This "Love of Taroko" Dance May Be Similar to a Dance from the Banaue Rice Terraces

-



In the quest to study Filipino culture, it's important to know what culture was brought by the settlers. Most Filipinos are of Malay and I think also of Indonesian descent. The aboriginal dances of Taiwan are similar to the Philippines due to common ancestry. I did some writing about how most of Southeast Asia may be of Malaysian descent. I'm not surprised to see that Taiwanese natives have dances similar to the Filipino tinikling, and use certain words similar to the Filipino native language. I did also write about the similarities between Filipino aborigine songs and Taiwanese songs.

This performance of 太魯閣之戀 (Tài lǔ gé zhī liàn) or "Love of Taroko" feels like something from a Buwan Ng Wika (Month of the Language) presentation. There were some Ifugao and Igorot dances. The dance steps here resemble some Ifugao dance I witnessed during my high school days. What disappoints me (now) is realizing that there are some cool-sounding Ifugao songs! If Taiwanese tribal dances can be performed with lyrics then why not Filipino tribal dances?


Ifugao dances are usually presented with drum beats. I guess it was that hard, back then, to secure Ifugao dance music. I still think if the song "Love of Taroko" were purely written in the Taroko dialect--it could easily be mistaken to be an Ifugao or Igorot song. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Ninoy's Words, "We Had a Parliamentary Form of Government WITHOUT a Parliament!"

-
Image
Some people on Facebook continually spread the lie, "The parliamentary form of government will never work because the Marcos Sr. years were a parliament!" The idea is incredibly stupid when you realize some old information that they probably ignored. It's a shame that some boomers refuse to surf the Internet to find decades-old information  that would prove it otherwise. Come on, are they even too lazy to order Third World to First written by the late Lee Kuan Yew and only use it to criticize the Marcoses?  With the late Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr., I really must highlight that he actually spilled out much truth in this speech done in Los Angeles in 1981: And so my friends, we started with an American-type constitution, we move to a British-type constitution.  We had a parliamentary form of government without a parliament. Until 1978, we did not have a parliament. And yet, we were supposed to be a parliamentary from of government.  And Mr. Marcos said, ...
Read more

Clarification: GUO is NOT a Variation of the Surname GO

-
Image
During the time when the controversial former mayor, Alice Guo, was summoned, some people referred to her as Alice Go . Some think that Guo is a variation of Go. However, it's Goh,  not Guo,  that's the common variation. I researched the Guo surname and found a character different from Go (which is Wu) in Mandarin. Guo is spelled out as "郭" (Pinyin: Guō), and the Hokkien variation is Keh or Que. The surname Go is 吳  (Mandarin Pinyin: Wú), which is a totally different character from Guo. It was easy to call Alice Guo as Alice Go . Also, the surname Guo is more common among Mainland Chinese (where the national language is Mandarin ), while Chinoys are either Hokkien or Cantonese speakers. I've known some people with Cantonese surnames like Chan and Wong. I've known some Chinese Filipinos with the surname Chan (which is Tan in Hokkien), but they never spoke Cantonese.  Alice's Chinese name is apparently written as 郭華萍 (Guō Huápíng), not 吳華萍 (Wú ...
Read more

Why My Plans to Move to Wordpress May Be Gone for Good

-
I wanted to create a WordPress site for my business and economics blog . I did think that WordPress might be good. However, I decided to finally delete it. Hopefully, I'll find a better blogging platform. For now, I think the big problems I've had with WordPress are as follows: Really hard to customize themes. Sure, there are a lot of cool-looking themes but newer themes don't even have a default search box . I want people to easily find what I have written! The WordPress editor is getting laggy . I really feel that WordPress may be doing a disservice more than a service for those who just want to blog in their free time. It's very difficult to apply labels across multiple posts,  unlike Blogger.  Then, I think this gives me a good reason as spelled out by Spell Out Marketing : 5. No Limitation On the Number of Visitors  Even the expensive hosting plans come with space and bandwidth limitations. Those “unlimited” are never really unlimited . When the number of your dail...
Read more

Was the Late John Regala Interviewed by the Directors of "Give Up Tomorrow"?

-
Image
The passing away of John Regala hit today. I remembered a film called Animal (2004) in  which the original title was originally Butakal meaning male pig. Regala starred as Jaco Lozano--an obvious caricature of Juan Francisco Gonzales Larrañaga aka Paco. Strangely enough, neither the Larrañagas nor the Osmeñas were heard to have ever filed a case against the late director Toto Natividad. Instead, it was the Chiong family that filed a lawsuit against Natividad. I did write about  whether or not Natividad himself was interviewed by the directors of Give Up Tomorrow . As mentioned, there was over 400 hours worth of footage and over 100 interviews done . Both Marty Syjuco and Michael Collins may have interviewed not only Natividad, the late Tony Calvento but also Regala himself since he played the film's main antagonist . In 2018, we had an incident when Niño Muhlach apologized to Paco for the portrayal in The Calvento Files . Apparently, Niño himself wasn't interviewed but was pro...
Read more

Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad: Just a Matter of Strong Leadership Without a Good System?

