PANGALAY- PHILIPPINES: The Fingernail Dance

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“Fingernail dance” is the sobriquet given to a South East Asian dance known as
Pangalay. This “traditional” dance is said to have originated from Sulu islands
located in the Philippines, and is said to have been created by the Tausug
people. Apparently, this dance is said to be extremely similar to the classical
Balinese and Thai dances. Furthermore, this dance also comprises of another
version referred to as “Pakiring”. This dance style is supposedly based on pre-
Islamic and Buddhist concepts related to male and female celestial agents.

a. History/origin of the Pangalay:

According to the Sanskrit language Pangalay, means “Temple of dance”. This

dance is also said to have been created by people belonging to the Tausug
community. In terms of technique this dance is also similar to the Javanese and
Thai form of dancing, and is also said to possess elements belonging to a form of
Southeast Asian martial art known as “Kuntaw Silat”. In addition, this dance is
performed mainly during weddings and other festive occasions. There are two
alternate versions of this dance and they include:

1. Pangasik: Performed mainly by males.

2. Pangiluk: Performed by both males and females.
b. Costumes used in the Pangalay:
The costume used in this dance style usually includes the Joloano and Janggay.
In addition, metallic fingernail extensions also form a major component of the
costume.

Pangalay
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Pangalay (also known as Daling-Daling or Mengalai in Sabah is the traditional "fingernail"

dance of the Tausūg people of the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah The dance also means offering
from its Indianized Sanskrit origin pang-alay. Mangalay, which also means dance, is very similar
to classical Balinese and Thai dances

The dance is the most distinctively Asian of all the southern Philippine dances because dancers
must have dexterity and flexibility of the shoulders, elbows, and wrists movements that strongly
resemble those of "kontaw silat". The Malaysian art of Buah Pukul is classified as silat despite
its Yunnan origin, kuntao is "way of the fist", from kun 拳 meaning fist and tao 道 meaning way.
This term was originally used for Chinese martial artsin general. The Pangalay is predominantly
performed during weddings or other festive events. The male equivalent of the Pangalay is
the Pangasik and features more martial movements, while a pangalay that features both a male
and female dancer is called Pangiluk
The original concept of the Pangalay is based on the pre-Islamic and Buddhist concept of male
and female celestial angels (Sanskrit: Vidhyadhari, Tausug: Biddadari) common as characters in
other Southeast Asian dances.

Neighboring Samal and Bajau peoples call this type of dance, Umaral or Igal, and they
sometimes use bamboo castanets as substitutes for long fingernails.

A variant of the dance called Pakiring is practiced by the people

of Mindanao, Sulu and Sabah. The dance emphasizes the movement of the hips (kiring-
kiring), o mimic the movement of a butterfy. It is also called kendeng-
kendeng in Tagalog speakers of Central Luzon.
Throughout the Philippines, a traditional song called Kiriring Pakiriring often
accompanied this dance. The lyrics of the song is in the Sama language and are thought
to have originated from Simunul, where the language is often spoken. The song became
popular nationwide when it was re-recorded in the 90s under the title, Dayang Dayang;
however some of lyrics have been changed and considered mainly to be
largely gibberish since the altered words has no meaning behind them and were not
related to any dialect or adage. he meaning of its name is lived to be referring to Hadji
Dayang Dayang Piandao, the first lady of Sulu, since the word dalay-dalay was a title
given only to the stepdaughters of the Sultan. Today, this version is widely known
across the Philippines rather than the original but its origin and the artist who originally
recorded it remains a mystery.

Pangalay Dance
The Pangalay Dance Style of the Philippines: An Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Pangalay: literally, a gift offering.

Pangalay also means “temple of dance” in Sanskrit. Pangalay antedates Christianity

and Islam in the Philippines. Among Philippine indigenous dances, the pangalay
dance style has the richest movement vocabulary. It is the closest to a classical form.

Pangalay is a living link to the traditional dance cultures of Asia with closest affinity
to the Indian, Javanese, Thai, Burmese and Cambodian styles of classical dancing.

A living artifact such as the pangalay must be danced constantly, or else it dies. The
beauty of the pangalay dance style is that it can be danced to any type of music, Asian
as well as Western. The pangalay can be danced by anyone and everyone in the
community, regardless of age or status. It can be danced in any space, be it on a boat,
on a house-porch or on the beach.
Pangalay is basically pure dancing. A sense of anti-linear time pervades the slow,
refined, meditative, elegant and almost hypnotic movements. The continuously
flowing or seamless unfolding movement from a central core is consistent with the
pre-modern mode and Eastern sense of multi-level or anti-linear time that has no
definite beginning or ending. This is opposed to the Western concept of time or the
metempsychosic scale.

The dancer’s serious face with downcast eyes creates a mask-like expression, matched
by a countenance generally refined, dignified but without stiffness.

The dancer’s torso is slightly bent forward, a stance seen in Asian dance forms,
Unnecessary hip and torso movement is tabbo. The knees are slightly bent or flexed.
Male dancers also splay the knees. Performers achieve the illusion of lightness by the
very subtle springing motion from the knees.

