Kapiolani
Community College Horizons 2003
Kapiolani
Community College
Horizons 2003
Dominant in East Asian regions, bamboo are the largest grasses,
growing to almost 100 feet in height. The stalks are round, jointed, sometimes
thorny, and hollow
or solid with green leaves. Many Asian cultures rely on the use of the bamboo
because of its sturdiness and versatile uses. In many cultures bamboo is
used as wood for construction work, furniture, utensils, fiber, paper, fuel,
and
countless small articles. One of those Asian cultures is the Filipino culture.
Filipinos
use the kawayan (bamboo in Tagalog) many ways in daily living, from home
use, to food, to folk arts and music. I observed this growing up in a traditional
Filipino family, when visiting the Philippines, and at other times at local
cultural events and in stores and shops (usually Filipino mini marts). I saw
how important
and large a role the kawayan has in the Filipino culture.
Within the province of Pangasinan lies the town of Pozzorubbio, well known
for their craftsmanship in the use of the kawayan, which is one of their
mainstays
of economic development. Many of their bamboo crafts are exported. A very
popular one is bamboo furniture. Unlike the rattan that we see in our home
furniture
departments in the United States, their bamboo chairs are much sturdier and
built with great craftsmanship. Those chairs last for many years. Watching
the men
work on the chairs, you are able to see the hard work and heart that is put
into it. Though the chairs and sofas have no cushions, they are still very
comfortable
to sit on as well as sleep on.
Another use of the kawayan is the bahay kubo also known as the nipa hut.
It is a native Filipino dwelling house. Bamboo is used for the structure,
and nipa
leaves are used for the roofing. The bahay kubo is very airy and provides
a cool, comfortable resting place in the hot, humid climate of the Philippines.
There
are many bahay kubos especially at the beaches and common tourist areas,
where many go for enjoyment and relaxation. Kawayan is also used in many
of the homes
that are styled after the old Spanish homes built during the conquest by
Spain. There are two types of structural floorings that use the kawayan.
One is the
standard flat flooring where the kawayan is cut in flat boards and placed
side by side and plastered down. This type of flooring is usually used as
bedroom
floorings. The second type is used in the kitchen. Because of the style of
the Spanish house (built high above the ground with a large enough space
to walk
around under the house), the kitchen floor is a bit unusual. It is made of
bands of stripped kawayan woven together like a mat. One can easily see through
the
floor. The first time I saw this, I was amazed at how strong the kawayan
was. It was able to hold up a table and sets of chairs, a bench, and people
all at
once. At first I was afraid to go into the kitchen because of fear of falling
through the woven floor. (Falling more than six feet from a house and landing
on a pile of dirt, rocks, and broken wood can be a scary thought, not to
mention painful). I eventually went into the kitchen just to feel the floor,
and luckily
I did not fall.
Filipinos not only love food but they love to cook. All around the Philippines
you will see barbeque stands. Bamboo is used as barbeque sticks, cut into
thin flat strips and then covered with the meat of choice (usually pork).
Bamboo is
also used as an ingredient for one of the dishes. A famous one is the labong
(small bamboo shoots) mixed with saluyot (okra leaves), a popular Ilocano
dish called dinegdeng. The labong is cut off from the bamboo stalk and then
cut into
tiny strips. It is then steamed with the saluyot together with dried shrimp
and bagoong (fermented brine shrimp) for taste. Another style of cooking
the labong
is the labong salad. The labong is steamed first, then later marinated with
vinegar and a bit of oil with some salt and pepper for taste. It may seem
a little odd,
but both dishes taste very good, especially with bigas (Tagalog for rice)
or inapoy (Ilocano for rice).
Music has long been a part of a the Filipino heritage since the time of the
natives. From childhood, the Filipinos become acquainted with music whether
in voice lessons
or musical instruments. The bontok kalaleng, or nose flute, is made of anes,
a small variety of bamboo. It is usually about two feet long, and its length
is determined by the nodes of the bamboo, one of which is removed and the
other left on. A half-centimeter hole is then made in the remaining node
for the air
to be forced through. Another hole is made about midway on the bottom for
the thumb, while three more are usually made on the top for the right hand
fingers.
This nose flute is popular to all the native mountain tribes of the Philippines,
whether it be the Igorots, Tinggians, or Ifugaos. Each tribe decorates the
flute in its own artistic way. Another is the didiwas or pan flute, often
played by
the Tinggians. An instrument found almost everywhere is the bamboo guitar.
Several strands of surface fiber are lifted from the body while remaining
loose at the
ends. Bridges are then attached to provide tension and a tuning device. I
also discovered from a friend of mine that in earlier days many of the pianos
and
organs made in the Philippines were made out of large bamboos. Some churches
in the Philippines still have these great works of wonder.
