Subanen: Life and Dance

One of the participants during the Indigenous Peoples Festival was the Subanen Group, two of the tribes that represented Mindanao ( along with the Tausug). My husband is more familiar of their existence and what a pity that I never heard of them before the festival.

Majority of the Subanen lives in Zamboanga especially in the town of Lapuyan where 90% of them are Subanen; Lapuyan is an hour away from Pagadian City. One fact about them is that they are not Muslims they have more alliance to the Christian faith than Islam.

The word Subanen means ” people from the river” from the word “suba” which means ” river. They trace their ancestry from the Indonesians and were relocated to the highlands when the Moro or Muslims arrived. At present ,they live with the modern world with many of them professionals serving in different industries and government agencies.

Like other indigenous people, they have their own music and dance that is purely part of their heritage. During the Indigenous Peoples Festival, they performed the Sinalimba.

The Sinalimba is an interesting dance where dancers perform with music on a swing. More than just a spectacular performance, the Sinalimba  represents man’s journey like a vessel. This dance is accompanied with an Agong, which is a single brass gong.

The gigling boy from the audience is my son, Aki.