The sublî is a religious folk dance mostly practiced in Batangas in the Philippines, originating in Bauan and Alitagtag, Batangas, and practiced in other parts of that province in the southwestern part of Luzon. It is a Catholic devotional practice (often described as a "prayer") honouring the Holy Cross of Alitagtag (Tagalog: Mahál na Poóng Santa Krus), traditionally done during the Feast of the Mahal na Poon on May 3. It is also done during any other auspicious events like birthdays, graduation ceremonies, and healing rituals on any day of the year except during Lent, generally to fulfill a panata (sacred negotiation).
Etymology edit
The name sublî is a portmanteau of the Tagalog words subsób ("bent", "stooped", also "fall on the face") and balî (also "bent" or "broken"), referring to the posture adopted by male dancers. Both men and women dancers—called manunublî (meaning "them that sublî")—perform in pairs and various formations.
History edit
The birth of the dance is interwined with the discovery of the Cross of Alitagtag. In Bauan was a couple; the abusive, alcoholic husband that loves to gamble came home one night to find no food nor water, and angrily demanded his wife to a distant well to draw water. When she successfully returned rather suspiciously quickly, he ordered her to retrieve water again while subsequently following her in secret, and finally discovers she was drawing from another spring from a dark, cross-shaped tree. Suddenly, a blinding light emanating from the tree flooded the area, and the awestruck husband repented of his sinful ways.
Devotional ceremony edit
The women's costume includes a straw hat adorned with ribbons, which are waved about, removed, tipped in salute to a copy of the Cross set on an altar, or used to make other graceful gestures.
Traditionally, a chant to the Holy Cross is sometimes intoned at the beginning of the sublî, typically sung by women narrating the retrieval of the cross by the manunubli in Bauan in a dense, archaic, metaphorical language (talinghaga). The song attributes the manunubli to various ritual paraphernelia while describing their aspirations to find the Cross:
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O mga kambulong |
Oh, companions |
Another song emphasizes the magnanimity of the transfer of the cross to Alitagtag by metaphorically attributing to various forms of transformations undergone by natural flora.
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Sa una’y ang timbo |
In the beginning, the timbo |
Pinakasubli edit
The accompanying music follows only by the constant beating of drums, punctuated by the clacking of wooden castanets (kalaste) played by the men. The frenetic rhythm of the drums is also seen as proof of the custom's prehispanic origins, in line with the theory that it is a Christianised version of much older, animist rites. The rhythmic mode done in Sinala, Bauan, considered the original, is identical to the tagunggo mode and was perhaps either influenced by or related to it. Theatrical versions (often performed in secular settings, outside of a devotional context) are set to a rondalla ensemble playing a tune by Juan P. Silos.