One With The Tribe: Part 3

Written by Chrishandra Sebastiampillai

Pictures by Jonathan Lim, Sarah Chong and Melissa Chia

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     Last night, we attended the last dress rehearsal of Tribu Panayanon in their school hall. We managed to speak with some of the dancers, and caught a glimpse of their preparations for today, the morning of the Dinagyang Ati-ati competition.

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     We are up bright and early, sitting in our jeepney and heading into the heart of the city. As part of Team Moonraker, I am headed to the Capitol judging stage. Traffic is heavy, and roads on the parade route have been shut, which means that we will have to continue on foot. The way is not entirely unfamiliar, as we spent yesterday covering the same area for the Kasadyahan parade- read about our adventure in pursuit of a good vantage point for filming HERE, and the rest of our team’s encounters HERE. 

     We move now like veterans through the crowd, no longer intimidated or stressed out by the sheer volume of people pressing around us. Wholly unexpectedly, a Filipino man walks by us wearing a ‘Vote Barisan National’ t-shirt with a picture of Najib on it. Even out here, Malaysia boleh. 

     Today is the day of the big reveal- today, we would see the dancers costumed and made up in their full glory, and the snake and moons come to life. After the usual slew of speeches (the Filipinos take their speeches very seriously) and the national anthem, the Ati- Ati Competition began, fittingly kicked off by an exhibition performance by an actual Ati tribe. They weren’t competing, but they were certainly up to the standard of the day’s competition. 

     Three more tribes performed well and uneventfully. Then came the turn of Tribu Panayanon. It was quickly evident from the cheers of the crowd that they were a hot favourite. This was the first time that even we privileged few saw the props and costume changes in all their glory.

The performance opens with the painted screens depicting tribal life.

The painted screens part to reveal the dancers behind on a movable platform. The dancers then surge forward, uttering a war cry.

Detail of make up and costume

The women join in. The dancers are in the process of executing a minor costume change- the women's skirts unwrap and reverse to show a different pattern. The moons have also been brought forward. 

At this stage, the snake makes its grand entrance, pulled, pushed and steered by a platoon of boys dressed in blue pants of the same shade.

The moondancers did not remain static. At times they joined the rest of the dancers on foot. Here, they are remounting their lunar pedestals. Note that the snake is partially visible at the extreme right of the picture.

A costume change later, they are back in action.

The tribesmen do not give up their moon without a fight. Here, they are doing their utmost to defend the moon, seen fleeing from the snake.

A new wave of warriors descend to defend the moon.

But the snake corners the moon... and eats it.

The villagers bang on metal trays and drums, hoping to scare the snake away.

Frightened, the snake regurgitates the moon, and retreats.

Victorious, the villagers don vibrant head dresses to celebrate the vanquishing of the snake

The Savage and the Saviour: It's Señor Santo Niño that they have to thank for their deliverance

     They ended with a loud cry of Viva Señor Santo Niño! Viva! Viva! Dinagyang!

     The crowd was ecstatic, of course. No other performance could touch it in terms of dynamism- something was always moving, changing and amazing. Tribu Panayanon held the crowd captive from start to finish. It came as no surprise to any of us when Tribu Panayanon was announced as the winner of the competition.

     Some time later, Vincent (via Facebook) tells me “We are so very happy. Because it was our only dream to win this competition. And now it is in our hands!”

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    Señor Santo Niño impressed Himself on us travellers in a variety of ways throughout the festival. His image was everywhere- posters, T-shirts, jeepneys, the newspaper and the many little statues carried by the faithful or sold by street vendors. But perhaps His most startling appearance was the parade of little Santo Niños-  the 20 little boys dressed to honour him in the processions held in church and on the street.

    Four days prior to the climax of the Dinagyang Festival, I sat in a pew in San Jose’s church, watching for the first time ever a parade of small boys dressed as Jesus. Some had long curly hair, while others too young to walk were carried in by beaming parents.All had royal red velvet robes trimmed in gold. A soundtrack of what sounded like circus parade music played in the background.

    I was fascinated.

   Across the aisle, on the very same row, I caught sight of a familiar figure. Rommel met my glance, and perhaps seeing the amazement on my face, shrugged and grinned.

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Chrishandra graduated from Monash University’s School of Arts and Social Sciences in November 2012, determined to go far in life. She made it exactly three floors downstairs to the Advancement department where she is currently working till starting Honours in an office called ‘Relationship Management’. Yes. Stop sniggering.