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Abstract
With a musical system that is deeply rooted in oral tradition, the study
of something more tangible such as material culture is crucial in advancing
ethnomusicology in the Philippines. Although music-related artifacts are yet
to be explored fully in Philippine archaeology, materials from indigenous
cultures particularly musical instruments that were archived at the turn of
the century, present perspectives on the early music in the Philippines. This
paper explores the traditional chordophones of the Ifugao and how analysis
of materials such as these provide insights and directions to the specialist
study of archaeomusicology, and further elucidates the pre-colonial roots of
music and musical instruments in the country.
Introduction
While the universality and enduring presence of music in the
history of humanity is unquestionable, there is much to learn on how
kulintang music tradition (Benitez, 2005; Cadar, 1996a, 2004 ). There is a need
to address this gap as we look at indigenous musical instruments, taking full
consideration of the periods and circumstances the materials were archived
and tracked down over time.
Although other disciplines, i.e., archaeology and anthropology have
brought material culture to the forefront of cultural studies, the impetus
to examine assemblages of musical instruments within the bounds of
ethnomusicology was seen in the early 20th century when in 1914, Erich von
Hornbostel and Curt Sachs (1914, 1961) recognized the equally important
presence of non~western musical instruments and created a distinct system
of classifying instruments of the world. While concentrated investigations on
the invention of musical instruments and their origins have been conducted
early on (see listings from Sachs, 2006; and Schlesinger, 1912), the scheme
fortuitously instigated a keen look at the material culture that constitutes
music and the embodiment of music outside the Western context.
Thus, in modern studies, the alliance between archaeology and music
research, i.e., archaeomusicology or music archaeology, became a logical
recourse in delineating histories and developments of these various music~
producing materials within different cultural groups. This specialist field
offered a bigger venue for cross ~ disciplinary studies, bringing to light various
concepts such as prehistoric music and rituals (So, 2000; von Falkenhausen,
1986, 1988, 2001, 2006), acoustics (Lawson et al., 1998; Scarre and Lawson,
2006), societal configurations (Fang, 2005; von Falkenhausen, 2006), and
early cultural trade and connections (Blench, 2004, 2006; Both, 2009; CalC\
2009; icolas, 2006, 2009) .
Apart from musical artifacts or archaeological materials directly
related to music~making in Philippine prehistory, existing archives and
early ethnographic accounts of musical practices are valuable sources
in understanding ancient music. A good example is the occurrence of
chordophones among the Ifugao from the northern Philippines (Figure 1), in
which, like many of the indigenous groups in the country, hold remnants of an
autochthonous music that differs from the more popular, Western~ introduced
music the majority of the population listen to. This paper presents some of
the earliest chordophones available for detailed morphological analysis,
adding to the growing knowledge of early, pre~ colonial music in the country.
169
171
from Melanesia (Kunst, 1967). Another unusual tube zither contains a split
singular string that is assumed to be both struck and plucked in a particular
way to generate a more distinct resonance as the split string will not easily
vibrate freely (Figure 5).
Heterochord board zithers endured to this day but they were only
archived from the 1950s onwards (Table 2). The instrument is widely used
in the Cordillera but apparently not elsewhere in the Philippines and may
well be a local development from the idiochord half/tube zithers still being
played in other areas. Both idiochord and heterochord zithers, though never
used concurrently, are known to be played by locals to imitate gong ensemble
patterns. At least four different rhythmic patterns are played in Asipulo and
players can choose to add resonators by placing the board on top of a bowl or
a similarly/shaped object to enhance sonority while movable bridges change
the frequency and pitch of the strings (Figure 6) . Originally, rattan strips are
used as strings but the introduction of industrial wires altered the timbre of
the vibrating chord and instigated players to pluck the strings, eliminating the
percussive method of playing the instrument with thin percussion sticks.
Another unusual development of the heterochord board/zither is
the strip/zither. The instrument has metallic strips, probably taken from
industrial packing/chests, and stretched between the two ends of a wooden
plank (Figure 7). A central bridge enables two notes to be sounded from
each strip. Clearly this version of the instrument has to be struck with two
sticks, like some of the idiochord zithers. Again, this instrument seems to
have now fallen out of use. Organologically, this has become something quite
distinct, since the wide bands no longer behave like vibrating strings, but
rather like lamellae, such as those found in the Jews' harp. They can only
be tuned by moving the bridge and not by tightening the string. Notably,
a strip/zither has an anthropomorphic figure board that resembles a bulul,
the representation of the Ifugao rice god. This is thus far the only Ifugao
instrument that shows anthropomorphism, and is a rarity in Philippine
music instruments. Certain zithers of hummel (old Swedish) type also
have sculpted head and torso (Rault, 2000), which could suggest that this
specimen was European/influenced. However the widths of the strips fall
between 1.50 ems and 2 ems (see Table 2), well within the dimensions of
other zithers, and clearly demonstrating the local influence in the production
of the instrument. The heterochord strip/zither has no distinct category in
the von Hornbostel and Sachs classification scheme and warrants further
organological investigation.
