Tallibeng

Tallibeng is a traditional community dance among the Cordillerans. The dance is usually performed during a town fiesta or wedding celebrations to the accompaniment of gongs.

The musical instruments used in this dance are gongs, which are disc-shaped instruments of the percussion type. These gongs have Malayan origin, particularly Chinese. The musicians are men only, the number of which varies from four to more than ten. The gongs are held form a string with one hand and beaten by the other hand with a stick about eight inches long, one end of which is wrapped wit a piece of cloth and tied with a string or a thin piece of rattan. The wrapped end is the one used to hit the gong so that the sound produced is soft and mellow. The gong is called ganza by the Igorots and the stick with which they beat the gong is called pattong.

The tempo varies from slow to fast- the beat players prefer the slow tempo. The fast tempo goes about as fast as the fox trot of the modern dance. Lifting and brushing their feet one after the other to the rhythm of the instruments, the musicians go around in a single circle. They go from left to right following a leader whose feet and bodily movements and other gestures are imitated by the rest of the players. With the good and experienced players, the rhythm is almost perfect.

There is only one basic step in this dance, this is done as follows: Brush the right foot slightly backward on count 1. Brush the left foot slightly forward on count and.

The leader of the ganza players start playing first in order to set the correct rhythm and tempo. The rest of the players follow the rhythm. These players go around in a counter-clockwise direction, beating their gongs and dancing the above step. At this moment, the dancers are still among the crowd. After 16 measure or so, the dancers enter within the circle formed by the gong men. The number varies from twelve to twenty men and women. The girls follow the steps of the musicians. Their arms are in second position, palms closed raising slightly upward and downward to the rhythm of the music.

The men also follow the above basic step. Their arms are in second position with their palms facing down.

While the dance is going on, two men called men-ay-ay-ay (spear and shield brandishers) come, each armed with a spear and shield. They follow the same basic step and demonstrate a spear fight within the circle. The spears are real but the men-ay-ay-ay are very careful not to hurt each other. One of them pretends to be defeated and falls on his back. Then the dance continues.

Later on in the course of the dance, a man called menbaliwat goes near the dancers and musicians and shouts his baliwat (boasting). He shouts,”Hoot tallibeng yo’y baballo. Binili na-alako. Idampakaw, et dipapena dinogsa. Sanat isa-at begnasan takoy umili.” (“My grandfather went to Mount Ampakaw, killed an enemy, brought him to town and we have a town feast.”). The baliwat may be a brief recount of a brave deed of a local hero or of his own deeds if he had any. The dancers and musicians stop all kinds of movements and sounds while the menbaliwat is reciting. When this through, the dancers and musicians squat where they happen to be forming a semi-circle formation. In this position and formation, everybody chant a native song.

After the chant, another set of dancers and musicians start the dance all over again.

The Tallibeng may be danced during a town fiesta called begnas in commemoration of past tribal wars or during a wedding called babayan.