Rondalya Ilokana: constructing Rondalla pedagogical practices for an Ilokano identity in Santa Lucia and Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines

Abstract

The rondalla is a plucked-stringed chordophone ensemble consisting of banduria, laud, octavina, gitara and baho de unyas. It is considered by Filipinos to be the most "typical Filipino" instrumental music ensemble in the Philippines despite its introduction to the islands by Spanish colonists. It is associated with the Lowland Christianized cultures of the Philippines and practiced throughout the nation. While the rondalla ensemble represents an aspect of Philippine national music identity, regional identities are prevalent among various Christianized ethnic groups such as the Ilokanos. An assumption of a homogeneous performance practice is often portrayed as a cultural symbol of Filipino identity, a Tagalog-centric notion of Filipino national identity. This study challenges notions of homogeneity and national uniformity, and problematizes the issue of national consciousness in relation to regional consciousness by examining the rondalla practice in the municipality of Santa Lucia and in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. In these locations, rondalla practice departs from a national practice, reflecting regional diversity. National sonic aesthetic taste is deconstructed and recontextualized in regional practices. Thus, this process of domesticating the rondalla into the Ilokano realm reveals Ilokano agency in the construction of rondalya Ilokana