Tayaw ni Tadaw (The Monkey Dance)

The Kalanguya tribe are scattered in the provinces of Ifugao, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, and Nueva Ecija. In Benguet, most of the Kalanguya people reside in some barangays in the municipalities of Kabayan, Bokod, Buguias, and Tuba.

In the municipality of Kabayan, there are 3 barangays where Kalanguyas settle; Ballay, Luhod (Lusod), and Tawangan. In my previous blogs, I talked about some of the tales of the tourist spots in Ballay. Now, what I wanna focus on is one of Barangay Lusod’s pride, the Monkey Dance.

This dance is not that popular comparing to the ritual/cultural dance ‘Tayaw’, but I want to share why it was created. One of my highschool teachers, Mr. Cortes Ebas, was kind enough to share his work/research about this dance

According to the story, along time ago, there was a family in Payantak, Lusod, Kabayan who took care of a monkey. They treated the monkey well and considered it as a part of the family. This family trained the said monkey to do household chores and to make sure that it opens the chicken cage in the mornings, and closes in the evenings, when the chickens get in the cage. Not only that this monkey helped in household chores, but also accompanies the family in the fields to work.

One day though, while they were on their way going home from the fields, it rained hard. The river they were crossing overflew and unfortunately, the strong current took the monkey and it drowned. It died. The family brought the monkey’s body home to bury. There was no burial ritual done but it was given a decent burial.

Days passed, and suddenly the head of the family got ill. All home remedy medicine they tried didn’t cure him until they consulted a “manhib-ok” ( synonymous to a faith healer) for a ritual to be done for him to be cured. The Manhib-ok told them, “apet manayaw kuno hota aki/tadaw” ( a dance ritual for the dead monkey). So, during the dance ritual, the performers mimicked the facial expressions and actions of a monkey, therefore called “tayaw ni tadaw” (monkey dance).

In this modern time, performers dance this for the sole purpose of entertainment. If you actually see it up close and personal when it is being perform, it is hilarious, especially when the performers exactly mimic how monkeys act.

Unfortunately, I couldnt be able to upload the video of the dance in this site, but you can always search in youtube or in google, there will be a couple of videos of the monkey dance.

Lusod is the nearest barangay in the highest mountain of Northen Luzon, Mt. Pulag. When you have a chance of going to the place, perhaps you can ask if the locals can perform the dance for you.