▶ Play Video 8. Uwang Ahadas A Yakan Virtuoso\nCourtesy of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Executive Committee\n\nThe Yakan inhabit the island of Basilan just off the southern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula of western Mindanao, particularly in the municipalities of Tipo, Lamitan, Sumisip, and Tuburan, and the islands of Sacol, Malanipa, and Tumalutab east of Zamboanga. The Yakan belong to the widespread Sama group, and their culture has become too specialized to be distinguished as a distinct group.\n\nThe Yakan’s language is closely related to the Sama, but their culture is more land orientated rather than the sea based. Agriculture consists largely of upland rice, although copra is also widespread. The main religion is Islam with syncretic elements from traditional and indigenous beliefs.\n\nThe Yakan are well-known for their elaborate dress, which is similar for males and females. For instance, both wear trousers. Noteworthy articles include the kandit, a fifteen-meter-long red sash worn by men, and the pinantupan, the women’s overskirt. Textile weaving done on the backstrap loom is much sought after, especially because of the intricate and beautiful motifs. The Yakan is one of the few groups that use tapestry loom producing the sophisticatedly woven pis syabit (headscarf for men) and seputangan (head cloth for women).\n\nThe Yakan have a rich musical tradition based on the pentatonic scale. Their musical instruments are usually made of bamboo, wood, and metal. The daluppak is a digging stick with a bamboo clapper. The kopak-kopak is a bamboo clapper on a stick. The kwintangan kayu is a percussion instrument consisting of five wooden beams suspended horizontally. The ends of the beams are tapered, and these are beaten. It is associated with planting and played to enhance plant growth. The wooden tuntungan is a suspended wooden ercussion plank with jar resonators, played with a pole during the harvest season for the purpose of giving thanks. The gabbang is a bamboo xylophone with five bars. The suling is a bamboo mouth flute used by men in courting. Another used by men to express love or admiration is the kulaing. The kulintangan or kwintangan consists of five bronze gongs arranged according to size and used during celebrations. The agung is a large deep gong used in ensemble performance.

Two pieces of Thaik bamboo are cut in desired measure and a piece of LatPhatTaung bamboo is also cut in desired measure to use as the middle joint. The middle joint piece of bamboo is made a hole with a small knife and put a reed on it. Then, the two pieces of Thaik bamboo are fixed to the middle joint of LatPhatTaung bamboo from both ends. Blow at the mouth-hole of the middle joint bamboo opening and shutting at the holes of two other bamboos by the thumbs. The left sided bamboo produces the high pitch and the right sided bamboo does the low pitch. Up to five pitches can be blown with it. Usually, it's blown accompanying with the gongs and cymbals.\n-15 inches of left bamboo in length\n-2 inches of left bamboo in circumference\n-13 inches of right bamboo in length\n-2 inches of right bamboo in circumference\n-5 inches of the middle joint bamboo in length\n-2.5 inches of the middle joint bamboo in circumference\n-1.5 inches of mouth-hole in length\n-0.5 inches of mouth-hole in width

Rooted in the ancestral traditions of the Fatumea and Fohorem communities in Covalima Municipality, Tebe Otas-Uluk is more than a dance—it is a collective act of memory, identity, and reverence. The name itself combines “tebe” (a traditional line dance) with Otas (ancestor) and Uluk (first or origin), signaling a ritual expression dedicated to those who came before.\n\nTraditionally performed by the elders of the community, this dance takes place during important communal gatherings such as ceremonies of healing, protection, thanksgiving, or agricultural celebration. Participants often wear traditional attire and move in side-by-side formations, linked by hands or shoulders, stepping rhythmically in unison to the beat of local drums, gongs, or the babadok (a hand-held percussion instrument). The dance circle forms a symbolic space where the living and the spirits of the ancestors meet.\n\nWhat sets Tebe Otas-Uluk apart is its solemn and purposeful character. The movement vocabulary is simple yet powerful: synchronized steps, grounded footwork, and fluid arm gestures that flow with the communal rhythm. Songs are chanted throughout the dance in the Tetun-Terik language, often carrying metaphorical meanings related to the land, family, and the ancestors’ wisdom. The lyrics function as oral archives, preserving knowledge and history that is not written but remembered through voice and motion.\n\nBecause of its deep spiritual roots, this dance is only performed on specific occasions, often after traditional leaders conduct consultations with spiritual entities or conduct rituals to prepare the ground. Each gesture, each chant, is believed to activate a connection to the ancestral realm—inviting blessings, healing, or protection for the community.\n\nIn recent years, however, the practice has become increasingly rare, with fewer young people learning the movements or understanding the embedded meanings. Despite this, dedicated elders continue to lead and teach the dance, ensuring its survival as a living heritage. For them, Tebe Otas-Uluk is not simply a performance—it is a prayer in motion, a ceremony that anchors the community to its origins and affirms its cultural continuity.

