cuadrado was not a musician. But when the heart was full, then it was only music that could express its real feelings. The song was popularized when a Colonel Loving placed it down in music. The words of the songs goes this way.

http://zamboanga.net/songsandmusiczamboangainsert.htm

Darangen Epic of the Maranao People of Lake Lanao

the Darangen is an ancient epic song that encompasses a wealth of knowledge about the Maranao people who live in the Lake Lanao region of Mindanao. This southernmost island of the Philippine archipelago is the traditional homeland of the Maranao, one of the country’s three main Muslim groups.

The darangen is an epic chant associated with the Maranao people, with the core area of habitation being the province of Lanao del Sur in the island of Mindanao. Although other variations exist among the Maranao ethnic communities living in other areas, among the Maguindanao ethnic group, and Manobo groups to the Pacific Coast. The one in Lanao del Sur is considered the most definitive.

Comprising 17 cycles and a total of 72,000 lines, the Darangen celebrates episodes from Maranao history and the tribulations of mythical heroes. In addition to offering compelling narrative content, the epic explores the underlying themes of life and death, courtship, politics, love and aesthetics through symbol, metaphor, irony and satire. 

The Darangen also encodes customary law, standards of social and ethical behaviour, notions of aesthetic beauty, and social values specific to the Maranao. To this day, elders refer to this time-honored text in the administration of customary law.

Meaning literally “to narrate in song” in the Maranao language, the Darangen existed before the arrival of Islam in the Philippines in the fourteenth century. Being part of a wider epic culture that is connected to early Sanskrit practices and extends through most of Mindanao, it offers insight into pre-Islamic cultural traditions of the Maranao people.

Though the Darangen has been largely transmitted orally, parts of the epic have been recorded in manuscripts using an ancient Arabic-based writing system. Being cherished as heirlooms by certain Maranao families, these manuscripts are highly valued for their antiquity and prestige value. 

Specialised performers of either sex sing the Darangen during wedding celebrations that typically last several nights. Performers must possess a prodigious memory, improvisational skills, poetic imagination, knowledge of customary law and genealogy, a flawless and elegant vocal technique, and the ability to engage an audience during long hours of performance. Music and dance sometimes accompany the chanting.

Nowadays, the Darangen is infrequently performed owing in part to its rich vocabulary and archaic linguistic forms that can only be understood by practitioners, elders and scholars. Indeed, the growing tendency to embrace mainstream Filipino lifestyles represents a serious threat to the survival of this ancient epic.



It is a pre-Islamic form of primarily oral literature, presently existing in an Islamic context. Implications contained in the epic point to influences reaching as far west as India. The epic is the culmination of all these influences and the core culture of the Maranao.

On November 25, 2005 the Maranao epic chant, the Darangen, was also proclaimed as another Philippine masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

UNESCO defines oral and intangible heritage as: "The totality of tradition-based creations of a cultural community, expressed by a group of individuals and recognized as reflecting the expectations of a community in so far as they reflect its cultural and social identity; its standards and values are transmitted orally, by imitation or by other means.

SIGNIFICANCE

An analysis of the role of the darangen in Maranao society will offer valuable clues into how the Maranao people relied on oral traditions to provide societal norms and solutions to certain economic, cultural and historical issues in their society.  The darangen remains an important source of information regarding the Maranao value system, social etiquette, mythology and marriage customs and traditions. Ancient Maranao society was highly structured, and prescribed a strict code of behavior.  In addition, the darangen explores the relationship between the earth-bound society and the more mythical sky kingdoms.  More importantly, the darangen contains the Maranao theories of governance and strategies for war and combat. The epic is a story of how communities struggled to maintain peace and defended their territories from invaders.  It is inevitable that the epic would be filled with advice for the warrior, such as how to handle a sword, how to declare war, and enter into treaties. (jtperalta)

REFERENCE:

http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/32apa_uk.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re33SdfjU0Q

http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/culture-profile-intangible-
heritage.php

For a drama presentation of the Darangen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN6Wtm28pEI


For the story of Darangen epic check the link
http://fil.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Darangen
http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/32apa_uk.htm

The Musical Instruments of Mindanao

CHORDOPHONES (STRINGED INSTRUMENTS)

Kudyapi - is a guitar with two strings. It is about 1 1/2 m long and made of wood. It has a stick to support in its lower end and is played in the same position as cello. It is common among Tirurays of Cotabato.

