Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Communication
Department of Communication Research
NDC Campus Anonas Street Sta. Mesa, Manila

Strengthening Filipino’s Cultural Communication

Term Paper

on

Rural/folk Media

Farochilen Kimberly, Ilagan Ken Zimon, Mercado Jierem Anne, Pianar Kathlyn Pretzel

BACR 1-1

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

COMM 20023 Introduction to Communication and Media
First Semester AY 2019-2020

20, September 2019

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Strengthening Filipino’s Cultural Communication

1.0 Introduction

Today, there are a lot of various media forms/platforms used for communication as well as the use

of communication in our day to day life. Communication is not only defined as using social media,

watching television or printing, etc. Even before there are other platforms or ways of

communication that exist in different forms. Even today we can find communities where there is

no proper service of electricity to use any social media and people might not be able to view

television or access to the internet. Folk media is one of the platforms that they used in effective

communication and it helps people to connect with other people through their cultures. Folk media

can be formed as the language of expression for the local populace and can give them a chance to

speak out their opinions. They have also developed different ways of communication depending

upon the local language and culture. Unlike modern media, traditional folk media is the medium

that caters to an ethno-rural community through their different folk art such as dances, songs,

drama, folk tales, etc. transferred to a group of societies from one generation to another. They are

native modes and have served the society as tools/medium of communication for ages. Today, the

form of our way of communication or our media is through using any kind of social media. In

traditional folk media forms like storytelling, theatre, dance, singing, etc., your/our body is our

media. They create messages, information and communicate without using any form of mass

media. They create your own media. Now we know what is folk media, let us now discuss the

different forms/types of Folk Media.

One of the popular forms of traditional folk media is the “Folk Dance.” They captivate the eyes

of the audience because of their colorful, vibrant, melancholic, beautiful, cultured – all these
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attributes form the essence of folk dances. In a folk dance, in every tribe, they have different forms

of dances, dress, accessories, symbols, and motifs. Folk dance is developed by people that

speculate the life of the people in a particular country. Folk dances are usually danced at social

gatherings or in a festival that can but is not needed to have a particular dancing stage. Traditional

folk dances are an excellent mix of traditional folk music and folk tales that help effectively

communicate messages.

Another popular folk media is “Folk Music.” Music is supervised by the language, native

accent, and instruments used by the local people. Folk music is especially cherished since it does

not require elaborate setups or any preparation. Folk music is any style of music that represents a

community and can be sung or played by people who may or may not be trained musicians,

using the instruments accessible to them. Wherever a crowd gathers, people begin to sing and

others gradually join.

Puppets are like toys; the movement of a puppet depends on a person on how he/she will make

them move. Puppetry is another form of folk media that is eventually exciting and informational.

Puppets come in four basic types- glove puppets, string puppets, rod puppets, and shadow puppets.

Puppet shows follow a story, a popular legend or a folk tale and end in a moral or cultural message.

Paintings and sculptures also form an integral part of traditional folk media. Paintings have

different interpretations it depends on the painter and the audience on how the will understand the

message of it. The paintings portray the life and socio-cultural environment of local people. This
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is a form of expression without words or music. They are not just images but give us a clear idea

of what the people face in a societal setup, their problems, their struggles, etc.

FOLK DANCES IN

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines has many popular folk dances that have developed and grown as they have been

passed down from generation to generation. Although a particular dance might be performed

slightly differently from one region to the next, it remains true to its roots.

Salakot Dance

Salakot Dance is a folk dance in Luzon. Salakot is a

piece of headgear that made of rattan and it is usually

used by the farmers to protect them from the heat of the

sun. Salakot also signifies the Filipino because aside

from the farmers it is also used by Filipinos with

different statuses. Salakot dance is accompanied by the rondalla music play fast rhythm folk songs.
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Ragragsakan Dance

The Kalingga adopted the beautiful word ragragsakan

from the Ilocano, which means "merriment." The two

biggest occasions for a ragragsakan in a Kalinga village

are for the homecoming of successful head takers and

the culmination of peace-pact between warring tribes.

This dance describes the walk of the industrious

Kalingga women, carrying water pots on their heads and wearing the colorful hand-woven

"blankets of life" around their necks. In this dance, Kalinga maidens they balance labba baskets

on their heads, wave colorful tribal blankets, and sing short salidumay songs as they snake through

the terrace dikes and skip through breaks in the path.

Tinikling Dance

Traditionally the fast-paced dance is performed by

females who quickly and precisely move their feet

between long bamboo poles that are tapped together

rhythmically by on looking males. The females’ tricky

footwork is contrasted with their lyrical arm

movements.
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FOLK MUSIC IN

PHILIPPINES

Mag tanim ay Di biro

Ay ay ay o pag-ibig

Leron Leron Sinta

Bahay Kubo

Sitsiritsit Alibang bang

PUPPETRY IN

PHILIPPINES

The Puppetry in the Philippines started since the time of Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero when

he staged the play named “CARILLO” or shadow puppetry. He used a carton and a stick and he

placed this at the back of the white cloth. Then he used candlelight at the back of the puppets.

