Subli

The sublî is a religious folk dance mostly practiced in Batangas in the Philippines, originating in Bauan and Alitagtag, Batangas, and practiced in other parts of that province in the southwestern part of Luzon. It is a Catholic devotional practice (often described as a "prayer") honouring the Holy Cross of Alitagtag (Tagalog: Mahál na Poóng Santa Krus), traditionally done during the Feast of the Mahal na Poon on May 3. It is also done during any other auspicious events like birthdays, graduation ceremonies, and healing rituals on any day of the year except during Lent, generally to fulfill a panata (sacred negotiation).

Etymology

The name sublî is a portmanteau of the Tagalog words subsób ("bent", "stooped", also "fall on the face") and balî (also "bent" or "broken"), referring to the posture adopted by male dancers. Both men and women dancers—called manunublî (meaning "them that sublî")—perform in pairs and various formations.

History

The birth of the dance is interwined with the discovery of the Cross of Alitagtag. In Bauan was a couple; the abusive, alcoholic husband that loves to gamble came home one night to find no food nor water, and angrily demanded his wife to a distant well to draw water. When she successfully returned rather suspiciously quickly, he ordered her to retrieve water again while subsequently following her in secret, and finally discovers she was drawing from another spring from a dark, cross-shaped tree. Suddenly, a blinding light emanating from the tree flooded the area, and the awestruck husband repented of his sinful ways.

Devotional ceremony

The women's costume includes a straw hat adorned with ribbons, which are waved about, removed, tipped in salute to a copy of the Cross set on an altar, or used to make other graceful gestures.

Traditionally, a chant to the Holy Cross is sometimes intoned at the beginning of the sublî, typically sung by women narrating the retrieval of the cross by the manunubli in Bauan in a dense, archaic, metaphorical language (talinghaga). The song attributes the manunubli to various ritual paraphernelia while describing their aspirations to find the Cross:

O mga kambulong Ba tayo sa maykawong May nabalita doon Kurus na bagong bangon Bagong tagang balayong Sa iyo'y nuhos nalon Dugo ng Panginoon O mga kapipino Halina aba tayo Sa Alitagtag mambo Doon daw nagmimilagro Itong krus na ito Ang Poong milagroso Si Hesus Nazarieno O katampok ng singsing Sunoy kayo sa akin Ating paghahanapin Ang nagmimilagrong garing Kurus na Ama naming O mga damoro Itong aking likmo Huwag aariing biro Estacion kung tanto Nobenas kung may pangako O mga kabulaklak Itong ating paglakad Inaari mong hamak Estase yung kung dapat Lubenas kung may palad

Oh, companions Let us go to maykawong There is news of A newly raised cross A newly felled balayong From this pours and flows The blood of the Lord Oh, fellow refined ones Let us go To bathe in Alitagtag Miracles have been wrought there By this cross The miraculous Lord Jesus of Nazareth Oh, fellow gemstones Follow me Let us search For the miracle working ivory Our Father Cross Oh, fellow spices This our enthronement Do not treat it as a joke There must be, as you know A novena if that has been promised Oh, fellow flowers This our journey Let us accept sincerely There must be A novena if that is fated

Another song emphasizes the magnanimity of the transfer of the cross to Alitagtag by metaphorically attributing to various forms of transformations undergone by natural flora.

Sa una’y ang timbo Ang dahon ay lagolo Ngayon, kaibang anyo Krus ang tumubo Sa una’y ang tikas Ang dahon ay bayabas Ngayon ay kaibang hinap Ang tumubo perlas Sa una’y ang pisig Ang damo ay talahib Ngayo’y kaibang dikit Krus ang tumirik Sa una’y ang paite Ang dahon ay lagundi Ngayon kaiba ngani Krus ang nabunyi Sa una’y ang kasaysayan Bundok at kaparangan Ngayo’y naging simbahan Napagnonobenahan Taong makasalanan

In the beginning, the timbo Its leaves were lagolo Today, it has a different form A cross has sprouted In the beginning, the tikas Its leaves were of the guava Now it is of a different stain It has sprouted pearls In the beginning, the small bamboo Its grass was talahib Today it shines differently The cross has been planted In the beginning the paite Its leaves were lagundi Today it is truly different The cross is celebrated In the beginning, the tale Was of the mountains and the fields Today it is of the church Where prayers are said By sinful men

Pinakasubli

The accompanying music follows only by the constant beating of drums, punctuated by the clacking of wooden castanets (kalaste) played by the men. The frenetic rhythm of the drums is also seen as proof of the custom's prehispanic origins, in line with the theory that it is a Christianised version of much older, animist rites. The rhythmic mode done in Sinala, Bauan, considered the original, is identical to the tagunggo mode and was perhaps either influenced by or related to it. Theatrical versions (often performed in secular settings, outside of a devotional context) are set to a rondalla ensemble playing a tune by Juan P. Silos.

See also

• Dance in the Philippines

External links

• Agoncillo version
• Sinala version
• Talumpok version