Ethnic Group: Higaonon

Language: Binukid/Higaonon

Location: The Higaonon is one of the least known ethnolinguistic groups that inhabit North-
Central Mindanao. They occupy the mountainous regions of Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon
plateau, the mountain borders of the provinces of Agusan and Lanao in the east and west,
respectively.

Population: There is an average of 6.3 members in an Higaonon household (a range of 6.04-

6.9). The estimate of Higaonon population in a 15-20 kilometer radius is between 10,000 and
20,000. From Misamis Oriental to Cagayan de Oro City, there are approximately 100,000
Higaonon members.

Literary: The Higaonon have their own system of writing. Their myths and legend speak of
a great ancestor named “Suwat” who kept a list of the people who were living and dead during
the great flood that took place long ago.

Music:

Vocal Music

The most important means of musical expression of the Bukidnon is vocal music. As a rule, a
male or female solo singer performs without the accompaniment of any musical instrument.
The only exception is the collective singing of women called tabuk during the kaliga
ceremonies. The most important types of vocal music are the epic chants collectively called
ulaging and the chants and prayers connected with the kaliga ceremonies.
In most song performances, the same pentatonic melody is repeated over and over again with
some variations, sometimes alternating with one or two additional melodies. The performances
often start with a typical melismatic phrase sung on a very high pitch and at highest possible
volume. There are melodies in a rubato style as well as strictly metered ones. The melodic
patterns vary in length. Some of them are clearly divided in two distinct parts often separated
by a breathing break.

The ulaging epic is structured in many episodes, which are sung at night time for at least some
hours, some of them even lasting up to several nights. In performing the ulaging, the Talaandig
use three different singing styles, which are all influenced by specific guiding spirits: the
aggressive, syllabic ulaging or umanen style, the more contemplative,
melismatic nanangen style, and the ilangiten style (from the word langit, “highest heaven") with
sustained, high-pitched tones.

In the Talaandig area, a second singer, sometimes the epic singer himself or herself, will
intersperse the ulaging with performances of another song type called sala. which, in a
contemplative way, usually deals with philosophic considerations. Besides its connection with
the ulaging, the sala is an important vocal genre in its own right.

There are mainly three reasons for singing the sala during ulaging performances: [1] for the
audience, it provides a solemn and relaxed contrast to the exciting fighting stories of the epic;
[2] it is meant to bring the epic story down to earth, so to speak, by contrasting the immortality
of the epic heroes with the mortality of the human audience and, at the same time, promising
eternal life; [3] to the ulaging singer, it gives an opportunity to recover from his or her strenuous
performance.

Music and Ceremonies

All ceremonies of the Bukidnon consist of two main parts, each characterized by a prayer
(pandalawit). In the first prayer, the deities (collectively called Tinuuhan or Diwata) are invited
to join the celebration. After this, the sacrificial animals, usually several chickens and a pig
(called by the priests "the chicken with only one tail-feather") are killed. In the second prayer,
after the preparation of the offerings, the deities are invited to accept the offerings, and the
requests of the celebrant and his family (for which the ceremony is performed) are expressed.
Usually, the pandalawit prayers are plainly spoken in a solemn way; in those regions, however,
where the song-speech called dasang (see below) is found, they might also be performed in this
special manner. The best-known Bukidnon ceremony of this type is the community ceremony
pangampu, which is usually celebrated annually, shortly before or after New Year (Illus. 7 and
8).
In the elaborate kaliga ceremonies, this basic ritual pattern is extended by the employment of
three different song types, kaliga, tabuk and awit, as well as the ceremonial dance dugsu and
the use of the hanging xylophone dagingen and of the agung. The kaliga ceremonies always
address specific deities that are assigned the responsibility of taking care of the activities and
needs of man by the supreme God (Magbabaya). Therefore, the ceremonies always serve a well-
defined practical purpose. The most important kaliga ceremonies are collectively called
panagulambung (from lambung, "to overcast"). These include Tagulambung hu Datu and
Tagulambung kanin Baylan for the reinforcement of datu ("community leader," "noble man,"
"man with authority and competence") and baylan ("priest") powers, Tagulambung hu
Pamamahandi for the improvement of the economic situation, Tagulambung hu Ibabasuk for
success in agriculture, especially in cultivating rice, and Tagulambung hu Dengan for
improving the relationship with the personal guardian spirits, to name just some examples. In
addition to the specific purposes involved, the aspect of healing sickness is also always
connected with kaliga ceremonies because the occurrence of sickness is often attributed to the
neglect of regularly performing these ceremonies.

