Reviving Our Native Philippine Songs

Ethnic Music reduces anxiety and pain, induces relaxation, thus promoting the overall sense of well-being of the individual.

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

Have you ever noticed village folks singing or humming as they attend to their chores? 

Music is closely associated with everyday life among village folks more than it is to us living in the city. The natives find content and relaxation beside a waterfall, on the riverbank, under the trees, in fact there is to them music in silence under the stars, on the meadow, at sunset, at dawn. Breeze, crickets, running water, make a repetitious melody that induces sleep. 

Fernando Amorsolo's paintings such as this, provide the ideal backdrop of Philippine ethnic music. 

 Humming indicates that one likes his or her work, and can go on for hours without getting tired at it. Boat songs make rowing synchronized. Planting songs make the deities of the field happy, so they believe; and songs at harvest are thanksgiving. Seldom is there an activity without music. The sound of nature to them is music.

Typical Filipina on the countryside (Ang Dalagang Pilipina),

painting by Fernando Amorsolo

According to researcher Leonora Nacorda Collantes, of the UST graduate school, music influences the limbic system, called the “seat of emotions” and causes emotional response and mood change. Musical rhythms synchronize body rhythms, mediate within the sphere of the autonomous nervous and endocrine systems, and change the heart and respiratory rate. Music reduces anxiety and pain, induces relaxation, thus promoting the overall sense of well being of the individual.

Ethnic music has greatly influenced folk music that we know today, such as the following. These are songs about

• rowing the boat (Talindaw) 
• planting rice (Magtanim Hindi Biro); 
• a happy, simple home (Bahay Kubo), 
• wedding (Diona) 
• the butterfly (Paruparong Bukid) 
• a tiny bird (Ang Pipit) 
• lullaby (uyayi, hele, Ugoy ng Duyan) 
• love's pleading (Kundiman) 
• serenade (Harana) 
• countryside living (Sa Libis ng Nayon) 
• a light or star (O Ilaw, Aking Bituin) 
• wooden clog (Bakya Mo Neneng) 
• exulting the young Filipina (Dalagang Pilipina 
• early love, "The Love of a Girl" (Ti Ayat ti Maysa nga Ubing Ilk) 
• a broken clay pot (Nabasag ang Banga) 

Here is an example of an indigenous song, Uyayi or hele (Lullaby). Note how natural and spontaneous it is. The lyrics were invented to fit varied melodies. You can make your own, too.

Matulog ka na, bunso
Sleep now, youngest one

Ang ina mo ay malayo
Your mother is far away

at hindi ka masundo
and she can't come for you

May putik, may balaho
There's mud, there's a swamp

Among the Filipino musicologists who have contributed much to the revival and conservation of traditional Philippine music are

1. Fr. Morice Vanoverberg, who focused on the traditional music of the Lepanto Igorots of the north.

2. Emilia Cavan, for her collection of Filipino Folk Songs published in 1924.

3. Norberto Romualdez , for his collection of Folk Songs in the 'Philippine Progressive Music Series' published in the late 1920s. The series became the textbook for teaching music in the Primary School. It remains to be the most important collection of traditional music from the Philippines, since a copy of it is still available in major Municipal and Provincial Libraries in the country.

4. Emilia Reysio-Cruz, for her collection of 'Filipino Folk Songs' that caters to the so- called 'Eight Major Languages' of the country. The collection is perhaps the best representation of the songs from these ethnolinguistic groups.

5. Dr. Jose Maceda, former chair of the Department of Asian Music Research of the College of Music of the University of the Philippines, also did some collection which began in 1953 and lasted until 1972. This was followed by collections from his students as well.

6. Lucrecia Roces Kasilag (August 31, 1918- August 16, 2008) was a noted composer, educator, cultural and arts administrator, and performing artist. She was named National Artist in Music in 1989. She pioneered the fusion of Filipino ethnic and Western music. She dared to mix indigenous Filipino instruments with Western orchestra in her prize-winning "Toccata for Percussions and Winds, Divertissement and Concertante," and the scores of the Filiasiana, Misang Pilipino and De Profundis. She was fondly called "Tita King".

