Itik-Itik

Itik-Itik is one of the Philippine folk dances which have an interesting origin.
According to stories, a Filipina maiden-dancer of Surigao del Norte was asked to perform a
native dance in one special occasion. She started to improvise new steps and imitate the
courtship movements of a local species of duck known as “itik.” The spectators began to imitate
her and that is how the dance came to be.

If most Philippine dances are originally patterned after the European dances
during the time of the Spanish regime, some dances have evolved from an already known
Philippine dance. One such example is your Itik itik- one of the popular dances in the
Philippines.

According to one story about the origins of the dance, there was this young
woman named Kanang and she was considered as the best dancer and performer in the province
of Surigao del Norte. And at one baptismal reception, the performer was asked to dance the
Sibay- another important local dance and at the middle of her performance she began
improvising on her steps. The steps imitated that of the movements of the 'itik'. The 'itik' is a
duck and her movements during the said performance are like those that are being performed by
the animal- choppy steps and there were splashes of water on its back while attracting its mate.
And since the steps were new and unusual, the audience were fascinated and soon they began
copying and aping the moves.

Based on records, the dance has its roots not only in Surigao del Norte but in the
Visayas region as a whole as well. in the other version of the story about the roots of the dance, it
was said that this dance has originated from the dance 'Sibay' which was then danced to the tune
of the 'Dejado' music. The 'Sibay' is a popular bird dance in the Visayan Islands. This was
confirmed by Reynaldo Gamboa Alejanadro and he added that the Visayan Island where the
dance originated was Samar. Reynaldo Gamboa Alejandro is considered as the Philippine dance
authority. This information was also backed up by a book that was written in 1668 by Fr. Ignacio
Alzina who is a Jesuit missionary to Samar.

In that book, the Jesuit missionary described a dance that imitated the bird that
was popular in Samar and the 'Sabay'. In the same book, the missionary said that the dance
imitated the flying birds. So how exactly is the dance performed by the dancer? As it was
mentioned the steps of the dance resembled the movements of the wading and the flying ducks or
the 'itiks'. The dancers here copy the swaying gait of the waddling feet and also ape the intense
energy of the close-cropped flapping wings. There are around six separate foot sequences that the
dancer is expected to perform and these series of foot movements form part of the dance steps.
Right now, there are modern versions of this dance and this can be seen in many parts of the
country.
The present and the modern version of the dance are from the following areas;

. Carmen
. Lanuza
. Cantillan
. Carrascal

These are all towns in Surigao del Norte. Though this version of the dance from
Surigao del Norte was a thing of beauty and very popular, there are other versions of the dance
that have sprouted in other parts of the archipelago. Other than the original 'Itik ittik' Surigaonon,
there were other versions of the dance and these dances can be found in the Visayas. The other
versions of the dance can be seen in Sibomga, Cebu and in Tibiao, Antique. The dance is
currently performed during special events or during the country's 'Linggo ng Wika' which is a
celebration of the country's language during August. The dance forms part of the culture of the
country and considered to be one of the dances that help shaped the Filipino culture in terms of
dance and identity. Right now, the term 'Itik itik' has been used as a name for one small festival
in Metropolitan Manila. There is an 'Itik itik' festival which is a week-long festival that
culminates every last Sunday of February and the festival is hosted by Barangay Kalawaan in
Pasig, City.
At the center of the festivities are the ducks- duck races, biggest duck contest,
duck catching, swimming contest, best cooking, dancing and a parade in honor of the barangay's
patroness, St. Martha. For the locals, the she is the patroness of the duck-raisers. And more
importantly the name of the festival raises the profile and the prominences of the name 'Itik itik'
as people are reminded of one important dance in Philippine culture, even though the dance is
not specifically performed in the festivities.