MUSIC OF PALAWAN (VOCAL MUSIC)

Brief Historical Background

One thousand years ago, Chinese traders named the island Pa Lao Yu, or land of beautiful safe harbor because of
its many safe places to land their ships. This is where the relics of earliest settlers were found and have been
unearthed and dated 22,000 years ago while its human habitation evidently proved about 50,000 years old.
Some of the tribes known to inhabit the islands such as Batak, Palawan and Tagbanuas may be descendants of the
early settlers, who came via ice-age land bridges and of later migrants who came on boats. They were followed in
the 13th century by the Indonesians of Madjapahit Empire.During the arrival of the Spanish, Palawan was ruled by
Borneo from Jolo. The Spanish first took over the northern part of the island and worked south from Cuyo and
Taytay. The Spanish invaded Palawan in 18th century forcing the Sultan of Borneo to give up its full autonomy.
From Taytay, the capital was moved to Puerto Princesa.Nowadays, Palawan is an island of mixed tribes, who have
been pushed to the interior, and of Muslim, Visayan and Tagalog settlers along the borders.

Tribal Groups in Palawan and their Music:

1. Tagbanua (Central Part of Palawan) – Their Musical Instrument are usually used during gatherings and rituals.
2. Batak (smallest group in Palawan near Puerto Prinsesa)- They use music for their rituals done by male Babaylan.
3. Cuyunon (group living in the island of Busuanga)
4. Aetas (found in the forest between Puerto Prinsesa and Roxas)

Terminology:
 Laplap Bagit – musical scale used to depict the sound of nature
 Sandaw – a lullaby song that uses pentatonic or diatonic scale
 Composo – a ballad song about misery and sadness
 Gozos – a song for the saint which is sung at the end of a novena
 Kulial / kulilal –musical scale used for the songs that expresses love for someone
 Cancion – song about nature ; popular song used for serenading
 Pa Hesus – song for the dead
 Erekay – planting song

ACTIVITY 1 Learnig 3 Cuyonons Traditional Folk Song

Cuyunon refers to an ethnic group and their language
Tarinting is a kind of bird that is usually found in the seashore during low tides

KINGKING TARINTING Layang Pasyak

King king anay wa wa Tarinting paglayog don Ako mi laying pasyak
Sulan ta kaw langka Ay ikaw tataeban den Panamban – tamban
Langkang ara unod Pagsu’t sa liyang liyang Mi pamalanak
Kapayas nga mangod Sa batong malinang linang Porabil ako mapilak
Kung naga urong- sulong ang dagat

TRASLATION IN ENGLISH TARINTING Layang Pasyak

KINGKING Tarinting fly away now I have a fishnet with shells as the weight
Sayaw muna, ibon For the high tide will soon to come I used it for catching “tamban” and “banak”
Bigyan kita ng langka Enter the eaves Before I throw the net
langka na walang laman among the smooth stone I wait for the tide to come in

Musical Instruments
Name of Instrument Material used Description Classification
1.Pa’gang Made of bamboo Polychordal bamboo zither Chordophone
2.Tubuldu Made from bamboo Bamboo zither Chordophone
3. Kudlong Made of bamboo Boatlike flute Chordophone
4. Kudyapi Made of wood Wooden guitar Chordophone
5.Babarak Made of bamboo Small ring flute Aerophone
6. Suling Made of bamboo Banded flute Aerophone
7.Aruding Made of metal Jaws harp Aerophone
8. Beberek Made from bamboo Nose flute Aerophone
9.Tipanu Made from bamboo Mouth flute Aerophone
10.Lantoy Made from bamboo Nose flute Aerophone
11. Gimbal Made of animal skin (Lizard) Long and narrowed drum Membranophone
12. Agung Made of bronze /metal Big gong Idiophone
13.Babandil Made of bronze /metal Small narrowed gong Idiophone
14. Tiring Made from bamboo Bamboo xylophone Idiophone
15. Sabanang Made from bamboo Bamboo tube Idiophone
16. Lamping Made from wood Small wooden stick Idiophone
Activity 1: Nature Sound Rhythm Band
The students will create a nature sound and improvised beat to accompany the sound.

Group of 4 – Listen to the music of Kalutang Ensemble. The group will improvise a rhythmic pattern using a pair of
stick for each member and a create a movement for their performance.

RUBRICS:
Rubrics for Group Performance
Basic (5 pts.)–Unfocused tone, erratic rhythm, unstable pitch, inconsistent phrasing, dynamics and shows
insensitivity to style and context
Developing ( 7 pts.): Focused tone but inconsistent in extreme range, some repeated errors in rhythm and pitch,
consistent phrasing, discernible dynamics, some nuances in style as suggested by the score/teacher.
Approaching Proficiency ( 9 pts.): Focused and clear tone in normal range, accurate rhythm and secure pitch with
isolated errors, accurate and consistent phrasing, accurate dynamics, with some nuances in style as suggested by
the score/teacher.
Proficient ( 12 pts): Focused, clear tone all throughout, accurate rhythm and secure pitch, consistent and sensitive
phrasing and obvious dynamics, with creative nuances to style in response to music score.