Hand Puppet

Puppets made of foam and cloth. In puppetry, there is a person that

drives the puppet to move called the puppeteer’s and her/his hand

should be inserted in the neck holding the flap to open the puppet

mouth. Manipulations are limited to the mouth, neck, arms, and hands. Sometimes,

movements of the eye, eyebrows, ears, nose, and hair are include
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Stick Puppetry

A nursery type of puppets made of cardboard and sticks.

Manipulation is through the movement of sticks. Puppeteers perform

from below.

Shadow Puppetry

Puppets are made of animal skin and sticks. Puppeteer performs from

the back of a white cloth with light at the back of puppets.

PAINTINGS IN

PHILIPPINES
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2.0 Origin and History of Rural and Folk media

2.1. History of Folk Media in the World

Folk Media was first formally noticed in the Philippines and later in London when the UNESCO

sponsored conference of communication experts and discussed the hidden dimensions of folk

media. They recommended that the systematic use of these media can prove to be of great impact

in community based work leading to development. Another seminar sponsored by UNESCO on

the "Integrated use of folk media and mass media" on a theme like family planning held at New

Delhi, Oct 1974. discussed the theme with practical models of typical traditional performing arts

drawn from different corners of India. It was concluded that folk media could play a compelling

role in changing the mass mind when handled with care, and that they would bring a greater sense

of intimacy, variety and virility to mass media

Folk media which were used during the pre-Spanish period continued to provide the information,

education and entertainment needs of the people. Coseteng and Nemenzo (1986) noted the strong

Spanish or Christian elements grafted into their original forms. Among our folk media are

cenaculo, pastores, pasyon, awit and corrido, balagtasan, balitao, and duplo.

2.2 Folk Media in the Philippines

The Philippines has a large and dynamic artistic society because of its cultural heritages. Arts in

the Philippines are greatly influenced by religion and the culture of different regions just like in

India. Early Filipinos have been involved with pottery and painting as well as literature especially

in the Spanish regime. Many of the visual arts presented have inspired the different that Filipino

people celebrate. Filipinos were also involved in theatrical arts. For an instance, there are a lot of
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folk dances in different regions and many Filipinos are famous in this field. In line with music,

many composers and artists are known globally because of their world class talent. Theater and

cinema is commonly based on culture and history of the country. The natural sceneries in the

Philippines are known more like the Boracay Beach, Mayon Volcano, and the Underground River

in Palawan. The art and culture of the Philippines definitely show their diversity formed through

the union of the different ethnic and linguistic groups.

Literature

Doctrina Christiana was the first book printed in the Philippines on 1593. Tomas Pinpin

wrote and printed in 1610 Librong Pagaaralan nang mga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla, 119 pages

designed to help fellow Filipinos to learn the Spanish language in a simple way. He is also credited

with the first news publication made in the Philippines, "Successos Felices", Clasical literature in

Spanish. La Esperanza, the first daily newspaper, was published in the country on December 1,

1846. Other early newspapers were La Estrella on 1847, Diario de Manila on 1848 and Boletin

Oficial de Filipinas on 1852. El Eco de Vigan was the first provincial newspaper which was issued

in Ilocos on 1884. In Cebu City "El Boletín de Cebú" (The Bulletin of Cebu), was published in

1890.

There are different kinds of poetry and metrical romances in the Philippine Literature. Ladino

poems were natives of first Tagalog versifiers who saw print and were highly literate in both

Spanish and the vernacular. Awit and Corridos were widely read during the Spanish period for

entertainment as well as edifying reading matter in their leisure moments. The prose works of the

Spanish Period consist of mostly translations of religious writings in foreign languages. Religious

dramas in the Philippines are the Panunuluyan which means “seeking entrance”, the Tagalog
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version of the Mexican Las Posadas. Held on the eve of Christmas, it dramatizes Joseph's and

Mary's search for Bethlehem. Cenaculo is the dramatization of the passion and death of Jesus

Christ. Salubong is an Easter play that dramatizes the meeting of the Risen Christ and His Mother.

Moriones refers to the participant’s dressed roman soldiers, their identities hidden behind colorful,

sometimes grotesque, wooden masks. The Santacruzan is performed during the month of May

which have the devotion for the Holy Cross. It depicts St. Elena's search for the cross on which

Christ died. Pangangaluwa is an interesting socio-religious practice on All Saint's Day which

literally means for The Soul.

Secular dramas in the Philippines were generally held during the nine nights of vigil and prayers

after someone's death, on the first death anniversary when the family members put away their

mourning clothes. The Karagatan comes from the legendary practice of testing the mettle of young

men vying for a maiden's hand. The maiden's ring would be dropped into sea and whoever retrieves

it would have the girl's hand in marriage. The Duplo is a forerunner of the balagtasan. The

performances consist of two teams; One composed of young women called Dupleras or Belyakas;

and the other, of young men called Dupleros or Belyakos. The Comedia is about a courtly love

between, a prince and a princess of different religions. It is about a Christian-Muslim relationship.

