Ya-Ye-Yo-Na-I-Yu-Nan: Swaying in the Vocal Music of the Iraya People of Mindoro,

Philippines
Author(s): Jonas Baes
Source: Ethnomusicology , Spring - Summer, 1987, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Spring - Summer,
1987), pp. 229-239
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of Society for Ethnomusicology

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 Ya-Ye-Yo-Na-I-Yu-Nan:
Swaying in the Vocal Music of the Iraya
People of Mindoro, Philippines1

Jonas Baes

Introduction

his article deals with the subject matter of musical style and the impact
made by changes occurring in the songs of the Iraya, an upland people
of Mindoro, Philippines. Its purpose is to show how swaying, though
threatened by today's changing tastes, is a key feature of traditional Iraya
singing. The issue is that Iraya elders believe that their melodic style is pres-
ently moving towards the style of the Tagalogs-the dominating lowland
people. This major trend has been recognized by my key informant Mr.
Angel Anias, an elder from Caagutayan village in the town of San Teodoro,
Oriental Mindoro. After listening to some tape recordings of Iraya songs
from another area-Tabinay Malaki in the town of Puerto Galera2-Angel
Anias and a few other elders commented that many Iraya singers today have
started rendering traditional songs in the style of the Tagalogs. He pointed
out further that this is mainly due to the absence of the swaying style found
in traditional melodies.
This study addresses the question of how swaying is perceived in tradi-
tional Iraya songs. Knowing how the people perceive their music aids in un-
derstanding how present changes could be detected by a native singer. I
found it necessary and extremely helpful to understand the issue through
what Steven Feld calls "ethno-theory" (1981:24-47). Most of the data were
acquired from field observations and numerous discussions with Iraya
elders and especially Angel Anias and Juana Edmedio, who recorded ex-
amples of all genres of traditional music.3

Background
The island of Mindoro (about 100 miles south of Manila) is inhabited
by at least seven minority linguistic groups. These groups of mountain peo-
ple are collectively called "Mangyan" by majority of lowlanders who are
mostly Tagalogs. The "Mangyans" were probably coastal settlers before

229

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230 Ethnomusicology, Spring/Summer 1987

they were pushed and driven into the hinterlands by Tagalog migrants as
well as Visayan and, more recently, Ilocano settlers.
The Iraya, literally meaning "man" or "adult," are one of these
"Mangyan" groups. They number about 7,000, occupying the highlands of
the northernmost region of the island of Mindoro. Formerly hunters, these
people nowadays practice slash and burn agriculture. To supplement the
rice they produce from this practice, they raise sweet potato and other
tubers. Cash, which they cannot do without, they acquire by small-scale
marketing, gold panning, or wage labor. Constant contacts with the domi-
nant Tagalogs made the Iraya bi-lingual in Tagalog and Iraya. The young,
most especially those who have had the privilege of schooling, could not
even speak their own language fluently. Recently, Tagalog families have mi-
grated to Iraya villages. The resulting interaction have been made even
closer by the inclusion of Iraya village communities into the local govern-
ment. Moreover, the Iraya have been converted to Christianity since the
1950s. Despite all these external influences however, the Iraya people con-
sciously identify themselves as Irayas.
The Iraya believe that they are descendants of the great hunter Aletawu
and his wife Diyagd. Aletawu and Diyaga were the first people created by
the almighty Apo Iraya. The everyday lives and adventures of Aletawu and
Diyagd are dealt with in legends known as Pamuybuyen. Many elders say
that the lifestyle of the Irayas in the past are well illustrated in these
legends.4
According to my informant Angel Anias, the Irayas once depended
solely on hunting for subsistence. Men moved within their physical world
consisting of their house (balay) near the river (sapa), the mountain (ulnan)
and the forest (Kutangan). And in the deepest parts of the forest were caves
(yungib) where some legendary spirits (diwata) dwelt. (Refer to Figure 1.)
Along with many legends about spirits is the origin of instrumental
music or repa'. Literally meaning "go down," repa' is said to have origi-
nated from the "beautiful" sounds coming from the waterfalls, caused by
spirits who bathe there. The people, in admiration for the sounds coming
from the falls, imitated what they heard with their musical instruments.
Thus, a descending melodic contour had always been a feature of instru-
mental music.
Vocal music, broadly referred to as igway (literally meaning "song") is
said to have come from Aletawu and Diyagd (the first man and woman). It
is a known fact and Aletawu prayed to Apo Iraya by means of the song
maraydw; while Diyagd, on the other hand, prayed to the almighty by
means of the igway, a song that she also used to put her children to sleep.
Analogously, Iraya vocal music is divided into two categories or genres:
maraydw and igway. It is important to note that the term igwaj refers to

