PE 2

Second Semester
SY 2021-2022

Lesson 4
Philippine Folkdance

What is a folkdance?

Folkdances are the indigenous dances of any specific “folk” or the common people. They are traditional customary or
recreational dance forms of a given country which have evolved naturally and were handed down across
generations.

Folkdances are related to everything of importance in our daily lives, such as customs, rituals, and occupations of a
specific group of people. Most of these dances are related in origin to religious beliefs, stemming from emotions,
superstitions, festivals, ceremonies of birth, courtship, marriage, death, war, and countless themes common to all
people around t world. According to Duggan, Schlottmann, and Rutledge (1948), “folkdance became the overt
expression of emotions and ideas which were peculiarly significant or the re-enactment of customs and events
constituting an important part of their history and patterns of daily living.

Lopez (2006) defined Philippine folkdance as “a traditional mode of expression that employs bodily movements of
redundant patterns linked to definitive features of rhythmic beats or music.” She further stated that Philippine folk
dance should have the following
characteristics:
1. It is traditional.
2. It has an expressive behavior.
3. Simple, basic rhythm dominates the
folk dance and establishes the pattern
of movement.
4. It is created by an unknown
choreographer or by a communal
effort.
5. It performs a function in the life of
the (folk) people.

What are the differences between folk, national, and ethnic dance?

Folkdances are traditional dances found in a certain country while national dances are also traditional folk dances
but a national scope. They are popular and widely danced throughout a given country, often with a number of
regional variations.

The Philippine dances Cariñosa, Curacha, and Pandango are

examples of national folk dances as they are popular dances
throughout the country. Pandango, for example, has several
variations coming from both Luzon and Visayas islands, even
within one locality, dancers have different ways of
performing it. Examples of Pandango dances are:
• Pandango Ilocano
• Pandango Visayan
• Pandango Dumagueteño
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 • Pandango Ivatan
• Pandango sa Ilaw

Ethnic dances or ethnological dances are those performed in primitive tribes and have retained their close kinship
with religious ritual and community custom. These dances may require a certain level of special performing skills
that are symbolic in meaning, making it harder for those outside the group to understand. They can be performed in
three different categories, namely; ritual, life-cycle, and occupational.

In the Philippines, dances originating from the Ifugao people of the Northern Luzon, T’boli tribe from the Southern
Mindanao, and Tagbanua tribe for Palawan are examples of ethnic dances. Below are few examples of the different
types of ethnic dances:
a. Ritual dances – dances that depict ritual ceremonies. Examples are dugso (Bukidnon) and Pagdidiwata
(Palawan)

b. Life-cycle dances – dances relating to the cycle of human life such as birthing, courtship, wedding and
funeral. Examples are Binasuan (Pangasinan), and Daling-daling (Muslim courtship dance from Sulu).

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 c. Occupational dances – dances that exhibit work and occupation of the dancers, examples re Mag-Asik
(Cotabato) and Mananagat (Cebu) dances.

All national and ethnic dances are folk dances, but not all folk dances are considered national or ethnic dances. Some
of these dances were influenced by he western cultures, such as the Americans and Spaniards and other were
influenced by the neighboring Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and China to name a few.

What are the different types of Philippine folkdances?

There are several ways to classify Philippine folk dances. According to Francisca Reyes-Aquino, folk dances maybe
classified by geographical extent of origin, nature, speed of movement, formation, and distinguishing feature. Lately,
folkloric specialists merged regional and functional classifications to sort out the different dance materials.

The three major regional classifications of Philippine folk dances are tribal dances form the Cordilleras, dances from
lowland Christians, and Muslims dances.
1. Tribal dances from the Cordilleras - include non-Christian dances from the Cordilleras

2. Lowland Christians dances – dances coming from places with Western influences such as that of the
Tagalogs, Ilokanos, Pampangueños, Pangasinense, Bisayans, and Bicolanos. These dances are influenced by
Hispanic and European cultures.

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 3. Muslim dances – dances from the people of the Southern islands of the Phiippines such as in Minadanao and
Sulu. These dances are influenced b Arabic and Indo-Malayan cultures.

Philippine folk dances, regardless of their classifications, may also be categorized as:

1. Life-cycle dances – dances that serve as ritual as one passes to a different stage in life such as from birth to
childhood to adulthood; from singlehood to marriage; and from life to death. Below are the different dances
that portray life-cycle:
a. Courtship dances

b. Wedding dances

c. Funeral dances

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2. Festival dances – dances that are either religious or secular and are connected with the celebration of
recurring events of special significance.

3. Occupational dances – dances that depict the means of livelihood of the Filipino people. Palay festival, a
national dance in rice-growing regions, is an example of an occupational dance wherein dancers portray
different steps in rice-growing-from planting to harvesting to threshing, flailing, pounding, airing and
winnowing.

4. Ritual and ceremonial dances – dances performed as part of the rituals and ceremonies of certain tribe or
group of people.

5. Game dances – derivations from local folk game. One example of these dances is the Pukol dance from Aklan
and Capiz in Panay region. Pukol means to strike or bump each other.

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6. Joke and trickster dances – include jokes or tricks played by a dancer on another or a group of dancers who
is one of them. The intention is to render that individual “to a physical or mental indignity or discomfort.
Example of these is the Pandanggo sa Sambalilo dance from the Tagalog regions wherein a girl teases her
male partner by playing with his hat then pushes him when he is about to success in getting back and putting
on his hat from the floor.

7. Mimetic or drama dances – dances that mimic animals, inanimate objects, or other people, the dancers get
into roles other than themselves and become actors totally immersed in the story the dances tell. The Itik-
Itik dance from Surigao is an example of a mimetic dance as it imitates the movement of a duck.

8. War dances – dances that express feud and enmity wherein two male dancers engage in physical combat
with Spartan-like intensity. Maglalatik (Biñan, laguna) is an example of a war dance as this depicts a battle
between Muslims of southern Philippines and the Christian Filipinos of the lowlands over latik (the residue
after coconut boils down) in this dance, the Muslim won and the Christian sought conciliation in order to
convert the Muslim Moros into Christianity.

9. Social amenities dances – dances that express social graces, hospitality and offerings of gifts to friends. All
social ballroom dances and most of the “Filipinized” Western dances that show camaraderie merriment
belong to this group. Examples are Minuete Yano (Iriga , Cam. Sur), Alay (Tagalog regions), and Habanera
Botoleña( Botolan, Zambales) dances. Minuete Yano, for instance, is performed by people from high social
standing in the community during special occasions in honoring high government officials and church
dignitaries.

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Activity 4:

Answer the following:

1. Differentiate the following:
a. Folk dance
b. Ethnic dance
c. National dance
2. Identify the types of Philippine folk dances and give examples.
3. Identify the kind of Philippine folk dance depicted in the following pictures and describe each.
a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

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g.

h.

i.

j.