SCI 11_ACTIVITY 1_LANZANAS

BUKLOG

RITUAL SYSTEM OF THE

SUBANEN TRIBE

AN ORAL TRADITION

What is Buklog?

Buklog is a long celebrated thanksgiving festival on a ceremonial platform to propitiate the gods and spirits in the different events of the Subanen community. It is held with a combination of various animistic rituals that are conducted to present an exhibition for reasons such as bountiful or good harvest, appointing a new village chief, welcoming an esteemed guest or greetings for a comeback, healing or recovery, protection against misfortunes, and burial rites. This festivity embarks the stages of life in a Subanen culture wherein such performances, particularly dancing, singing, and even playing musical instruments, are observed comprehensively to be the need and solution of the tribe for a total restoration towards the different aspects of life. Thus, it further brings unity and harmony among the members of the national, social, and divine order in the cosmos

Rites and Rituals

Buklog, or Buklogan, is known for the elevated and flexible platform of wood and bamboo, about 10 to 30 feet high, and where sacred ritual dances took place. Located at the center platform installed the petaw that intends to hit a hollowed-out log called dulugan. Furthermore, dancing on the platform resonates with a sound to please the spirits and proclaim the culmination of the festivity.

This celebration is initially conducted by the timuay (village chief) and is aided by a balyan (spiritual healer). It started with the Sinalumpong rituals, which signifies the readiness and asking of permission to the spirits to gather materials upon the onset of the event. Moreover, different rituals succeedingly took place, such as the Sangat ritual offerings that aim to maintain balance and connection in the spirit world, the Panmalwasan ritual that proposes an invitation of the spirits to the feast, and the Gampang and Gilet rituals, which invoke water and land spirits. In every ceremony, the chanting of giloy verses is performed alongside the sounding of gongs.

Once all of the attending rituals are finished, the Subanen community starts constructing the Buklogan elevated platform. Subsequently, the Giti-an final ritual is performed upon expressing the rules for the celebration. After that, the community dance Gbat is executed to show a moment of delight and enthusiasm resulting from the rekindle of social and spiritual connection of the whole community.

Reflection in the Living System

The Subanen belief in the ritual system shows a deep sense of spirituality. Buklog is executed to ensure that the Subanen members of the community, social world, natural world, and spirit world can recreate and revitalize the sense of harmony and unity. The community also shows a socially cohesive community as it implies the mobilization of work from gathering of resources to rituals. This oral tradition distinctively measures integrative and communal functions wherein the social, political, economic, natural, and spiritual elements all constitute to a single system. Thus, these values and virtues reflect to how the Subanen community culturally survived in the living system.