Oral traditions, online connections: ‘Himig at Galaw ng Ninuno’ goes online
Amidst a pandemic, the sounds of the Philippines prevail. The Himig at Galaw ng Ninuno Philippine Traditional Music Webinar Series is once again holding another series of workshops that connect students to culture bearers carrying on living traditions. The educational series is organized by the Tao Foundation for Culture and Arts, led by Dr. Grace Nono and a group of cultural workers and volunteers.
“The traditional way of learning is in context, in ancestral lands, within communities,” explains Dr. Nono, president of the Tao Foundation. Now that things are largely being conducted online, the way music and movement — typically transmitted orally — has shifted as well. How does one learn a dance with movements as minute as a flick of a wrist from a two-dimensional video stream? How might one hear the deep and full resonances of a lute or chime when these are rendered digitally, and transferred over the internet? When sound and gesture is deeply intertwined with flesh and bone, how might technology mediate rather than alienate?
These are questions that students, teachers and Himig at Galaw ng Ninuno alike are reckoning with together, in recognition of the urgent importance of continuing these traditions. Intermittent connections, glitches and digital losses in fidelity are a given, but these have not proved insurmountable.
The first batch of Himig at Galaw ng Ninuno’s online participants in 2021 were under the tutelage of Guro Karatuan Kalanduyan, who has been playing the kutyapi or two-stringed lute for five decades now. “Very proud ako sa kanila kasi isinama nila ang kutyapi (I’m very proud of them because they’ve used the kutyapi,” he says. Growing up in Sultan sa Barungis, Maguindanao, he was surrounded by the Kalanduyan family with other musician masters of the kulintang, agong, gandingan, and other instruments. His kutyapi class continues this year, with basic and advanced courses.
The kulintang (a set of gong chimes) will be taught by Guro Aga Mayo-Butocan of Sultan Kudarat, who devised the number notation system of the kulintang used in schools across the country. She was invited by Dr. Jose Maceda to teach the instrument at the University of the Philippines College of Music in the mid ’60s, and has since taught thousands of kulintang players.
These teachers have so much more to tell: about their land, where the music is played, and its rich heritage.
Guro Adelaida “Dhel” Ilul Ahaddas from Badja Tipo Tipo, Basilan, will be teaching the Yakan Pansak. She began dancing the Pansak, with its delicate footwork and fluid arm gestures, under the guidance of her elders such as Uwang Ahaddas, Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee. She says, “Ipamahagi ko ang kulturang Yakan, ang kagandahan nito (I’ll share the beauty of Yakan culture).”
What students can learn from Guro Karatuan, Guro Aga and Gurol Dhel is certainly more than how to play or dance. These teachers have so much more to tell: about their land, where the music is played, and its rich heritage. There is knowledge that exists outside the classroom, beyond books and lectures, only available by listening, seeing and doing. Working with the unique ways of learning and communicating is how cultural practices can also traverse ethnic, linguistic and geographical boundaries.
Online platforms add another technological layer to crossing boundaries, bringing people from distant latitudes and longitudes into a shared virtual class. Students have previously been inspired to acquire instruments from their teachers, even ordering kutyapis from Guro Karatuan from locations as far as the United States.
Himig at Galaw ng Ninuno places great emphasis on the relationship shared between student and teacher. Before enrolling in a class, students sign a Learners Policy, which provides guidelines about how students learn from traditional masters, including: the places where and when a student can perform pieces, maintaining relationships after the classes conclude, and how to give due recognition to those they learned from. This consent is crucial in the process of instilling a sense of responsibility and care in learning traditional Philippine music.
“Ang katanungan nila [ng mga estudyante] ay nagbibigay sanhi ng liwanag sa ginagawa ko sa Mindanao (the students’ questions shed light on what I’ve been doing in Mindanao),” recounts Guro Aga, who is currently in her early 70s, and still teaching strong.
Ultimately, whether online or offline, living traditions find ways, given that bridges are built. The way that wisdom has been passed on from generation to generation adapts and evolves along with technology, and so do the ways we learn. As long as initiatives like Himig at Galaw ng Ninuno build platforms and carve channels for the diverse musics of the Philippines to be imparted, rooted in a deep sense of duty towards our heritage and our place in it, then the songs shall go on.