PHThe Sama Dilaut of Tawi-Tawi preserve Silungan Baltapa, a traditional sung narrative sometimes described as the voyage to heaven of a Sama hero.
It belongs to the oral storytelling traditions of the Sama Dilaut and is performed as a narrative rather than simply read from a written text.
The tradition is particularly interesting because the Sama Dilaut have historically maintained a strong maritime culture.
Their stories therefore form part of a cultural world closely connected with the sea.
The work has also been documented in ethnographic research and sound recordings held by the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Archives.
© Smithsonian Institution
It belongs to the oral storytelling traditions of the Sama Dilaut and is performed as a narrative rather than simply read from a written text.
The tradition is particularly interesting because the Sama Dilaut have historically maintained a strong maritime culture.
Their stories therefore form part of a cultural world closely connected with the sea.
The work has also been documented in ethnographic research and sound recordings held by the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Archives.
© Smithsonian Institution