7. Prof. Raul Sunico, currently the dean of the Conservatory of Music of the University of Santo Tomas, published his own collection. He began with publishing a collection of lullabies, followed by love songs, then by work songs. Finally, he published a collection of songs about Filipino women, a major topic of traditional songs from all the ethnolinguistic groups. All these collections were arranged for the piano and the words are given in their original languages. A translation is also supplied, not to mention a brief backgrounder about the culture of the specific ethnic groups.

Designing a Book Cover - PHILIPPINE LITERATURE TODAY

Designing a Book Cover 

- PHILIPPINE LITERATURE TODAY 

Published by C and E Publishing Inc for the new General Curriculum (K2-12) 2015

About the Cover

The artist, Leo Carlo Rojas Rotor, BSFA-ID (UST), MIT (AdMU), redefines a difficult subject like literature on two fronts: the classic-tradition emanating from the beacon of a sacred temple on one, and the post-modern at the other extreme to which the beacon fades into the unknown.  In between the periodicity of time and space hangs in limbo the question, “Quo vadis?” (Where is literature going?)

The artist answers: Like in defining good government as government of, for and by the people, so is good literature.  As a binding force of a culture, literature is about people, their history, their beliefs and ideas. Literature is the mouthpiece of the people that carries their stories alive and beautiful from generation to generation.  Literature is their collective masterpiece, their imprimatur.  Literature is agent of change, never passive, never submissive; it is a pathfinder, a sailing vessel that brings “the promise of the tides.”

The artist’s confidence in his concept is seeing Rizal alive today, his ideas bearing fruits in a free world, Lola Basyang keeping children happy like in his time with mythology’s eternal magic, Balagtas in a new Renaissance in cinemas and the Internet, and Leona Florentino the muse of Philippine literature, unquestioned, undefiled.

Giant Clam (Taklobo) - Threatened Marine Shellfish

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

On-site study. Author helps lift a taklobo specimen for study.

Seven-kilogram Tridacna is examined by students in Environmental Science from the UST Graduate School; bottom photo shows its natural habitat at 6 to 14 feet on coral reef of San Salvador Island, east of Masinloc, Zambales.

Facts about the giant clam, Tridacna gigas. 

1. In the Philippines it is called taklobo. It is the largest living bivalve mollusk and one of the most endangered clams.

2. It lives on shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, up to 20 meters deep.

3. It weighs more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds), and measures as much as 1.2 m (4 feet) across. It has an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years or more.

4. Although larval clams are planktonic, they become sessile in adulthood. Growth is enhanced by the clam's ability to grow algae in symbiosis. The creature's mantle tissues act as a habitat for the symbiotic single-celled dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae) from which it gets its nutrition. By day, the clam opens its shell and extends its mantle tissue so that the algae receive the sunlight they need to photosynthesize.

5. T. gigas reproduce sexually. They are hermaphrodites (producing both eggs and sperm), but self fertilization is not possible. Since giant clams can't move across the sea floor, the solution is broadcast spawning. This entails the release of sperm and eggs into the water where fertilization takes place.

Let's protect the giant clams. It's better to be assured they are alive on the seafloor than to have their fossils in our home.~

Tridacna in its natural habitat - lighted seafloor; Tridacna graveyard.

 Mrs Cecilia Rojas Rotor, author's wife. poses before a giant Tridacna 
shell as holy water receptacle. Mount Carmel Church, QC

References: Living with Nature by AVRotor; Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach by JW Nybakken; Wikipedia.

