Cañao, familiar to the lowland culture as the a community celebration of the
Igorots, is a ritual of animal sacrifice, feasting and dancing performed
for healing, thanksgiving, entertainment and for asking for a bountiful
harvest. It is usually performed during native feasts or celebrations in the
highlands of the Cordilleras–in the Luzon area of the Philippines. It is a ritual common to the Ibaloys, Kankana-eys, and Kalanguyas.
The gangsa and the solibao played together would
usually resound to the next village, signifying a festivity. Amid the
floating music of these instruments, you’d hear someone belt out a
chant, which would be responded to by a chorus of outcries from the
people. This would go on for minutes until, at such time, the people
dancing and beating on the gangsas and solibaos get tired. Amazingly,
another round would follow a little later, indicating that the people
have energized and are up to dancing once again.
Though cañao
is slowly fading because some Cordillerans have finally embraced the
Christian faith, it is still practiced in occasions such as marriage,
feast, and death.
C A Ñ A O | 2 0 1 6
*Original photos of Jake S. Olsim
taken during the Cordillera Day Celebration, July 15, 2016
Baguio City 
