Topic > What is the Importance of Folk Dance in the Philippines

The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Mindano, and Visayas. Most of their cultural and folk dances embody the hardships that they or their relatives have experienced over the years. In fact, many of the dances show the actual activities or jobs that Filipinos tolerated to endure the poor economy and state of the nation (Ness, 1992). In Luzon, the northernmost region of the Philippines, there is the Banga, or pot dance created by the Kalinga tribe. When a warrior claimed a bride, the girl's friends performed a water-fetching dance as a celebration of the impending wedding ceremony. This dance illustrates women going to the river to get the daily supply of water for their families. They all gathered and marched to the river every day singing a native song represented by the flute and beating bamboo on iron pots. They stacked and carried heavy clay pots filled with water above their heads as they danced, demonstrating the skill and strength they possess. When they are girls, they carry only one vase with them. The stack builds as they get older. They are limited to carrying up to seven or eight clay pots (Ness, 1992). Aside from clay pots placed atop a circular red pad, the women wear a long-sleeved tan shirt and knee-length skirt. They also have a red bandana wrapped around their foreheads. It's unknown if the color red had any meaning behind it, but it's clear that they attempted to keep the natural and earthy tones to fit the theme. This dance was meant to be seen by anyone in the tribe. Nowadays, Banga dance is performed during banquets as a way to entertain guests (Villaruz, 2006). Also,......in the center of the paper......an above the latik, which were the remains left after the coconut milk was boiled. During Spanish rule, the people of Loma and Zapote in Biñan, Laguna danced Maglalatik. This dance performance consists of four parts. The Palipasan and Baligtaran reveal the fighting between Moros and Christians. The Paseo and Sayaw Escaramusa show the compromise between the two groups. The Moors of this dance generally wear red trousers while the Christians wear blue trousers. All male dancers use coconut shell harnesses which are placed on the back, chest, hips and thighs. During the city festival, Maglalatik dancers perform this dance from house to house in the afternoon in exchange for money or gifts. In the evening they perform it during the religious procession as a sacrifice to the patron saint of farmers, San Isidro de Labrador (Villaruz, 2006).