Filipino Spiritual Warrior Dance For Healing & Combat
Copyright Pete Kautz 2015

For as much as the Filipino martial arts have been hugely adopted by students in the West, there are many aspects of the history and culture that are still widely outside the sphere of public knowledge.  Most practitioners only know of the various teachers and fighting styles but have not been exposed to, or have not yet chosen to explore, the larger body of Filipino physical culture and tradition.

Dance is an aspect of culture that the masters have told us is important to gaining a fuller understanding the Filipino martial arts.  It has long been said that methods of fighting were hidden in the dances and I have written in the past about learning and teaching some of these.  In discussing dances of the Philippines, scholars divide them by ethnic region of the country and by era because of the country's rich history with influences from Islam, Christianity, and Spanish culture among many others, each of which is reflected in the style, dress, and music of a specific piece.

There is a traditional style of Filipino musical accompaniment called Kulintang.  This is a percussion ensemble, similar to Indonesian Gamelan.  This is beautiful music and quite distinctive.

This first video is of a live Kulintang presentation by the Sagayan Festival's Grand Prize Winner from 2014, Datu Maguindanao Piang and his band.  It is a powerful performance, elegant and rich with many musical shifts inside the piece!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VgHnCY0wlA0

Here is a second, much shorter, video about Kulintang that explains the significance of the Sagayan dance and how it relates to our studies of the Filipino warrior arts.  Note that the dancer holds a Kalis (long straight bladed sword) in one hand and a Kalasag (long narrow shield) covered in bells in the other.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/gsX0z82FTeI

Did you catch what they said in that video clip?  Replay it and listen again!  The Sagayan was done before battle to let the spirit possess the warrior and make them immune from bullets.  And it was also done as a way of healing a person when the disease was caused by spirits.

Here is another Sagayan clip where they discuss the trance aspect of the music.  This dancer is also quite skilled with the Sempok (cross legged sitting posture) so characteristic of Silat and some Filipino styles.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Ds96AShy88

Now, I'm not saying dancing the Sagayan is gonna' make you bulletproof or turn you into a ghostbuster; just that it is a fascinating piece of the larger art and worthy of study.  There are many cultures today that believe illnesses can be caused by spirits and have their own traditional remedy, whatever that may be.  The ringing of bells is a very common practice in warding off bad spirits / negative energies worldwide.

And it should be noted that even though we are living in the 21st century, the fact is that the Vatican is now openly training Priests to do exorcisms in record numbers, so perhaps the Sagayan is more relevant than ever as tool for when a battle is not physical in nature.

Another fascinating Filipino dance is the Singkil.  This is a special dance done between wooden poles, much like the Tinikling which I have written about before.  The Singkil, however, is much more involved and complicated as you will see!

This dance is a local interpretation of the ancient Hindu epic the Ramayana, and this video is of a jaw-dropping performance with warriors swinging swords and shields, ladies with fans, and some incredible lead dancers as Rama and Sita all weaving between not just two, but three sets of wooden poles.  Such precise footwork and all those people coordinated together!  At that speed there is no room for the smallest mistake on anyone's part - incredible!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9QuDOetC2YY

Music and dance are a uniquely human activity, seemingly serving no purpose but essential to us as a species none the less.  They make no sense to the reptile mind but to our fully developed human consciousness they open a special window into another world of beauty and joy.  I hope this encourages you to explore the music and dance traditions as they relate to your art, whatever country it hails from.

All my very best to you,

Pete Kautz