Pangalay (also known as Daling-Daling or Mengalai in
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
)
is the traditional "
fingernail" dance of the
Tausūg people of the
Sulu Archipelago and eastern coast
Bajau of Sabah.
The dance has a similarity to classical
Balinese and
Thai dances, and involves the movements of the shoulders, elbows, and wrists
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
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
concept of male and female celestial angels (Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
: '' Vidhyadhari'', Tausug: ''Biddadari'') common as characters in other Southeast Asian dances.
Neighbouring Sama-Bajau peoples in the Philippines call this type of dance, ''Umaral'' or ''Igal'', and they sometimes use bamboo castanets as substitutes for long fingernails.[
]
Pakiring
A variant of the dance called ''Pakiring'' is practiced by the people of Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
, Sulu and Sabah. The dance emphasizes the sideways swaying movement of the hips (''kiring-kiring'').
A traditional song called ''Kiriring Pakiriring'' often accompanied the pakiring dance. The lyrics of the song are in the Sama language and are thought to have originated from Simunul, where the language is spoken.
A song based on the dance became widely popular nationwide in the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
when it was released in 1998 by Filipino cover band Gaya Band under the title ''Dayang Dayang'' (literally " princess of the first degree") after the song's chorus. The track first appeared on their album ''Best Of Tunog Hataw (Mega Dance Hits in Tagalog Version)'' and then as part of the compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
titled ''Sayaw Pinoy'' released in 2000 through Dyna Records. Before this, the identity of the singer, its authenticity as the original and the language it was sung in remained a matter of debate for almost two decades, with speculations claiming that the singer was Malaysian or Tausug, and that the lyrics were seemingly gibberish. But in 2024, the singer-songwriter of the original version was finally identified as Nur-Ainun Pangilan, known by her stage name
A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Hainun and is a Sama Dilaut singer from the island municipality of Sitangkai in Tawi-Tawi. She first recorded the song in 1996 for a Malaysian recording company in Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...
. The lyrics are in her native Sama Dilaut language and were apparently made up on the spot. In her song, she describes the dance moves of her husband Al who was with her during the recording session, mentioned in the line "'' Lahawla ngigal ngigal si Al''" ("Lahawla, Al is dancing"). The actual title of the song on the original cassette tape
The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...
was ''Dumba Dumba'', and is apparently a Malaysian translation of Sama ''kiring-kiring''.
See also
*Tagonggo
In Sultanate of Sulu, Sulu, tagonggo or tagunggo is a type of music traditionally played by male musicians dressed in their festive fineries. Tagonggo is associated with the Sama-Bajau, Sama, Sama-Bajau, Bajau, and Tausūg people, Tausug ethnicitie ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Video of Tausug ''Pangalay'' performed by the Tambuli Cultural Dance Troupe of Tawi-Tawi
Video of Bajau ''Igal'' performed in Semporna, Sabah
Video of modern ''Pakiring'' (pangalay variant) performed by Hainun of Tawi-Tawi
Dances of the Philippines
Culture of Sulu
Dances of Malaysia