Lang-ay, in the Igorot dialect 
means, "fellowship." (source)
Beat the gongs so everyone can hear.
Though it was first launched in 2005, this year was my first time to see the Lang-ay Festival. Yes, the provincial Lang-ay Festival is only 5 years old, but the tradition of Lang-ay as a family and community festivity has always been practiced among the different Igorot ethnic groups. It is referred by different terms by each group.
The current province-wide version was the brainchild of the governor of the Mountain Province. Owing to its great success when it was first held 4 years ago, it now became a yearly event.
Baliwon-Gaddang group from the municipality of Paracelis. It was my first time to hear them play their gongs. The sound they made produced a full and deep resonance making it 'intriguingly-mystical,' for my hearing. Their rhythm is surely different from what I'm familiar with. In the above photos they are playing a bamboo instrument.
Compared to the other ethnic groups of the Mountain Province, this group are the only ones who cover their head the way they do and they are the only ones who traditionally wear capes.
a sugarcane mill sample
The boys are carrying traditional backpacks made of woven rattan. The backpacks are covered with layers of grass to make it rainproof.
Balangao ladies from the Municipality of Natonin.
Whoever spread the myth that
pink makes a man a lesser man?
The Igorots do not have the
idea that pink is assigned
for women, thus they don't have
a complex regarding the lovely
pink hue :-).
Fisher-women from the Municipality of Barlig.
Finally, the smoking chief!
means, "fellowship." (source)
Among the ethnic groups of the Mountain Province, Lang-ay is a gathering to eat, dance, and drink home-brewed wine (tapey or basi or fayash). It's a time for merriment and to be in fellowship with each member of the community.
Beat the gongs so everyone can hear.
Though it was first launched in 2005, this year was my first time to see the Lang-ay Festival. Yes, the provincial Lang-ay Festival is only 5 years old, but the tradition of Lang-ay as a family and community festivity has always been practiced among the different Igorot ethnic groups. It is referred by different terms by each group.
The current province-wide version was the brainchild of the governor of the Mountain Province. Owing to its great success when it was first held 4 years ago, it now became a yearly event.
Some of the objectives of the Festival are:
- To share happiness, promote solidarity, hospitality, and
nurture friendship among the different ethnic groups and municipalities of the Mountain Province. - To preserve and showcase culture.
- To promote homegrown products.
- To attract tourism for the province.
- To call back the Igorot people who have left the province and the country, for them to visit and know their roots.
This year's Lang-ay theme was: "Nurturing Our History and Culture." It was held on April 1-7 in Bontoc, the capital of the Mountain Province.
Baliwon-Gaddang group from the municipality of Paracelis. It was my first time to hear them play their gongs. The sound they made produced a full and deep resonance making it 'intriguingly-mystical,' for my hearing. Their rhythm is surely different from what I'm familiar with. In the above photos they are playing a bamboo instrument.
Compared to the other ethnic groups of the Mountain Province, this group are the only ones who cover their head the way they do and they are the only ones who traditionally wear capes.
a sugarcane mill sample
Young Baliwon maidens. ... and the young men from....hmm..
Oh, yes, learn while you're young!
The boys are carrying traditional backpacks made of woven rattan. The backpacks are covered with layers of grass to make it rainproof.
Balangao ladies from the Municipality of Natonin.
Whoever spread the myth that
pink makes a man a lesser man?
The Igorots do not have the
idea that pink is assigned
for women, thus they don't have
a complex regarding the lovely
pink hue :-).
Fisher-women from the Municipality of Barlig.
Finally, the smoking chief!Travel Period: April 2009
5 comments:
Angeli said...
you took really fabulous pictures, artemis. ang ganda. parang they tell a story somehow..
:)
artemis said...
thanks Anj, they do tell stories but I can't, that's why my captions are very limited, i let the photos tell their own :-)
jehan said...
hi Artemis! got to your blog thru kayni's. you have a really nice blog.
torogI ak met.
i miss those days going from one far flung barangay or town to another just to attend Kinaigorotan weddings... though we were raised not knowing ibaloi or kankanaey (because my mom is Chinese-Spanish-Bisaya), we still enjoy the company of our igorot friends...
Kayni said...
love the photos...i would like to sit with the smoking chief...lol. yes, the bamboo instrument is also popular with the kalingas. i have yet to experience my first lang-ay. were there no kalinga representatives or at least participants?
artemis said...
Hi Jehan, thanks for stopping by! I always think I'm lucky to be a torogi. Know what, I think Igorot and Japanese culture have close similarities, I wonder about Korean??
Hey Kayni, yeah I think the chief's place is sooo cozy!
This is only for the Mt. Province's, the Kalinga and the Ifugao's have their own separate Festivals like this..and I'm dreaming to see one also, someday..