A good quality of bamboo was cut off during the month when bamboos were chopped and then they have to be smoked or dried or fumed or desiccated. The main part of bamboo is peeled to get inner layer and outer layer as a bamboo_chip or a bamboo fiber. Then, a bamboo chip or a bamboo fiber is made to be flawless and smooth. The small blocks of bamboo are placed under the bamboo chips or bamboo fibers to produce melody. The inner layer is taken to produce original voice. There are seven bamboo chips or bamboo fibers which are represented as seven gongs. It comprises 4 notes of grain of bamboo and 3 notes of inner parts of bamboo. According to the song, It is played together with the instrument of dried gourd.\n-1 feet 8 inches in Length\n-10 inches in width

Tahi Loi Orchestra plays traditional musical instruments including gongs, pot drum and cymbals.

The Gong khle or Gong Boun (four gongs) is a traditional instrument of the indigenous people, Bunoong living in Mondulkiri province. This instrument is performed for the purpose of entertaining during festivals or other occasions in indigenous villages. This form is in danger due to the lack of transmission. In response to the current situation, the Provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts has been implementing a number of activities to support the promotion of indigenous peoples’ culture living in Mondulkiri. \nThe instrument is made of copper mixed with silver with a specific measure by the experts. These musical instruments are inherited from their ancestors and they do not know whether other indigenous groups play these instruments. Today, they cannot afford to produce it themselves.\n

TaungYoe ethinic groups are playing Big gongs called Ngar Myoe Pyinzali TaungYoe Maun: Gyi.

Da Nu players strike surface of gongs to make sounds.

Da Nu players strike surface of gongs to make sounds.

Da Nu players strike surface of gongs to make sounds.

15 gongs in different sizes are arranged in wooden frame. It has to be played with two sticks wrapped with cloth at top.\n-3 feet 1 inch in length of gong circle\n-1 feet 8 inches in width\n-10 inches in height\n-7.5 inches in diameter of No.1 gong\n-7 inches in diameter of No.2 gong\n-6.5 inches in diameter of No.3 gong\n-7.5 inches in diameter of No.4 gong\n-5.5 inches in diameter of No.5 gong\n-5 inches in diameter of No.6 gong\n-5 inches in diameter of No.7 gong\n-4.5 inches in diameter of No.8 gong\n-0.5 inches in diameter of No.9 gong\n-4 inches in diameter of No.10 gong\n-8 inches in diameter of No.11 gong\n-6.5 inches in diameter of No.12 gong\n-6 inches in diameter of No.13 gong\n-6 inches in diameter of No.14 gong\n-5.5 inches in diameter of No.15 gong

▶ Play Video 1. The World of a Maguindanao Virtuoso: This episode was first aired on Filipino television on August 18, 1994. This episode has been modified from its original format.\n\nThe Maguindanao (Magindanaw, Maguindanaw, Magindanao, Maguindanaon, Magindanaoan, Mindanao) form one of the large ethnic groups of the country. Most of the members are concentrated in the municipalities of Dinaig, Datu Piang, Shariff Aguak, and Buluan, in the province of Maguindanao.\n\nConstant contact with the Spaniards led to naming the entire island after the Maguindanao. The people practice Islam; their culture and social structure are deeply tied to this eligion, forming a conformity without which the group would not have been able to resist the incursions of the Spanish conquistadores. One of the three Philippine sultanates is aguindanao. The Maguindanao sultanate at one period in history could claim ritual authority over southwestern Mindanao. Their socio-political system and the hierarchical structure of their society are complex and similar to that of the Sulu sultanate.\n\nThere are three royal houses: Maguindanaon in Sultan Kudarat, Buayan in Datu Piang, and Kabuntalan in Tumbao, all of which trace their lineage to Sharif Kabunsuan, one of the earliest Muslim missionaries, and Sultan Kudarat. Customary law (adat) is applied, embodied in oral traditions and in accordance with the Paluwaran code, which contains provisions for very aspect of life.\n\nThe culture is characteristically lowland with a special adaptation to marshland, and wet rice is the staple food. Arts and crafts are well developed, exhibiting sophistication in eaving. Through waste mold technology metalwork and with the double-bellows Malaysian forge, they produce a wide range of bronze artifacts including betel-nut boxes, gongs, knives, racelets, and even the Southeast Asian cannon, the lantaka. The lantaka is not used just in warfare, but also as a prestigious status symbol.\n\nTheir ornamental art employs very characteristic design motifs that show affinity with the rest of Southeast Asia while retaining a distinctive ethnic identity. Their musical nstruments include a unique crocodile-motif version of the ubiquitous two-stringed lute, the kutyapi; the kulintang, which comprises eight brass gongs of graduated sizes; and the very large and deep agong, as well as various drums and flutes. Their music is characterized by drone and permutation.