NORTHERN

PHILIPPINE
MUSIC
A look at their music and instruments.

What was the function of their music?

Hudhud
Chanted during the rice sowing season, harvest time, and at funeral wakes and rituals.

This is a narrative chant sung by the people from Ifugao.

Kalinga Appros
Sung for half a day after a child’s birth

Kalinga Ading
Courtship song

What were their instruments?

Balingbing
Played by beating one of the tongues against the arm or wrist

Sound can be changed by closing and opening the hole.

Usually played by at least seven individuals

Dimensions vary from 30 to 50 cm, depending on desired tonal height.

Ethnic group: Kalingga, Location: North Luzon (Cordillera)

Bangibang
Set of at least seven wooden bars made of hard wood.

Each bar has its own pitch and is hit by the player with a short stick of hard wood

Courting Flute
Short bamboo tube, cut off on the node and closed with a piece of wood, lower

part of the hole half covered, with a burnt in hole

Kalleleng
Long bamboo tubes

Closed at one end by the node in which the blowing hole is burnt

The blowing hole is placed under an angle against the nose and the player gently

blows into the tube.

The kalleleng is held against the nostril; the other nostril is plugged.

Kolitong
Bamboo tube, closed at both ends by a node

In both nodes a star shaped opening is cut

Five strings are cut loose from the skin, and lifted and tuned with small pieces of

wood.

The tube is cracked and slightly opened to improve resonance.

Also called "kuletong or kulitong" in Bontoc and Kalinga

Paldong
Open bamboo pipe, top end cut at an angle.

Three by one fingerholes.

Palipal
Bamboo tube, one end open; cut open in the middle; upper part cut into two halves.

The instrument is played by shaking: one half swings up and down and in the down

swing hits the lower half.

Afiw
Made of brass, the string is made of wool.

The instrument is held horizontally with the metal tongue in front of the opened mouth.

The left end is either hit by the thumb of the right hand or plucked. This makes the

metal tongue vibrate which causes a sound.

The mouth serves as a resonator and by changing the shape and size of the mouth

opening. By strongly breathing in or out the volume can be changed as well.

Giwong
Jaw harp of the Kalinga people

a very flat jaw harp but with very good tone and very easy to play

were traditionally used for courting

Gangsa
Gangsa is played in two ways. One way is called "toppaya" and the other is called

"pattung”.

Subing
Bamboo jaw harp of the Cuyinin people of Palawan Island

Length of approximately 20-25 cm

The subbing is quite small with a high pitch.

Subing are often tuned by a small piece of pitch or insect wax on the tongue.

Ludag
Played by beating the drum head with sticks or by a person’s palms.

8 inch diameter drum head, 4 ¾ in diameter base, 12 ½ inches tall.

This small ceremonial drum is played in conjunction with a gong during harvest time

under the rice granary in the Ifugao region.

What were their performance styles?

Bontoc Chag-ay Maseypan
Lullaby

Bontoc Ayegka
Sung for visiting friends

Sowe-ey
Rice pounding song of Bontoc.

Chey-assa
Bontoc rice pounding song in groups.

Dakuyon
Kalinga song for hunting bats.

Dinaweg
Ilongot song for catching wild boar.

Owayat
Song for gathering firewood of Ilongot.

Toppaya
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.

Pattung
A gangsa is suspended from the musician's left hand and played with a padded stick

held in the musician's right hand

The players are standing, or they keep in step with the dancers while bending

forward slightly.

Ibaloi Music
Ibaloi music follows just one style, the bacdiw. (Also called bahdiw)

It is sung alternately by different persons.

It is sung phrase by phrase and re-echoed phrase by phrase.

A sacred song is sung only in connection with the religious ceremony to which it

belongs.

Badio (Ibaloi Music)

The badio is composed extemporaneously by a person exhilarated by a drink.

Its aim is to give advice, bring about cordial relations, or simply narrate some

experiences.

The last part of the singer's statement is caught up by the women present around

him, who sing it as a refrain.

Dujung (Ibaloi Music)

An elegy or lament sung by people seated around the death-chair of a rich man.

The "death chair" is the favourite chair of the dead man.

The singer extols the virtues of the dead, and each statement is repeated by the

others.

No one would be willing to sing the dujung, unless it's for the ceremonies of the

dead.

Cansion (Ibaloi Music)

Any other song that is not a bacdiw or a dujung is a cansion.

The kansion is usually sung at the wake of the dead or in religious rites.

The tempo is lively and gay

Its light mood contrasts with the solemnity of a wake.

Kalinga Music
The tuning system in Kalinga Music is quite flexible.

The selection of the main tone of the scale is because of the size of the bamboo and

where the maker cuts it.

After the first cut the maker measures half the distance from one end to the other.

Using a hot iron rod, he measures two fingers over to where he makes the next hole.

Since each maker has different sized fingers, it guarantees slight differences in the

displacement of the tone holes.

Bontoc Music
Bontoc music accompanies the daily affairs of the people.

The kol-lob is where lullabies, folk songs, and the og-good (epic) are sung to the

children.

The fal-lukay/fal-lugay is sung during ablution rites of headhunting victory

celebrations.

Young men courting ladies at the ulog sing the ayegka, love songs, which have

traditional tunes but improvised lyrics.

Rice-pounding songs chay-assa and kwel-la/kudya are also sung to communicate

mentally with a loved one who is far away.

The ayoweng/mangayuweng, the laborer's song, is sung when doing farm work,

pounding rice, or walking on the trail toward the field.

Song farms used at social gatherings include the ayyeng, chag-ay, charngek, salidum-

ay, surwe-ey, and wigwigan.

The pagpaguy is a salidum-ay sung in groups during the wake of a deceased

grandparent.

Singing accompanies the sukaidan ritual, which is performed by men of the upper

class in order to ask the god Kabunyan and other nature spirits for rain.

Ifugao Music
Chanting or singing is done individually, e.g., when putting a child to sleep, or, more

often, as a group.

Songs learned from other tribes or lands are usually sung individually.

Ifugao songs can be classified into ritual songs and non-ritual songs.

Songs are also known according to the historical period they represent.

Dancing has always been part of the Ifugao life, taking centre stage during rituals,

religious activities, and special occasions.

End