21/04/2024
FEATURE SERIES: ๐๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐
By: Christine Marie P. Mape
In a nation where cultural dances present the lives of Filipino people, a group must innovate โ not with the culture but on how to express the essence of the culturally bounded dance in their own leaps.
In celebrating the vibrance of the municipality's tourism, the Claveria Municipal Tourism Office spearheaded the celebration of the Ani-Halad festival Cultural Night on May 9, 2023, as part of the month-long celebration of the town's very own festival. The event aims to showcase Claveriano cultures in different aspects of barangay traditions as reflected in dances and songs.
The event was indeed a night of culture and traditions. Glamorous and intricate filipinianas and barong designs paraded the entire Claveria Municipal covered court. A kaleidoscope of Philippine colors matching the solemnity of the event's ambition - to celebrate Claveriano culture in the different aspects of traditional dances and songs. But the blue contingent wearing a simple powder blue filipiniana caught the audiences' attention. The design is modern compared to others with alampay. The boys also wore simple white shirts with quite the elegance. There are few colors to witness, but they catch the spectators with their simplicity. As the host announced, "Mananagat of Brgy. Cawayan," the performers took the stage and began dancing like fishes in the sea.
๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
According to the available literature on Mananagat, the dance has its roots in Bogo, Cebu. This dance imitates the work of a fisherman and his companions. Dancers carry paddles, scoops, and fishnets to enact the fisherman's life, while their partners have baskets that imitate fishermen's wives. Through their intricate actions, one can tell that a fisherman's everyday life is not as easy as it seems. Their dance actions and expressions can also express themselves and let the audience know their feelings. However, when the practice commenced with selected CNHS students performing, there were no dance steps to pattern on almost any social media platform. It has also come to their attention that an existing occupational dance also portrays the semi-same literature as Mananagat, thus the Pasiguin folk dance. Confusion has rocked their extremities as the presentation nears its due. Fear has hindered their paths on appropriately dancing the Mananagat without forsaking its original steps, which are currently inaccessible. Then, a light of courage shone on one of its dancers and choreographers. โKailangan namin gumawa ng paraan, and we must take a leap of faith. Gagawa po kami ng steps base sa literature," said Nana Mesa in an interview. She also implied the importance of the dance literature to their conceptualization.โMatagal po namin pinag isipan, nakailan po kaming trial and error. Kailangan galing sa lahat. Kailangan gusto ng lahat,โ she further explained.
What about Cawayanโs version of Mananagat? Indeed, it's an expression of the original Mananagat, but this time, an innovative one. In this dance, the male dancers wore white shirts and black pants with their heads adorned with hats made from "Buri leaves" (a matured leaf of a palm plant commonly found in Southeast Asian countries). They did not carry paddles and scoops, but they danced as if they were catching fish. On the other hand, the female dancers wore a powder blue modern-style Filipiana. They carry a medium-sized round bilao attached to a string on their backs. Their exposed body parts were embellished with blue dust โ embodying the blueness of the ocean. The fishnets, usually used as props in the original dance and should be thrown to portray the catching process, were now attached to the skirts of the female dancers. One must ask about the dance movements and their complexity. At first glance, the steps present simplicity with synchronization from the male and female dancers.
The dance usually starts with the fishermen looking for fish and portraying the catching process, and it is similar to the original. The female dancers were beside them, readying the bilao and acting like the fish had been caught. However, as the dance progresses โ the dancers' supposed uneasy and tired expressions are suddenly matched with smiling faces. What caught the audience's attention was when the females raised their hands and wriggled like fishes in the sea. They kept swimming, wiggling, and turning as the boys followed as if waiting for the catch. It was genuinely alluring to see smiles flashing on their cheeks and their bodies synchronizing with the beats of the music. There are changes from the usual steps, but it has never deviated from the dance literature.
A 2nd-runner-up finish was what the host announced at midnight, which marked the end of the cultural night. The barangay could sn**ch the 3rd place in the folk dance category and bring pride to its constituents.
