Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Tagalog, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog and Spanish.

Halo gentle-hearted viewers, welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television.

The Philippines is an archipelagic nation located on the Western Pacific Rim. For thousands of years, the contented and hard-working island residents have developed a highly advanced system of rice farming, which provides the basic sustenance for a wide diversity of indigenous populations. The culture of each aboriginal community displays distinct beauty.

Today, we will look at three unique societies located on Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island and home to the nation’s capital, Manila. The Aetas are believed to be the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the islands. They arrived 30,000 years ago through territorial links with mainland Asia. The nomadic group still retains its original traditions and belief systems.

I’m Dominga Cabyong from Aeta tribe in the Mabalaot Pampanga.

First of all, thank you. We will introduce how our culture is. First is how we get married. From our childhood, our parents already settle who will be our partners. After getting married, our parents will get dowry. We call it from God or Deity. We call him Apo Namalyari. He is our God.

Aetas celebrate their love to God through their cheerful dances and music.

Besides Lord Apo Namalyari, the Aetas also respect the spirits of the mountain, river, ocean, sky, and other places. For thousands of years, they have lived in harmony with nature. Aeta women are famous for their knowledge of herbal medicines. Well-known Aeta crafts include winnows, mats, armlets, palm leaf raincoats, and musical instruments made of bamboo. Here in Pampanga, our means of living is by making flutes, bird whistle.

This is the symbol of our independence and we take pride in it. We inherit this from our ancestors. We inherit and adopt it. We pass it on to our tribes. Like our children, we teach them how to make it so that they will learn the work that we do in our culture. Like our language, the same way with our way of living. We told them it is important to preserve our culture.

Let’s hear some Aeta flute and bird whistle music dedicated to our animal friends. I introduce our song… this play is about saying thanks to call the birds. Like this… Second, the whistle of the birds - our friends – or the frogs in the mountain. That’s it, thank you.

The traditional clothing of Aeta is also closely connected to their spiritual beliefs.

This costume, or what we wear every day, is red in color because this attracts deity. Our deity that protects us every day and heals our children. That’s why we choose this costume.

This is my brother; his name is Loloy. His clothes are the same as mine. The reason why it is red, it also calls the deity and our ancestors who are watching over us. That’s why it’s red. It cannot be not red because this is our tradition.

This necklace, we call it “bangkan.” We get this from the mountain, a high tree.

The devotion and gratefulness of the Aeta people are truly touching! Next, let’s look at the Kalingas, who are rice farmers, potters, and weavers. Traditional Kalinga dresses are practical and vibrantly colorful.

I am Gemma, I am the wife of a Kalinga. I am now with my son, and Salija. They are both Kalinga. And the Kalinga tribe can be found in the Cordillera. We call our clothes “tapis.” We make it ourselves. And they wear “bahag.”

The Kalingas are known for their love for peace and music. The Kalingas have a strong kinship and tribal identify. Through a system called “Bodong” (peace council), regional leaders reach a consensus through which differences in opinion are harmonized. The peace rites are accompanied with traditional dance and music.

One of the Kalingas’ pride is their dance, which they perform during wedding, fiesta. They call this “tachok.”

The talented Kalingas also have some very unique musical instruments. Tongatong balingbing , tongali and kullibaw are just a few of them.

This one they are holding is one of the instruments that the Kalingas use when they dance. Aside from the gong sound, they will use what they call “tongatong” in Kalinga term.

Another instrument is what they call “kullibaw.” This is the one… He will play it.

Music is an essential part of Kalinga life. Let’s enjoy the beautiful flute music and elegant performance of a young Kalinga man in love with a Kalinga lady.

This is another of their instrument called “tongali,” which they use when they court a lady.

Compared with the artistic Kalingas, the Ifugaos are more oriented in engineering. They have built some of the most extensive rice terraces in the world. The name “Ifugao” is derived from “ipugo,” which in their native language means “from the hill.”

Adorned with the beautiful curvatures of perfectly leveled steps covered with rice crops, the verdant Philippine Cordilleras attract a great number of tourists each year. Hand-carved into steep or shallow mountain slopes, the 2000-year-old Banaue Rice Terraces have been enlisted as a United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESO) World Heritage Site.

We are Ifugao, brave and quick, sharp in mind. Our industries are farming and weaving.

Our ancestors are Balitok and Bugan. They were the creators of the famous rice terraces. One of the eight wonders of the world.

Our god is the God of Rice. He is the one who looks over our rice fields. Another god of ours is the God of Granary, who looks over our granary.

The Ifugaos consider rice a sacred food. The time-honored tradition of organic farming is highly valued. In March 2009, together with Banaue Mayor the Honorable Mr. Lino Madchiw, local Greenpeace campaigner Mr. Daniel Ocampo, and Miss Earth Foundation Executive Director Ms. Cathy Untalan, the Honorable Governor Teddy Baguilat Jr. declared that the rice from Ifugao is free from Genetically Modified Organism (GMO). The event marked a major step of the Ifugao community to protect their Earth-friendly traditions and the environment at large.

In Ifugao culture, seasonal harvests are celebrated with a big thanksgiving feast of rice cakes and joyful traditional dances.

We will show you our dance, of the Ifugao people. The first action means our “welcome” to our visitors. The second action means our “freedom.” The third action means our “joyfulness.”

This is our cultural dance. This is our gong when we dance our cultural dance.

Having lived in the mountain jungles for millennia, Ifugaos have developed an interesting way to build their houses

The house of the Ifugao, the Twali house. This is the original one. Next is the Ayangan house. That is also original in the tribes of Ayangan. Another one is the Mayawyaw house. The last one is the Granary house.

If we all go inside, we remove the ladder so that nothing can get inside our room. Under our house, there is a weaving industry. She is doing the weaving. Under here, there is an antique chair. We sit down here when we need to rest.

Here is our rice granary. It has the movable ladder as well. At night we remove it. At night we remove it. And here are Balitok and Bugan who look after us.

An Ifugao idiom says, “We cannot but do what our ancestors told us.” The Ifugao traditional culture values virtuous deeds. Former Senator the Honorable Mr. Mar Roxas is an adopted son of Ifugao. Named by the popular Asiaweek Magazine as “Political Leader of the New Millennium,” he instituted a series of reforms that improved the lives of numerous Philippine citizens during his terms.

We sincerely thank our Aeta, Kalinga, and Ifugao brethren for introducing your time-honored and rich indigenous cultures. May the wisdoms of these age-old traditions help enhance the balance and sustainability of beautiful Philippines and our entire globe.

Delightful viewers, thank you for being with us today on A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble way of Living, after Noteworthy News. Wishing you lasting peace and inner tranquility.