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Tinikling is a traditional
Philippine
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
folk dance which originated during the
Spanish colonial era.
The dance involves at least two people beating, tapping, and sliding
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance. It is traditionally danced to
rondalla
The rondalla is an ensemble of stringed instruments played with the plectrum or pick and generally known as plectrum instruments. It originated in Medieval Spain, especially in the ancient Crown of Aragon: Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia, and Valencia. ...
music, a sort of serenade played by an ensemble of
stringed instruments
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...
which originated in Spain during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. The locomotor movements used in tinikling are hopping, jumping, and turning.
Origin
![Gallirallus philippensis Lord Howe Island 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Gallirallus_philippensis_Lord_Howe_Island_1.jpg)
The name ''tinikling'' is a reference to birds locally known as ''
tikling'', which can be any of a number of
rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
*Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ( ...
species, but more specifically refers to the slaty-breasted rail (''
Gallirallus striatus''), the buff-banded rail (''
Gallirallus philippensis''), and the barred rail (''
Gallirallus torquatus
The barred rail (''Hypotaenidia torquata'') is a species of rail (bird), rail found across the Philippines, Sulawesi (Indonesia) and Salawati (western New Guinea). The species is common, but shy and difficult to see.Taylor, B. (2018). Barred Rail ...
'').
The term ''tinikling'' literally means "to perform it ''tikling''-like."
The dance originated in
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
, Island in Visayas.
It imitates the movement of the ''tikling'' birds as they walk between grass stems, run over tree branches, or dodge bamboo traps set by rice farmers."
Dancers imitate the tikling bird's legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles.
However, other known stories also explain where this national dance originated from. A more popular one is that, legend says the tinikling dance originated from Filipino field workers during the time of Spanish colonization. It was a form of punishment for workers who worked too slow in the large haciendas the Spanish had. More specifically, two spine-tipped bamboo poles were used to hit the feet of the field workers. Legend claims that after awhile, the workers trained themselves to dodge the strikes of the bamboo poles. What was once a way to avoid punishment now became a form of art and dance.
Today tinikling is taught throughout the United States. In grades K-12 the dance is used as an aerobic exercise for
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
classes, to help expand physical movements such as hand coordination, foot speed, and also rhythm. Tinikling is commonly performed at schools and on special occasions, such as the Filipino
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
, as a celebration of Filipino culture and Filipino pride.
Description
Two or four parallel pairs of bamboo poles, each around long, are held by two or more sitting or kneeling people ("clappers" or "clickers"). The poles are used as percussive instruments accompanying
rondalla
The rondalla is an ensemble of stringed instruments played with the plectrum or pick and generally known as plectrum instruments. It originated in Medieval Spain, especially in the ancient Crown of Aragon: Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia, and Valencia. ...
music played with string instruments (usually
bandurria
The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the mandolin and bandola, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in former Spanish colonies.
Instrument development
Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had a round ...
s,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
s,
laúd
Laúd ( es, "lute") is a plectrum-plucked chordophone from Spain, played also in diaspora countries such as Cuba and the Philippines.
The laúd belongs to the cittern family of instruments. The Spanish and Cuban instruments have six double c ...
es,
octavina
The octavina or Philippine octavina is a guitar-shaped Filipino instrument with a tuning similar to the laúd. Originally a Spanish instrument, the octavina was soon incorporated into other cultures, notably including Filipino culture.
History
W ...
s, or
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
s). They produce clapping sounds as they are struck against the ground (or two raised pieces of wood) and each other in a
triple metre
Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...
pattern. Traditionally, the poles are tapped twice on the ground on the first two beats, then brought together on the third beat.
Two or more dancers then weave through the rapidly moving bamboo poles with bare feet and ankles. The dancers have to carefully follow the rhythm so as not to get their ankles caught between the poles as they snap closed. They start the dance with their hands at their hips or clasped behind their backs. The tempo of the bamboo poles becomes faster as the dance progresses, forcing the dancers closer together as their movements become more frantic. The dancers hold hands at the last part of the dance, when the tempo is the fastest. They end the dance by letting go of each other's hands and stepping out entirely of the moving bamboo poles.
For the dance, females traditionally wear a dress called ''balintawak'' or ''patadyong'', and males wear an untucked embroidered shirt called the ''
barong Tagalog''. The ''balintawak'' are colorful dresses with wide arched sleeves and the ''patadyong'' is a pineapple fiber blouse paired with checkered skirts. The ''barong Tagalog'' is usually light long sleeved shirts and worn with red trousers. Dancers wear no footwear while performing.
