Darangen Epic

BAGUIO CITY – The Darangen Epic of the Maranao People of Lake Sebu joined the Hudhud Chants of Ifugao as the " Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritages of Humanity" proclaimed last week by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The Darangen Epic was one of 43 new masterpieces announced last week during the UNESCO's third, and what was feared to be the last, proclamation. Among the more famous masterpieces in this third batch are the Brazilian Samba of Roda from Recôncavo Baiano, Japanese Kabuki, the kris of Indonesia and India's Ramlila or the traditional performance of the Ramayana.

UNESCO defined the title "as an international distinction destined to raise public awareness of the value of this heritage, which includes popular and traditional oral forms of expression, music and dance, rituals and mythologies, knowledge and practices concerning the universe, know-how linked to traditional crafts, as well as cultural spaces."

There are now 90 such masterpieces proclaimed since 2001. The Hudhud chant of the Ifugao here in the Cordillera was proclaimed in 2001.

The Darangen, which was one of the 64 candidates for this year's batch, is often compared to the Ramayana and was said to have been first told in the 14 ^th century. It is a romance of many cycles but basically tells the story of Princess Gandingan and Prince Bantungan. The Darangen gives us a glimpse of the culture of the Lake Sebu Maranaos before they were colonized.

The Darangen comprises 17 cycles and 72,000 lines and encompasses everything from love, ethics, customary laws, politics and social values.

It literally means "to narrate in song" in Maranao.

According to the earlier pronouncement of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the Darangen would be included in national school curriculum.

According to the Unesco press release, though the Darangen is orally transmitted, parts of the epic had been recorded in manuscript using an obsolete Arabic –based writing system.

"Being cherished as heirlooms by certain Maranao families, these manuscripts are highly valued for their antiquity and prestige value. Specialised performers of either sex sing the Darangen during wedding celebrations that typically last several nights," Unesco said.

"Nowadays, the Darangen is infrequently performed owing in part to its rich vocabulary and archaic linguistic forms that can only be understood by practitioners, elders and scholars. Indeed, the growing tendency to embrace mainstream Filipino lifestyles represents a serious threat to the survival of this ancient epic," it added.

The National Museum and National Library, which also archived the Hudhud, was also tasked to set up an archive of the epic in its complete form, allowing for the epic's preservation and promotion.

These two Filipino "intangible masterpieces" may be the last of its kind.

In 2003, UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage which stipulates that a Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity be created, alongside a List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

That meant that preservation efforts would include only these 90 masterpieces.

Although Hudhud was the only Southeast Asian "treasure" included in 2001, this year's list also included Sbek Thom or Khmer shadow theatre for Cambodia and the space of Gong culture in the Central Highland of Vietnam. In 2003, the court music of Nha Nhac State of Vietnam, Royal Ballet of Cambodia and Wayang puppet theater of Indonesia were included together with the Bunraku puppet theater of Japan, Vedic chanting of India and Gujin music of China.