ABSTRACT
The ullalim is perhaps the best known representative of Kalinga oral tradition. Made famous by the seminal works of scholar-priests Francisco Billiet and Francis Lambrecht in the 1970s, it has been singularly and generally referred to as an epic. This paper presents a different take on the ullalim by going beyond its status as epic narrative and considering its non-epic form (alternatively known as sogsogna), taking cue from the nuances of the usage of the term in both published texts and actual practice by the Kalingas. It treats the ullalim as a “music of tradition,” a dynamic oral/literary form that incorporates new elements as it responds to changing experiences, perspectives and values. Thus, it further discusses the implications of the ullalim’s potential to accommodate novel concepts and situations, and its refunctioning by contemporary Kalinga musicians or verbal artists.
Keywords: Kalinga, ullalim, sogsogna, oral tadition, epic, music of tradition
BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRY: Saboy, Scott Magkachi. 2017. "Ullalim/Sogsogna: Revisiting a Kalinga Music of Tradition". In Saliksik-Kordilyera: Papers on Indigenous Practice, Ritual Life and Oral Tradition, edited by Delfin Tolentino, 171-211. Baguio City: Cordillera Studies Center-University of the Philippines Baguio.