Pangalay
Okir in Motion
As a picture is said to paint a thousand words, so does the Muslim dance, pangalay, that is a treasured tradition in Southern Mindanao.
A religious injunction prohibits the portrayal of man or animals in Muslim art. Allah alone can give life, no man should paint or draw a creature to which he cannot give life. Thus calligraphy and intricate designs consisting of leaves and flowers became the hallmark of Muslim Art. In Southern Philippines, the generic term for this is "okir", which is done on wood—carved, etched, painted, or sketched—and any surface like fabric, paper, and stone on which okir can be painted or drawn. Pangalay is okir in motion.
When Gawad Kalinga came to Mindanao bringing their message of hope and courage, the gratitude of the people were expressed in their performance of the pangalay. These four ladies wore their special malong (Filipino Muslim equivalent of the Indonesian sarong), evidently handwoven and certainly with okir designs.
The "story"is not so much in the hands as it is in the totality of the shape that the body takes with the placement of arms and hand, and the body in various positions. A photograph taken at any given moment is practically a painting.
Most babies can sing before they could talk and dance before they could walk. Pangalay in the blood of the Muslim Filipinos, as men and women learn the dance at a very early age.
Pangalay is performed both indoors and outdoors.