Seaweed Beauty

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Arusip or lato is the most common sea vegetable in the market.  It is high in folic and folinic acids.  Lato or Caulerpa is of two commercial species, C. racemosa which is cultured in estuaries and fishponds and and C. lentillifera which is usually found growing in the wild. It is the racemosa type that predominates the market. Because of frequent harvesting of this species by local residents lentillifera it is no longer popular in the market. Besides, the cultured Caulerpa is cleaner and more uniform. It has lesser damage and is less pungent than its wild counterpart. (Model: Miss Gelyn S Gabao, 19 Filipina)

 

Kulot or Gelidiella acerosa (Forsk) Feldmann and Hamel has tough and wiry thalli, greenish black to dull purple in color. They lie low and creeping on rocks and corals along the intertidal zone. It is very much branched when mature with secondary branches cylindrical at the base and flattened towards the tip and beset on both sides with irregular, pinnately short branches. The fertile branchlets have conspicuous swollen tips.

Too rich an imagination about a sea fairy  
        at the bottom of the sea;
if it were true, I would wonder less its bounty 
        than a maid's simple beauty;

Who farm the sea but a dainty, loving hand
        like that of Ceres on land;
in a world where mystery and enigma in bond
        shall forever astound man.~ 

Siargao Taktak Falls Mural at St Paul College, Surigao

Siargao Taktak Falls Mural 

at St Paul College, Surigao 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Siargao Taktak Falls Mural at St Paul College, Surigao painted by the author and his daughter,  Anna Christina Rotor, (in white and red).  Others in the photo are members of the school staff.  Mural was enshrined in memory of the late Pope John Paul II on the day of his funeral on April 8, 2005.

   

Close-up of the main falls of the 10ft x 20ft wall mural.

Siargao Taktak Falls is a roughly 14-meter waterfall located north of Siargao Island.  Folk knowledge has it that the name was derived from a large bell (taktak) which was thrown (hinulog) into the falls during the 15th century or the 16th century because the local villagers considered it too loud. Since then, it has become known as Hinulugang Taktak or the place where the bell fell. Wikipedia

* Dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II who died at the age of 84, on 2 April 2005,  The mural was enshrined in his memory on the date of his funeral in the Vatican on 8 April 2005.   Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines on February 17 to 22, 1981. During his pilgrimage he beatified Filipino Lorenzo Ruiz along with 15 other martyrs of Japan, the first beatification to be celebrated outside Rome. He returned to the Philippines in 1995 for World Youth Day. ~

Unity of Life

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

 

Unity of life, mural by the author ca 2006 

Our world is one and we're not apart,
      a fact primordial to all;
the essence of life is but a spark,
      the start of creatures all.

From that divine spark grew a beacon,
      into a living eternal flame
far and wide its torch is carried on and on -
      that life is one and same. ~

Rediscovering Lost Culture and Art - Pride of a People and Nation ^

Rediscovering Lost Culture and Art 

- Pride of a People and Nation

My dad taught me from my youngest childhood memories through these connections with Aboriginal and tribal people that you must always protect people's sacred status, regardless of the past. (Steve Irwin)

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

 Revival of Pottery: art and livelihood, environment friendly. Sudipen, La Union

Homogenization, like a giant pool, mirrors a phenomenon which is a consequence of progress - globalization.

Globalization is irreversible. But is it really progression. If it is trend of progress where will it lead us to? To what extent, and for how long? The believers of this thesis are disciples of science and technology, and therefore are not afraid to open new horizons. They seldom look behind.

The traditionalists look at things differently. They have deeper roots in history and culture, they find time to ponder and analyze, and ask others and themselves, “Quo vadis?” But don’t get me wrong as anti progressive, anti technology.

Globalization is like a cauldron in which diversities of culture are thrown into. They dissolve in our very eyes. Either they disappear or lose their identity.

Clearly there is homogenization of races, creeds, ideologies - technology. For example there is only one kind of car in the world – they all work of the principle of Internal Combustion. Formal education has generally of one pattern worldwide, from preparatory to post graduate; so with the various courses offered.

