Melodies of Memory: Exploring Culture and Tradition Through Local Folksongs is a descriptive ethno-literary research in the study of folksongs transmitted orally through generations. Ethnographic methods of data collection and Russian formalism informed the structural and textual analysis of the folksongs. The study aims to analyze the various types of existing folksongs of Ligao City which were initially recited or sung in Bikol and performed by key informants. Specifically, it attempts to look into form and content; to draw out themes, beliefs, traits, values, cultural practices, and traditions; and to determine which influences are modern and traditional from said folklore texts. Bikol folksongs reveal a relatively strong sense of form. However, this sense of creating patterns of sound exhibit an inherent and keen sense for sound rather than a conscious creation of end sounds or rhythmic patterns. Most often, the result is a loose rhyme structure and a unique rhythmic pattern that does not conform with traditional metered poetry, or if it does, only very rarely. Folksongs are also rich in images from the use of figures of speech like metaphor, apostrophe, and the like. Utilizing comparisons also lead to symbols and images from an observant use of sights and sounds from everyday life. These folksongs reveal both literary and cultural artifacts—from the use of poetic devices in both its form and content as well as Bikol beliefs, values, and traits. Some are still strongly adhered to, but with a few slowly slipping away with the passage of time.

Authors:
Maria Andrea Jane Aranas, Bicol University, Philippines

About the Presenter(s)
Maria Andrea Jane B. Aranas teaches language and literature at Bicol University and is an affiliate of the MA Literature Program. She holds an MA in Literature from Ateneo and is active in research, extension, and teacher development initiatives.

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