Balangbang (Kankanaey)

Location: Baguio, Luzon, Philippines
Date: November 29, 2017
Ethnic Group: Mountain Province Group
Ensemble Group: Body of Easter Students Advocates of Traditions (BESAT)
Type: Flat Gong
Note:
Baguio, located in Northern Luzon Island, Philippines, there is a number of ethnic groups ,such as Kalinga, Kankanaey, Ifugao, Ibaloi, Tingguian, and Isneg, inhabiting and coexisting in this province. Although they are different ethnic groups, people in Philippines, they call these groups as mountain province people. For mountain province, they are specialized in flat gong music ensembles called Gangsa. This Ganga has almost same inter-locking system as mainland Southeast Asia. However, for Kalinga and Ifugao ethnic groups, they have particular style of holding gong. Because they were used be warriors and famous for headhunting tribes before, their gong holders are based on the shape of human jaws.
For mountain province people, they often play for festive occasions such as wedding, thanksgiving, harvesting and courtship dance. While mainland southeast asia and some islands of maritime Southeast Asia have gong music for the ritual like funerals, for mountain province people in Luzon, they don’t play gong for this occasions.
Information: Kankanaey Ethnic Group(Mountain Province)
Language group: Austronesian - Malayo Polynesian
Kankanaey group consists of the inhabitants of municipalities of Sagada and Besao, including those who migrated to other places. Mineral resources such as limestone, clay, and gold ores are found in the numerous mountains found in these municipalities. Pine trees, sticks and rattan also abounded in the extremely mountainous terrain marked by rugged, sharply sloped ridges and deep ravines.
The term "Kankanaey" is alinguistic category used by non-Cordillerans to refer to the inhabitants of western Mountain province, northeastern Ilocos Sur and northern section of province of Beguet. The term is of undetermined etymological origin, and the people have accepted it as a term to identify themselves from other ethnolinguistic groups.