Reaction Paper: Sugidanon Bayluhay

The Sugidanon Bayluhay is a tradition of the people of Panay in which they celebrate the
trade that occurred between the Ati/Aeta and the Malays. A trade of a land to live for items made
of gold.

13th of February 2017, a musical was conducted at Western Visayas State University
(WVSU) about this said tradition. A local group aptly named The Irong Irong Dance Group
was responsible for the said play. The goal of the group is to spread the culture and traditions of
our ancestors. They started explaining how the Aetas live before the bayluhay occurred. Our
ancestors and the present generation have many similarities, especially when it comes to dating.
A scene explained that back in the old days, courting a woman means impressing her with you
skills and strength.

An interesting scene that really caught my attention is the climax of the story, where the
Sultan (the leader of the mayans) uses slave to entertain his self. He threatens them that he will
kill them if they wont follow his orders. Datu Puti and the other mayans decided to fight back
for their freedom and won. They travelled a very long journey until they reached the island of
panay where they met the Aetas and asked if they can live in their land in exchange for gold. The
said event was named The Bayluhay.

Overall the story and how they delivered it was nice, but due to some technical
difficulties some parts were ruined. Conversations cant be heard clearly because of the broken
microphones, spot lights cant focus on the subject of the scene and some audios were disorted
because of the broken speakers. But overall, I loved the play. It was entertaining and the same
time thrilling, from how the Aetas lived their lives up to how the slaves were treated by the
sultan. I really wish to see further more plays that explains our roots and other historical things.