In the kaliga ceremonies, the pandalawit prayers retain their role as the basic parts of the ritual.
Among the Bukidnon subgroup (in Guilang-Guilang), the beating of two small agung during
the main collective prayer of all ritualists present was observed whenever a new name of an
invoked deity was mentioned.
In addition to the prayers, the most important performances of the higher ceremonies are the
kaliga chants that are also called pamamayuk, the solo chanting of the attending priests (baylan)
who take turns in performing. Each kaliga chant should be announced to the higher deities by
beating the so-called kinulintang rhythm on the dagingen, a two-bar xylophone (Illus. 3). This
instrument is believed to be the dwelling place of the Dagingen deities who, by playing the
instrument, are asked to serve as messengers towards the higher deities.
Each kaliga is followed by an answering tabuk sung heterophonically by a group of women.
There are two types of tabuk: the repeated singing of highly melismatic melodies using an
intelligible text (hagalhagal) and the singing of high-pitched, sustained sounds underlying
meaningless syllables (sagyawan or sinagyawan). After the tabuk, the women usually dance the
ceremonial dance dugsu (dinugsu) in a half-circle around the altar (bangkasu) while holding
hands (Illus. 5 and 6).

Sometimes, some men whose performance is usually welcomed by the watchers with amused
laughter, join the dancing women. The dugsu which consists of several parts with different
names and step sequences, is performed to the sounds of stamping, kicking and sliding feet of
the women on the ground or on the bamboo floor of a house. The sounds of stamping feet, apart
from the rattling of brass bracelets (sandak) and anklets (singgil) and small bells (saliyaw and
lingkit) fixed to necklaces (salay) and belts (palakut), serve as the only musical accompaniment
(Illus. 9).
The dugsu can be considered the only cultural tradition of the Bukidnon, which, to a limited
degree, became known among urban Filipinos who are interested in folklore. However, some
misconceptions about it seem to prevail, especially with folk dance groups: the dugsu is neither
a thanksgiving dance (compare Alejandro 1978: lSI, 159; Bayanihan 1987: 38; Villacruz 1989: 5) nor
a dance for a god of fire (as implied by Obusan 1990), nor is it restricted to certain occasions such
as harvest time or the birth of a male heir (compare Alejandro 1978: 159; Goquingco 1980: 146). It
actually does not have any specific religious or magic implications. It is merely entertainment
for the deities, to make them feel more comfortable during the fiesta, and consequently more
open to the requests of the celebrants. Therefore, the dugsu should be performed during every
kaliga ceremony but it is not a religious "must." The lagudas that Obusan considers a "rice and
corn ritual performed by the Higaonons of Misamis Oriental" (1988) is actually one part of the
dugsu, according to informants. In this respect, it should be mentioned that the Western
Bukidnon Manobo perform a dance called legudas during their healing ceremony keligaan
(Polenda 1989: 139) which seems to correspond to the Bukidnon dugsu.

Musical Instruments

The Bukidnon use a variety of musical instruments, most of which are widely distributed all
over Mindanao, often even identical in construction and shape. Musical instruments can rarely
be found today because once they are destroyed, there seems to be little interest among the
Bukidnon to rebuild them. Almost all of the Bukidnon instruments are played solo. The rare
exception is the combination of drum and gong for the accompaniment of some dances. In any
case, there is no singing to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Regarding their
function in society, there are basically two groups of musical instruments: [1] those for
individual use, i.e., for enjoying leisure time, for courting, etc., and [2] those for social use, i.e.,
during social gatherings (kaamulan) of the family or of the whole village community, including
barangay fiestas.