Karaga - is a guitar made up of bamboo where the strings are slit from the bamboo itself. The bamboo is split and tied back in both ends, leaving a slit as resonator. The guitar has strings all around it. This is popular in Eastern Mindanao.

AEROPHONES (WIND INSTRUMENTS)

Sahunay - is a bamboo flute, leaving six holes for the fingers and trumpet made of coconut leaf. It is about 50 cm long and 3 cm in diameter. This is a bamboo flute of the Tausugs in Sulu.

Kinapaw - is a nose flute of the Tinguians.

IDIOPHONES (PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS)

Kulintang - is a set of eight knobbed gongs in graduated sizes from largest to smallest mounted in a wooden frame, about a meter long. Muslim carvings decorated the frame. The kulintang is played by striking the gongs with two pieces of wood, about 12 inches long while the player squats on the floor. The instruments is popular in Sulu.

Gabbang - is similar to a xylophone. It is made of wooden box with one end wider than the other, and with an open top. Across top, wooden bars of different lengths are placed to fit the shape of the box, about 1 cm from each other. It is played by striking the wooden bars with a wooden hammer. This instruments is popular in Sulu.

Bunkaka or Bilbil  - is a bamboo musical instruments used by the Tinguians. It is a two-proged bamboo struck against the palm of one hand.

Agung - hangs from horizontal pole or wooden frame. The player stands besides the rim of the gong where he inserts his left arm through the ropes which suspend the instrument to position his hand comfortably at the knob. On the right hand, the player hold a mallet padded with rubber.

Gandingan - is a set of four graduated gongs, with thin rims and lower central knobs. They hang in pairs with the knobs of the lower pitched gongs facing each other. The same with the two higher pitched gongs. The pair of lower pitched gongs is positioned on the player's left side while the pair of the higher pitched gongs is on the right. The player usually a woman who stands between the two pair of gongs. Her body touches slightly the gong in the middle to prevent from swinging. She uses two padded mallets (one mallet for each air) to strike the gong's knobs.

Babendil - is small gong with thin rims and low central knobs. It is struck with thin bamboo sticks to produce a metallic sound.

There are three ways to play the babendil.

1. by striking the rim of the suspended gong  with a pair of sticks on the left hand.

2. by striking the gong's rim with the right hand using one stick while the left hand grasps the rim.

3. by laying the instruments upside and striking the gong's rim with the two sticks.

MEMBRANOPHONES (DRUM INSTRUMENTS)

Dabakan - is a goblet -shaped drum, which has a single head covered with goat, lizard or snake skin. It is struck with two thin bamboo sticks about 18 inches in length.

Neguet - is a drum from Cotabato, 30 cm high, 20 cm in diameter

Sulibaw - is a drum 1/2 meter long and 15 cm in diameter

Tugo - is a tiruray drum 25 cm long, 20 cm in diameter.

Reference

Developing Mind and Body through MAPEH II, Zenaida c. Serrano and Carmelita A. Orsoe, Mind Builders Publishing House, copyright 2008

Images: Google images.

Music of Mindanao

The coastal and lowland areas of western Mindanao are homes of the Islamic cultures. Folk culture and court music dating way back in the 10th century or even much earlier are integrated in the musical traditions of the pre-Islamic culture. Music is frowned upon the fundamental Islamic view, but the influx of foreign Islamic cultures of the Arabs and Persians, has changed this view. The musical practices of the people in the coastal and lowland areas of Western Mindanao are vital element in their social life are the main source of their ethnic identities. The musical practices of these indigenous people are a mixture of Western and Non-western ideas.

The Three Classic Traditions of Mindanao

The Magindanao, Maranao, and the Tausug are the three classic traditions of Mindanao.

The MAGUINDANAO KULINTANG ENSEMBLE is made up of five instruments - the kulintang, agung, dabakan, gandingan, and babendil. PALABUNIBUNYAN is the term given to the Maguindanao kulintang ensemble. It means an ensemble of loud - sounding instruments and is heard on various important occasions like wedding (KABILANG), water baptism (PAIGO or RAGAT), the curing rite (KAGAGIPAT).