Ethnicity encompasses many aspects of life and culture; other the humanities are the natural sciences, ethnobotany among them (the study of the relationship of people and plants in a natural setting.). 

Ethnic wooden art in the Cordillera

From here evolved the knowledge of man in pharmacology, and while such knowledge has vastly grown into a major industry dominated by multinational companies, a great deal of herbal healing still abound in rural communities.

Folk wisdom akin to traditional knowledge is carried onto the present by elder members of the community has lost much significance in general perception, but a great number of them are enshrined by our culture and writings. They are natural leaders whose words are listened to with respect. Why village elders have also the role of an herbolario, matchmakers in marriages, teachers in their own right based on rich experiences and long practice!

Confucian teachings permeate in the family. Christian values are reinforced by age-long heritage, and vice versa. So with the teachings of Buddha and Mohammad, and other great religious leaders. Mythology, too, has deep rooted influence in our lives. It lives in our superstitious belief, folklore and customs. But many of these are being threatened, if not endangered, in our march toward progress and affluence, along with the current of postmodernism which is sweeping the world today.

On the other hand, there is growing consciousness for moderation in living. More and more people are looking for alternatives of the so-called Good Life.

One alternative is the revival of tradition, a rediscovery of lost culture and art can be enshrined in our present life.

1. Revival of ethno medicinal healing has suddenly found relevance where the dangers of modern medicine are perceived. Lagundi, Oregano, Sambong are now DOH-approved How about the bulk of herbal medicine?

2. It’s the cold wind from the north that came too soon that caused poor rice harvest. Old folks would tell us. And scientists confirm that pollination-fertilization is indeed adversely affected by cold weather.

Home child delivery assisted by a village "kumadrona" 

3. Pet therapy is gaining popularity even in modern hospitals. Victims of stroke who lost coordination of their hands surprisingly recover with a pet around.

4. Honeybee sting sends arthritic people back on the road.

5. Return to cotton, ramie, abaca, flax, and other natural fibers for clothing and other wears is indicative of people's awareness on the comfort and health benefits of these natural fibers, not to mention their being environment friendly.

5. Ethnic art  is gaining popularity in galleries and studios. Native arts are found on murals and in halls. The revival of ethnic art is very visible among the aborigines of Australia, the American Indians, the Incas and Aztecs. So with other indigenous cultures.

Headgear is ethnic art and status symbol among the Igorots.

-------------------
We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation. - Cesar Chavez
-----------------

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Lichen

Lichen, a community of algae and fungi living in symbiosis,
carpets the trunk and branches of an old tree. Hokkaido, Japan.

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature School on Blog [ avrotor.blogspot.com ]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

You are an artist, you paint and mold life at its barest
On weathered rocks and ancient trunks or some forgotten crest
And cliffs that through seasons howl or sleep or cry like a beagle,
Or the chameleon that mimics sunrise
And sunset with colors divine.
Bless you, pioneer of protolife,
Pathfinder of the bryophyte and the vine,
Precursor of forest primeval, home of the eagle and fireflies,
Probing what good is rock if it loses the essence where life rises.


Home, Sweet Home with Nature, AVR

Prayer for the Nation

President Ferdinand E. Marcos (1965-1986)

Father of all mankind, we ask you to look down upon your people, and fill our hearts with your spirit, that we may have the grace and the wisdom to look into ourselves, and in so doing see our weaknesses and our strengths.

So many of us have lived in corruption, greed and violence, forgetting that this nation - or any other nation - cannot survive and grow and prosper unless we learn to live as brothers, striving not for our selfish ends, but for the common good.

Give us strength to rebuild our lives, leaving forever our selfish, corrupt and derelict ways.

Make us see what we are and what we could be, open our eyes, our minds and our hearts to do the things that need to be done, and the things that we can do to make this rich and beautiful land a joy and comfort to all our people.

