May 03, 2004

Talisman, Leadership, and Power: The belief in magical potency continues to pervade Filipino life
HERMINIA MENEZ

Philippine artifacts are too often seen through the lenses of the foreign ethnographer, collector or more folklorists, how

Philippine indigenous art may be understood by examining a pervasive cultural theme: the belief in magical pote

Indigenous ideas about heroism and magical power may be gleaned from epics and their rich descriptions of the
William Henry Scott, the late anthropologist, pointed out in The Barangay that much of the culture described in
Closely Intertwined

Most Filipinos are familiar with amulets and talismans, known as Anting-anting in Tagalog, Many still wear them

Talismans, authority and leadership are closely intertwined in insular South East Asian societies where it is perso

The importance of talismanic magic in Philippine political culture derives from pan-South East Asian ideas abou
soldiers played the court gamelan (gong ensemble) in the battlefield, just as Subanun epic heroes beat their brass gongs

According to Pan-Malay belief systems, the most potent talismans give off light and make their owners appear r
artifacts of gold.

The concept of potency is also expressed in such symbols as the flame tree, the red hibiscus, the rooster plumage

Contemporary West Visayan folk culture illustrates the link between pre-colonial Filipinos and other insular Sou

Metaphors about light also permeate the literature and rituals of peasant rebels during the Spanish colonial perio
power and underlain crucial themes in the country's political culture.
Multigenre events

The chanters of the epic are artists of the spoken word and, as folklorists who recorded the thousands of verses a

Epic performances, unlike myth recitations, are generally secular. The Kalinga and the Ifugao, for instance, sing

Epic heroes and heroines, invariably aristocratic, personify wealth, beauty, strength and divine attributes. They a

The bagobo epic singer understood that an artist must be poised in quiet concentration, deriving inspiration from

The Bagobo are among the most highly ornamented indigenous peoples. The men are smiths and casters of copp

Bagobo personal decorations tend to excess, although Bagobo reciters of myths probably exaggerate slightly wh
He possesses beads and gold necklaces, hair ornaments of dyed goat's hair and bird's down, finger-rings and legbands o

Political stardom

The rich material world of indigenous societies is well documented by the chanters who are at least familiar with

The village leader lives in what the Ifugao hudhud singer refers to as "center place of the center." The wealthy m

The following lyrical passage from the guman epic of the Subanun of the Zamboanga peninsula illustrates the li
can't walk freely/ because of the hanging gongs./ at the far end of the house/ are jars put in line/ jars of different kinds./

With her hypnotic repetition of parallel lines, the singer evokes the massive wealth of the house with the image o

Only chiefs, of course, posses these heirlooms. A headman or timuay may have as many as 40 jars, usually in pa

The house and its furnishings as indices of wealth, social status and magical power are further portrayed in the u

While the Bagobo aesthetic emphasizes layering and the Subanun symmetry, the Manobo architectural aesthetic

The Manobo chanter's depiction of the ulahingan, especially its reference to carved rafters, points to its affinity w
boat and the serpent or naga of the underworld is depicted in the following excerpt about Agyu's home in paradise: The

In this "land of the rain," the warrior ethnic is translated into an art ethos, which in Manobo is rendered as hinuk
magical potency as immortals; they are not only artist but have been transformed into objects of art.
Heroic Quest

Just as the house and its furnishings underscore that the wealth and social status of the chiefs and warriors, cl

The dressing and arming scene is a constant theme in epic literature every-where. It highlights the hero's physic

First, as mentioned earlier, talismanic magic or magical power is intertwined with political leadership, even in t

Second, magical power underlies artistic expression, both oral and material. The chanter's striking images are no

The first example is from the Southern Kalinga. The Kalinga, known as the "peacocks of the mountains" becaus

The refrain, "How fear-inspiring he now was!" is meant to terrify the Kalinga's enemies as well as to impress th

Finery similar to that of mythical northern Luzon heroes is displayed during special feast to honor ancestral spir

Dressing the hero is often the task of his mother or sister. The hero usually requests his female relative to open a

Despite the geographical and cultural distance between the Ilocano and Sulod, the dressing scene in the Sulod e

The hero's clothes and ornaments transform him into a man of prowess, ready for war and adventure: Thus dres

This scene is repeated several times in the Sulod epic with the departure of each hero. The arming of the hero ta

Labaw Donggon's enemies, brandishing spears and krises--"blades with seven curved edges"-- are no match for

In Mindanao, the dressing and arming scene appears in several epics. As in the northern and central Philippine e
the hero, is embroidered by women; in this case his sister embroidered it "in the pitch darkness of the night" lit only by

The Ilianen hero also wears a warrior's vest and breastplate which radiate light "like the first rays of sunset." Ga

All these epic heroes appear resplendent in their talismanic clothing and ornaments. Dressed in a glittering jacke

The light or glow emanating from talismans is the heat or energy of their power. Sound or music, such as the so

The Maranao epic, darangen, is the longest so far recorded. It consist of many cycles of episodes relating to diff
above the ground / so that it was said that he was like a bolt of lightning that brightened the sky." These images are rem

Unlike the societies mentioned above, however, the Maranao was a sultanate with a royal court. The darangen i

The wedding scene of the Maranao princess is strikingly similar to the dressing and arming scene of the hero. E
"Paramata Gandingan's Wedding" describes the dressing scene: A pair of short trousers lavishly / embroidered,
princess.

If Bantugan is renowned for his physical feats in war as well as for his success with women, the royal princess i
golden water.

The scene featuring the war preparations of the warrior maiden is repeated, using the same formula for the Suba

The lines "straight as a tree / a rare flower / brighter than the sun / so radiant to behold" which recur throughout
kingdoms of their enemies.
Charisma

These images of the hero and heroine as vessels of talismanic power recur throughout Philippine epic poetry. Th

What, however, explains the similarities between the Ilocano Lam-ang of the far north and the Sulod Labaw Do

The link between talismanic magic and political power was forged by demography and economy. Although earl