Modern variants of the dance can include innovations like increasing the number or arrangement of the poles (including switching poles mid-dance), changing the number of dancers, or using different music and choreography.
Tinikling has also been noted to have the music changed in modern times to modern songs with strong percussions and bass to connect the traditions of the Philippine folk dance with their modern-day lifestyle. In the Philippines, the dance is often performed on certain Sundays.
Adaptations
When performed by dance troupes or in cultural shows, Tinikling is typically performed in the "Rural Suite," which includes dances originating from Filipino Christians that have a more "folksy" character. These dances originate mostly from the islands of Visayas and Luzon and imitate the simplicity and joy of the lifestyle of the Filipino villagers living in those regions during the Spanish period. Other Filipino folk dances of this category include ''
Sayaw sa Bangko'', ''
Maglalatik
The ''Maglalatik'' (also known as ''Manlalatik'' or ''Magbabao'') is a folk dance from the Philippines performed by male dancers. Coconut shell halves are secured onto the dancers' hands and on vests upon which are hung four or six more coconut ...
'', and ''
Pandanggo sa Ilaw
Pandanggo is a Philippine folk dance which has become popular in the rural areas of the Philippines. The dance evolved from Fandango, a Spanish folk dance, which arrived in the Philippines during the Hispanic period. The dance is accompanied by ...
''.
In the United States, this dance has been altered into a four-beat rhythm to adjust to popular music. In some cases, it has been used in conjunction with traditional Filipino martial arts to demonstrate fleetness of foot and flow of movement. As mentioned earlier, tinikling is used as aerobic exercise for physical education classes in the United States for grades K-12. Instead of using traditional bamboo poles, most schools create their poles using plastic PVC pipe or wooden dowels. Another alternative is to tie elastic bands to the ankles of two students. The two students switch between jumping with their feet apart and their feet together to simulate the movement of the wooden poles. This way, more students are engaged in the aerobic exercise, rather than just the dancer.
Regional Versions of the Dance
Similar dances are found throughout Asia signifying close genetic and cultural relationships of people within the region. In Taiwan there are the Ami and Puyuma bamboo dances. In Southeast Asia similar dances such as the Rangku Alu of the Manggarai and the Gaba-gaba of the Ambonese in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, Múa Sạp from Vietnam, Lao Kra Top Mai from Thailand, Robam Kom Araek from Cambodia, Karen or Chin Bamboo Dance from Myanmar, Alai Sekap in Brunei, and Magunatip of the Murut people of Borneo. In Northeast India, various bamboo dances like the
Cheraw dance from Mizoram people and various other Naga groups like the bamboo dances of the Kuki people are still conducted today. Multiple bamboo dances southern China: the Zhuang, the Li (called Da Chai), Yao etc.
See also
*
Cariñosa
The ''cariñosa'' (, meaning loving or affectionate) is a Philippine dance of colonial-era origin from the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances, where the fan or handkerchief plays an instrumental role as it places the couple in a roma ...
*
Cheraw dance, a similar Indian dance
*
Culture of the Philippines
The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by the g ...
*
Maglalatik
The ''Maglalatik'' (also known as ''Manlalatik'' or ''Magbabao'') is a folk dance from the Philippines performed by male dancers. Coconut shell halves are secured onto the dancers' hands and on vests upon which are hung four or six more coconut ...
*
Music of the Philippines
The music of the Philippines ( fil, Musika ng Pilipinas) includes the musical performance arts in the Philippines and the music of Filipinos composed in various local and international genres and styles. Philippine musical compositions are ofte ...
*
Pangalay
Pangalay (also known as Daling-Daling or Mengalai in Sabah) is the traditional "fingernail" dance of the Tausūg people of the Sulu Archipelago and eastern coast Bajau of Sabah.
The dance has a similarity to classical Balinese and Thai dances, ...
*
Singkil
Singkíl (or Sayaw sa Kasingkil) is a folk dance of the Maranao people of Lake Lanao depicting one of the episodes in the epic poem ''Darangen'', which was popularised by the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company.
Description
''S ...
, a similar Filipino folk dance depicting the Darangen epic
References
External links
*
{{Symbols of the Philippines
Dances of the Philippines
Visayan culture
Culture of Leyte (province)
Aerobic exercise