Taiwanese Aboriginal Dances Compared to Filipino Aboriginal Dances

I remembered writing about the links between Taiwanese natives and Filipino natives as well as Ifugao OFWs in Taiwan. I'm not a bit surprised about the studies showing the common ancestry of Taiwanese natives and Filipino natives. The brown skin ethnicity is not unique to the Filipino majority. A visit to Taiwan's fabulous Mount Alishan would show a surrounding similar to Banaue Rice Terraces or the Cordillera region.

Above is a video depicting the dance of a song called "高山青 (read in pinyin as Gāo Shān Qīng)". It literally means "High Green Mountain". I guess this is the most-known song. A trivia would be that the song was written for a 1940s Taiwanese film called Happenings in Alishan. If you noticed the dance steps, any Filipino familiar with the native dances of Filipinos might comment, "Wow, the steps are rather similar." These are dances that Taiwanese natives would entertain tourists with.

This is an Ifugao dance called Dinuya. It's not surprising that in a program, the attire worn for an Ifugao dance was used for the Taiwanese tribal dance. The dance steps can be very similar in more than one way. I even want to say that take away the words of Taiwanese tribal dance songs, you may get a very similar beat.

Some of the versions of the song "High Green Mountain" include chanting in an indigenous language as part of the lyrics. It's actually hard to decipher it. It might sound similar to the Hudhud chant of the Ifugao people. Maybe, an Ifugao native would be able to decipher what the indigenous chant in "High Green Mountain" may actually mean. Maybe, I don't need to go to Taiwan but to Nueva Ecija to understand the meaning of those words.

There's also the song "Love Song of Nanuwa". Apparently, the word "Nanuwa" is of aboriginal origin. I heard it means "welcome". I tried to look for a translation online of what Nanuwa means. I had no such luck as the word is apparently native in origin. The word "Nanuwa" also appears in some versions of the Chinese song "High Green Mountain".

Finding a Taiwanese aborigine bamboo dance is anything but surprising. The distance between Taiwan and the Philippines is so close. It's not too surprising to find similar dance steps per country.

This would be a huge challenge. Recently, I want to go to both Nueva Ecija and Mt. Alishan. Not surprisingly, Ali is also a word in the Ifugao language! Alishan when translated into English is still, Alishan. I think Alishan is pretty much another indigenous language. I'm not actually good at languages. However, I still feel interested in digging into history even as I'm no history major.

Right now, this might be building another bridge to acknowledging common Asian ancestry.

Justice for Kingston Ralph Ko Cheng

Would you still want to hate to follow rules? Well, it's time to think about the tragic loss of Kingston Ralph Ko Cheng , who lost his life because someone in the road didn't want to follow simple guidelines. It was two days ago when, suddenly, Kington's life was taken away from him. It was difficult for me to process what happened. I would like to share my thoughts of this reckless incident of what happens when laws are ignored. Either you become the victim (for not following rules) or you end up someone who follows rules (like what happened to Kingston). Here's something I found on Facebook : The Price of Paper Laws Kingston Ralph Ko Cheng was 23. A Monash university graduate, a talented musician, and a café owner, he moved back to Cebu to build a life. That life ended on a pedestrian crossing near his home. A speeding Toyota Innova hit him with such force it threw his body into a utility pole. The driver, 21-year-old Sean Andrew Pajarillo, had already hit a parke...

Better Think Twice Before Defunding the Police

There are stupid people on Facebook who always say, "Defund the police!" Think about defunding the police? Well, this video from San Francisco shows just how "wonderful" society can get when you defund the police. The call to defund the police has been called because of abusive cops . I'm not going to deny that there are abusive cops. However, the profession of a policeman as well as the government having the function of police is another. Are we going to abolish the government entirely because of some corrupt politicians? We need to get the facts straight about what happens when the police is defunded . Those who are calling to abolish the police have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Yet, we've got fools such as the gossiping Facebook page, the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (which I heard is spearheaded by a bitter youth and some rebellious youths) even made this very stupid diagram... The police are needed to protect all the cups. Don...

Atayal Cloth Dance

I may not be going to Taiwan or the Mountain Province any time soon. However, I'm still fascinated by the performances done by both groups. It's no surprise that the DNA tests done would reveal common ancestry between Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipino, and the ethnic groups in Taiwan. The words sound to be very similar to an Ifugao song. Similar yet different. The dances of the Taiwanese tribes in Taiwan share similaritites with the other ethnic groups in Asia. Above is an Ifugao dance demonstration.

The Vizconde Massacre and Trial by "Trust Me Bro"?

As Christmas approaches, another case worth revisiting for history vs. gossip is the Vizconde Massacre. I watched Crime Investigation Asia uploaded on YouTube. I wrote about the documentary Give Up Tomorrow -- a documentary that explores the irregularities while pursuing justice for the late Chiong sisters, Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong. I feel compelled to write about the Vizconde Massacre. For more than 10 years, I used to believe that Hubert Jeffry Pagaspas Webb, son of Freddie Webb, was guilty. It turns out that according to Crime Investigation Asia --it was really a trial by gossip . In my case, I want to call it a trial of Trust Me Bro. I still read comments about how footage of Hubert in the States could've been "easily tampered". Yet, those who comment haven't presented the evidence. I guess if I asked for their evidence, they'll just say, "Trust me bro!" Granted, photo editing was still in its infancy back then so how cou...

Very Easy to Say, "I'm Sure!" and Be Wrong, Am I Right?

I guess that foolish old man did the right thing to block me on social media. The old man remained incorrigible while having his toga display, apparently getting a doctorate. An earlier post I wrote was about the misuse and abuse of CTTO . I even wonder who in the world is Merkado CTTO? It's very easy to use CTTO to look smart. However, real studies need more than CTTO but several sources. It should be several valid sources and not just sources you agree with. I was laughing at this old man in a toga (who has thankfully blocked me after I tried to refute his errors as a nobody ) who tends to use CTTO. I think he was also fond of saying, "I'm sure!" and then it ends up with several stupid claims. Such people would be in what might be best called the MARITES Pyramid of Learning (read here ). These people's best sources can be summarized as "Trust me bro" or "Just trust me". In the case of the meme I made, the peak of the pyramid is, "Jus...

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