What is the history of pangalay dance?

Answer 1

Pangalay (also known as Daling-Daling or Mengalai in Sabah) in is the traditional "fingernail" dance of the Tausūg people of the Sulu Archipelago and Sabah. This dance is the most distinctively Asian of all the Southern Philippine dances because dancers must have dexterity and flexibility of the shoulders, elbows, and wrists -- movements that strongly resemble those of "kontaw silat," a martial art common in the Malay Archipelago. The Pangalay is performed mainly during weddings or other festive events. The male equivalent of the Pangalay is the Pangasikand features more martial movements, while a pangalay that features both a male and female dancer is called Pangiluk.

The original concept of the Pangalay is based on the pre-Islamic Buddhist concept of male and female celestial angels (Sanskrit: Vidhyadhari, Bahasa Sūg: Biddadari) common as characters in other Southeast Asian dances.

Neighboring Samal and Bajau peoples call this type of dance, Umaral or Igal, and they sometimes use bamboo castanets as substitutes for long fingernails.

A modern variant of this dance popular among the peoples of Mindanao, Sulu and Sabah is called Pakiring, and emphasizes movement of the hips (kiring-kiring) more than the traditional dance. It is performed to electro versions of traditional songs and is fast overtaking the traditional Pangalay in popularity at weddings.