One of the most well-known uses of the kawayan in Hawai‘i in the Filipino
culture is the Tinikling, a dance similar to the game of jump rope. Many stories
of the origin of Tinikling have been passed from generation to generation.
One is the story of the Tikling, a native bird of the Philippines with long
legs
and a long neck. The Tinikling dance is said to imitate the movement of the
Tikling bird as it walks between grass stems or jumps over tree branches.
A longer variation of the Tinikling dance story, taken from my lolo (grandfather),
is an explanation of a much more painful origin of the dance. It began in
the colonial days around the mid 1500s, when there was no fun nor joy for
the Indios
(the Spanish term for Philippine natives) who worked day in and day out for
their conquering masters, the Spanish. Under the encomienda system, an economic
system
that was largely based on rural and agricultural operations of haciendas
(large farmlands) run by encargados (caretakers) for the King of Spain, the
natives
lost control of their lands. For almost four hundred years the natives were
the labor force in the fields and paddies of their own land.
The natives who were dragged out from the fields and paddies because they
were too slow faced a type of punishment in which they stood between rough
poles
of bamboo cut from the grove. The kawayan poles were then clapped to beat
the natives’ feet,
with the natives trying to get away between the clapping of the kawayan by jumping
up and down to avoid the kawayan poles. The natives’ feet ended up bruised
and beaten because the poles had thorns sticking from them. This form of punishment
became a ruthless cycle. The more their feet were bruised, the less work they
could put in the fields and the more they were punished.
Now the Tinikling is marked as a national folklore dance of the Philippines
and danced in many Filipino celebrations, like weddings and fiestas (town
celebrations
that last for about a week).
I was fortunate enough to be allowed to follow one of my classmates and her
group in their dance preparation for a party for three days. One of the dances
that
they were practicing was the Tinikling. Later she explained to me how to
dance it. I tried following along but it’s easier said than done — getting
your feet caught between those kawayan sticks isn’t fun at all, especially
when you end up failing on your hands. Like many things the art of Tinikling
takes practice and time; not to mention a lot of coordination.
Unlike jump rope, two long pieces of kawayan (around 9 feet long) are placed
horizontally on the ground. The setup of the two poles are as follows: two
kawayan players sit opposite of each other on the ground holding the ends
of the kawayan
poles. Two pieces of board or kawayan about thirty inches long and two inches
thick are placed under the poles about one foot from the ends. The poles
are then struck together in time with the music counting one, two, three
to a measure.
Two people stand on the left of the kawayan in opposite directions. The female
faces the audience, which usually sits behind one of the pole holders. The
dance begins with a musical introduction, then, starting with the right foot,
dancers
take four waltz steps forward going to their proper places. The female holds
her skirt and the male places his hand on his waist (hand positions are kept
this way throughout the whole dance).
After one minute of the music introduction, the kawayan poles are struck
together once at every first beat of the second, third, and fourth measures.
Dancers stand
at the left side of the poles on the left foot. They tap with the right foot
twice between the poles on counts two and three of measure five and this
movement is repeated three times more on the sixth to eighth measures. Dancers
show their
skills by dancing between the poles, trying not to get their feet caught
when the poles are struck together. The dance can bring spectators into a
trance as
they watch the dancers jumping and moving here and there. The music is divided
into two parts: A and B. It usually starts off slow then later speeds up,
which makes it much more interesting to dance to and watch.
And of course a dance would not be complete without costumes. Females wear
a balintawak or patadiong and males wear a barong tagalog and long red trousers
with one pant leg rolled up. All dancers dance barefoot.
A very popular game among the young males of the Philippines is the Palo
Sebo (greased bamboo climbing). The players consist of two or more males
ages nine
to fifteen. Boys of the same age group compete with each other. The game
is played outdoors in a wide open area (usually a town plaza) and is played
usually during
a town fiesta or other special occasion. The game uses a long, stout, well-polished
and greased kawayan pole that is about four inches in diameter. Colorful
strips of rice paper or ribbon are used to decorate the pole. The objective
of the game
is to climb the slippery pole and get the prize that is hanging at the top
of the pole. The prize is usually a small bag of money or a gift. For the
older
players, a pole is assigned to each player and others stand behind him ready
to play if the first player drops from the pole. No one else is allowed to
climb the pole unless the player before him has dropped down the pole. The
game begins
at the given signal and the boy begins to climb quickly with his hands and
feet trying reach the top. (Keep in mind the poles are heavily greased with
oil/fat
which makes the game harder and much more interesting and enjoyable to play).