Modern literature (20th and 21st century)

The greatest portion of Spanish literature was written during the American period, most often as

an expression of pro-Hispanic nationalism, by those who had been educated in Spanish or had

lived in the Spanish-speaking society of the big cities, and whose principles entered in conflict
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with the American cultural trends.). Apart from the works in Spanish, the only remarkable and

valuable Filipino writer writing in the English language is Nick Joaquin.

3.0 Audience

The use of traditional media is form of a helping hand in the development programs and it seemed

to out shine the bigness of mass media that characterizes non-participatory, unidirectional

imbalance in short one way flow of information from urban to rural communities that accentuated

people's development in values, beliefs, attitudes and societal needs.

Folk media is open for either male or female domination or egalitarian. Many of the developmental

efforts, have to be aimed at the community as a whole rather than at divided individuals. Also,

local talent and localized message would have more credibility than those centralized one’s

emanating now from state capitals. They may prove a better outlet for egalitarian messages than

the present elite press, film or radio-TV. There is a commonality about them. Acceptability,

cultural relevance, entertainment value, localized language, legitimacy, flexibility, message

repetition ability, instant two-way communication, etc. are among their virtues. Folk forms may

be better carriers of the 'total' message-welfare of the whole society in the many-sidedness of

cultural, economic and social development-for up-lifting the quality of rural life in its entirety

rather than bifurcated and narrow message beams such as those of family planning

After the plays are over, the audience is invited to join in discussions with students and rural

sociologists involved in the project. Script development also takes villagers into consideration;

students spend time in villages learning of farmers' problems before they write scripts. Each play

is honed to make a precise and detailed statement, argues for self-reliance and takes note of
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religious sensitivities of various regions.3' (Similar local drama troupes exist in the Philippines,

one of which is the Kulturang Tabonon sa Dabaw (Brown Culture Drama Group of Davao).

Kulturang Tabonon pre-pares and presents dramas for social awareness, including themes on the

struggle of the oppressed, the plight of cultural minorities and the efforts at community

organization. After presenting their plays, the troupes divide audiences into small groups to discuss

issues brought out in the plays.

Mostly, the audience of the folk media revolves around the community they are in. As for the

Philippines which is an archipelago, it can be notice that every island/region has its own different

kind of culture of communication. Also, tourist may witness these kind of communication if they

let themselves emerge in a certain community.

4.0 Current Developments in Rural Folk Media

As often is the case, although we have had a considerable amount of talk about whether folk media

can be used to transmit developmental messages, we have had very little systematic research on

the question. Sketchy account of Philippine history tells us that an indigenous form of

communication was already in existence as evidenced by writings on barks and bamboos, riddles

and songs. But what are the current developments of the folk media as it pass through digital age?

4.1. Coming into Urban Cities

Through media and technology many individual learn to open their minds and have an

inclination to the said medium, many wanderer and seekers try to emerge themselves in the

locals. And also, indigenous people come into urban to showcase their talents and express

themselves that also tells their ethnicity and story.

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4.2 Significance

Today, as social media emerges on mass media, and less interaction in personally folk media

continuously showcasing crafts through places which can people sees them which commonly

in “bahay aliwan” or place for entertainment. And the purpose od social media is to send invites

in all of the people to hear their stories and how great Philippine’s culture are.

5. Prospects of the Medium

This medium will still be recognize in the future due to its advantages ,such as: its

familiarity, low costs, highly impactful, high audience participation, high interest arousal capacity,

availability and enjoyed by all age group, communication barriers are almost non-existent, etc.

This medium is evolving with the help of modern technology, its existence in this days is a proof

that it is able to evolve and continuously evolving in order to survive and keep up to this times.

- This medium will not seize to exist as long as there is a native or indigenous people who

still acknowledge and use this type of media. In the third world country like the Philippines, in

which there is a high population of indigenous people that live in the far corners of the country,

there is so many areas, rural areas in particular, that has no electricity thus the natives tend to settle

to the media that are within their reach ,therefore the Folk Media will still remain and still be

recognize in the future.

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References

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Braid, F. & Tuazon, R. (1999). Communication Media in the Philippines. Philippine Studies, 47(3), p.296

Janer et al. Indian and Philippine Culture. Retrieved from http://philindia.weebly.com

Lent, J.A (2014) Grassroots Renaissance: The increasing importance of Folk media in Third World
Nations. Published by Nanzan University. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1178075 .

Liwanag, A. (2011, August 11). Roppets. Retrived from

https://www.roppets.com/blog/history-of-puppetry-in-the-philippines/

Roper, Kelly. (2016). Retrieved from

https://dance.lovetoknow.com/List_of_Philippine_Folk_Dance

Ruehl, Kim. (2019, February 13). Retrived from https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-folk-

music-1322534
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