Tinikling is one of the famous dances in the Philippines that originated from the provinces of Leyte in the island of Visayas. The dance name were base on the word "Tikling," a kind of bird that has long leg and neck, sharp beak and soft feathers. The dance itself expresses the movements of the bird everytime they go into the vast grass and runs towards the tree branches and evading field traps.
In this dance, the dancers imitate the movements of the "tikling" bird by way of properly fitting themselves in the 2 pieces of long bamboo pole.
Dance requirements:
The requirements can be increase base on the no. of dancers
Tinikling has also its own tune which title also bring the name "Tinikling." The song only lasted for 3 minutes but most of the time, dancers will choose their own tune that has the same timing and tempo with the original tinikling song.
Lyrics of the song Tinikling
Let's dance tinikling, my love
Like the dance of our grandfather
If the steps will not be properly taken
Two bamboo we will be trap
If you will dance tinikling my dear
Even if movement of the bamboo is swift
Your leg is hard to catch
Like your heart that refuse to love
In the tinikling that is full of dangers
The careless will be caught
A lively heart will also be in loving
What we had in every steps is nervousness
The Legend of Tinikling
In past time, Filipino people are living peacefully in the country until such time that the Spaniards came and had taken control of the country for 333 years. Filipinos were tortured, killed and some of them were use as a slaves. In those extended years of Spanish occupation, the Filipino people were totally became a slave. They were closely watched to monitor if they are doing the their commandments.
Whenever they get tired of work, they took a rest for a while and with that very short time of rest, they were beaten mercilessly by the Spaniards using bamboo poles. Their feet were beaten which resulted to fracture most of the time. That maltreatment were done almost everyday and as the time pass by, they have memorize the movement and the beating of the bamboo. Because of this, they practice the timing of the bamboo beating and use it to their own advantage to avoid being hit by the bamboo poles.
Since then, they name their movements as "tinikling" because they look like a "tikling" bird everytime the Spaniards beat them.
