Sisiye te Orodinge: Sustaining Mangalay as a Sangil Creative Process in Balut Island, Philippines

Abstract

As an embodied heritage practice rooted in cultural aesthetics, mangalay functions as a vital marker of identity and continuity among the Sangil of Balut Island in Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Philippines. While Philippine dance scholarship has extensively documented other regional dance forms, this local practice remains largely underexamined in ethnographic literature. Thus, this study explores how Sangil performers sustain mangalay as a living heritage practice while negotiating creativity, continuity, and socio-cultural change. Adopting a qualitative ethnographic approach, the research draws on participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis with two recognized practitioners, Halim G. Tabi, Jr., and Roosevelt K. Atche, Jr. The findings reveal that mangalay is sustained through sisiye orodinge—a culturally sanctioned individual style that enables creative extemporization within established Sangil aesthetic conventions of fluidity, groundedness, and grace. While practitioners actively adapt the form through environmental inspiration, musical dialogue, and embodied memory, challenges such as digitalization, limited performance venues, and shifting community priorities necessitate community-rooted strategies for transmission. The study highlights how mangalay operates not as a static tradition but as a dynamically sustained practice shaped by embodied agency and collective responsibility. By foregrounding the interplay between individual creativity and communal continuity, this research contributes to broader discussions in dance ethnology and cultural sustainability, particularly within indigenous performance practices in the southern Philippines.