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 Ya- Ye- Yo-Na-I- Yu-Nan 231

yungib (caves)

ulnan (mountain) Kutangan (forest)

I-

iraya (man)

balhy (house)

river (sapa)

Figure 1. Iraya Physical World

two ideas: vocal music in general (as opposed to repa') and to a particular
type of vocal genre.
Maraydw is exclusively sung by an initiated shaman to communicate
with good spirits to do battle with evil ones, and in so doing heal the sick.
The shaman also uses the maraydw to cast magic spells on others.
Moreover, the shaman occasionally entertains himself mentally by making
his spirits play games. Maraydw is thus associated with the use of power.
The igway type, on the other hand, may be sung by anyone at anytime and
for a variety of lighter purposes like putting a baby to sleep, courting, or
entertainment.
Both the igway and marayaw utilize a literary language. Many words
used in these songs are different from those used in daily conversation.
The igway type has three sub-categories: love songs or courting songs
called sangbay, lullabyes called pampatulog sa inakdy, and songs dealing
with adventures in hunting, trevelling or working called igwayan. Maraydw
(or songs related to ritual) has two sub-categories: healing songs and songs
for spirit games called: ngayung paglumutungan and magical spells called
imbeleng (Figure 2).

Musical Perception of Swaying

Swaying in the Perception of Time and Pulse

In the past, the most common place where the Iraya people sang igway
types of songs were in wooden swings called bantayaw. A young man would
sing a love song (sangbdy) while rocking the swing where his lover was sit-

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232 Ethnomusicology, Spring/Summer 1987

I I
Repa' Igway

igway marayaw

sangbay pampatulog igwayan

sa

inakay

ngayung paglumutungan imbeleng

(healing songs/

spirit games)

Figure 2. Iraya Classification of Traditional Music

ting. Young friends would spend their leisure hours singing about their
adventures also in this wooden swing. Mothers too would sing lullabyes
(pampatulog sa inakay) while rocking their babies in a cradle (oyayanr).
Swinging was done in the performance of the marayawi ritual as well. A
shaman would sing his prayers while sitting with his head bowed low and his
hands holding tightly onto a rope attached to a corner of his house. He
sways his body to and fro as if freely swinging from this rope.
The bantayaw is no longer in use today. The Iraya singer is now limited
to swaying his body to and fro, reminiscent of the time when songs were
rendered in a bantayaw and the oyayan. The singer sways his body to keep
time and to follow the movement of the melody. The melodic pulse is prin-
cipally based on the to and fro movement of the body, as evidenced by the
following statement of Angel Anias:
"I move my body whenever I sing because with this, I could imagine that I am on
a swing (bantayaw). My movement is like my "beat", when I move this way, my
melody (bulsdn) moves this way also .. .' (Refer to Figure 3.)

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 Ya- Ye- Yo-Na-I- Yu-Nan 233

J. C.S4

i7(i ST-"r~ r I
ya ye ya ye ya ye ya - n

Figure 3. Diagram show

(Based on the body mo

Aside from this, I

while she was rocki
was the cradle's m
ment presently) on

Swaying in the Pe
The Iraya people pe
a cradle) as an actio
for going up or co
notes the ascent of
mountain," and the
so denotes "go dow
their daily routine
up the mountain du
Melody (bulsai) is a
(patabyun'-tabyun)
prise the melody i
either an ascendin
melody in the enti
A phrase unit is d
and is marked by th
ample, the first s
called tumukdd, w
scending and is ca
phrase is punctuat
tuating the end of
al songs, is done to
In all contexts, tr
with an opening m
like "ya-ye-yan" o

