So I thought I could dance...
I don't know what it is... but learning the dances of the Ifugao has been quite... difficult. Looks simple enough... but we (APDT) are all just having the darndest time trying to execute the movements. Two nights in a row already i've gone home wondering why i'm doing this... This has been such a trying week. I know nothing.
The "boys" are great though. There's always lots of laughter. But man... we are all stressed out. At least, the men are beautiful on stage. The flurry of red bahags, and the feathers, and the dongla head dresses, and the hypnotizing and intense him-mung to the beat of the pat-tung is absolutely mezmerizing.
from the program...
"Before the him-mung the tingiting is performed. The priest goes into the forest to divine the will of the spirits. The call of the "ido" bird must be heard before the him-mung can begin. Him-mung - in a state of trance the men while playing the pat-tung dances for three days from the forest clearing to the house of the dead.
The Him-mung is a ritual... seeking justice for the dead, balancing the energy of the universe..."
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