Feeling is conveyed chiefly through the arms and hands. Fingers are customarily held
stiffly together and curled back towards the dancer’s wrists with controlled energy,
thumbs apart and thrust forward. Fingers may flick, flip or flutter. The janggay or
metal claws amplify eloquent hand movements.

Shifting arm positions to assume new postures or gestures is accomplished by turning

the hands from the wrists with one outward-inward movement, two outward-inward
motions or inward-inward motions.

Postures and gestures suggest emotional metaphors and symbols that offer a broad
range of expression. For instance: outstretched palms and arms can stand for
salutation, welcome or joy; or, as a symbol of things in nature such as a palm leaf,
flowers, sea waves, the wind, sea weeds, a bird and a flutter of wings.

Crossed arms and hands at chest or face level signal a protective or playful impulse.
Overhead hand positions display triumph, extreme happiness, jubilation or sudden
increase in status.

Sculpture-like poses, cross-legged and kneeling stances, coupled with flowing

gestures with the arms extended farthest away from the body convey a sense of
infinite distance and timelessness.

“Motion in stillness, stillness in motion. This is the Pangalay.

Pangalay as a Philippine Dance
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Amilbangsa (1999) described the Pangalay as a dance resembling Indian, Javanese,

Thai, Burmese, and Cambodian dances and as the "most Asian" of the folk dances. The
hands are flexed at the wrists and fingers hyperflexed backward, a feature of Javanese
and Cambodian dances. The body is bent slightly at the hips and the knees and, viewed
laterally, resembles the shape of the letter S. This stance can be seen in other Asian
dance forms, but most especially in the Malaysian form of Pangalay and Igal, which the
Philippines share through the kinship of the Tausug and Bajau peoples, who live both in
the Sulu archipelago and in Sabah.

Amilbangsa (1999) considers the Pangalay the closest the Philippines has to a classical
dance form. This is difficult to comprehend, however, if one compares it with classical
forms such as Cambodian dance, where temple dancers are trained from childhood and
spend all their lives training to perform at ceremonies. In contrast, ritual dancing in
particular indigenous communities in the Philippines does not require extensive formal
training and is usually improvised; in effect, the dancers move as they wish within the
confines of the genre and are not bound to follow any specific choreography. For
example, the ceremonial dances of the Cordillera tribes and the ritualistic healing trance
dances performed by the high priest or priestess of a community (known
as babaylan, katalonan, or mumbaki) are not formally structured. Unlike the
aforementioned Asian classical dance forms, where a few young people in each
community are selected to learn an elaborate dance repertoire for specific occasions,
indigenous Filipinos did not specialize in refining a formal dance tradition but opted to
dance more freely, their bodies "flowing according to the beat of the music and the
pulse of the village" (cited in Reyes-Urtula, Arandez, and Tiongson 1994:36). The early
accounts of Antonio Pigafetta and Fr. Francisco Colin mention in romanticizing and
primitivist fashion that "all the natives danced, as common and natural as breathing"
(ibid.).

In contrast to both of the above—the formal Asian classical forms and the unstructured
ceremonial and healing dances of the Cordillera tribes—the Pangalay dance has a
specific set of postures, gestures, and movements. Practicing dancers develop their
own choreography, not necessarily set to a rigid framework but not unstructured and
free-moving either. This difference could be what Amilbangsa refers to when she refers
to the Pangalay as "closest" to a classical dance form.
Pangalay Dance
PANGALAY LINGGISAN

 Pangalay is a popular festival dance in Sulu. It is performed in wedding celebrations and at big
social affairs. Wedding celebrations among the rich families in Sulu are lavishly observed. They
may last for several days or even weeks depending on the financial status and agreement of both
families.

 Pangalay is a traditional Tausug dance characterized by elaborate body postures and gestures
and the graceful arm and hand movement of the dancer, amplified by the use of janggay or metal
claws. The dance is performed to the music of the kulintangan, gandang, agong and gabang.
Commonly referred to as the fingernail dance, Pangalay is usually performed during weddings
and other festive celebrations.

Prepared by:
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Ian Joe Rebusio

Sheelagh Jane Digno

Time Signature:

 The Girls are using metal claws or also known as Janggay.

 Fan
 2 Bamboos

PROPS AND COSTUME

Pangalay Courtship Dance

DIFFERENT VERSION

OF PANGALAY DANCE
Time Signature

 2/4

What is Pangalay Dance?

 Pangalay Courtship Dance

 Pangalay Linggisan
 Panglay ha Patung
Time Signature:

 4/4

 This dance is performed by a solo female dancer.

 The female dancer is imitating the movement of a bird in a flight

 The Pangalay ha Patung is characterized by two men carrying two bamboo poles on their
shoulders with a solo female dancer keeping her balance on top of the two bamboo poles. This
version of Pangalay paints a picture of a woman dancing on a sail boat.

Origin

PANGALAY ha PATUNG

 This dance is the first version wherein the dancers are imitate the graceful courtship dance of
birds.
 They dance it during wedding ceremony and the guests would tuck money within the fingers of
the female dancers.
The Elements of Dance are the foundational concepts and vocabulary that help
students develop movement skills and understand dance as an artistic practice.

The acronym BASTE helps students remember the elements:

Body
Action
Space
Time
Energy