It seems apparent that the Ifugao chordophones are left unaffected
by Western influence as it is until this day purposely being played, if not
exclusively, to imitate gong ensemble patterns and remained a source of
entertainment for smaller, intimate gatherings, Other Ifugao instruments like
the flat gong, flute (which is played very commonly to the tune of popular
songs), concussion and percussion bars have been introduced to bigger
avenues of performances that are both modern and traditional. However,
over the last few decades, the socio ~political and industrial reorganization
in Ifugao resulted to shifts on interests and focus. Tourism, urbanization, and
movements of people left agriculture behind. Sacred rituals and traditions that
were once exercised alongside people's reliance on their terraced lands have
undergone a split towards public performance and spectacle, and a few as a
ritualistic tradition covertly practiced in remote areas and unintended for non~
participants and outside observers. The UNESCO declarations made for hudhud
introduced Ifugao to the international community, and this channeled available
resources towards its preservation. Other musical forms appear to have been
sidelined, endangering lesser known vocal gemes like alim and baltung, and
musical instruments such as the idioglot clarinet and zithers. Within a century,
alongside the persistence of development, majority of the Ifugao pratictioners
have roles that shifted to that of musical consumers, mirroring what has been
observed in other cultures (Magrini 2000).
Concluding Remarks
The collection of chordophones archived in this study demonstrates
subtle morphological transformations and developments that occurred over
the last 100 years or so. Along with the obsolescence of etched decorations
are the declining craftsmanship in the manufacture of the instrument and
its inherent value within the Ifugao community. The introduction of new
raw materials in its production serves as markers of industrialization and
apparent socio~political changes. Tourism figured greatly in the province
over the past few decades, and this included a vibrant promotion of tradition,
which inadvertently generated standardized musical instruments and
performances (Campos, 2012). These are just some of the insights that can
be generated in the study of assemblages of material culture collected over a
period of time.
a paper on worked bones which include the aforementioned bone is in preparation by Amana eta [.
Ll
Lv l
Lv2
Dl
1909
36.40
31.80
0.74
10.50
FMN H
1909
28.50
23 .70
0.53
10.40
FMNH
1909
26.40
26.70
0.56
10.30
FMNH
1909
23.80
22.17
0.43
7.00
FM NH
1909
37.00
33.80
0.39
7.20
FMN H
1909
37.00
34.10
0.24
5. 57
FM NH
1909
37.40
36.50
0.40
5.79
FM NH
1909
30.70
28.60
0.45
5.03
FM NH
1909
29.00
15.80
0.34
5.00
Kiangan
43 .50
27.50
0.30
7.80
Kiangan
ca . 1960 -1980
33.10
28.00
0.27
5.30
28.50
24.30
0.30
5.70
UPCE
1970
35.57
22.12
0.42
8.00
UPCE
1970
35.40
23.01
0.52
8.50
Mayoyao
ca . 1980
49.40
39.00
0.62
6.30
Source/
Institution
Year Collected/
Acquired
FMNH
Kiangan
Figure 2. ldiochord and heterochord zithers archived from lfugao Museum (Kiangan),
Mayoyao Museum (Mayoyao) , Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum of the
lfugao Provincial Government (ICHO) , Banaue Museum (Banaue) , U.P. Center for
Ethnomusicology (UPC E), The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), and from private
collections (Pers Coli).
~
s
~.::~_,._ .
-~-~-
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rl'"J:~
~~ ~--
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Figure 3. ldiochord zithers from the early 1900s. Courtesy of the Field Museum of Natural
History (FMNH) .
Figure 4 . Tubular zither with an elongated aperture was for either aesthetic or functional
reasons . Courtesy of Mayoyao Museum.
Figure 6. Heterochord zither from Asipulo with a resonator, the owner replaced the
original rattan strings with industrial wires about 20 years ago. Courtesy of D. Dulnuan .
Figure 7. Heterochord board zithers with lamellae. Courtesy of Banaue Museum and R.
Blench.
Figure 8. Bells excavated from the Metal Age deposits in Cagayan (courtesy of Hsiaochun Hung).
1 em
Figure 9. Bird bone bearing anthropogenic signatures (courtesy of N. Amano} .
Acknowledgements
The author expresses thanks for the institutional support of the
Provincial Government of Ifugao and its municipalities, Intangible Cultural
Heritage Office, Banaue Museum, National Museum of the Philippine .
University of the Philippines Center for Ethnomusicology, Libray of Congres .
and the Field Museum of Natural History. Acknowledgement is due to Hsiaochun Hung, Noel Amano, Philip Piper and the Nagsabaran Archaeological
Project for access to materials. Heartfelt thanks are due to Manuel Dulawan, Lil
Beyer/Luglug, Rebeccca Bumahit, Delfin Dulnuan, Gabriel Maddawat, Virgili
Anannayo, Prof. Ramon Santos, Prof. Peter Bellwood, and Roger Blench for the
additional materials, information and comments on this paper. Support for the
fieldwork conducted in Ifugao is provided by the World Oral Literature Project
in collaboration with Roger Blench, and to access archives at the Field Museum
of Natural History and the Library of Congress, from the University of Honcr
Kong Travel Research Grant.
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