THE MAGUINDANAO KULINTANG ENSEMBLE also called Palabunibunyan

1. two agung - one player each agung

2. one babendil - one player with two flexible sticks

3. one dabakan - played with two flexible sticks

4. four gandingan - played in pairs, one player to a pair

5. one kulintang - one player using two sticks of one inch diameter

TWO AGONG


ONE BABENDL



ONE DABAKAN

THE MARANAO KULINTANG ENSEMBLE called as the Pangkat Kulintang

1. 2 agong (panaggis-an and pumalasan) - two players
2. 1 babendil - one player with one stick
3. 1 dabakan - one player with two sticks

THE TAUSUG KULINTANG ENSEMBLE  is also called Pangkat Kulintangan

1. two dadabuan - played as a pair by one player with padded stick
2. two gandang - one player for each
3. one kulintangan - played by one with two sticks
4. one tungagalan - an agong played with padded sticks



the Tausug Kulintang Ensemble

link: http://www.kipas.nl/Instruments/Kulintangensemble.htm

reference: Developing Mind and Body Through MAPEH II pp39-41
                  Mind Builders Publishing House 1999, Project 3, Quezon City

Images from Google Images

bungkaka

kulibit

The Gangsa Ensemble of Highland Luzon Musical Instrument

Among the Kalinga people in the Cordillera region of Luzon Island, the gangsa is played in two ways. 

One way is called "toppaya" and the other is called "palook." 

In "toppaya" style, the musicians play the surface of the gangsa with their hand while in a sitting position, with a single gangsa resting on the lap of each musician. 

In the "palook" style, a gangsa is suspended from the musician's left hand and played with a padded stick held in the musician's right hand. 

In the "palook" style of playing, the players are standing, or they keep in step with the dancers while bending forward slightly.

http://www.univie.ac.at/muwidb/dias/diadatenbank.php?Anfangsposition=4150&id_sammlung=1&id_quelle=0&operator=&suchbegriff=#

Kulintangan ensemble

Babandir part of the kulintang ensemble

The babandil is a single, narrow-rimmed Philippine Gong used primarily as the “timekeeper” of 

the Maguindanao kulintang ensemble.

The babandil usually has a diameter of roughly one foot making it larger than the largest kulintang gong and comparable to the diameter of the Agung or Gandingan. 

However, unlike the gandingan or the Agung, the babendil has a sunken boss which makes the boss relatively non-functional. 

Because of their sunken boss, babendils are instead struck either at the flange or the rim, using either bamboo betays or a strip of rattan, producing a sharp, distinctive metallic clang and are sometimes considered “false gongs.” 

In fact, this distinction makes the babendil classified as a bell in the Hornbo classification

 (if it were struck at the boss, it would be considered a gong.)

Babandils are normally made out of bronze but due to the scarcity of this metal in Mindanao, most gongs, including the babendil are made out of more common metal such as brass, iron and even tin-can.

The babendil could be played while standing or when seated with the babendil hung half a foot from the floor. Proper technique requires the player to hold the babendil vertically, angled away from the body, with the gong held at the rim between their thumb and four fingers. With their thumb parallel to the rim of the gong, the players strikes the rim of the gong using their betay to play fundamental patterns that are similar to the drum pattern on the dabakan or the beat of the lower-pitched agung.

The babendil traditionally could be played by either genders. In wooden kulintang ensembles, the kagul is usually substituted for the babendil part.

The name Babendil is derived from Arabic word, bandair, meaning "circular-type pan Arabic tambourine or frame drum by the scholars.

Music of Mindoro

The Ambahan is a literary product and poetic expression of the Southern Mangyans of Mindoro, Philippines. Although there are about seven different ethnic groups living in Mindoro, collectively called the Mangyans, these groups are quite distinct from each other as to language, customs, and way of living. Only the ethnic group living in the south of Mindoro, roughly comprising the areas within the municipalities of Bulalacao (San Pedro), Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, claims the name Mangyan as the descriptive title of their tribe. To stress their point, they might add the epiteth: "Hanunuo" Mangyan, that is, a "truly, real, genuine" Manygan.

Together with their northern neighbors, the Buhids, they possess a pre-Spanish writing system, considered to be of Indic origin, with characters expressing the open syllables of the language. Two distinct syllabaries are still in practical use among the ethnic groups in Mindoro, viz. the northern Buhid on one hand and the southern Buhid with the Hanunuo-Mangyans on the other. The existence of a writing system among these tribes certainly accounts largely for the wealth of literature prevalent among them. One of the literary products, the one written down most frequently on bamboo-tubes or slats, is the ambahan.