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234 Ethnomusicology, Spring/Summer 1987

themselves signify swaying, as evidence by their similarity to the sound of

the word oyayan, which means "cradle."
In the igway type, the opening melodic expression functions to con-
struct the melody as well as establish the general movement of the song. My
informants likened the initial building of the melody to the act of making a
cradle sway (pinatatabyon). Following the opening melodic phrase, and
when the melodic structure had been established, the singer begins to fill-in
text lines (hilida) to the repetitive melody. The text is spontaneously built to
a specific structure of seven syllables per line which rhyme-ends on "an" or
"ang." The act of building text lines and setting them to a melody is guided
by a seven-syllabled framework: ya-ye-yo-na-i-yu-nan. Because it is ideal
for an igway to be continuous, the seven-syllabled framework also fills-in
for gaps when singers need time to think of a next verse line in the middle of
the song. This allows the singer to go on without breaking the continuity of
the song.
With regard to the marayaw type, the seven-syllabled expression
ngayung paglumutungan (which literally means "on this day" but is rough-
ly associated with the coming of spirits) is used to fill-in textual gaps during
the performance of the ritual. Opposed to the meaninglessness of ya-ye-yo-
na-i-yu-nan, the words ngayung paglumutungan is associated with spiritual
power, that is why it is used in marayawv songs.
The length of traditional songs varies with the length of the text. Some
igway songs last for only a few minutes while others last for more than an
hour. Moreover, marayaw songs may last up to about five to seven hours.
An Iraya could detect any melodic type by just listening to the rendi-
tion. According to Angel Anias, one could identify an igway melody by the
prominence of the syllables "ya" and "ye" and by the punctuating syllable
at the end of the phrase, "yan." This is because singers often use a set of
syllables like ya-ye-ya-ye-ya-ye-yan to introduce or begin their songs. Igway
melodies also have sub-categorizations based on the structure and on the
length of the opening "ya-ye" expression preceeding the text. One type is
maaba' kabulsan (literally meaning "long melody"). In the entire execution
of maaba' kabulsan a melodic phrase sung to "ya-ye" syllables always
comes before the text line, for instance:
(phrase with ya-ye syllables) (phrase with text line)
i-ya-ye-ya-ye-yan manlake batay kurang
(phrase with ya-ye syllables) (phrase with text line)
ya-ye-i-ya-ye-ya-ye-yan batay yani yumakbang
Another type of igway melody is Kabustu' Kabulsan, meaning "short
dy," so called because the "ya-ye" phrase preceeding every text line (
the "long melody") had been shortened, for example:

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 Ya- Ye- Yo-Na-I- Yu-Nan 235

(introduction) (text line)

ya ya ye ya ye yan manlake ay talabyan
(shortened "ya-ye" phrase) (text line)
i ya ye yan tumu nguna dumolan
Another type is the most basic igway melody cal
"straight"), sometimes called tuwed kabulsdn. This
"ya-ye" phrase in between text lines, rather, the s
line to another when rendering the song. On the o
type of song is easily recognizable by the singer's p
nan" or "yu-hu-nan" before singing the first line of
ognizable differences, however, my informants ma
ditional songs commonly feature swaying. This fea
through body movements during the rendition of son
certain melodic segments signify within a phrase
and "descent"), by onamatopoeic factors suggested
yan" and "i-yu-nan," and by the continuous chara
ing rendered.

