Read Mode

Darangen



The Darangen is an ancient epic song from Mindanao, the southernmost island of the Philippine archipelago. This region of Mindanao, also known as Lake Lanao, is the traditional homeland of the Maranao, one of the country's major Muslim groups. In the Marano language, Darangen means something that is narrated by song or chant.

The Darangen have been around before the Islamization of the Philippines in the fourteenth century. They were first recognized by an American missionary and teacher, Frank Charles Laubach, who was visiting Lanao in 1930 after attending the Manila Carnival. Laubach first encountered them on his return trip to Lanao by boat. Upon hearing parts of the Darangen, Laubach was so impressed that he immediately contacted Maranao people who could recite certain parts of the epic and transcribed them by typewriter. The nobleman Panggaga Mohammad was Laubach's most reliable source and helped him transcribe the epics. Muhammad was said to know more Maranao songs than any other living man. Laubach published the Darangen in the journal Philippine Public Schools in November 1930. He made it the first time an oral epic had been published, as well as the first time the Maranao language was written in Latin.

During wedding celebrations that typically last several nights, specialized male and female performers sing Darangen. They must have remarkable memory and impromptu skills. They must also use their poetic imaginations. They must be fully versed in customary law and genealogy. They must possess a flawless and elegant voice, and engage the audience with long hours of performance. Music and dance are sometimes performed in addition to chanting. The Darangen has no single author, but it is a collection of stories relating to events from Maranao history, as well as mythical heroes and their tribulations. The Darangen has 17 cycles and contains 72,000 lines, celebrating episodes in Maranao history and those of mythical heroes. In addition to compelling narrative content, the epic explores life and death, courtship, love, and politics and how they are represented through symbols, metaphor, irony, and satire. As well as encoding customary law, social and ethical norms, notions of aesthetic beauty, and social values unique to the Maranao, the Darangen also embodies principles of customary law. To this day, the elders refer to the Darangen when interpreting customary law.

Several challenges face the conservation of the Darangen. Some contemporary Maranao Islamic religious leaders object to the non-Islamic themes in the Darangen. There have been recent revisions that have omitted references to tonong and diwata entirely. Older Darangen singers refuse to sing these revised versions as they are believed to be inauthentic. Since the Darangen includes archaic Maranao, the music is less accessible to modern Maranao speakers leading to decreasing interest among contemporary Maranao youths. Some versions are so old that only the chanters can understand what is sung.

References

[1] [2]


Edit
Discussion
History