For better understanding and appreciation of the ambahans presented here, a short outline on the character and use of the ambahan will be given here.

As a definition, it can be stated that the ambahan is:

1. A rhythmic poetic expression with a meter of seven syllable lines and having rhythmic end-syllables.
2. It is most often presented as a chant without a determined musical pitch or accompaniment by musical instruments.
3. Its purpose is to express in an allegorical way, liberally using poetic language, certain situations or certain characteristics referred to by the one reciting the poem.

The meter of seven syllables in one line is the characteristic of the ambahan which most obviously distinguishes it from other kinds of Hanunuo-Mangyan poetry. However, there are exceptions to the rule. For instance, more than seven syllables may be found at the beginning of the ambahan, especially when it starts with the standard expression magkunkuno (speaks, says) because the one who "speaks" here may have a long name containing more than the usual seven syllables. Actually, these first lines should not be considered as part of the poem proper, but rather as an introduction to or an explanation of the circumstances which gave rise to the ambahan itself. Sometimes, there may be more than seven syllables because the employed word or words cannot be shortened and no other combination of words is available. On the other hand, a line may contain less than seven syllables in order to preserve the meaning of the line itself which might be disturbed if more syllables were added. However, the last exception rarely occurs.

In an effort to conform to the rule of having only seven syllables in each line, the composer tries to fit his words within the pre-determined quantity of syllables. This accounts for the many elisions and contactions of words that make the reading of the ambahan in the Hanunuo-Mangyan script so difficult and exasperating to the translator. Thus nirwasan comes from niruwasan; nilkasan from nilukasan; the mono-syllables gin from ginan; u from una. Conversely, the words may be extended, i.e. syllables may be added in order to have the required seven syllables. In most cases, the normal procedure involves the use of affixes and suffixes, both of which are extensively used in the Philippine languages. The most common one in the Hanunuo-Mangyan language is the suffix -an. Manok becomes manukan, balunos becomes balunusan, without a change in meaning. Within the word, "extensions" may also be found which might be old infixes, no longer common. So dayap becomes dalayap, layaw becomes lugayaw. Another way of lengthening a word is by repeating the word itself, not so much to make it superlative in meaning (e.g. in Tagalog: laking-laki), but rather to complete the seven syllable requirement.

While it is not my intention to be technical on this point, as a linguist's analysis of morphological phenomena would be, the foregoing illustrations demonstrate that the prescribed scheme of seven syllables in ambahan verse gives ample opportunity for lexical calisthenics, an exercise which may fascinate many students.

The rhyming end-syllables are an essential feature of the ambahan. The most common rhyming syllable is -an, being a regular suffix for verbs and substantives in the Hanunuo-Mangyan language. But other combinations with the vowel a are rather common too, such as in lines having the end-syllables: a, ak, ag, ang, as, aw, ay. Here the vowel a is combined with nearly all the consonants in the Philippine alphabet. In the same way, the vowels I (or e) and o (or u) can be found as the rhyming syllables, either alone or in combination, e.g.: I, id, ing, ip, it, and o, od, ok, on, ong, os, ot, oy.

Ambahan and its uses

Ambahans are known and recited by Hanunuo-Mangyans, both old and young. Of course, different ambahans will be appropriate for different age groups.

The children definitely have their own kind of Ambahans, something which might be considered as the equivalent of our nursery rhymes. However, even in these rhymes all the elements of the ambahan are present; the main distinction lies in the simplicity of the language used. The ambahans for children, however, are short, most of them containing not more than six lines.

A boy (kan-akan) and a girl (daraga) would be familiar with the ambahans fit for them, but once they are married, they would acquaint themselves with the ones that are appropriate for their new state of life.