We have set for ourselves great and never-ending tasks; stand by us in our labors and teach us not to weary nor to lose faith, neither to seek rewards beyond what is just but rather to see in our work the full measures of our own reward and to see in it the full expressions of ourselves.

When the day’s toil is ended, teach us to look to the morrow’s labor as a part of our continuing sacrifice; bring us not to the temptation of luxury, ease, nor privilege; nor to the blandishments of power or comfort that corrupt, but make of us a sturdy race, self-reliant, cheerful and upright.

Teach those who lead to act with firmness but with humility, with humility but with wisdom, with wisdom but with justice, and with justice but with compassion, and teach those who follow the true duties of being men and being members of a community of men.

Cleanse us of our anger, our bitterness, and our recriminations of the past, spare us the doubts and anxieties of the present, and purify us for our sacrifice so that we may raise a people who will be their own strength today, and their own warranty against the future. ~ FEM

Re-use PET bottles at home

PET bottles provide a lot of inventive ideas and innovations, and ways of saving money. Here are 10 simple and practical projects which you can put up at home, for economic and environmental benefits.

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday

1. Garden pots. (Punch holes on the lower side, not at the bottom) 

2.  Hydroponics (floating garden pots) for vegetables, herbal and ornamental

 

3. Aquarium pump filter extends life of machine, and for easier maintenance.  

                                      4. Birds' water fountain (automatic watering trough). 
                                             Design one according to your need.    

 

5. Pet food container, also for grains, beans, seeds for planting (binhi)
6. Funnel mainly for solids, and heavy liquids like oil. 

 

7. Handy Man's Tool organizer, gardening, house repair.  

8. Artist's tool organizer 

9. Second generation container for food and water, also non-food like detergents. Caution: PET bottles are not safe to corrosive substances, like alcohol and acids. Label each container according to its content.   

10. Hanging Garden, home and community project.

(MMDA) 

Add to this list other uses of PET bottles.  Share this lesson to your friends, school and community. 

* Polyethylene terephthalate (sometimes written poly(ethylene terephthalate)), commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P is a thermoplasticpolymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination with glass fiber. It may also be referred to by the brand name Dacron; in Britain, Terylene; or, in Russia and the former Soviet Union, Lavsan.

Let's Rebuild the Lost Eden

Let's Rebuild the Lost Eden

Mural by Christhia Acyatan, Katrina Taloza, Bernadine Carpio,

Michelle Sucgang and Royce Ann Lorenzana. St Paul University QC,

Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

That was long time ago, we've forgotten,

    save the archives hidden by the sea;

the Sin, the greatest blunder then -

    imperfection that man could be. 

And in the dark and through eons of time

    praying, pleading for our cause;

here and beyond even in distant clime,

    we sought to find the Garden lost.

Blindly, always searching, save the meek;

    wealth and power, gods of the bold;

we build cities, amass riches - all but freak,

    for Eden isn't made of pillars and gold.

Let's build a temple of worship of trees

    in a little corner down the glen;

rebuild the ruins laid by life at ease

    and bequeath them to our children. ~

Apostles for the Environment, 25 Tenets

Apostles for the Environment Tenets

Dr Abe V Rotor

Professor, UST Graduate School, and DLSU-D Graduate School

1. When spring comes without stir, “don't go gentle into the night,” rise and find out where have all the birds gone that herald the new season, and the new beginning of life.

2. When the monsoon ends too soon, summer sets early, the land scorched, the rivers and ponds dried up, warn of the coming of a severe El Niño, a cyclical phenomenon.

3. When algal bloom in make-believe proportion spreads in lakes, sound the alarm of fish kill coming in order to avert losses and hunger, and to save the ecosystem.

4. When people move to cities in exodus, convince them, advise government, it is a tender trap that takes them away from the real Good Life on the countryside.

5. When clouds simply pass over the landscape, take the lead to reforest the hills and mountains, restore the watershed with a million and one trees.