-
Image
Jakarta Globe It's very easy to talk about how we need character change only, not a charter change. I say that having a charter change (better termed constitutional reform ) will lead to character change. The old saying of some boomers goes, "It's common sense that nothing is wrong with the system, just the people running the system." However, when I ask something like, "If that's so then why do other nations have better leaders? What about Mahathir Mohamad and Lee Kuan Yew?" Their answer is, "Well, that's proof that the system isn't defective, it's just the leader." This can also come from people who believe what Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. said that there's nothing wrong with the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, that it's the "best in the world". The arguments are clearly illogical at best . Some say that the parliamentary system worked in Malaysia and Singapore because those heading it aren't corrupt. T...
Read more

Filipino Ifugaos Learning Weaving Techniques from Taiwanese Atayals Overseas

-
Image
Taiwan Insight  I wrote about Ifugao OFWs in Taiwan . Another article I wrote was about  linking Taiwan aborigines and Filipino aborigines . I visited the Taiwan Insight website and found an interesting article about revitalizing indigenous weaving . This would be an interesting thing when Ifugaos are now going to Taiwan to find new ways of indigenous weaving: Seeking Alternatives through Overseas Experience Through weaving revitalisation, traditional textiles become part of the cultural identity of these Indigenous peoples. More young Indigenous people appreciate their weaving culture and want to learn weaving techniques. However, it is strenuous to weave consistently as a weaver. Weaving is considered to be a highly labour-intensive task. Traditional weaving tools cause health problems, including backache, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and impaired eyesight. In addition, it is hard to find a tutor to teach weaving due to the declining number of weavers and the continuo...
Read more

A Link Between Taiwanese Aborigines and Certain Tribes in the Philippines

-
Image
Back in my student days, I remembered having been a stranger to Chinese culture. One song was called "高山青 (read as Gāo Shān Qīng)" which literally means "High Green Mountain". The dancers wore the costumes used for traditional Ifugao dances. My interest in this topic came back because of a local tea company called Alishan Tea . Before that, other tea shops offered tea from Mt. Alishan. Chatime also promoted tea from Taiwan which was grown from Mt. Alishan. I'm afraid that the cultural revolution of Mao Zedong could've destroyed them if Chiang Kai Shek didn't split Taiwan from China. Hopefully, Taiwan's desire for independence would be granted if China becomes a democratic country.  I remembered being told that a trip to Taiwan's Mt. Alishan might remind one of Baguio or Nueva Ecija. It turns out that the Banaue Rice Terraces, as marvelous as it is, may not be so unique. I love the Banaue Rice Terraces and they should be preserved. Countries with ...
Read more

Still One of My Favorite Politicians, the Late Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago

-
Image
It's been some time since Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago died. True, she can be temperamental but she really has a lot of good  reasons to be angry. The impeachment of the late Renato Corona was one example. I could remember seething in anger seeing Atty. Vitaliano N. Aguirre II when he covered his ears. Some say she went overboard. Maybe, she did and I think Aguire II didn't deserve to be detained in contrast to instant admonition. I believe that no caucus was needed and making Aguire II get out of the courtroom was more than enough punishment for minor disrespect . She may have clashed with the late Fidel V. Ramos but I can't get enough of her feisty behavior--something I feel the Philippines needs to become a truly disciplined country.  Some may say that MDS is very maldita or a very mean woman. I did pass through a teacher who was like her. Sure, I didn't get good grades, she could go overboard, but I'm still thankful to that economics teacher. I'd say I...
Read more

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

-
Image
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...
Read more

Did Jose Rizal Read "Notre Dame De Paris" While Writing His Novel "Noli Me Tangere"?

-
Image
Today is Rizal Day and I feel like revisiting a high school lecture. It was all about Noli Me Tangere meaning Touch Me Not . It would be interesting that, while in college, I did notice the parallelism between two books-- Noli Me Tangere and Notre Dame De Paris (Our Lady of Paris)  which is more popularly known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame . My first exposure to the story was the Disney version (in 1996) and later some adaptive versions. The Disney version changed Frollo from a priest to a judge, in contrast to the original novel. Later, we had Noli Me Tangere where   Padre Salvi lusts after Maria Clara, who unknown to him was really Padre Damaso's biological daughter. Both Frollo and Salvi are bound to celibacy by their professions.  The term Kastila in Filipino may come from Castile or Castillian. Castile is a place in Central Spain. I bet a lot of Filipinos of Spanish descent may be of Castillan descent. Above is the song "Hellfire" by Disney in Castillian Spanish. I...
Read more