Rachel Tan Siringan
8:50 - 9:20 (GMT+1) / 15:50 - 16:20 (GMT+8)
Decolonizing Wellness through My Practice of Pangalay in the Context of Ginhawa
BIOGRAPHY
Rachel T. Siringan is a wayfarer navigating through the sea of life. She is interested in performance, dance and healing, the body, space, and Southeast Asian cultures. She is a Bachelor of Arts (Art Studies: Interdisciplinary) graduate from the University of the Philippines - Diliman (UPD). She is also a member of the Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino (Kontra-GaPi), the resident performing group of the College of Arts and Letters UPD. Kontra-GaPi performs original pieces inspired by the traditions of ethnolinguistic groups of the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
ABSTRACT
Pangalay is a traditional dance style practiced by the Tausug people in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. I learned pangalay as a dance for wellness in the workshops Salimbayan (2019) and Pangalay Quarantine (2020), facilitated by the AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC). The workshop teaches pangalay through the Amilbangsa Instruction Method (AIM) developed by Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa. My experience of pangalay helped me through stressful circumstances leading me to research how pangalay gave me wellness.
As my research revolved around my body and story, I used the method of critical autoethnography. While processing what principles of pangalay gave me a sense of ease and peace, I learned that my practice of pangalay gave me ginhawa instead of wellness.
Wellness is a Western concept developed by the Americans. It is the pursuit of an individual’s optimal holistic health through daily decisions. It became prevalent in the Philippines through spas, massages, and resorts. Attaining wellness is an individual’s responsibility and requires money. In contrast, ginhawa is a Filipino concept of holistic health centered on breathing. It values a person’s breath and emphasizes that our breaths, life, and health are connected to all living beings.
The principles of pangalay taught through AIM that gave me ginhawa are breath-to-movement, balance, and mindfulness. Pangalay made me grateful for my life, which I share through dancing with and for others. Ginhawa, through my practice of pangalay, liberated me from the individualistic, capitalist, and colonial concept of wellness, teaching me that attaining optimal holistic health is communal, political, and decolonial.