Change and the Present Status of Iraya Vocal Mu

The present feeling that the Iraya melodic style is
style of the Tagalogs may be linked to the Iraya
great changes occurring in their society today are ush
erful foreign culture: that of the Tagalog lowland
hostilities from the Tagalog, the Iraya had lost m
meant major changes in their means of livelihood. Fu
ent need for cash makes them now dependent on t
vide a market for their goods (like rice, tubers, ve
gold) and who could offer them jobs as wage labor
the mainstream of change, the Iraya resorts to int
with the Tagalog for survival.6
Changes occurring in Iraya society developed ne
elders: For example, they do not value the contempor
music. During my earliest field trips, my Iraya conta
forts to study their music, claiming that the majo
9-30 years old) would sing songs that are "impure
formants (who are elders) doubt the authenticity o
the young singers saying: "these songs are differe
them."
Iraya vocal music today displays a division between older and younger
generations. The younger generation's music incorporates easily recogniz-
able elements from the Tagalog. For example, a new genre has emerged, the

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236 Ethnomusicology, Spring/Summer 1987

bulaklakan, which mixes Iraya and Tagalog in its words. A type of love
song, its popularity among the young follows from the fact that this new
genre is more easily rendered by them and that they find great difficulty
rendering the more traditional genres (sangbdy or igwayan). Furthermore,
bulaklakan texts are also uttered in jew's harps (subing) to transmit secret
messages regarding elopment plans.
Yet, the text structure and melodic structure of the bulaklakan display
traditional elements, having a seven-syllabled text line (as in the hilida of an
igway) and a repetitive one or two-phrased melody. Furthermore, bulakla-
kan texts are also created spontaneously, and one still finds continuity as an
ideal in its rendition. The similarity does not prevent elder Irayas from
stigmatizing this new genre as foreign. Since the melody of bulaklakan lacks
the traditional swaying motion, they consider it a Tagalog intrusion. Such is
also the case of other traditional genres, according to Angel Anias. Swaying
is lost, and the melodies are beginning to sound just like that of the
Tagalogs.7
In my curiosity, I asked two elders how they would describe Tagalogs
singing. Angel Anias described it with the word "malumay" or slow and
plaintive, adding that Tagalog melodies go to one direction at a time. Juana
Edmedio, on the other hand, says that Tagalog tunes are "choppy" or
"syllabic," and she proceeded to sing an example of a Tagalog song (which
for me, as a Tagalog, sounded more Iraya). One thing is clear however,
both their answers illustrated that their perception of Tagalog singing is a
style which contains elements that contradict swaying, which is an impor-
tant feature in their traditional songs. Angel and Juana (and some other
elders of Caagutayan) preserve swaying in all of their singing, even when
they sing a Protestant church hymn like "It came upon a midnight clear."
And when they sing such a hymn, they sway their bodies to mark the time of
the music; they even include vocal studies which emphasize ascent and de-
scent or the "swaying" of the melody, for it is that feature of style that
marks Iraya singing in their ears and in their eyes.

Notes

1. I am indebted to Dr. Felicidad Prudente of the Philippine Women's University and to

Mr. Hector Bergonia of the University of the Philippines, for their comments and contribu-
tions to this article. I would also like to acknowledge the help of Mr. Allan Alejar who did the
illustrations in Figure 3.
2. I collected these tape recordings in 1982 during fieldwork in the town of Puerto Galera.
A year later, due to the need for a wider perspective of the Iraya people, I surveyed Iraya settle-
ment areas in the town of San Teodoro, about 30-40 kilometers south of Puerto Galera. At

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 Ya- Ye- Yo-Na-I- Yu-Nan 237

