My first published article at a local broadsheet
Friday, July 31, 2009
Aeta songs and dances
By Bryan Lazaro
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo, an active volcano at the intersection of the provinces of Pampanga and Zambales, awakened. The world witnessed what geologists considered to be the second largest volcanic eruption in the modern world, next to that of Mount Novarupta in Alaska in 1912.
In total, 364 communities and 2.1 million people were affected by the eruption, with livelihoods and houses severely destroyed and over 800 people killed. Among the hardest hit were the Aetas who lived near the volcano. Hundreds of Aeta people were killed; their once-fertile soil covered with layers of ash, and their houses destroyed by the ash storm. With no more homes to return to, the Aeta evacuees had no other option than to be resettled to an area provided by the government, relatively safe from future eruptions of Mount Pinatubo.
Situated few kilometers away from Mount Pinatubo in the town of Botolan, Zambales, are Barangays Malomboy, Cabatuan and Burgos. These barangays were turned into one of two resettlement areas in Botolan. The site, called the Baquilan Resettlement Area, now serves home to hundreds of Aeta and Abellen families.
More than a decade after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the Aeta community of Baquilan is slowly gaining back its once lost fate. And, in the process of community rebuilding, a group named Kababaihan Katutubong Ayta at Abellen, Botolan, Zambales surfaced. This group saw the importance of one’s cultural heritage in the reconstruction and development of one’s community. Among its latest projects is the School of Living Traditions (SLT) on Aeta Songs and Dances, which trained 15 Aeta students from the Baquilan and Villar-Loob-Bunga Resettlement Areas, ages 10 to 17 years old, on basic traditional skills of performing Aeta songs and dances.
Started on May 14 and ended on July 11 through performances by the students, the project was envisioned to help preserve the community’s cultural practices and traditions, as well as to provide a venue for the Aeta children to learn and appreciate their traditional songs and dances. Through their cultural masters, Bernesto Jugatan and Charito Baluyot, the Aeta children relearned their songs and dances.
Passed down from one generation to the next, the Aeta dances are imitations of the movements and gestures of animals and insects. Animal dances included Sayaw Lawin, Sayaw Pugo, Ligawang Manok and Talek Bake (monkey dance). Insect Dances were the Sayaw Tutubi, Sayaw Paruparo, Sayaw Gagamba, and Sayaw Langaw. The Aetas also have war dances like the Binabayani (performed with bow and arrow) and Sikuting (performed with bamboo sticks), and love dances like the Tinalipe. All these were taught the SLT students.
The students were also reintroduced to their traditional songs. With Marlon Cabalit playing the one-stringed guitar, culture master Baluyot taught the children the songs of their ancestors, as well as their meanings and significance. Among the melodies the children learned were the Minghan Mihay Yabi (a song of vow), Aliko (a courtship song), Oli-en Mo Bake (turtle and monkey story), Anak Ayta’s Mangasikap (transfer of heritage) and Hay Kailangan (house song for a family).
Here's the link:Aeta Songs and Dances
Aeta songs and dances
By Bryan Lazaro
In 1991, Mount Pinatubo, an active volcano at the intersection of the provinces of Pampanga and Zambales, awakened. The world witnessed what geologists considered to be the second largest volcanic eruption in the modern world, next to that of Mount Novarupta in Alaska in 1912.
In total, 364 communities and 2.1 million people were affected by the eruption, with livelihoods and houses severely destroyed and over 800 people killed. Among the hardest hit were the Aetas who lived near the volcano. Hundreds of Aeta people were killed; their once-fertile soil covered with layers of ash, and their houses destroyed by the ash storm. With no more homes to return to, the Aeta evacuees had no other option than to be resettled to an area provided by the government, relatively safe from future eruptions of Mount Pinatubo.
Situated few kilometers away from Mount Pinatubo in the town of Botolan, Zambales, are Barangays Malomboy, Cabatuan and Burgos. These barangays were turned into one of two resettlement areas in Botolan. The site, called the Baquilan Resettlement Area, now serves home to hundreds of Aeta and Abellen families.
More than a decade after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the Aeta community of Baquilan is slowly gaining back its once lost fate. And, in the process of community rebuilding, a group named Kababaihan Katutubong Ayta at Abellen, Botolan, Zambales surfaced. This group saw the importance of one’s cultural heritage in the reconstruction and development of one’s community. Among its latest projects is the School of Living Traditions (SLT) on Aeta Songs and Dances, which trained 15 Aeta students from the Baquilan and Villar-Loob-Bunga Resettlement Areas, ages 10 to 17 years old, on basic traditional skills of performing Aeta songs and dances.
Started on May 14 and ended on July 11 through performances by the students, the project was envisioned to help preserve the community’s cultural practices and traditions, as well as to provide a venue for the Aeta children to learn and appreciate their traditional songs and dances. Through their cultural masters, Bernesto Jugatan and Charito Baluyot, the Aeta children relearned their songs and dances.
Passed down from one generation to the next, the Aeta dances are imitations of the movements and gestures of animals and insects. Animal dances included Sayaw Lawin, Sayaw Pugo, Ligawang Manok and Talek Bake (monkey dance). Insect Dances were the Sayaw Tutubi, Sayaw Paruparo, Sayaw Gagamba, and Sayaw Langaw. The Aetas also have war dances like the Binabayani (performed with bow and arrow) and Sikuting (performed with bamboo sticks), and love dances like the Tinalipe. All these were taught the SLT students.
The students were also reintroduced to their traditional songs. With Marlon Cabalit playing the one-stringed guitar, culture master Baluyot taught the children the songs of their ancestors, as well as their meanings and significance. Among the melodies the children learned were the Minghan Mihay Yabi (a song of vow), Aliko (a courtship song), Oli-en Mo Bake (turtle and monkey story), Anak Ayta’s Mangasikap (transfer of heritage) and Hay Kailangan (house song for a family).
Here's the link:Aeta Songs and Dances
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