Belonging to the instruments for personal or individual use, the boat lute is technologically the
most complicated instrument in the southern Philippines. It is used in at least 21 different
designs and sizes among 34 ethnic groups on the islands of Mindanao, Palawan and Mindoro
(Brandeis 2008). Among the Bukidnon, it comes in three different versions: [l] The first type has
a resonating chamber shaped like an extended, square box and is similar to the kudlongan lute
found in Palawan; under the name piyapi, it is found among the Bukidnon east of the Bukidnon
highway and northwards into the territory of the Higaonon in Misamis Oriental. [2] In the west,
close to the territory of the Islamic Maranao, there is a second type called kutiyapi with a
different shape, a gently curved body that resembles a boat (Illus. 12, 13, 14, and 15); in some
villages of the Talaandig, however, it is called katiyapi. [3] In some Banwaon areas, a third,
smaller type of lute called kudlung is said to be used, which seems to be similar to the kuglung
of the Matigsalug Manobo of southeastern Bukidnon; if so, its shape would represent a mixture
of the above-mentioned types: where the resonating box is connected to the neck, it shows the
curved shape of the kutiyapi, while the lower end of the resonating box has the square shape of
the piyapi.

Idiochord tube zithers are only of minor importance for the Bukidnon. The "drum zither"
takumbu (lllus. 18 and 19) is made out of a bamboo tube with nodes retained at both ends. It has
two strings carved out from the bamboo surface, which are not more than 4-5 cm apart from
each other. At both ends of these strings, small bamboo pieces are inserted, which elevate the
strings from the surface of the bamboo tube, thus serving as bridges. In the middle of the strings,
a flat piece of wood or bamboo, sometimes in the shape of a trapezoid, is clamped between the
strings so that it can vibrate freely, together with the strings forming an increased joint mass
and thus producing a very low-pitched, gong-like sound. Below this wooden platform, a
resonating hole, often of rectangular shape, is cut into the bamboo tube. Another resonating
hole is cut through one or both nodes. The takumbu is mainly used by the Banwaon, who
probably adopted the instrument including its name, from the neighboring Agusan Manobo.
The Banwaon play the instrument by plucking one string with the thumb of the hand that is
holding it, while the other string is beaten with a stick held by the other hand, thus resulting in
two different pitch levels. Regularly moving the instrument back and forth, thus closing and
opening the resonating hole in the node with the belly gives the impression of an additional
underlying drone sound. Through this technique, the vibration of the air inside the bamboo
tube is influenced. The takumbu is also known in some Talaandig settlements where it is beaten
with only one stick while the player dances (lllus. 18).

The long flute, which the Bukidnon generally call pulala (the Banwaon sometimes lumundeg),
seems to be one of the instruments with the widest distribution in Mindanao with identical
construction (Illus. 20 and 21). Termed "lip-valley flute" by Jose Maceda (1963, Vol. I: 135ff; 1971:
25), the instrument has a mouthpiece made by cutting off the upper end of the bamboo reed
diagonally so that it matches the round shape of the flutist's lower lip; the blowing edge is then
formed by a second cut (Illus. 21). The length of the pulala measures 14 units. Fingerholes are
burned through the bamboo at units 7 (thumb), 8, 10 and 11 (fingers). Another Bukidnon flute
with the same type of mouthpiece - though shorter and with different positions of fingerholes -
is the rare hulakteb, which the writer has not seen in actual performance. One informant
described it as having a length of 11 units with fingerholes at units 6 (thumb), 7, 8 and 9 (fingers).
The yangyang belongs to the type of flute termed as "chip-on-Iedge flute" by Maceda (1971: 25).
In the construction of its mouthpiece, the bamboo reed is cut horizontally, leaving the upper
end open. This end is cut vertically and horizontally again, resulting in a protruding strip or
"tongue" on which a small piece of bamboo is tied with a thread (Illus. 22). The measurements
as well as the positions of the fingerholes of this flute are identical to those of the kunsi.

