Teduray Art and Culture

In the field of performing arts, the Tedurays, like many Mindanao Lumad groups, use the agong in their ensemble. Their kelo-agong or kalatong ensemble has five shallow embossed gongs in graduated sizes, producing delicate sounds. The smallest of the gongs, called segarun, leads off with a steady beat, while the four others join in with their own rhythms. The kelo-agong is used on various occasions, such as agricultural rituals, weddings, community gatherings, victory celebrations, curing rites, rituals for the dead and entertainment of visitors. The musical pieces played on the kelo-agong includes antibay, fat moto, liwan-kanrewan, turambes and tunggol bandera.

There are other several musical instruments used by the Teduray in everyday and ritual occasions. The kubing is a jaw harp made from a special variety of bamboo. Among the Teduray, the kubing is used for courting as well as for entertainment.

The togo is a five-stringed bamboo tube zither which may play the same pieces heard on the gong ensemble. It is a solo instrument, but several zithers are often played all at once. Two women play the instrument. One holds one end of the bamboo tube as she plays a melody on the strings. The other holds the other end, and plays on the other two strings. This instrument is important because it can substitute for the kelo-agong. It shares a similar function and may be heard during the same occasions when the kelo-agong is played. In addition the togo accompanies songs and dances.

The fegerong is a two-stringed lute with five to seven frets. This instrument is used for courtship and entertainment. Among the repertoire played on the fegerong are the music pieces laminggang and makigidawgidaw.

The two bamboo flutes of the Teduray are the falendag and suling. Both have three fingerholes and a thumbhole. The falendag is the lip valley or deep-notched bamboo flute. Its construction makes possible lip control of the air flowing into the tube, allowing for a degree of tonal control and sensitivity not possible with flutes of similar dimension but with differently shaped blowing holes, such as the suling or short ring flute. The suling is also called by this name among the Maguindanao, Manobo, Bukidnon, Tausug and the Palawan. It is a duct flute, the sound of which is produced by adjusting the ring on the mouthpiece in relation to the blowing hole. The pitch of the suling has a higher range than the falendag’s and can similarly express specific emotions, such as the sobbing of a girl who has just been told by the parents that she is about to be married.

The Teduray have a wide range of songs for various occasions. The balikata is a song with improvised text, sung to the traditional melodies. It could be a melodic pattern used for debates, for pleading causes, or for plain conversation. The balikata bae is a common lullaby in which the mother tells the child to sleep soundly and grow up as strong as the rattan vine. The lendugan also describe the lifeways of the Teduray. The binuaya is a narrative song that tells stories of great events in the distant past. The siasid is a sung prayer invoking the blessings of god Lagey Lengkuwos and the nature spirits Serong and Remoger. The foto moto is a teasing song performed during weddings. The meka meka is a song of loyalty sung by a wife to her husband. The melodies of songs like foto moto and meka meka are foten rendered on the kelo-agong and other instruments.

One of the more notable Teduray dances is the magasik, literally “to sow seeds”. The dance begins with a large piece of bright-colored cloth or material placed on the ground or on the middle of the floor. The women go around the cloth with small heavy steps, their arms and hands moving about in graceful fashion. The dancers wear tight long-sleeved blouses of shiny material, in various colors and with a peplum along the waist. Teduray women favor bright yellow, red, blue, orange, purple and black. They wear the patadyong, a skirt that goes all the way down to their anklets. They may also wear a necklace made of gold beads or old silver coins which goes all around their necks and reaches down to the waist. They also wear rich metal belts about 15 centimeters wide. The saronghangs on the left shoulders of the dancers and only their lower lips are painted.

The two other types of Teduray dances are the kefesayaw teilawan, in which the dancers imitate bird movements, and the tingle, a war dance in which two rival suitors fight for the affection of a maiden. Both dances are performed during wedding celebrations and other festivities.

Early Teduray costumes, including the weaponry which form part of their accoutrements, differ according to the place of habitation. Men of the downstream people who live near the towns and the Maguindanao population wear long trousers and waist-length shirts. Their weapons consist of a kris carried at the side, a spear held like a walking stick, a fegoto (wide bladed kris) slung over the shoulders, a dagger tucked at the waist, and either a round shield called taming or an elongated one called kelung. Those who live along the coast wear G-strings and shirts. Their weaponry consist of kemongen, a blade similar to the kris but smaller than the fegoto, a spear, a bow and a quiver of arrows (which even children carry around). These arrows are tipped with kemendag, the poisonous sap of a certain tree. The men from the mountains wear short trousers and the same cut of shirt as the other groups. Although they tend to have less body covering despite their mountain residence. Their weapons consist of the kris, spear, bows and arrows.

Teduray women in general wear a sarong called emut, made form abaca fiber. They wear shirt similar to those of the men, which is nearly of the same general cut, except that the women’s blouse is form fitting, while the men’s hang more loosely. Since Teduray women never developed the art of weaving cloth, their dress materials come from outside sources. The women also wear rinti, a series of brass bracelets of different sizes, extending from the wrist and up the forearm; a brass cord and belt decorated with small jingling bells which they wear around the wrists; brass anklet rings, necklaces of glass beads and colored crystals, and the kemagi, a necklace made of gold. They also sport wire earrings from which they hang small shell ornaments. The Teduray women are never without a knife and a small basket, which they carry wherever they go.

Both men and women wear the sayaf, a shallow conical hat made from buri, worn for protection against the sun (Schlegel 1970).

(Blogger’s note: This post is the last part of a nine-part series on the Teduray people. Each part is posted every Monday starting October 6, 2014. The text is copied as it appears in Defending the Land: Lumad and Moro People’s Struggle for Ancestral Domain in Mindanao. The book, published by a consortium of non-government organizations, has an “anti-copyright” notice and may thus be freely reproduced.)