Imagine discovering Mindanao by way of sound.
In our memories of Lake Sebu, there was the tin swirling in the brass hollow of a Kulintang. There were bamboo flutes that mimicked birdsong, against the measured beats throbbing on goat skin drums and the tinkle from the bells on Tboli belts that swayed with its wearer's hips.
Rosie Sula, a National Living Treasure for Epic Chanting, received us with an aching, haunting aural welcome. We, the visual, who trade in images and words, were suddenly cast unto a different sensory island.
Rosie's voice was pierced with emotion, full of sentiment whose meaning we could not accurately distinguish. She sang in waves, and we were absorbed. Respectfully, we sat, awash in song, immersed in the joy of being lost in translation. Read…