The bamboo jaw's harp of the Bukidnon is usually called kulaing (Illus. 25). Among the
Talaandig, the Maranao term kubing (kebing) is used, in the Higaonon area around Gingoog
City, the term is kuging. The instrument is of the same type as most jaw's harps in the
Philippines, an idiochord jaw's harp with a tongue carved into two parts: the base, about two
thirds of the tongue's length, is 8-10 mm wide, ending in a strip of 1 mm width comprising the
last third of the tongue.
The bamboo slit drum is mostly called bantula in some places of the Bukidnon subgroup
tagungtung (Illus. 26 and 27). It is made out of a bamboo pole of wide diameter that remains
closed at both ends by nodes. A slit is cut in the tube, which is about 2-3 cm wide and reaches
almost from one end of the tube to the other. The slit drum is beaten with two wooden sticks.
The Banwaon use the slit drum, which they call kuratung, merely as an instrument for making
signals or for scaring away wild animals from the fields.

The Bukidnon prefer small gongs with narrow rims and with a boss (Illus. 4 and 7) but in
practice, they use gongs of different shapes and sizes, whatever kind of gong is available (Illus.
8 and 10).

All these gongs are called agung. The small gongs are hung by a rope held with one hand by the
player while the other hand beats on the boss with a padded mallet (Illus. 7). The Banwaon and
Umayamnon sometimes hang a big agung in front of them and beat it usually with two blank,
unpadded sticks on the rim (cp. Illus. 10), resulting in a high-pitched, metallic sound obviously
considered the ideal gong sound for dancing in these areas; another player might produce a
deeper, mellow sound by beating on the boss of the same agung. Gongs are usually played
alone. The Banwaon, on the other hand, seem to prefer playing the agung in combination with
the drum gimbe (gimbal), which they probably adopted from the Agusan Manobo. Drums that
are constructed in exactly the same way are used among several other ethnic groups in eastern
and southern Mindanao, including the Tholi, Blaan, Mandaya and Mansaka (Illus. 28). This
drum is made from a log of wood whose length approximately matches its diameter. It is
covered with skin at both ends but, as it is standing on the ground on one drumhead, only one
skin is beaten with two sticks.
Among the Bukidnon and Talaandig subgroups, another drum is used which, as its name
tambul and its construction suggest, is obviously influenced by Spanish military drums (IUus.
29). This influence is also evidenced by the way the tambul is played while hanging from the
drummer's shoulders at his waistline and beaten with two wooden unpadded sticks with carved
heads. This drum is usually played alone, but the Talaandig sometimes also combine itwith an
agung for the accompaniment of dances.

The dagingen, a hanging two-bar xylophone, neither belongs to the instruments for individual
use nor to those for social use (Illus. 3). It is a ritual instrument that is exclusively used during
the important kaliga ceremonies. It consists of two small and round wooden logs of about 40
cm length and 5 cm in diameter held by a frame of woven rattan strips in the shape of a
horseshoe. The curved middle of the "horseshoe" serves as a handle when the instrument is
carried around during the ceremony or hung beside the altar. On the dagingen, there is only
one rhythm played, which is called kinulintang, a combination of two rhythmic two-tone
patterns alternating with one another after each one has been repeated several times. The shell
trumpet budyung (by some Banwaon called lungga) is usually made out of a big shell of the
species Cassis (Illus. 30). It is merely used as a signaling instrument to summon the inhabitants
of a village for a meeting or to warn them of an approaching danger, but the way it is played
with sustained tones of any length does not imply any musical function.