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AMBAHAN

is the traditional poetry of Hanunuo Mangyans of Oriental Mindoro. It is a metaphoric poem comprising seven-syllable lines which are usually written in bamboo in Surat-Mangyan.

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The ambahan is the Hanunuo Mangyans of Oriental Mindoro's traditional poetry. Surat Mangyan, a centuries-old pre-Spanish script, is usually used to write it on bamboo. The syllabic writing and ambahan poetry have complemented one other, allowing them to survive to this very day.

Ambahan is a literary creation and poetic expression of Mindoro's Southern Mangyans. Despite the fact that Mindoro is home to around seven different unique ethnic groups, commonly known as the Mangyans, these tribes are highly distinct in terms of language, culture, and way of life. Only the ethnic group living in the south of Mindoro, roughly encompassing the towns of Bulalacao (San Pedro), Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, and San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, claims the name Mangyan as their tribal name. They could use the adjective "Hanunuo" Mangyan to emphasize their point, which means "really, true, genuine" Manygan.

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Ambahan can also be expressed in the following way:


a) A rhythmic poetic expression with seven-syllable lines and rhythmic end-syllables in a seven-syllable meter.

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b) It is most commonly performed as a chant with no fixed musical pitch or musical instrument accompaniment.

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c) Its objective is to express particular situations or traits referred to by the person reciting the poem in an allegorical style, lavishly using poetic language.

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The ambahan, like all poetry, is a beautiful and harmonious expression of a concept or feeling. The ambahan, unlike other genres of poetry, is not poetry for the sake of poetry or for the poet's satisfaction. The ambahan is basically poetry of social character, and it is in society that it finds its actual existence. The Mangyans created it to serve practical objectives in society. Parents use it to educate their children, young people use it to court each other, visitors use it to beg for food, and relatives use it to say goodbye or farewell. Of course, it would be a blunder to believe that the Mangyans only communicate with one another through the ambahan. When a man returns from the field, he will not utilize an ambahan to tell his wife that he is hungry; instead, he will communicate his stomach's emotion in simple and clear English. On those times, though, the ambahan is utilized.

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This is an example of the seven-syllable AMBAHAN poetry of the Hanunuo-Mangyans of Mindoro island, Central Philippines.

When the Spaniards arrived 16th century Philippines they were surprised to find the inhabitants reading and writing in this exotic Asian script. It is a syllabic writing derived from ancient Brahmin script that originated in India some 2500 years ago. Although it has gradually disappeared it is still used by the Mangyans for their poetry. It is either engraved on bamboo or embroidered on cloth.

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cf. TREASURE OF A MINORITY
Anton Postma, Mla. 1972

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