Like all poetry, the Ambahan is an expression of an idea or feeling in a beautiful and harmonious language. Unlike other forms of poetry , however, the Ambahan is not poetry for its own sake or for the poet's satisfaction. The Ambahan is primarily a poem of social character; it finds its true existence in society. It is created by the Mangyans to serve practical purposes within the community. It is used by the parents in educating their children, by young people in courting each other, by a visitor in asking for food and by a relative bidding goodbye or farewell. Of course, it would be a mistake to think that the Mangyans converse with each other only by the ambahan. If a man comes from his field, he would not use an ambahan to tell his wife that he is hungry; he will express the feeling of his stomach in plain and clear language. But generally speaking, the ambahan is used on those occasions when something embarrassing, unpleasant, delicate or even precious (as love) has to be said. For instance, a boy may tell a girl in plain language that he will never forget her, but it would sound so much nicer if he were to do so in an ambahan.

The social nature of the ambahan has given rise to a kind of verbal contest. Whenever Mangyans are together, a few of them (often the older generation) will eagerly compete with each other in the ability to recite the ambahan called for by the place and the occasion. Among these occasions are festivities held in connection with reburial. One Mangyan might challenge another with an ambahan, for example. This starts the contest. The people gather around the two contestants (without agreement, without rules, without bets), listening intently to the ambahans recited alternately by the two opponents. Each ambahan recited is an answer to the problem or theme propounded in the ambahan preceeding it. Both contestants are lustily cheered and encouraged by their supporters. In most cases, the one who recites last is declared the winner. The contest may go deep into the night. Whether one or the other wins is unimportant; what matters most is the entertainment derived from the contest.

A few final remarks about the translation of the ambahan may still be of interest. A researcher who happens to be in the mountains of Mansalay and becomes acquainted with the ambahan will become enthusiastic about it and may even want to translate some of them into his own language. But before he can translate the ambahan, he must study the ancient Indic script. After having mastered it well, he will find out to his dismay, that he still cannot read everything written on the bamboo. This is due to the fact that the script itself does not show the final consonant of each syllable. When he has overcome the disappointment, he will probably try to get an ambahan written down in clear, readable letters. Tape-recording the ambahan would take away the initial difficulties of copying from script. However, even then he will not understand all the implications of the ambahan unless the Mangyan can explain it.

In translating an ambahan, we find a special difficulty arising from the symbolic meaning of the words used. The Mangyan may supply the applied allegorical meaning but he might not understand the literal meanings of certain words. The meanings of these words can often be discovered because of the frequent use of repetition of ideas. Sometimes complete lines may be repetitions of the same idea in synonymous words.

Ambahan: Birth and infancy

Ambahan no.3

My dear baby, do not cry
 'cause the wild cat might hear us! 
The big one from over there, 
with his awful long-stretched howl! 
Helpless are we if he comes. 
Our spear is broken still and 
our bolo bent and blunt!

Huwag ka ngang umiyak
 Hala ka at mapukaw
Pusang-ligaw sa gubat
Ngumiyaw, maghihiyaw
Wala kitang pambugaw
Sibat nati'y nawasak
Gulok nati'y nabingaw!

Ambahan no.4

Don't be noisy, baby dear!
The wild iro might come here.
The one out of the deep woods.
How to fight him when he comes?
Broken is our spear in two
and our bolo disappeared!

H'wag ka ngang magulo
May laog nanunubok
Mula gubat susugod
Wala kitang panghamok
Sibat nati'y napulpol
Itak ay anong purol!

Ambahan no. 5

You, my baby, don't make noise!
Some strange animal might come,
coming from across the streams.
Knocking on the house, he will,
with his glittering sharp claws,
No weapons for us to kill;
our bolo we cannot use,
rusty is our spear and blunt

Anak, 'wag kang ngumalngal
Hala ka, may bakulaw!
Sa dahilig do'n buhat
Tutuktok sa suliras
Kay tulis ng galamay
Wala kitang pamatay
Tong itak walang saysay
Kinalawang 'yang sibat!

Ambahan: Courtship

Many pages of sweet-flowing romances have been written about courtship, but the Mangyans create their own by using the examples of the budding and flowering plants and trees around them.

Ambahan: Marriage

Although the courtship period has a varied set of rules and ceremonials, the marriage itself is as simple as possible. After the consent of the parents has been obtained, the unceremonial first sleep of both the spouses together is considered as wedlock itself.

In the ambahan literature, a major part revolves around the perennial theme of married life and all its ramifications. After many years of living together, does the husband still remember his promise that he gave as an ardent lover?

for more information about these topic: visit

https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/08/22/ancient-Filipino-scripts-surat-Baybayin.html