BOOK REVIEW: 66 Ilocano Songs

by Rose Cruz Churma

The book 66 ILOCANO SONGS was collected, edited, and translated by Sigrid S. Rodolfo and published by Giraffe Books in Quezon City in 1998.

Although published more than two decades ago, the book is still of value, but is now out of print.

In commemoration of Buwan ng Wika next month (August 1 to 31), we are featuring this book to remind those with roots in the Philippines that retaining one’s native language is crucial to preserving one’s culture and identity.

In the foreword, the author notes that the songs provide a glimpse of Ilocano culture and way of thinking.

This is also one way of preserving the songs as a contribution to the Philippine cultural heritage, and lastly, as a bridge in the gap of education between school and the home where Ilocano is spoken.

Since Filipino (largely based on Tagalog) was established as the national language, Ilocano is not taught in the classrooms the way Filipino has been mandated to be learned by all students in the Philippines.

The author also suggests ways of using it in the classroom, such as singing the songs as a class activity and discussing the lyrics of the chosen song, or using it for calisthenics or during intramurals— as a way to embed the songs in the school’s typical rhythms.

The author also notes that a song is a creation that combines two art forms—poetry in the lyrics and music in the tune.

She notes that the choice of which songs to include in this collection was based on the following criteria. Foremost is to allow the enjoyment of the song, whether it is sung as a solo, duet, or group song.

The collection of songs is grouped into eight chapters and is grouped according to the songs’ themes.

For example, the first chapter is “On Health and Rural Life,” while the second chapter is “On Family Relations.”

The shortest chapter is “For Christmas,” while the most number of songs is in the chapter “For Courting, Love at the Blooming Stage,” versus the sixth chapter, which is called “At Parting.”

Each song contains its music and lyrics in Ilocano. The lyrics are also translated into English. In the song Pamulinawen, aside from the music and Ilocano lyrics, and their English translation, there is also an English version for singing.

The song Filipinas (Bayan Ko) has both the Tagalog and Ilocano versions, plus the English translation. In its footnote, the author notes that this song was a kundiman written (lyrics) by Jose Corazon de Jesus with melody created by Constancio de Guzman.

Most of the songs have a footnote. In Manang Biday, the author comments that “the Ilocano places great emphasis on age difference.”

I’ve heard this song so many times because of its cheerful melody—a song often sung by my Ilocana grandmother to keep me entertained when I was young.

It never occurred to me that it is about a man who courts a woman older than himself, but she mocks him for his inability to act decisively—what the author calls “a parody of a love song.”

In the first song listed, Saluyot, is a three-stanza song. The subject is known to most Ilocanos: an annual plant of the okra family that grows wild in some places.

I remember it as being cooked with young bamboo shoots called rabong, doused in bugoong, and paired with leftover grilled fish.

This compilation of Ilocano songs is a labor of love by Sigrid Rodolfo, one of the daughters of Dr. Agustin Rodolfo of San Antonio, Zambales and Sophie Schmidt-Rodolfo, a German American labor organizer. Her parents met when they were students at the University of Wisconsin.

She spent most of her early childhood in Pasay, Manila, but during the Japanese Occupation, her family had to move from place to place to avoid the Japanese.

After the war, the US government offered the family free transportation to Chicago, where they stayed with her maternal grandmother for a couple of years before returning to the Philippines.

Upon their return, her parents established the Luzon Technical Institute (LTI) in her father’s hometown in Zambales, where she has been affiliated with in different capacities, from music and chemistry teacher, guidance counselor, principal–to leading the educational institution as director/president.

Sigrid has a doctorate in chemistry from UP Diliman but also received her musical training via cross-registration at the UP Conservatory of Music.

She dedicates this book to her parents, particularly her father, “who, despite his high educational attainment, never discarded his Ilocano roots, yet was broadminded enough to welcome the decision for a national language based on Tagalog.”

Sigrid Rodolfo will be relieved to know that Ilocano is thriving as a language, even outside the Philippines, particularly in Hawai’i, where it is offered as an academic program at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.

ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an online advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora. We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.