6. When flood sweeps the land taking with it lives and properties, and eroding soil fertility, be part of rehabilitation and planning; believe that flood can be tamed.

7. When you find an abundance of lichens of different types on trees and rocks, and fireflies at night, assure residents of the pristine condition of their environment, and help them in preserving it.

8. When and where wildlife areas are shrinking, backyards and idle lots can be developed as alternative wildlife sanctuary, initiate this as a community project.

9. When asked what vegetables are safe from pesticide residues and chemicals from fertilizers, promote native species like malunggay, kamote tops, gabi, saluyot, and the like, they are also more nutritious and easy to grow. And promote natural or organic farming, too.

10. When asked of Nature's way of maintaining the ecosystem, explain the role of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, composting, symbiosis, and the like. These natural processes and cycles have been taking place even before the arrival of the human species.

11. When additives are found in food - MSG, Nutrasweet or any artificial sugar, salitre in sausage, sulfite in white sugar, melamin in milk, formalin in fish, warn the public against taking these, initiate through legislation and campaign to ban these additives.

12. When children spend too much time before the TV, on computers, and other gadgets, offer alternatives more favorable to their upbringing and well-being by getting close to nature like camping, gardening and other outdoor activities.

13. When old folks talk about traditional wisdom and values, demonstrate native skills, listen and translate them into useful applications, disseminate these in school and through extension.

14. When animals are restless, reptiles and rodents coming out of their burrows and dens, fish attempting to escape, fowls noisy, suspect the coming of a force majeure such as earthquake. Be alert to face possible consequences, and to extend assistance.

15. When epidemic threatens an area, say bird flu, hepatitis, dengue, cholera, initiate community cooperation with health and other institutions to arrest the spread of these diseases.

16. When a child has little concern about the environment, teach him, guide him to explore the beautiful world of nature, and make him realize his importance and his role in maintaining a balanced environment.

17. When there is a worthy movement to save the environment, such as Clean and Green, Piso sa Pasig, or any local campaign, lead and extend your full support.

18. When there are farms and fishponds neglected or abandoned, find out how these are put back to their productive conditions, or converted into a wildlife sanctuary.

19. When at rest or in confinement for health reason, explore natural remedies with herbals, through pet therapy, aromatherapy, and other proven remedies, in consultation with your doctor.

20. When in doubt if civilization is disguised evil, which is the root of war, poverty, environmental degradation, and the like, remember that it is also civilization that is responsible in building the great institutions of mankind, so that it is the obligation of each member of society to maintain the integrity of these institutions – indeed a noble mission to lead.

21. When appreciating the vastness of creation such as the seas, valleys, mountains, and entertain the idea that their resources are unlimited, view these in their microcosm like a pond or hill - for what can happen to this minuscule could be the same on a larger scale and proportion – be the prophet, but not of doom.

22. When you shall have found success in scholarship, wealth, power, family, etc., the task of integrating all these for the purpose of sharing with those in dire need, and for posterity and sustainability, becomes a greater challenge, indeed this is the price of success.

23. When devoting your time and energy and talents to the service of community and environment as dictated by your profession and as a good citizen, do not neglect your obligation to yourself and family, and by so doing, build a model on which you are looked up to by those you serve.

24. When hope dims in this troubled world, with continued disregard to protect Mother Earth, human abuse and indifference in pursuit of economic gains and affluence, violation of order and harmony of society, degradation of values, “don’t go gentle into the night” – be the sentinel ever vigilant, the guardian ever righteous, for opportunity awaits you in your greatest hour.

25. When on a fine Sunday morning you hear birds in the trees, fish splashing in a pond, and plants blooming, say a prayer of praise and thanksgiving in music and verse, painting, or simply through reflection of the magnificence of creation. ~

NOTE: To my students in particular, please recruit twelve (12) followers from your family, community and organization, who believe and are willing to carry on the tasks we have set. These 25 tenets serve as guide in your recruitment and selection. This invitation is open to all viewers here and abroad.