If the player is able to reach the top of the pole he unties the prize and
slides to the bottom of the pole. The first person to reach the ground with
the prize
in his hand, is the winner and also receives an additional prize from the
town officials. This version, however is for the much older boys.
In the second version for the younger boys, about three to four boys form
a team. The best climber is the first in line. At the start of the game,
the
first boy
climbs the pole. As soon as his feet are off the ground, the second player
climbs after him, then the third person follows (and then the fourth if there
is a fourth
player). As soon as the first player starts slipping, the second player allows
the first player to stand on his shoulders. The third player then lets the
second player stand on his shoulders. The whole team inches their way to
the top of
the pole, helping each other along the way. When the first player reaches
the top and grabs the prize, the whole team slides to the bottom of the pole.
The
first team to get the prize from the top of the pole wins the first prize
in competition. They receive money, gifts, or toys from the committee of
the town
fiesta as an included prize. There is much excitement going on while the
teams race to the top.
Music is being played by the town brass band and friends, family,
and relatives are cheering for their favorite teams.
Another use of bamboo is in Arnis de Mano, a form of martial arts found in
the Phillipines. Commonly known as Arnis, this involves the use of sticks
which are
usually made out of wood, or rattan (a special bamboo from the Philipines),
70 cm long and about 2 - 2.5 cm in diameter. The length can vary from style
to style
though, ranging from 30 cm to 220 cm (the art also involves the use of body
parts to attack an opponent). Like many cultural arts, the art of Arnis has
a long
history and story. There are early records dating as far back as 8th century
C.E. of the Sri-Visaya empire which mentions Kali, the martial art of the
Philippines. The migration and intermarrying of the Malays with the natives
resulted in the
blending of movements and techniques that resulted in the creation of the
fighting art of Kali (from Kalis, Malay word for bladed weapon). The ten
datus (chiefs)
of Borneo, remainders of the Malay empire, further helped spread the martial
art of Kali throughout the Philippines. These datus required each of their
warriors to learn Kali. Later, Kali was taught to everyone along with reading
and writing.
In 1521, Rajah Lapu Lapu, a master of Kali, refused to bow down to Ferdinand
Magellan, the Portuguese explorer, an act that resulted in a battle between
the two. The Battle of Mactan Island resulted in the death of Magellan, and
Kali
was recognized by the European historians. Pigafetta, the Spanish historian
of Magellan’s expedition, stated that “the natives used sticks
hardened with fire, lances, poisoned arrows and other tools as weapons against
Magellan.”
After Magellan’s death, another Spanish expedition reached the islands
and started establishing settlements. Kali was renamed Escrima, the Spanish
word for fencing, and Arnis de Mano (harness of the hands). The Spaniards felt,
however,
that the art was too brutal and later banned its practice. The real motive
of the Spaniards was really to abolish the art altogether. The skillfulness
of the
Filipinos, however, carried through. They disguised the art by depicting plays
like Moro-Moro, and dances like sayaw or Katas.
There are a number of styles of Filipino stick fighting, but they all have
one common character that gives them an effectiveness that seems superior
to most
martial arts today. The principle of combat is based on patterns of angles
that all attacks must fall into, no matter the style or choice of the weapons.
The
vicious, swift, deceitful strikes of the Filipino stick fighting are feared.
Their oval-shaped motion made the art of Arnis, Kali, and Escrima very difficult
to defend against. The art of Arnis de Mano is still practiced worldwide
more than a thousand years later. Again, I was fortunate enough to follow
one of my
friends to her Arnis classes, where I watched some of the students demonstrate
some moves. Almost like a dance, the moves put the spectator into a trance.
Like the tinikling, Arnis takes time and practice to fully develop the techniques.
There are numerous types of stances, blocking, kicking, and striking. One
move
that my friend taught me was the Single Sinawali (two sticks). The moves
are as follows:
Begin by placing right stick on right shoulder, and left stick on left shoulder.
1. Hit head with right stick, and then place it on left shoulder.
2. Hit knee with right stick, and then place it on right shoulder.
3. Hit head with left stick, and then place it on right shoulder.
4. Hit knee with left stick, and then place it on left shoulder.
I started
off slow in the beginning, I didn’t want to give up and
slowly but surely I got to a point where I could do it a little bit faster.
Maybe
with a little more lessons I could become like the Pundador (grandmaster/founder).
There are endless uses of the kawayan in the Filipino culture, from small
utensils for cooking, to home decor and souvenirs, to fishing and hunting,
or fun and
games. There is no doubt about it, the Filipino culture makes great use of
the kawayan. Though many other cultures use the bamboo, the Filipinos have
made the
kawayan their own creative, unique, and admirable art. It is one of a kind
that no other culture can duplicate.
Home |
Acknowledgements |
Contents |
Index |