this occasion I met Angel Anias who introduced me to the people in Caagutayan.
spent for these trips were all from personal funds which were small. The trips were
longest time I stayed in the area was about a month and the shortest was about thre
total time I spent doing fieldwork in the areas from the years 1982 to 1985 is
months.
3. Angel Anias, whose age is about 73, was born in Payakbangan, Sn. Teodoro. As a
young man he was initiated to be a maraydw shaman (ambuy) and he became the village
medicine man in Caagutayan. About the 1950s, after conversion to Christianity, Angel Anias
took correspondence lessons and earned a diploma from the Bible Investigation Schools. His
studies were sponsored by the Overseas Missionary Fellowship and he was trained to become a
pastor. Eventually, Angel rejected all duties of the traditional shaman and instead pastored
and converted the people in his village. Angel is regarded among the most authoritative and re-
spected people by the Irayas. In 1958, he became the key informant of Colin Tweddle, an
American linguist. His knowledge of the Iraya language as well as many traditions, including
music, is noted by many. In fact, during my second visit to Puerto Galera, some Irayas told me
that it is best to seek him if I wished to know about their native musical traditions. Juana
Edmedio, age about 70, has a rich repertoire of traditional songs.
4. Pamuybuyen legends show Aletawu as a hunter. Judging from just a few recordings of
Pamuybuyen legends, the daily work and travelling routine of the people is generally reflected
in the plot of the stories which featured a setting that shifts from the house of the main charac-
ter, then to the forest or the mountain.
5. Angel Anias, Juana Edmedio and I always conversed in Tagalog (I am a Tagalog). This
testimony was said in March 1984 after listening and commenting on the songs I recorded in
Puerto Galera.
6. The current state of the Iraya people of Sn. Teodoro has been briefly touched in Lebar
1972 (2): 73-76 while an extensive discussion of about lowland relations of all "Mangyan"
groups is in Lopez-Gonzaga 1983: 14-55.
7. Angel Anias refers here to igway songs sung by Ana Banaag of Tabinay Malaki, Puerto
Galera. Though an elder (? 66 years old), Ana Banaag sings an igwa) in a slow, plaintive style
which Anias claims as an influence of the Tagalogs.

Appendix of Musical Examples

J. C.80
~~~ i.X7> .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A
n,~"~:Jr - " f" Itl'x rti'1 '- i14-
i i ye ya ye yan Ko -ba-ye so - og mi - dang ya ye
J - C.100 r--
2) f [," l,
ya ya ye ya ye yan

ia mn - l Ke pu
sa man - la - Ke pu - ru - an i i ya ye yan

I .C 84- u I a 1 -
t3) D ~T?W i .- -1. I
u - hu - nan pag-sa- - m - bu - ra - nanc ay nam - lang

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238 Ethnomusicology, Spring/Summer 1987

J* = C.76

nga-yung pag-lu-mu-tu - u - nga-an sa pa da ra -ga mi- hi dang

i-Ka De - li - an Ka-ta-wan

- 1 r J.--u/ ' 1 t I j I
i- daw a - ko - o te- la- dan a ray nga-ne i- ni - lu lan

6) J J ' J 7JJ 1i 4 t 'J ji l

bu-ak-lak-kan ng lawaan ay i-to na-may ta ta ngan

no - oy ga - bi - inga - li wa - las a witay na ri nig

Jr t Iqr ? 4- #1
ma - nga ang - he - el ay naC - ma - las sa lu - pang

a. i g, - hg
ma li gar I-
ma li ga - lig

A Note on the Musical Transcriptions: Bar lines in the n

movement of the singer's body (except in example 6, the
follows a pulse, as indicated in figure 3.

Appendix of Musical Examples:

1) Maaba' Kabulsan sung by Angel Anias
2) Kabustu' Kabulsan sung by Angel Anias
3) Beginning of a maraydw song sung by Angel Anias
4) marayaw song, ngayung paglumutungan sung by Juan
5) igwa)J which according to Anias utilizes a Tagalog-sty
6) bulaklakan, sung by a young girl
7) Church hymn "It came upon a midnight clear" (Text in

References
Baes, Jonas
1985 "Tungo sa Pag-unawa ng Pagbabago sa Konsepto ng Musika: Ang igway ng mga
Iraya ng Mindoro." Manuscript. A term paper submitted to Professor Ponciano
Bennagen in partial fulfillment for course requirements in Anthropology 225
(Philippine Society and Culture) at the University of the Philippines.
Becker, Judith
1980 Traditional Music in Modern Java. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

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 Ya- Ye- Yo-Na-I- Yu-Nan 239

Feld, Steven
1981 "Flow like a Waterfall: metaphors of Kaluli Musical Theory" 1981 Yearb
Traditional Music 13: 22-47.
Lebar. Frank
1972 "Mindoro" in Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, Volume 2: The Philippine
and Formosa New Haven: Human Relations Area Files Press. pp. 73-76.
Lopez-Gonzaga, Violeta
1983 Peasants in the Hills. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

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