MUSLIM DANCES ( PANGALAY, KAPPA MALONG MALONG, SILONG SA GANDINGAN BASIC DANCE STEPS )

History and origin of the Pangalay Dance: According to the Sanskrit language Pangalay, means “Temple of dance”. This dance is also said to have been created by people belonging to the Tausug community. In terms of technique this dance is also similar to the Javanese and Thai form of dancing, and is also said to possess elements belonging to a form of Southeast Asian martial art known as “Kuntaw Silat”. In addition, this dance is performed mainly during weddings and other festive occasions. There are two alternate versions of this dance and they include: Pangasik: Performed mainly by males. Pangiluk: Performed by both males and females. Costumes used in the Pangalay Dance: The costume used in this dance style usually includes the Joloano and Janggay. In addition, metallic fingernail extensions also form a major component of the costume. As seen in some videos and images of Pangalay dancers, they are observed to wear a purple colored sawal (loose trouser), a cream batawi (silken blouse), avelvet tapis (wrap around),anda red pis syabit (head dress),with his arms cleaving around a large roll of Persian rug . Silong sa Ganding is a Maguindanao dance that is a favorite among royal courts. The dance is a very demanding dance of discipline because hand positions and placements required are very precise. Similar to other Bangsamoro dances, Silong sa Ganding is danced with the wrists turned in and out in a manner similar to the kumintang This movement, according Maguindanao dance researcher Mario Estacion, is called okir (probably due to the curvilinear movements similar to the the complex motifs of Maguindanao carving so named). Dancers go around doing a series of taman bali or agam with their wrists continuously flicked in and out in front, at the sides, or down and up. Four dancers perform the Silong sa Ganding each representing one gong in a gandingan set. The dance starts very slow but gets frenzied after a little while. Another Maguindano dance that is performed almost similar to the Silong sa Ganding is the Kandalamat sa Gandingan. Five dancers represent the four set of wide gandingan gongs and the fifth for the goblet-shaped drum, the dabakan. Three figures from this dance are found in the Silong sa Ganding. Silong sa Ganding derived its name from silong, which is a rhythm of music played on the gandingan, a set of four shallow rimmed gongs played in a manner "imitating the human voice", hence, the moniker - 'the talking gongs'. Ganding is obviously derived from gandingan. Silong sa Ganding whould thus be translated like, 'following the rhythms of the gandingan'. It could have also been that the name of the dance was derived from the corrugated bamboo musical instrument called sirongsagandi as variant names the dance are known like Sirong sa Ganding and Sirongsagandi. In fact the researchers of Kaloob:Philippine Music and Dance Ministry discovered informants of the dance who call it Sirongsagandi. The Kappa Malong – Malong is a Muslim – influenced dance. The sarong is a pantubong costume, and dance is essentially shows the many ways that you can get tired. There are also versions of the men’s and women dance because they wear malongs in different ways. Kappa Malong-malong, also called Sambi sa Malong, is a dance that originates from the Maranao tribes of Mindanao in the Philippines. The dance shows the many ways of wear-ing a ‘malong’, a simple tubular yet highly-functional piece of cloth . The malong is a traditional “tube skirt” made of hand-woven (and sometimes machine-made) multi-colored cotton cloth, bearing a variety of geometric or ‘okir’ designs – a term used for geometric and flowing de-signs. The malong is akin to the ‘sarong’ worn by peo-ples of Malaysia, Brunei Darrusalam and Indonesia. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by numerous other tribes in the Southern Philippines and the smaller Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines.The traditional women’s version shows this cloth of countless colorful designs; used mostly as a skirt, woven in many different ways, and depending on the purpose of the wearer. Other ways women wear the malong is as a shawl, a mantle, or a head-piece. CREDITS TO JOHAINA KASIM