Philippine Folk Dance Society - Caloocan North Chapter

LOOK WHAT’S COMING THIS CHRISTMAS!

Check out the exciting lineup of activities for Vamos A Belén: Sama-samang Paggunita at Pagdiriwang 2025 happening this December!

Through this project, the CCP and ROFG aim to rekindle appreciation for traditional Christmas customs, promote intergenerational cultural transmission, and inspire communities to take part in the ongoing celebration and safeguarding of Filipino heritage.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this cultural journey.
Stay tuned — full schedule and activity details coming soon!

😍😍😍

Simunul Municipality 🫶

😍😍😍

“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴.”
Indigenous dances are not just artistic expressions—each gesture, rhythm, and formation is a living archive of prayers, histories, and identities carried through generations. When we perform them without context, permission, or respect, we risk erasing the very people who have kept them alive.

We have also learned it the hard way: the best way to honor these traditions is not through imitation, but through relationship. We must find the culture bearers. We must sit with the elders. We must appeal for them to share—not as entertainment, but as wisdom entrusted to us when we come with humility.

When we choose to listen first, we discover that these dances are more than movements; they are ceremonies, languages, and lifelines. Let us remember together: to dance ethically is to honor our people, our stories, and the land from which these dances are born.
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𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫!
www.habingkatutubo.com/events
𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐁𝐎 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
📅 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟗 – 𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
📍 𝐒𝐌𝐗 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚, 𝟐𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐜𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐏𝐤𝐰𝐲, 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐠, 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐚
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨:
𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜.
𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 | www.habingkatutubo.com
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 | Sinagued Compound, Purok 6, Saint Joseph Village, Baguio City
𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 | [email protected]
This project is powered by 𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐁𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐂., in collaboration with 𝐒𝐌 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐌𝐗 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐘 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, and 𝐌.𝐀.𝟕𝟗 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐠.

Did you know?
The Kulintang, a traditional gong-based musical form from Mindanao, is actually older than most Western classical music! 🎶

Long before Mozart composed symphonies or Beethoven played his piano sonatas, the indigenous peoples of southern Philippines — including the Maguindanao, Maranao — were already creating complex, hypnotic rhythms using a series of hand-played, knobbed gongs arranged in a row. 🥁

Dating back over a thousand years, Kulintang music is not just entertainment — it’s a form of storytelling, ritual, and social expression passed down through generations without the need for written notation.

🌏 While Europe was still developing its classical traditions, Mindanao’s communities were already deeply immersed in this sophisticated art form — proving that world-class music exists far beyond the concert halls of the West.

🎼 Kulintang isn't just old — it's timeless.

✍️✍️✍️

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝, 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬.

South Cotabato’s Tnalak Festival may have ended, but conversations around the name Tnalak and the people behind it must continue. The spelling T’boli and T’nalak, which includes an apostrophe, has long been used in documents, signages, and publications. However, this form did not originate from the Tboli themselves.

According to MindaNews (2023), the apostrophe was inserted by missionaries and researchers to signify a glottal stop, an attempt to capture local pronunciation using foreign linguistic systems.

While it may appear harmless, this inserted symbol altered the way outsiders perceive and reproduce the name, contributing to its exoticization.

In reality, the Tboli do not pronounce their name with a glottal pause where the apostrophe appears. As noted in various ethnolinguistic discussions, the spelling Tboli (without the apostrophe) better reflects the natural flow of the language. The continued use of the apostrophe implies that external interpretations are more valid than the self-representation of the community.

According to Karl Lozano of Sesotunawa, removing the apostrophe is not just about orthography, it is about giving space for indigenous communities to define who they are based on their own understanding, not through colonial or academic filters.

Thus, using Tboli and Tnalak without the apostrophe is an act of respect and accuracy. It is a rejection of imposed narratives and a recognition of the Tboli’s linguistic and cultural autonomy. And one way to decolonize our thinking is to honor indigenous self-representation, we spell it Tnalak, not T'nalak; Tboli, not T'boli.

Language is not just form, it's sovereignty.

Gonzalo, M. T. (2017). Ang ‘Kolu’ ug ang pakigbisog sa pagpatunhay sa ‘pagka-Tagakolu.’ Ateneo de Davao University.

Lozano, K. (2023). Personal communication.

MindaNews. (2023, August 12). IP advocates: No apostrophes in Blaan, Tboli. https://www.mindanews.com

Rappler. (2023, August 13). Drop that ‘offensive’ apostrophe in Blaan, Tboli – IP advocacy group.https://www.rappler.com

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