Skip to main content

Taiwanese Aborigine Song "Go to the Mountain, Go to the Seas" (上山下海)


I'm trying to find some other Taiwanese aborigine songs. I think this is a song by the Amis tribe or the sea people. I believe the Amis are descended from the seafaring Indonesians and Malaysians. The song's aboriginal song and melody are rather enchanting. Maybe, an Ifugao or an Igorot scholar would be able to decode this wonderful song.

If only the Philippines would show more respect to the indigenous tribes. It's a sad fact that Ifugaos would need to go to Taiwan to learn their weaving culture (read here). These natives (who I believe are Malay and Indos) get more appreciation than the Filipino indigenous people.

Popular posts from this blog

A Small List of Malay/Indo Words Found in the Tagalog Language

I wrote a blog entry where I discussed about trying to find links between Filipino languages and Southeast Asian languages . It wasn't surprising that while I was researching the song "Dayang Dayang", I found out that there was an Indonesian version sung by Virvina Vica in the 1990s. There was also another singer named Hainun Pangilan from Mindanao (where Indonesian and Malaysian influence survived). Bahasa is simply another word for language.  From Mastering Bahasa , here are some words in Tagalog which are borrowed from the Indonesians and Malaysians: 1.[/td] [td]Abo[/td] [td]Abu[/td] [td]Ash 2.[/td] [td]Ako[/td] [td]Aku[/td] [td]I (informal) 3.[/td] [td]Apoy[/td] [td]Api[/td] [td]Fire 4.[/td] [td]Balita[/td] [td]Berita[/td] [td]News 5.[/td] [td]Gulay[/td] [td]Gulai[/td] [td]Vegetables; Curry 6.[/td] [td]Hangin[/td] [td]Angin[/td] [td]Wind 7.[/td] [td]Hari[/td] [td]Hari[/td] [td]King; Day 8.[/td] [td]Kulang[/td] [td]Kurang[/td] [td]Less 9.[/td] [td]Salamat[/td] [td]Sela...

The Song "Ako'y Isang Pinoy" Really Reeks of Historical Ignorance

It's Buwan ng Wika or Month of the Language. One of the songs that's often sung in the Buwan ng Wika program is "Ako'y Isang Pinoy" or "I'm Filipino" in English. I remembered this song was sung in the Filipino language class. I did hate the Filipino language, especially as an ethnic Chinese growing up in the Philippines. Examining the lyrics The lyrics go like this with English translation: I am a Filipino Ako'y isang pinoy In heart and soul Sa puso't diwa Filipino born Pinoy na isinilang In our country Sa ating bansa I am not good at foreign languages Ako'y hindi sanay sa wikang mga banyaga I am a Filipino who has my own language Ako'y pinoy na mayroong sariling wika Gat Jose Rizal then spoke Si Gat Jose Rizal nooy nagwika He preached in our country Sya ay nagpangaral sa ating bansa It is said to not love one's own language Ang 'di raw magmahal sa sariling wika The smell is more than stinky fish Ay higit pa ang amoy sa mabaho...

Why Jose Rizal Made Simoun's Terrorist Plot Fail in "El Filibusterismo"

As it's Buwan ng Wika or Buwan ng Kasaysayan, I'm tempted to dig into some of my high school Filipino lessons. Right now, I have no idea where my former Filipino teachers are teaching. I recall being told that, since I'm a good writer, I should focus on peaceful resolutions rather than following the path of hatred and violence. I watched the Jose Rizal film back when I was in college. I was asked a provocative question: why Rizal never made Simoun (who was actually Crisostomo Ibarra from Noli Me Tangere ) succeed in the violent revolution.  Casa Grande Vintage Filipino Cinema Facebook Page I noticed some people tell me El Filibusterismo was a boring book. However, I felt that something was wrong with the Philippines, and I felt that peaceful means weren't going anywhere. Where was my talent in writing heading? I was already more than desperate to move away from the Philippines. That's why I wanted to take Information Technology, even if I sucked at mathematics. It w...

Mahatma Gandhi's Use of Tax Evasion, as a Form of Protest?

The 40th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA Revolution came last month. Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. said these words: "According to Gandhi, the willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man." Basically, EDSA 1986 can't claim to be all too unique. Ninoy had made Gandhi an inspiration. The dictatorship of the First Marcos Administration may be over . However, the Philippines is still stuck in another dictatorship called the dictatorship of the Filipino First Policy . It does sound stupid, but even without Marcos or foreign colonization (please stop mistaking foreign investment with foreign invasion ), there's still some oppression to fight. You can think about decades of overly high taxes and restrictions on foreign investments.  Now, we need to look at the historical context in which Gandhi's "tax evasion" occurred. According to a Jagran Josh   article written by ...

A Critical Review of "The Flor Contemplacion Story"

VIVA Films uploaded The Flor Contemplacion Story  on YouTube last  February 13, 2024, at 9:00 A.M.. Yes, I didn't notice it since I saw it before, and it was one incredibly awful film.  The film has been remastered into HD to fit with the times. However, in the age of social media and the like, any old piece of truthful information can be later revealed. It's not about the age of the information but the truthfulness of it. In this information age, one can easily upload any undiscovered truth in the past. That also includes that one of Cebu's bad boys in the past, Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga, was  innocent of the crime involving the Chiong sisters. In 2018, VIVA Films also released a movie called Jacqueline Comes Home which I may watch and review. Though I've already seen Give Up Tomorrow, which has been more objective since there was evidence that Paco was indeed in Manila and that real perpetrators haven't been found. Normally, the best way to rev...