Maglalatik/Manlalatik/Magbabao: Philippines Traditional Cultural Dance/Filipino Folk Dance; 2019

The Maglalatik (also known as Manlalatik or Magbabao) is an indigenous dance from the Philippines. Coconut shell halves are secured onto the dancers’ hands and on vests upon which are hung four or six more coconut shell halves. The dancers perform the dance by hitting one coconut shell with the other; sometimes the ones on the hands, the ones on the body, or the shells worn by another performer, all in time to a fast drumbeat. Like many native Filipino dances, it is intended to impress the viewer with the great skill of the dancer, and in some “Filipino Martial Arts“ (FMA) circles, it has been noted that the Maglalatik “consists of a trapping and boxing method hidden in a dance.“ The name of the dance means “latik-maker“, from latik, a coconut product that is used in Filipino cooking. Maglalatik: Philippines Traditional Cultural Dance/Filipino Folk Dance; Toronto, Carassauga 2019